*/
Celebrate Bisexuality Day* was celebrated to the max at my place this year. I had a CBD party complete with food, wine, music, bisexual films, and the place was packed with bi people of every stripe. Twenty people from BiRequest, Bi Women of All Colors, Bi Writers Assoc., Bi The Shore, the Bisexual, Pansexual & Queer Meetup Group and SiSTAH! converged on my apartment and filled it up with fun. One third of attendees had never been to a bi event before.
Renting space at the LGBT Center for several hours is just too expensive, so I got the crazy idea to have a CBD party at my apartment. Even though it's 160 blocks north of the LGBT Center and its surrounding gayborhood. But how to lure people up here?
I found out that a friend** had made a short bisexual film and she agreed to let me show it at the party. So then I started combing through film festival websites and asking filmmakers for recommendations, until I eventually wound up with an hour program of five short films. All the films made their New York premieres at my party!
The film program was:
"Do you have a cat?" 11mins. A comedic bisexual short about looking for love with a severe cat allergy. From the fabulous Nicole Kristal, co-author of The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe.
"Fluid" 17mins. Hilariously breaking the tea/coffee binary. Director: Dara Sklar
Plus three films from Mudgeonsoul Productions:
"The Fox in the Snow" 10mins. In this short romantic comedy, a women's bible study meeting takes an unexpected turn when the members' true motives are revealed.
"Allison, My Love" 2mins. Who do you think about? When an intimate moment is interrupted, three passionate people are affected by a simple slip of the tongue…
"Tuesday Night Make-Out" 14mins. The film follows Vi and Catherine as they hurry through an afternoon of odd encounters and public transportation, hoping for an evening home together.
"Do you have a cat?," "Fluid" and "Allison My Love" were the crowd favorites.
My homemade guacamole went so fast that I didn't even get a taste. And besides all my food and drinks, the party guests came through with additional food and wine. They also spontaneously helped with setting up, cooking and cleanup. Thanks guys!
I also had a whole basket of books to give away as party favors, just from cleaning out my bookshelves, which are overflowing.
For decorations I found party items in the pastel bisexual palette: hot pink plastic forks and pink and turquoise polka dot napkins I got at Target. I framed some postcards of bicons Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker and Bessie Smith with matching gold frames I picked up at a garage sale for $1.50. I draped my file cabinet with a giant bi pride flag (that I had in my bi events drawer) and I already had a med size bi flag and a small rainbow flag up in my living room...doesn't everyone? I had recently dug out my double Frida clock from under a pile of books--it doesnt work but I hung it on the wall like a work of art (which it is--I bought it from the Museo Del Barrio gift shop years ago (sorry my camera's broken--I'll add photos when I get a new one.) I sprinkled the living room with gayfetti (multicolored paper strips with LGBT words, phrases and symbols printed on them that I had picked up at a GLBT Expo.) My kitchen cabinets are always decorated with bi and queer refrigerator magnets which I've collected over the years. And I displayed my collection of bi and bi-inclusive buttons on a table.
I should probably have made cupcakes iced in bisexual colors, as I suggested in my article, 10 ways to enjoy Celebrate Bisexuality Day, but I didn't think of it and made delicious brownies instead. However, I did wear a dress in the pastel bisexual color palette--see slideshow. (I found the fabric online and had it made for me--just because they are my favorite colors. Coincidence?...)
People danced, chatted, flirted and munched to CDs by the B52s, The Donnas, Lady Gaga and Spin Doctors.
So Celebrate Bisexuality Day was properly, and fully celebrated at my house this year and thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed themselves!
*Celebrate Bisexuality Day is officially Sept 23, which fell on a Sunday, so we had our party on Sat. night, which was Sept. 22.
**My fellow Bisexuality Examiner, Mike Szymanski, wrote an article about the short film, "Do you have a cat?," by Nicole Kristal, which is how I found out about it. They were writing partners on the award-winning book, The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe.
All photos by Efrain Gonzalez
Comments