Blow Pony is a popular

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

event based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States. Blow Pony Denver was held in 2015.

Description

Blow Pony is a

event organized by nightlife promoter Airick Redwolf, who saw

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

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 Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...

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 October 1, 2023, Casey's had 2,500 sto ...

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 a ...

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 nightclubs or music fes ...

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 Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

. The venue stopped hosting Blow Pony and its counterpart event

Bearracuda Bearracuda is a series of dance parties catering to the bear community. According to ''The Advocate'', Bearracuda "is the largest attended bear dance party and most prolific gay dance event in the U.S.", with events in 40 cities globally. The serie ...

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 has featured a dance floor, two stages and bars, and a game room. The venue has host ...

, which also hosts the lesbian dance party Inferno, on July 16, 2016. Blow Pony has also been held at the southeast Portland venue The Den.

Reception

Blow Pony and Bearracuda, which is billed as "the largest bear party in the world", have been called mainstays of Portland's queer community.

References

External links

* * {{LGBTQ culture in Portland, Oregon 2007 establishments in Oregon Organized events in Portland, Oregon LGBTQ culture in Portland, Oregon LGBTQ events in Oregon Queer culture Recurring events established in 2007