Pride Weekend is upon us! Thanks to those who helped the past couple of weekends decorating our “Under the Sea” Pride float. Now the big weekend is here. What follows are details for our upcoming events:
Pre-Pride Party: Our annual Pre-Pride party will take place at Michael N.’s at 4239 S. Langley, Chicago from 4-10 p.m., Sat., June 29, with Secrets Beauty Salon sponsoring some of our drinks and a Botox-for-beginners table. We’ll also have raffle giveaways to continue to raise money for our float and for a local Chicago charity, Humble Hearts. The charity’s founder will be in attendance. Thanks to Secrets Beauty, D.J. Casper, Atmosphere Bar, Lucky Horseshoe, North End and Chris D. for our raffle prizes. Bring food/drink and your Pride spirit to share. Our Pride Party D.J. will be Ron Sager. You can scope him out at www.djronsager.com. Also, if anyone wants to entertain our guests, feel free to reach out to Angel at AngelChgo@aol.com. It’s Pride. Time to shine!
And for those so inclined, we will have a final float decorating gathering at Michael’s just before our Pre-Pride party, from 1-4 p.m. Come to the party early and help us with last-minute touch-ups.
Pride Parade and afterparty: We’ll have float builders and decorators (8 a.m.-9 a.m. arrive) and Pride marchers and float riders (10 a.m. arrive) meet at our starting position on Sheridan Road a block east of Broadway on the south side of the street on Sun., June 30. Our float No. is 96. The theme, as you know, is “Under the Sea.” All fish, seaweed and octopi welcome. The parade starts earlier this year at 11 a.m. We will most likely start moving between noon and 12:30 p.m. Reach out to Angel at AngelChgo@aol.com if you would like to march with our float (sorry, but the space on the float itself is already locked in). We’ll have D.J. Casper spinning the tunes for our Pride float. (Catch him on Facebook at Jeff A Kaemerer.) Then we’ll have an afterparty starting around 2:30 p.m. at Holiday Club, 4000 N. Sheridan, Chicago. (Note that we’ve changed it from our traditional location of Atmosphere. We’ll have more room to spread out at Holiday Club.) For food, we’ll have a $5 donation bucket and order pub pizzas and other items from Holiday Club’s kitchen. Time to party hardy!
Of course, we couldn’t have come this far alone. We would like to thank the folks who donated prizes and services to our May Prom Fundraiser: Atmosphere Bar, Campit Outdoor Resort, D.J. Casper, Lucky Horseshoe, North End, Oliver and Harris, Rainbow Races, the Ralph Childs Estate, Secrets Beauty Boutique, Stir Friday Night and Token Theater. We also want to thank Chris D. who provided additional raffle items for our Pre-Pride Party.
Thanks to special Prom guest, 48th Ward Alderwoman Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth; and our Prom D.J. Ron Sager; announcers Joel C., Charisse M., Craig M. and Jill T.; Michael N. for leading our decorations committee; all party organizers and volunteers. Thanks as well to Windy City Times and The Reader, for supporting us and covering our event.
Then we would like to express our support and partnership to Humble Hearts (humbleheartsfoundation.org), which gives supplies and clothing to communities in need.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge the groups currently signed up to march with members of Asians and Friends Chicago: AGLO, Stir Friday Night, Token Theater and UI Health.
Attached is a map of our starting point (again, AFC is position No. 96, starting east of Broadway on Sheridan, south curb.) and the map of this year’s parade.
And remember, AFC is all about creating supportive spaces for our members. We encourage everyone to practice patience, respect and positivity when participating in our functions, as you will be among folks with different backgrounds, cultures and upbringings. It’s within that spirit we believe AFC will thrive.
[Note: Upon attending AFC events, you may be photographed. Those images may be used in our social media and advertising. Please let us know if you choose not to be in our photos.]
Contact: Angel Abcede, AngelChgo@gmail.com; (773) 459-6775.
Sincerely,
Your AFC Rice Makers
AFC is a proud 2010-2011 inductee into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame, a two-time winner for Best Organization in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade, hosts of IFCON 2016 Chicago and recipients of Chapter of the Year 2022 from the International Friendship Association
