White Party
Encyclopedia
The White Party is the name of a number of circuit parties
held annually, catering to the LGBT
communities. Its name comes from the requirement that party-goers dress in all or almost all white
. White Parties have taken place in New York City
, Fayetteville, Arkansas
, Miami
and Fort Lauderdale, Florida
; Palm Springs, California
; Los Feliz, California; and Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
, although the events are independent of each other.
"White party" may also refer to any party where the attendees dress all in white. Some of the most famous "white parties" are those thrown by Sean Combs
, which are not associated with The White Party or LGBT.
/AIDS
research. The all-white clothing theme was chosen by co-founder Frank Wager because, as he said, "White stands for purity. White is elegant, non-political, non-combative and makes people look just plain beautiful." The Miami party began as a small fundraising event for the Health Crisis Network in 1985, bringing in a total of $16,000. In 1995, more events joined the White Party, including "The Victory Party" and "Muscle Beach". In 1998, the Health Crisis Network merged with Community Research Initiative, and the White Party brought in over $2 million for their efforts. It is now the largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser in the world. With DJs and artists attending from all over the world, the music has come to be renowned and a central part of the party. White Party CDs
have been produced since 1996.
Today Care Resource (Community AIDS Resource) governs the party. It operates with over 100 employees in both Dade and Broward County providing medical, counseling, testing, psychosocial, a food bank and more to their clients. White Party Week Miami attracts thousands of participants with a week of events, including the signature White Party at Vizcaya, Muscle Beach Party, and exclusive Women's events. White Party Week Miami has been featured in W
, Vanity Fair
, Glamour
magazine, The New York Times
, and has been the subject of documentaries on Bravo, The Travel Channel, the BBC
, Playboy Channel, and others. It is the setting for the 2001
documentary film
When Boys Fly
.
has been a sponsor of the Fort Lauderdale party in the past and has featured their photos of the 2009 event on photo sharing networks and locally famous DJ's such as Herbie James have performed at the party.
also hosts an annual White Party. It was the partial setting for the 2001
feature film Circuit
. The Palm Springs White Party was also featured in a 2004 episode of the television series The L Word
and in a 2006 episode of the reality television
series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
. The Palm Springs White Party was described by Frommer's
Travel Guide as "one of the biggest and best on the US party circuit ... [with] over 20,000 gay men dressed in white.The Palm Springs White Party Sunday Tea Dance features a Ferris Wheel and a fireworks display. " In 2004, the New York Times travel section featured an in-depth look at The White Party in Palm Springs in conjunction with staff members of Noizemag
.
Jefferey Sanker is the promoter for these events.
) catering to both straight and gay ravers is held. It usually attracts over 16,000 attendees and prominent international DJs such as Armin Van Buuren, Above and Beyond
, Offer Nissim
, Peter Rauhofer
, Deep Dish
, Tiësto
, David Guetta
, and many others.
in Pattaya
, Thailand
on November 15, 2009 as part of their Pride event. The party required all the staff in the gay bars to dress in white and will offer discounts to customers who also dress in white. The event featured street performers and many special events happening in the Plaza.
Circuit party
A circuit party is a large dance event, extending through a night and into the following day, almost always with a number of affiliated events in the days leading up to and following the main event...
held annually, catering to the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
communities. Its name comes from the requirement that party-goers dress in all or almost all white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
. White Parties have taken place in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
, Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
and Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
; Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
; Los Feliz, California; and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, although the events are independent of each other.
"White party" may also refer to any party where the attendees dress all in white. Some of the most famous "white parties" are those thrown by Sean Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
, which are not associated with The White Party or LGBT.
Miami
The Miami White Party is an annual fundraiser party for HIVHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
research. The all-white clothing theme was chosen by co-founder Frank Wager because, as he said, "White stands for purity. White is elegant, non-political, non-combative and makes people look just plain beautiful." The Miami party began as a small fundraising event for the Health Crisis Network in 1985, bringing in a total of $16,000. In 1995, more events joined the White Party, including "The Victory Party" and "Muscle Beach". In 1998, the Health Crisis Network merged with Community Research Initiative, and the White Party brought in over $2 million for their efforts. It is now the largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser in the world. With DJs and artists attending from all over the world, the music has come to be renowned and a central part of the party. White Party CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
have been produced since 1996.
Today Care Resource (Community AIDS Resource) governs the party. It operates with over 100 employees in both Dade and Broward County providing medical, counseling, testing, psychosocial, a food bank and more to their clients. White Party Week Miami attracts thousands of participants with a week of events, including the signature White Party at Vizcaya, Muscle Beach Party, and exclusive Women's events. White Party Week Miami has been featured in W
W (magazine)
W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1971 by the publisher of sister magazine Woman's Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and...
, Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
magazine, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and has been the subject of documentaries on Bravo, The Travel Channel, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Playboy Channel, and others. It is the setting for the 2001
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
When Boys Fly
When Boys Fly
When Boys Fly is a 2002 documentary film that explores the world of gay circuit parties.When Boys Fly played a number of gay and lesbian film festivals before being released on Region 1 DVD on November 26, 2002.-Synopsis:...
.
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale also has its own White Party. It is, however, held inconsistently and is not as big as the Miami party. Manhunt.netManhunt.net
MANHUNT.net is a social networking website operated by Online Buddies, Inc., that facilitates same-sex introductions. It is owned by its founders, Jonathan Crutchley and Larry Basile. The site has over 4 million profiles worldwide, over 1 million of which are in the United States...
has been a sponsor of the Fort Lauderdale party in the past and has featured their photos of the 2009 event on photo sharing networks and locally famous DJ's such as Herbie James have performed at the party.
Palm Springs
Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
also hosts an annual White Party. It was the partial setting for the 2001
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
feature film Circuit
Circuit (film)
Circuit is a 2001 gay-themed independent film set in the world of gay circuit parties. Written by Dirk Shafer and Gregory Hinton and directed by Shafer, Circuit follows the lives of several people involved in the circuit party scene. Shot on digital video over a period of six months, Shafer was...
. The Palm Springs White Party was also featured in a 2004 episode of the television series The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
and in a 2006 episode of the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency is a reality television series that debuted on Oxygen on June 6, 2006. The show has completed four seasons...
. The Palm Springs White Party was described by Frommer's
Frommer's
Frommer's is a travel guidebook series and one of the bestselling travel guides in America. The series began in 1957 with the publication of Arthur Frommer's book, Europe on $5 a Day. Frommer's has expanded to include over 350 guidebooks across 14 series, as well as other media including the award...
Travel Guide as "one of the biggest and best on the US party circuit ... [with] over 20,000 gay men dressed in white.The Palm Springs White Party Sunday Tea Dance features a Ferris Wheel and a fireworks display. " In 2004, the New York Times travel section featured an in-depth look at The White Party in Palm Springs in conjunction with staff members of Noizemag
Noizemag
NoiZe Magazine is a published guide to Circuit parties, gay dance events, and festivals. For 12 of its 17 years, it was known under its original name Circuit Noize....
.
Jefferey Sanker is the promoter for these events.
New York
The New York City White Party was first held at the legendary private gay disco "Flamingo" on Broadway and Houston, on Presidents' Day weekend. The white theme derived from the snow often to be found that time of year. It was then adopted by the East Village disco "The Saint" during the month of February of each year usually coinciding with the full moon. Dress requirement was always white. After the closing of "The Saint" in 1988, The White Party became the norm for other cities around the country in the current circuit party system to host such events.Montreal
Every Easter Sunday in Montreal, a white party (Bal en BlancBal en Blanc
Bal en Blanc is a huge rave party that is hosted annually, in April during Easter holiday weekend, in Montreal, Canada. It was first held in 1995, and the first addition had 800 attendees. It features headliner DJs from all over the world and attracts over 15,000 attendees. This event usually has...
) catering to both straight and gay ravers is held. It usually attracts over 16,000 attendees and prominent international DJs such as Armin Van Buuren, Above and Beyond
Above & Beyond (band)
Above & Beyond are a British trance music group formed in 2000 and consists of the members Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness, and Finnish Paavo Siljamäki. They have their own record label Anjunabeats, which releases trance and progressive music, and they also host their own weekly radio show Trance...
, Offer Nissim
Offer Nissim
Offer Nissim is a popular Israeli DJ and producer. He was born in 1964 in Tel Aviv, Israel.Nissim produces house music in mostly tribal, hard and progressive styles, including exclusive tracks featuring female vocalists and Meital De Razon...
, Peter Rauhofer
Peter Rauhofer
Peter Rauhofer is a DJ, remixer and producer who formerly went under the moniker Club 69 as well as Size Queen. A native of Vienna, Austria, he is famous for his remixes of a number of Madonna's songs including "Nothing Really Matters", "American Life", "Nothing Fails, "Nobody Knows Me", "Get...
, Deep Dish
Deep Dish
Deep Dish is a duo of DJs and house-music producers consisting of Iranian-American members Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi. Based in Washington, D.C., Shirazinia and Tayebi are well known for providing house or dance remixes of tracks of famous stars such as Madonna, Cher and Gabrielle,...
, Tiësto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
, David Guetta
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta , known professionally as David Guetta , is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster and Pop Life...
, and many others.
Pattaya
A white party was held for Sunee PlazaSunee Plaza
Sunee Plaza is an area in Pattaya known for gay nightlife. It is located just off Soi V.C., which itself comes off Second Road in the south of Pattaya...
in Pattaya
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
on November 15, 2009 as part of their Pride event. The party required all the staff in the gay bars to dress in white and will offer discounts to customers who also dress in white. The event featured street performers and many special events happening in the Plaza.