More Fun Gay Events in Tucson and Southern Arizona

Turnabout

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Turnabout!

Turnabout for TIHAN is always a blast! Tucson’s LGBTQ, gay-friendly businesses, and non-profits all come together and put on a show for the community to help those in need living with HIV and Aids. Tempest Dujour and Janee Starr usually host the event and will have you laughing til your socks come off.

If you would like to contribute, you can be a sponsor for the Turnabout event. We try and sponsor a table ever year!

Remember, even if you miss this event, TIHAN always accepts donations throughout the year. These donations help to continue providing services in support of those living with HIV and AIDS. Also, not all donations to TIHAN need to be in the form of money. Donations of time, expertise, or materials will work just as fine.

Have a great day!
Tony Ray

Treasures For TIHAN – Live And Silent Auction

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Combining delicious cocktails and food, great music, and wonderfully unique auction items, Treasures for TIHAN is the perfect date-night event for the Tucson community.

Tucson Gay Pride 2018: What Vendors and Sponsors Need To Know

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It is the most exciting part of the year! We get to plan our involvement in the most cherished of Gay Events in Tucson, Gay Pride 2018! Vendors and Sponsors, especially, need to plan ahead to get the best locations and most favorable rates. Registration packets will be available as soon as April 16th to help clear up any lingering questions. In the meantime, however, vendors and sponsors can use this page to learn what they need to know about 2018 Tucson Pride!

Gay Pride 2018 for Vendors and Sponsors

Advertising at Tucson Pride is one of the most rewarding ad-spends we do every year.I have promos we created for Tucson Pride dating back over a decade. In fact, I still have the first sticker we ever produced, and I have photos of me handing them out! Check the bottom of the Tucson Gay Pride page for an anthology of past Tucson Prides! This year has proceeded a bit differently, but I have myself received a sponsorship request, so I know the sign-up process has begun. If you are interested in sponsoring or being a vendor, look for these dates:
  • April 16 – Vendor Registration Packets will be Available
  • Shortly Thereafter – Sponsorship Packets will be made Available
  • Advertisers – The time is now to begin designing your content and preparing for the event!

Gay Pride 2018 for Advertisers

The most important point I can make to other advertisers is to be fun and playful. The entire event is a blast and people will only connect with your advertising if it communicates the same spirit. I would also recommend creating content that people can really use. Put your message on hats or shirts or stickers or pens, something people can hold in their hands and incorporate into their lives. Finally, understand the theme and how your message can fit into it. The 2018 Tucson Pride theme, “New Beginnings” offers a ton of messaging options. Keep your adverts new and fresh to take advantage of the incredible size of the Tucson Pride community. Keep monitoring GayTucson for the latest info on Gay Pride 2018 as soon as we get it! Have a great day, Tony Ray 🙂    

Gay Pride Celebrations

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Tucson is lucky enough to have two Gay Pride celebrations annually visit our fabulous community. The first Gay Pride occurs in June, which coincides with the Stonewall Rebellion and subsequent public demonstrations. The second Pride comes a bit later in the year. That time is finally upon us! Join us as we celebrate with two iconic events: Tucson Pride Parade and Pride in the Desert.

Pride Parade 2019

Gay Pride Celebrations
Tucson Pride Parade 2019

The Tucson Pride Parade has a long, rich history in our community. This year will watch the procession proceed from Broadway / Craycroft and head towards Reid Park, where we will meet up with the festival.

I am so happy Tucson Pride decided to hold the Pride Parade immediately before the festival. The parade used to be organized on the night before, while allowed for some fantastic after-parties, it meant the two events were disunited from each other with little overlap. By having one naturally lead into the other, the Pride Parade and the festival will have increased synergy and provide an even better representation of our amazing community!

For even more information about our gay pride celebrations; Tucson Pride Parade 2019, check out the GayTucson Calendar!

