Chi Chi Valenti is an American journalist, nightlife producer, and performance artist.

Career

Writing for ''Details'' and ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', Valenti became one of the first journalists to chronicle 1980s

Ball culture The Ballroom scene (also known as the Ballroom community, Ballroom culture, or just Ballroom) is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture. The scene traces its origins to the drag balls of the mid-19th century United State ...

in the Bronx. In 1991, Valenti and her husband Johnny Dynell created "Night of 1000 Stevies," an annual

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...

tribute which has continued for more than thirty years and featured performances by

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

, Justin Bond,

Sherry Vine Keith Levy, known professionally as Sherry Vine, is an American actor, drag queen, and musician. Vine is the creator and host of ''She's Living for This'', a variety series on Here TV. Vine works primarily in New York City and on Fire Island, Lo ...

Taylor Mac Taylor Mac Bowyer (born August 24, 1973) is an American actor, playwright, performance artist, director, producer, and singer-songwriter active mainly in New York City. In 2017, Mac was the recipient of a "Genius Grant" from the John D. and Cath ...

, and

Basil Twist Basil Twist is a New York City-based puppeteer who is known for his underwater puppet show, "''Symphonie Fantastique''". He was named a MacArthur Fellowship recipient on September 29, 2015. Personal Life and work Originally from San Francisco, B ...

. From 1996 to 2000, Valenti co-owned Mother, a nightclub which hosted parties such as Jackie 60 and Click + Drag, and would later be the subject of the 2011 Blondie song, "Mother". Since 2002, Valenti has produced the

Howl Festival The Howl Festival (sometimes styled Howl! Festival or HOWL! Festival) was an event that took place in Manhattan's Tompkins Square Park. It was founded in 2003 and held each spring through 2013 as a celebration of the arts history of the East Villa ...

, named after the

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

poem and performed annually in

Tompkins Square Park Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and o ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valenti, Chi Chi Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Performance art in New York City Artists from New York City 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women American women writers The Village Voice people