What exactly does a dress code of “clown formal” mean? At Friday’s April Fools Extravaganza, hosted by the nonprofit Clowns Without Borders, guests showed up in everything from glittery jumpsuits to cow costumes and mime outfits. Held at U Street restaurant Station 9 beginning at 10 p.m., the party was the first major D.C. fund-raiser for this San Francisco-based international charity, which sends clowns and circus performers to entertain children in crisis zones and refugee camps around the world. Charging $15 per ticket, the event raised almost $10,000 for the group’s upcoming trip to Sudan.

For the 700 guests who didn’t arrive in rainbow wigs, volunteers passed out red foam noses and clown masks at the door to get partygoers into the circus spirit, with a suggested donation.

"The red noses were a huge success. It was a way to involve people in the party. As opposed to watching the event happening, they became part of event,” said Bruce Macphail, event organizer and volunteer project manager for Clowns Without Borders. “The idea was to allow guests to be as clown-esque as they wanted to be and blur the line between performers and guests and make it inclusive. After awhile people would walk around and not know who were the performers and who were the guests. It was like a joining-the-circus kind of event."

Approximately 30 performers from the Washington metropolitan area and Philadelphia volunteered their time for the event, including circus performers (think hoola hoop dancers, a giant paper mâché puppet, and clowns, of course) and a dance group who performed in blacklight-reactive costumes.

In keeping with the event’s community art focus, the performances were casual and staged alongside guests on both levels of the venue. Macphail scheduled fire dancers as additional entertainment, but at the last minute the fire marshal pulled the plug on that plan. In the end, the only pyrotechnics were lighted batons and glowsticks, as the crowd danced till 2:30 a.m. to house and electro tunes from four DJs.