AFC Blog

Thanks for stopping by the new temporary home for Asians & Friends Chicago.  Pardon our dust while we work on a new, improved website.

Our event calendar is here or by clicking on “Event Calendar” located on the top and side of this blog.

Note that this is a sticky post…please scroll down for additional new blog content.

Asians and Friends Chicago has many plans for this goulish month. First, Halloween Party at Omar’s! We’ll be headed out to the suburbs again the weekend before Halloween for Omar’s annual Halloween party (Sat. Oct. 24). It’ll be at 205 Brittany Trail Road in Elgin. Anyone needing a ride from the city, please call our hotline at (312) 409-1573, as we’ll be organizing a car pool from Thai Classic, 3332 N. Clark. We’ll meet there at 6 p.m. for a light dinner and move out around 7-ish.

Then for whoever is interested, we’re trying to gather eight Asians to play Jon and Kate Plus Eight for the Halsted Street Halloween Parade and subsequent visit to clubs throughout the night. We have three so far and need five more to dress up as little boys and girls. If you’re interested, call (312) 409-1573. We’ll need commitments by October 18.

AFC is about at the 2:20 time:

We have uploaded some pictures to our online gallery from the Chinese New Year Dinner.

You can access the dinner gallery directly here or you can just vist the entire picture gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

Wild Pug bar on Broadway north of Lawrence in Chicago.

Just a note from some of us who attended the Wild Pug’s first “Gaysian” night. DJ Oskar presented a public face for an event that was supported by advertising in the local, gay magazines and staffed by Asian bartenders and go-go boys. It seemed that at least half of the crowd (35 out of 60 or so?) were Asian men of varying ages, tending to be in their 20s and 30s. Many of them came as groups, already knowing each other. Oskar said he had also invited his following, which certainly aided in the overall success of the night.

AFC Board members are discussing our group’s continuing role with the event. The current view is that it’s an opportunity to outreach and expand membership and that any establishment interested in supporting the positive, sexual image of gay, Asian men should be validated. While we are sensitive to the fact that an Asian-themed night, especially one that does use feminine images in its advertising might be suspect, our initial view of the evening and the club’s approach is that it presents a respectful outreach to an underserved audience. The imagery on the ads also portray a strong, masculine, Asian man–which balances the diversity of our demographic.

At this point, the Board members present at the first of what will be a monthly event (the last Thursday of every month), support the work of Wild Pug, 4810 N. Broadway in Chicago, and hope you all take advantage of their imaginative drink specials and of course, DJ Oskar’s lively mix of old and new school.

While today (Wed. Jan. 28) is the official deadline for our presale $40 rate (vs. $45 after today) for our annual Chinese New Year’s Dinner (taking place Sat. Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Phoenix Restaurant, 2131 S. Archer in Chicago), you can still get the presale rate if you bring us a check to one of two upcoming events.

Angel will be at Wilde Pug (4810 N. Broadway) at their new Asian-themed evening from 9:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m tomorrow, Jan. 29. He’ll be accepting CNY checks or money at that time. The same for AFC’s monthly Dim Sum this Sunday, Feb. 1 at Furama, 4936 N. Broadway at 12:30 p.m.

Otherwise, if you act today, you can still pay the presale rate via PayPal on AFC’s Web site www.afchicago.org or mail Asians and Friends Chicago a check to P.O. Box A 3916, Chicago, IL 60690-3916. If it’s postmarked today (or tomorrow), it’ll be fine. Thanks and see you all soon!

AFC Board of Directors