I've only recently moved to this city, and had never come to visit, so 2003 will be a year of Chicago firsts for me. Of course, the very first thing I did when I got here was to bury my moving-anxiety with the city's welcoming nightlife and Chicago-style pizza—there's nothing like ordering a deep-dish pie after a night of all-embracing, binge drinking.
Aside from a little heartburn and a few unsavory come-ons, the pizza and bars have been good to me, but recently I've been hearing buzz of another alluring attraction: The Fireball. 'What is this Fireball,' I began to wonder, 'and should I be insured for it?' I asked a friend, a long-time resident of the city and an avid partier, if he'd ever been to The Fireball and his face brightened as he replied, 'I've never danced so hard in my life! If this year is anything like last year, I can skip my workout that weekend.' According to Allen Lungo, president of The Hearts Foundation, the Illinois not-for-profit charity organization responsible for The Fireball events, this year will go above and beyond the festivities of the previous two years.
The Fireball Weekend revolves around one big party: the main event, held on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. It will be located in the Aragon Ballroom, 106 W. Lawrence Ave., and promises to be spectacular. If you plan on attending, be prepared because, as Gloria Estefan once predicted, 'the rhythm is gonna get ya,' and it most likely will with music-powers like DJ Abel and DJ Ralphi Rosario spinning into Sunday morning. The night offers music by ROSABEL, whose first release CD is available to order online at www.thefireball.com, and performances by Rainbow Warriors, Sauci Bernaise, Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps, Chix Mix Black Bra Dancers, and Divas from the Baton. With a spread like this, The Fireball's main event could very well be the next Woodstock—well, without the hippies, the mud, the grueling sun, the Vietnam War—OK so maybe it's a bad comparison, but it should be wicked fun just the same.
Of course, there's always a party before the party, and Saturday afternoon's Gluck-Puck Circuit Classics Dance Brunch is scheduled to be just that. This tea party/brunch will be located at Sound-Bar, from noon to 5 p.m. Sound-Bar will have one level bumping with the work of DJ Warren Gluck and another level enjoying the culinary arts of Wolfgang Puck—and now we all have a better understanding of the strange word 'Gluck-Puck' used in the event's title.
Like two queer bookends, Friday and Sunday provide entertainment of their own.
Friday, Feb. 7, kicks off the weekend with a welcome party, appropriately titled Forged in the Flame, that's got me giddy with glee. From 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the Finkl Steel plant, 2058 N. Southport, opens its doors to DJ/Producer Manny Lehman and heaps of partiers ready to dance amongst an imposing gathering of steel mill trappings: 50-ton cranes, grinding mills, lumps of steel, etc. Circuit Mom Productions has donated a performance of gogo boys and Paolo Pincente is set to host the VIP lounge. When I spoke to Lungo he seemed especially excited about Friday's Forged in the Flame, which only fueled my own once-hidden desire to flail around with reckless abandon in a steel mill. I'm not kidding, just think of the thrill!
If you plan on recovering on Sunday you may want to reconsider; come Sunday at 4 p.m., Excalibur, 632 N. Dearborn, kicks off its 12-hour fest of post Fireball merriment. Join DJ Lydia Prim for the Tea Dance from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and then continue the night with Tracy Young at the Closing Party, which wraps up at 4 a.m. During those final 12 hours of The Fireball Weekend, Excalibur provides plenty of entertainment including: shows, dancing, food, and arcade games. The night also promises performances by Power Infinity, Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps, and Wildfire Entertainment, as well as local DJs Dr. K., Jim Belanger, Tim Cleary, Pete Crow, Greg Drescher, Jim Lewis, Tom McBride and Mark Vallese spinning at various times, on various levels of Excalibur. From what I hear, the party at Excalibur last year was great fun, so make sure you consider extending your weekend bliss by including Sunday in your party itinerary.
If there's one thing I've learned about the GLBT community, it's that, although they know how to throw a great party, they never seem to know how to end one. As proof of this, the Hearts Foundation decided to turn The 2003 Fireball into a weeklong event, known as The Fireball Festival. In the years to come, a festival event will be planned for every day in the week preceding the main event weekend; for now a plentiful array of activities have been arranged.
