GAYLETTER

The Summer came back this week which is perfect timing for Cruise 2.0 to return! We’ve covered this party the past two years. Here’s what I said when I mentioned it last year: “Everyone will get laid. We just want to celebrate the fact that we’re stuck together in the city by drinking as much rum as possible and pretending we’re on a yacht. A sad, old, but cute yacht filled with LITERAL hunks and babes and queens and extremely fun music for you all...”  Yeah, someone was carrying with this quote. The party is happening at Rosemont Bar in Brooklyn, which is a hot spot at the moment, Rosemont is in this letter twice (see Thursday). Music will be provided by Dick Owens, Ivenchy & Tanny Cohen. Expect “Free White Girl Rose while supplies last and epic visuals will keep you dancing until morning. Nautical, sailor, mermaid, pirate & downright fishy attire is strongly encouraged. Bring everyone you know as it’s going to be an epic night to remember!” Ok, got it.  —Abi

I got an email from Nick at Confetti System (Google it, they are in Brooklyn and make some cool stuff), he told me that they are throwing a new Queer Asian dance party called Bubble_T. He told me what the party is all about “Lately we’ve been feeling the urge to organize an official night that reflects the Asian/Pacific/Queer diaspora that we belong to. Its a mix of karaoke culture, Asian divas, and bubble tea that feels like home.” As far as I am concerned we need more of these type of parties, there’s just not enough diversity in our community. “It’s a Queer Asian dance party for everyone, it’s also about celebrating our diverse group of friends and our collective upbringings, lewks, references, faggotry etc... Visibility, inclusion and support are important for all of us post election.” I couldn’t agree more. Other hosts of the party include Bichon, The Henry, Pauly T, Vivianne & Jacky (from the Galbi Mermaid Inn), and Daniel & Tin (from the NYC/Vietnam based fashion collective CFGNY). Music will be provided by DJ Tito Nonon, who’ll be “serving 90’s Hip Hop and R&B meets Old School Filipino Garage party sprinkled with Pinay freestyle legend Jocelyn Enriquez and Pinay girl groups One Vo1ce and Premiere!” and DJ Skypewilliams, who’ll be “giving you highkey Latino block party, midkey gay bops & lowkey hood anthems.” Also, expect giveaways by Massive Goods and the Boba Guys (Bin and Andrew), “purveyors of gourmet bubble tea.”  That’s all the_T we’ve got!  —Abi

This is the most exciting news I have received this week. I am a huge fan of Nina Bonina Brown since the first episode of this season’s Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 9 when she walked down the runway with her head painted like a peach and said “take a bite of this peach.” As far as I’m concerned, Nina should be the winner of this season or at least top 3. I’ve never seen any queen with this approach to makeup and that padding...her looks are just nuts in the best possible way. Again, Frankie Sharp brings us another Rupaul’s Drag Race queen to his party Metro Sensual at Metropolitan. Thank You Frankie. He’s also Djing with La’Fem Ladosha and Dicap. Plus, “$en$ual gent$” Nico, Richard and Teo — they are going to be shaking their asses on stage just so we can have some extra entertainment. I’m hoping that Nina gives us another look with a fruit, an animal, or some other object as her head. It’s Nina Bonina banana fofana Osama Bin Laden Brown boom boom.  —Abi

For those of you that don’t know, Lucky Pierre “is the guy in the middle of an Eiffel Tower. He’s having the most fun.” I guess the ultimate goal of this party is to ended up in between two people, it’s probably the right goal for this Spring/Summer 2017. Paul Musial (who used to be one of the organizers of Pretty Ugly) told me about this brand new party called Lucky Pierre. The party is happening at Bedlam in the East Village, we are very familiar with this location because we used to throw our Interracial party there a few years back. It’s a cosy place, it can be very fun as long as it’s gay. Trust me, I’ve been there some nights when the bar is full of drunk white girls, it’s not right. Paul thinks Bedlam is the right location for Lucky Pierre, “the size of the space is that Goldie locks, not too small not too big, just right...Not a top 40s Friday night. It’s disco and rock, but all danceable...” Other’s involved with the event are Mason McCarthy Hughes, James Everett, Servando Rosario IV and 9Rob. You have no excuse to score that threesome. You can do it!  —Abi

We told you last week that Ladyfag is gonna have a new Friday night party. Here you have it, it’s Battle Hymn! The Sunday night party is finally moving to Friday! Ladyfag told us, “We’ve done a year of Sundays and it’s been so amazing, but so many people kept begging to move it to a night that wasn’t a “school night,” cos they couldn’t come every week, so when the opportunity I came up I couldn’t say no!” The Summer is almost here I think it’s a nice time to switch it up. Battle Hymn has been such a great party I have a feeling that as a Friday party it’s gonna be nuts, based on my experience it’s always better to go wild on Friday night, so the rest of the weekend you can chill, that is if you are getting old like me… Starting this May 5th (Feliz Cinco!) the switch to Fridays is official with rotating DJs Honey Dijon, The Carry Nation, Eli Escobar and some special guests. Lady added “Eli Escobar who has been a regular & favorite since the beginning has just been made a resident... It’s going to get crazy, so we’re opening the second room that’s usually closed on Sundays so we can fit everyone in! We’re ready for you NYC!” Bring it Lady, NYC is ready! Get there early, there will be a line, trust me about that.  —Abi