Gay Pride celebrations: Pride in the Desert 2019

Gay Pride Celebrations
Tucson Pride in the Desert 2019

Pride in the Desert (or Park) has always been the flagship event of Tucson Pride weekend. Featuring hilarious hosts, marvelous musical performances and fantastic shows, Pride in the Desert truly has something for everyone. There are adorable shops with Pride souvenirs and phenomenal fashion vendors to get you looking your best. It is a wonderfully welcoming, safe space for everyone to be themselves and have a blast!

Find out everything else you could ever need to know about Tucson Pride in the Desert 2019 at the GayTucson Calendar!

SAAF Jello Wrestling

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SAAF Jello Wrestling has grown to become one of Tucson’s most anticipated yearly events!  From the glamorous costumes to the hilarious personas, you’re going to love the pageantry and air of theatre that pervades the entire event. However, once the competitors are in the green ooze, then you truly see the captivating spectacle for what it is.  It’s friends and lovers, in the spirit of teamwork and competition, locked in intense combat.  It’s that raw, animalistic spirit that animates the entire event and makes SAAF’s Jello Wrestling such a wonderful thing to do in Tucson!

How Jello Wrestling Came to Tucson

This is the tale of Reno Gannon. In 1987, while tending bar at a local watering hole entitled “Rumor Hazzitt”, he went on vacation to Mexico and came back with a fantastic fundraising event. Wrestling in vats of Jell-O! Together with the owner of Rumor Hazzitt, they pulled together the first such event!  It was a fundraiser for Shanti, an early AIDS Service Organization that merged with other local agencies to form Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation. The tale of Reno has a tragic end, however, as this wonderful, loving man was cut down at the precocious age of 23 by the scourge of AIDS.  To this day, the Jello Wrestling event remains a memorial to his legacy.

What Happens at SAAF Jello Wrestling?

SAAF Jello Wrestling is a team sport.  Each team of wrestlers raises funds to wrestle during a pit of Jell-O, typically with extraordinary costumes and characters. Between wrestling matches, the Drag Diva Hostesses will run a live auction that includes a wide range of fantastic items to titillate the crowd. Funds raised through Jell-O Wrestling assist SAAF with their awesome mission of cultivating a healthy & stigma-free society through transformative action.

How Can I Help?

Wrestling in the SAAF Jello Wrestling event is an awesome way to support the programs and services of the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF). All wrestlers should raise a minimum of $500 in sponsorships. With the addition of online giving through the SAAF website, raising sponsorships can be done with an email!  Find Out More Here:
Wrestle/Sponsor a Wrestler
Not the wrestling type?  Don’t worry, there are tons of volunteer opportunities at SAAF Jello Wrestling! Visit this page to choose what you’d like to do and when!
Volunteer
Have a great day, Tony Ray 🙂

IBT’S BLACK(out) WEDNESDAY THANKSGIVING EVE

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The 6th Annual…

IBTS Thanksgiving Eve BLACK(out) Party

Is BACK for the biggest bar night of the year! Yes, we know that might sound strange given that New Year’s Eve is right around the corner but trust us on this, you’re going to want to attend an IBTs Thanksgiving. Get your glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark body paint ready because it’s about to be a black light fiesta. This isn’t your typical Thanksgiving party, it’s an IBT’s Thanksgiving sure to be filled with fabulousness. Expect dancing in the dark, drag shows, gorgeous go-go boys, and lots of whiskeys! Glow from 9 pm to 2 is in the moonlight and blacklight. The party is going to start on the patio at 9, full DJ inside starting at 11. Drag performances by Viva La Diva at 9 pm with special guests – Piper M’Shay, Luna Love St. James, and Miley Mitchells. Not enough? Let’s throw in a night of gyrating gents as Gogo boys tickle your fancy from 9-11. Still not enough? Drink specials, we got them, Whiskey Breath Drink Specials from 12-close! $2 Well $3 You Call It’s / *$4 Top Shelf *Select Whiskey / Bourbon / Scotch You can read the full details about this spectacular party on the post we just wrote and other gay Thanksgiving holiday events on our gay event calendar!

 BLACK(out) Party full post…