The Hearts Foundation Gala Reception begins the weeklong festivities on Friday, Jan. 31, 6-9:30 p.m. at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Tickets for this formal night are $150 and may be purchased either at the door or at this Web site: www.heartsfoundation.org . The Gala, co-chaired by Susanna Homan and Dean Richards, will provide entertainment, cocktails, and a buffet prepared by Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events. A silent auction is also scheduled. Also on the roster is a way for the Hearts Foundation to honor and show appreciation for those who have served the community above and beyond: Biggest Heart Honoree U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, two Biggest Corporate Heart awards go to Tanqueray and Renaissance Chicago Hotel, and two Jackson Service Award Honorees Michael Bauer and Roger Simon. With the Golden Globes fresh in our memories, I don't think I'll be the only one keeping a mental tally of the best and worst dressed of The Hearts Foundation Gala Reception. Let's just hope we don't have any Lara Flynn Boyle types among us.
On Monday, Feb. 3, Andersonville provides its own simple, yet very effective, way of entertaining the masses: shopping and eating. 'Shop and Eat Your Hears Out!' is the official name, yet it's a little redundant because if you're in Andersonville you're most likely shopping or eating or both, right? Walk down the street and enjoy the different shopping and dining experiences in a relaxed, safe environment. If you're one of those people who needs to justify every purchase, if you're feeling generous, or if you just want to buy something and eat, I suggest spending your money at His Stuff (from 6-9) or Charlie's Ale House where 10 percent of sales will be donated to the Hearts Foundation.
Aside from the Forged in the Flame dance party, Friday the 7th is also home to four community, and charity, awareness opportunities, all held on the Grand Ballroom Level at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel, One West Wacker. The 2003 Party Health Summit is being held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The summit's Keynote Speaker will be Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. The NAMES Project Memorial Quilt Display will have its formal opening ceremony at 9:45 p.m. but will be open for perusal at these hours: Friday 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sharing those same hours is the Chicago GLBT community Showcase, which advertises to provide 'displays of leading community organizations and projects.' Gentry provides cabaret entertainment for the Fireball Festival Welcome and Cocktail Reception, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. All four events have free admission but donations are encouraged. It doesn't get any easier than being able to visit all four events in one location, and it's an added bonus that it's in a place awarded with one of the Biggest Corporate Heart awards.
Those with an interest in dance music may wish to attend the DJ Roundtable—Electric Dreams Foundation discussion on Saturday the 8th, from 11 a.m. to noon, at Sound-Bar. The Hearts Foundation explains that it's an opportunity to discuss music and meet those spinning during the party weekend.
I've saved this event for last because, quite frankly, I think many of us could survive without dancing, music, and mingling but I don't know too many people (those allergic aside) who could survive without chocolate. Naked Chocolate III, 'an elegant evening of chocolate tasting,' goes from 7-10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, at Riverside Receptions. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. It has been my experience that at any kind of tasting you tend to eat or drink much more than you pay in admission fees, so go ahead and be a rebel—eat chocolate until your stomach weeps with elation!
Looking over the schedule of events, I don't think it's too soon to say that I picked a stellar time to move to this city. The stars must be in line for me; I see dancing, drinking, dressing up, going out, eating, shopping, and chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate, in my near future. Plus, with a horoscope like mine, who wouldn't be excited, 'Fiery Mars moves into Sagittarius and the sector of your solar chart governing social ambitions, and sticks around for approximately six weeks. If you intend to make a splash this would be your official window of opportunity.' I have a feeling there will be a rowdy bunch of Pisces making splashes at this year's Fireball. I think I will. After all, fiery Mars wouldn't steer me wrong—would it?
The Hearts Foundation's mission is to give funds to GLBT and AIDS non-profits. In 2002, 10 grant recipients received a total of $130,000. The Foundation's 2003 'gold' beneficiaries will be: AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Chicago House, Horizons, Howard Brown Health Center, Open Hand Chicago, and Test Positive Aware. The 'silver': About Face Theatre, AIDS Foundation, Chicago Dept. of Public Health's Faces of AIDS Project, Lesbian Community Cancer Project, and the South Side Help Center. The 'bronze' beneficiaries: Centro Comunitario Juan Diego, Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, the NAMES Project, Open Door Clinic, and TransGENESIS.
See www.heartsfoundation.org or www.thefireball.com, (773) 244-6000.