I had to cover this party with a name like this, I mean ‘Sinkhole de Mayo’ it’s very catchy. Not to mention Cinco de Mayo deserves even a bigger celebration after all the hate that the Cheeto prez had directed to Mexicans, give me a break with that stupid wall. You’ll see all the racists in America drinking tequila pretending that it came from Ohio — that tequila that’s inside your margarita is Mexican you idiot. Sinkhole De Mayo is happening a day before the official 5 de Mayo celebration, but at midnight you know that tequila shot is going down for a good reason. In addition you are supporting a local gay bar and celebrating Darren’s birthday! We love daddy Darren (pictured), he’s just the best — Happy Birthday! The writer of the party flyer should probably write for us, here’s the text: “Come celebrate the two biggest bottoms since J-Lo and Kim Kardashian for their birthdays! Darren Dryden and Sammy Jo.” It’s presented by Daniel Nardicio, who probably wrote the text, he’s clever like that. That means that Eastern Bloc will be extra slutty, Daniel knows how to bring the sluttiest, comfortable-with-nudity crowd. Good for him, right? Expect “dirty dancers, tons of cake, a free drink if you bring a gift for Darren and Sammy!” Happy Sinkhole de Mayo!  —Abi

Ladyfag brought us the party 11:11 for over four years, that’s a long time for a NYC gay party —  Congratulations for keeping it going so long! The party is now coming to an end with the final edition happening this Friday, March 28. Ladyfag told me that “it’s bittersweet for sure, it could have kept going for a lot longer, but I think it’s always wise to leave any party while it’s still fun and not at the end of the night...the same applies here. It’s been an amazing 4.5 years, it’s been a home sweet home for so many of us...my 11:11 wish really did come true...So much love & gratitude to my amazing team & most of all big thanks to my partner in crime Michael Magnan who has been my rock through it all.” Awe that’s sweet, we love Michael too, he’s such a great DJ and a sweetheart. Come to the last edition of 11:11, it’s time to say goodbye to another great NYC party. Music for this last event will be provided by Fatherhood (Michael Magnan & Physical Therapy), Christy Love, Donkey (Josh Sparber & Mikey Fuentes) and Will Automagic. Lots of hosts including the fabulous Amanda Lepore, Aquaria, Stephanie Stone, Bailey Stiles, Marco Ovando, La’fem Ladosha, Will Sheridan, Sussi and many more. Oh, and one more thing, I heard rumors that Lady might have another Friday night party coming soon, so stay tuned.  —Abi

Until you’ve been to the /r/rupaulsdragrace subreddit, you may not know how far a carry can go. These internet children go in really deep to get a gag. As I’m writing this, an image from our Katya story, in the latest issue of GAYLETTER, is trending in the “hot” section. The magazine isn’t even in stores yet and we’re pretty sure we never posted this spread online. Yet, there she is. Every member of the subreddit chooses a queen from the current season to appear next to their username. Before Season 9 began airing, the community was feeling Nina Bonina Brown (duh), Shea Couleé (sure), Sasha Velour (I see it), and, Charlie Hides. These kids clearly know everything, so I’ve been leaning on trust for that last one. However, I’m not confident the show has done her justice. Luckily, this Saturday, Charlie Hides is performing for the second installment of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9 Brooklyn Rusidency at Metropolitan Bar. Can’t stand to watch another queen lip sync? That’s fine, gal! Charlie Hides decidedly, defiantly, and demonstrably does not lip sync. She sings live. And she’s funny. And she’s very sweet. I’m excited to shed her edit and meet the Charlie that built up her decades-long reputation. Drag shows at Metro are about as intimate as it gets — you see it all. It’s the perfect chance to begin a reddit career with some exclusive footage of the Dame herself. Then for the rest of the night, Frankie Sharp and La’Fem Ladosha will be DJ’ing. Hopefully the back patio will be open and bumping too. So stay all night, they’ve got what you need.  —Bill Ivy

It’s 4/20 so you know what I’ll be doing today. The past few years we have done some fun celebrations on 4/20 from baking a variety of THC infused gourmet sweets to frying tempura with a group of friends, we even had the food magazine Put an Egg On It come to my small apartment to photograph the whole thing. Fun right? I am a bit annoyed that 4/20 falls on a Thursday this year, but whatever, anytime you can take a puff on that day, please do it, your mind and body needs it. I spoke with JT Almon about this party (he’s DJing), here’s what he had to say: “it’s one of those — if you happen to peel yourself off the couch and have a cup of coffee come out to dance — parties...we are just starting it on 4/20. I wanted to start a less gendered party than Bromo to have women and femmes feel more welcomed, but mostly my goal is to provide a free party in Brooklyn with great music where they gays can hang and feel comfortable — accessibility is a really important thing to me.” The party is at Bossa Nova in Brooklyn which JT describes as a cute and intimate space. Other DJs joining him are Bearcat and Physical Therapy. Plus hosts for the night are Patti Spliff (she’s lovely), Jason Scott Rosen (lovely name) and Gio Rgi Mjavanadze (also lovely). For god sakes, please, please, please don’t forget to get high.  —Abi