Winter Party Festival: Helping the LGBTQ Community One Fabulous Party at a Time
The Winter Party Festival produced by the National LGBTQ Task Force is one of the world’s largest and best-loved celebrations for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
The Festival has evolved into a week-long series of events, taking place on Miami Beach and benefiting the LGBTQ community both locally and nationally. Much of the gross proceeds from Winter Party Festival support the Task Force’s efforts to take action, build power and create change for LGBTQ people. A significant amount of the remaining proceeds are also donated to local service organizations through a grant-making process administered by the Miami Foundation.
Founded in 1994, the original Winter Party featured just one event, a huge dance party held on the sands of South Beach. The blend of SoBe, surf and sun, along with fabulous people, music and weather, proved to be an irresistible combination for Winter Party’s success. Soon, thousands of LGBTQ people were pouring in from around the world, making this one of the hottest weekends on the queer calendar of South Florida.
Over the years, Winter Party has grown and evolved to a weeklong celebration with dozens of events, from cocktail parties, to stage shows to health advocacy programs — drawing more than 10,000 attendees to the festival. The roster of international DJ talent and Miami’s unparalleled venues provide the kind of events that could never happen anyplace else in the world,
This year’s festival is already shaping up to be a major success, with passes and tickets selling out at many levels. This year’s theme — With Open Arms — focuses on the organization’s dedication and specific efforts to make WPF a welcoming environment for all. In 2018, a study conducted by the Task
Force and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau articulated that 55 percent of attendees at WPF identify as non-Caucasian. This year, organizers worked to diversify the talent on the DJ roster by including more women, featuring the skills of Sharon O Love (making her US debut), Anne Louise and MORABITO behind the turntables.
“Winter Party Festival has always been friendly and inclusive,” WPF Festival Chair Rene Wolfensberger said in a statement.”
“This year we wanted to turn it up a notch and encourage everyone, volunteers, committee members, staff and guests to welcome each other with open arms. It’s an international gesture of inclusion and ties very well into our vision statement: ‘Bringing the world together to create change while celebrating you.’”
“This year as we bring in a new era for Winter Party Festival, one thing that I am extremely excited about is our all new Nikki Beach Club venue for our Under One Sun: Evolution, presented by Impulse Group,” added Vice Chair Sergio Orlando.
“As the Festival grows larger each year, we strategically chose Nikki Beach Club to expand our guests experience for this iconic and original event. We couldn’t be more thrilled to bring this new venue to our Winter Party Festival line up.”
When the partying and weekend come to a close, the proceeds from WPF not only benefit the Task Force, but also other South Florida based LGBTQ organizations as well. In 2018, the Task Force donated $215,000 to the LGBTQ Community Fund at the Miami Foundation, for a total of nearly $3 million given back since the Task Force began producing Winter Party and the National LGBTQ Task Force Gala – Miami in 2005.
“The LGBTQ movement is as relevant today as it was when we fought back police raids at the Stonewall Inn 50 years ago,” Task Force Director of Communications Sarah Massey explained.
“We still have a lot to do to achieve full liberation and equality for all of us. The Task Force is on the vanguard of this work. We are keeping the Trump administration in check, organizing faith communities to be welcoming, and protecting our hard-earned freedoms while expanding legal protections for all.”
Weekend Passes have already sold out, but a limited number of VIP and Festival passes are still available. Discounted individual event tickets are also on sale now. Mix-and-match to create a unique Winter Party experience. Tickets do tend to sell out for many events, so hurry.
Our favorite Winter Party to go to is SWEAT, and it’s a free event! Let’s your inhibitions run wild, featuring DJ Barry Harris! Saturday, March 2nd at Hunters Nightclub in Wilton Manors.
To purchase tickets or to learn more about Winter Party Festival 2019, please visit: www.winterparty.com
