The National LGBTQ Task Force has announced that the 2021 Winter Party Festival, the organization’s largest annual fundraising event, will be held virtually from March 4 through March 6. Funds raised from the Festival will support the Task Force’s “All of Me, All the Time” campaign to secure nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.
“While I wish we could all be together enjoying the Miami Beach sun, I’m thrilled that the spirit of Winter Party will be alive and thriving virtually this March,” says Rene Wolfensberger, Senior Festival Chair. “Our theme, ‘The Power of Us’, is so appropriate for 2021. When we come together as a community, it increases our ability to make a difference, and I know this year’s Festival will help propel the Task Force’s efforts to get the Equality Act passed.”
Winter Party will be hosted by Tina Burner, a New York-based drag performer and comedian currently appearing on the 13th season of the hit VH1 series RuPaul’s Drag Race. The Festival will also feature a special appearance by Melbourne-based dance-pop diva Zoe Badwi debuting her new song “We Are,” a collaboration with DJ Dan Slater, who opens this year’s Main Event.
Burner will emcee the opening event, the Winter Party Welcome Reception, beginning at 8pm. The reception will highlight the Task Force’s new Executive Director, Kierra Johnson, who assumed the role on February 1, and will share her vision for the organization as it approaches its 50th anniversary. The event will also feature South Florida organizations that received funding from the Task Force’s donation of $207,000 to The Miami Foundation last year; and members of the volunteer Festival committee. Burner will also perform.
“Our laws far too often protect only part of who we are and not all of who we are in the world,” says Kierra Johnson, executive director of the Task Force. “That’s why passing the Equality Act is so important. Diverse LGBTQ people need and deserve full civil rights protections nationwide, enshrined permanently in federal law. The funds we raise at Winter Party will help us in our public education efforts to make the country a more equitable and fair place for all of us.
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- Tina Burner
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- DJ Deanne
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- DJ Calagna
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- DJ Abel
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- Joe Gauthreaux
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- Dani Brasil
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- Alex Acosta
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- Rick Braile
On Friday, March 5, Winter Party Twitch Takeover will feature the musical stylings of DJs Deanne, Calagna and Abel, who will all go live on their Twitch channel for a night of varying styles of music. The event begins at 7pm.
The Festival culminates with the Winter Party Main Event on Saturday, March 6 – a 5-hour dance party including sets by longtime Winter Party Festival partners URGE, Masterbeat and Brazil’s Hell & Heaven. The all-star DJ line-up features Dan Slater, Joe Gauthreaux, Dani Brasil, Alex Acosta and Rick Braile. The event begins at 7 pm.
“We are very fortunate to partner with brands that not only produce phenomenal events, but also support the vital work for the Task Force,” says Festival Chair Sergio Orlando. “When we asked if they’d contribute a set to our main event, URGE, Masterbeat and Hell & Heaven didn’t hesitate to sign up. And one of the positive things about this year’s virtual edition is that people all over the world will be able to experience the magic.”
Throughout the three-day festival, Burner and others will ask guests to donate to the Task Force’s “All of Me, All the Time” campaign, aimed at persuading people to contact their U.S. Senators and Representatives to pass the Equality Act.
For more information or to donate to Winter Party Festival, visit Winterparty.com.
