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Billed as "The Hottest Winter in the
World," the world-renowned six-day
festival known as
Winter Party Festival is a beach
bonanza of beach and pool parties, art
and cultural events, and 11 dance
parties, culminating in Sunday's Beach
Party attended by over 5,000
participants from around the world.
Founded in 1994 to fight an antigay
ballot initiative, Miami Beach's
Winter Party Festival celebrated its
20th anniversary with a seven-hour beach
party at Miami Beach's Lummus Park on
12th Street and Ocean Drive. During its
20-year history, the festival has raised
more than $2.5 million for South Florida
LGBT organizations.
This year's 20th anniversary celebration
featured a police car wrapped in rainbow
flags, masked go-go boys garbed in
Task Force purple and pink, balloon
bouquets, purple and pink banners, pink
and mauve glow sticks, a cannon burst of
pink and purple streamers, and a massive
chandelier over the pink and purple
dance floor.
Svet the Violinist performed before the
cheering crowd as DJs Brett Henrichsen
and Joe Gauthreaux threw down a
get-happy set of celebratory music that
kept the happy crowd dancing in a state
of delirious abandon beneath a perfectly
blue sky.
No one could have asked for a more
beautiful 20th anniversary.
National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force Executive Director Rea
Carey said, "We believe in fighting for
equality, just as the four men who
founded
Winter Party in 1994 did."
Since 1973, the
Task Force has been a leader in
helping to advance legislation to enable
equality for LGBT people and their
families. Now celebrating its 40th
anniversary, the
Task Force played a pivotal role in
the passage of marriage equality in
Maine, Maryland, and Washington in the
2012 election.
The
Task Force's eight-year involvement
with
Winter Party Festival has generated
proceeds of nearly $1.4 million, which
have been distributed to more than two
dozen organizations serving LGBT people
in South Florida.
More than 500 volunteers help produce
the spectacular weeklong celebration.
Celebrity guests throughout the festival
included Jessica Clark, star of
television's "True Blood," as well as
"Good Morning America" weather anchor
Sam Champion and husband Rubem Robierb.
Sponsors included Showtime, Grey Goose,
Coca-Cola, and 42 Below Vodka.
As Carey attested, "We celebrate and
simultaneously raise funds to help us
achieve equality.
Winter Party Festival] is our party
with a purpose."
Conveying the altruistic spirit of the
festival,
Winter Party founder Ignacio
Martinez-Ybor said, "I like to think
that we were not just the founders of
Winter Party; we were the first four
volunteers."
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