“Now this is the winter outfit I’ve been waiting to wear all season,” said my new friend Richard as he strutted onto the pool deck of Miami Beach’s Surfcomber Hotel. He wore short shorts and a naked torso, accessorized by a pearly white smile. “I have friends who go skiing every year, and I say ‘No thank you!’ My way of celebrating winter is to get as far away from it as I possibly can.” And so every year, he and a group of friends from Chicago trade their winter coats for… well, as little as possible.
With an average temperature of 76°, Miami has been officially inviting the gay community and its friends to celebrate winter under the hot Florida sun for nineteen years. Yet from its inception, the goals of the aptly named Winter Party have extended beyond a good time. In 1993, the grass roots coalition SAVE (the predecessor to SAVE Dade) was formed to fight an amendment designed to eliminate LGBT discrimination protection from the Florida constitution. As part of those fundraising efforts, the organization hosted the first Winter Party on South Beach. Along with the collaboration of Lambda Legal Defense, the funds raised during the event helped to strike the anti-LGBT initiative from the ballot. And so the perennial party was born.
Since the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force took over production of the event in 2004, it has donated $1.2 million to South Florida LGBT charities while growing the party to a six-day festival. “Every event pass, every raffle ticket and every drink purchased throughout the week benefits our community on both the local and national level,” says the Task Force’s Russell Roybal. “It’s not just the world’s best LGBT celebration, it’s also a party with a purpose—a very, very important purpose.”
Regardless of whether you are partying with a purpose or your sole purpose is to party, the Winter Party Festival has something for you. This year’s festivities drew 10,000 people from around the world with more than 20 events spanning six days. And yes, aside from helping our community, the crowd was there to have a good time. Nine dance parties included DJs from all over the U.S. and Italy, Spain, Brazil and Canada. Two of the most popular day events were once again the Under One Sun Pool Party at the Surfcomber (where I met short shorts Richard and his friends) and the cornerstone of the festival, the Winter Party Beach Party, held literally on the South Beach sand. For those who have never attended, imagine the sun shining, music blaring, crowd dancing, friends laughing, strangers mingling… all set just steps away from the breaking waves of Miami Beach.
Beyond the booty-shaking and sun-baking, this year’s Winter Party Festival featured a shopping night on Lincoln Road, a jazz brunch, live music events, cultural outings, and cocktail receptions in Miami Beach’s various, historic art deco hotels. As the expectations of the LGBT community have diversified over the years, so has the Winter Party. This year’s festival also included a leather party in Fort Lauderdale and four different events for the ladies who love the ladies.
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the Winter Party and organizers are promising to outdo themselves yet again. So as the seasons change, and temperatures rise and eventually cool again, reserve March 6-11, 2013, for next year’s dose of winter heat. Because as Victor Diaz-Herman, co-chair of Winter Party Festival, says: “When the mercury dips elsewhere… there’s no better place to be than in sunny Miami Beach.”