"Blow Pony" is a popular

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

event based in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. "Blow Pony Denver" was held in 2015.

Description

"Blow Pony" is a

event organized by nightlife promoter Airick Redwolf, who saw

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

establishments targeting either men or women and wanted to create an event series inclusive to the entire community. Redwolf said of the event's origin and purpose:

Blow Pony was created as a place for people of all walks of life to gather in a respectful place, and to feel safer to express themselves, but also to showcase queer talent and queer artists. It's also a social, a dance, a good time. I moved to Portland from London, and the queer spots there are pretty much what you get with Blow Pony: low tolerance of bullshit and assholism, and a high tolerance of people expressing themselves and being themselves, respectfully. I enjoyed that. People were having fun and enjoying themselves and doing drugs and getting drunk, or not doing drugs or getting drunk—being sexual, enjoying music, whatever they felt that element was to bring them out of their box.

The recurring LGBTQ-based event is among Portland's most popular, drawing 800 people regularly, and sometimes as many as 2,000 people.

History

"Blow Pony" was established c. 2007 and originally held at the "old" Eagle

gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served as ...

on West Burnside Street. The event series was popular from the start, but had to relocate to the gay bar

Casey's Casey's Retail Company (doing business as Casey's) is a chain of convenience stores in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The company is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. As of April 30, 2019, Casey's had 2,146 stor ...

when the Eagle closed. Casey's hosted "Blow Pony" for less than a year due to conflicts with neighboring tenants and attacks on patrons.

Bruce LaBruce Bruce LaBruce (born January 3, 1964) is a Canadian artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and underground director based in Toronto. Life and career LaBruce was born in Tiverton, Ontario. He has claimed both Justin Stewart and Bryan Bruce as ...

was a guest

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

in 2008. From 2009 to 2016, the event was hosted at Euphoria Nightclub, a venue on Southeast 3rd Avenue with two levels: Rotture and Branx. The event hosted its eighth anniversary celebration in March 2015. In June 2016, Euphoria changed ownership, and the new owner and his promotion company opted to target a single demographic and play only electronic dance music. The venue stopped hosting "Blow Pony" and its counterpart event " Bearracuda" immediately, despite event organizers having contractual agreements through November. "Blow Pony" started being held at

Bossanova Ballroom Bossanova Ballroom is an event space and former theater located at 722 East Burnside Street in Portland, Oregon's Buckman neighborhood, in the United States. It features a dance floor, two stages and bars, and a game room. The venue has hosted c ...

, which also hosts the lesbian dance party "Inferno", on July 16, 2016.

Reception

The event, along with "Bearracuda" which is billed as "the largest bear party in the world", have been called mainstays of Portland's queer community.

References

External links

* * {{LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon 2007 establishments in Oregon Events in Portland, Oregon LGBT culture in Portland, Oregon LGBT events in Oregon Queer culture Recurring events established in 2007