Most people think June is the busiest month for queer-owned businesses with it being Pride Month and all…. I am here to tell you that it is actually May! Gearing up for all the Pride festivities is no joke! This being our second Sober One Six Pride in Buffalo, I wanted to make it bigger and better than our first and we did just that!
May Sober Social: Aroma on Bryant
May’s Sober Social was held at Aroma on Bryant in the Elmwood Village. Aroma has a gorgeous menu of Italian eats and we were so glad to have a special mocktail menu created just for us! They were so popular that they are adding them to the drink list so next time you visit, pair your pasta with a Strawberry Mint Agua Fresca or your roasted chicken with a Pineapple Cilantro Margarita. We love hosting a happy hour celebrating getting to know each other over non-alcoholic options!
Beyonce Dance Party: Riff City
We hosted a badass tribute to our Queen, Beyonce, which gave the BEY HIVE something to talk about. This night was so magical. DJ Lydvicious headlined and brought the vibes with all Beyonce music, all night long! We danced with our guests who shared the same love for Bey that we do! We curated a non-alcoholic Beyonce-inspired drink menu with Riff City that was delish. Of course, you know as Sober One Six, we had to throw a live performance in. Winter Storm surprised the crowd and took the stage as the Beyonce of Buffalo and dazzled us with a medley of hit songs and the crowd was eating it up! The energy in the room was electric because it was all Beyonce superfans. Everyone had this sense of community surrounding her music... one of the attendees made note that this felt like a “listening party” and we couldn’t agree more. Our VIP Section had people vibing out on the sofas with pizza and snacks. We appreciate Riff City to collab with us on our first event there. When we danced too much, we could take a seat at the bar! We cannot wait to bring more artists and themed nights to WNY and beyond! See the pics here!
AKG Art Gallery
We were so thrilled when the Buffalo Albright–Knox Art Gallery asked Sober One Six to be part of their Y2K Convergence event held for artist, Sin Wai Kin. Sin’s It’s Always You encourages viewers to reflect on the performance and commodification of identity in our present moment. It features a boyband of Sin’s construction in which they perform dressed up as each of the band’s four members—The Universe, The Storyteller, The One, and Wai King (a pun on the artist’s name). We took inspiration from Sin Wai Kin to produce a performance that would be perfect for the theme and location. Willa DeWhisp and Freddie Hercury, two local icons in the drag community, performed a medley of early 2000s pop! We also distributed two signature mocktails to guests that AKG perfectly created specifically for this event! The space is so beautiful and we already have plans to come back! This new and improved gallery is something to experience so check it out if you haven’t yet!
Embrace WNY Buffalo Brunch: Community Service Honoree Award
May was extra special for Sober One Six. We were honored with a Community Service Award at the annual Brunch organized by Embrace WNY at the gorgeous Hyatt Regency Buffalo Hotel and Conference Center. Alongside Jimmy Hull, Chevon Davis, Vanity Vogue, Upstate NY Black and Latino Pride, The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, we were recognized. We stood up to thank Embrace WNY and the community as a whole for presenting Sober One Six with the Community Service award. This award means so much to us- our work of bringing non-alcoholic options to the forefront, bringing LGBTQ+ individuals together who accept each other, while creating new connections, safe spaces, and fun events for the community. That is what we are all about! It was so moving to hear the other honorees and the work they have done and are currently doing. Our Western New York community is so driven to increase awareness of LGBTQ people and to make sure we have as many opportunities to thrive! I am so proud to call these people friends and family!
Queer Speed Friending
Our series has included Queer Speed Dating for men<3men, women<3women, and person<3person but this was our first Queer Speed Friending event! Our purpose for this event was to cultivate new friendships in a no-pressure setting. Set up like speed dating... 24 queer people went on 10 mini friend dates all prompted by a question. Our host, Damsel ‘N Disdress made all our guests feel comfortable with her wacky and chaotic energy which we LOVE!! This was a perfect place for people to meet other queer folks right before the Buffalo Pride Festival. We all know how hard it is to make new friends in general and it is even harder to meet other queer people in a setting that is not centered around drinking! We hope you join us as we continue this series. Our next one is June 26, 2024, Queer Speed Dating: Women seeking Women!!
In Promotion Mode: Check It Out
Our main event was Gaga Night at Rec Room Buffalo on June 3rd (we will recap that in next month’s blog)! Before that Saturday I was in full-on promotion mode, going to multiple queer Pride events to make sure the word got out about our show!! I started off at Gag City, which was held in Elmwood Village by Upstate NY Black and Latino Pride. This event was everything!! It was so nice to see ballroom culture come to the forefront as many people do not know about it! It was so entertaining and I cannot wait to come back next year. Then I went to Banshee Irish Pub to see the drag show which was so much fun!! That event always brings a bunch of queer people together so it was a great networking opportunity for Sober One Six. The last event on the promotion train was to Underground Niteclub for Rainbow Moon. The weekly show runners host a show together on the 5th Friday of the month called Blue Moon and this was the Pride edition.
I am already looking forward to next year and starting to plan some future pride events. We are going to gay up Buffalo so watch out!! What else are you looking forward to seeing?!
-Andy
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