MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Winter Party Festival produced by the National LGBTQ Task Force is one of the world’s largest and best-loved celebrations for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities. The Festival has evolved into a week-long series of events, taking place on Miami Beach and benefiting the LGBTQ community, both locally and nationally.
Founded in 1994, the Winter Party Festival evolved to a massive music celebration with dozens of events, from cocktail parties, to stage shows, to health advocacy programs — drawing more than 10,000 attendees. The roster of international DJ talent and Miami's unparalleled venues provide events that could never happen anyplace else in the world.
This year’s Festival is expected to be another major success, with select passes and tickets selling out. Highlights include appearances by RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season one winner Chad Michaels at the Welcome Center Grand Opening on Wednesday, February 27, as well as actor and musician Jai Rodriguez (best known as the culture guide on the Emmy-winning reality show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), to host the VIP Cocktail Reception on Friday, March 1.
This year’s theme — With Open Arms — focuses on the organization’s dedication to making the Festival a welcoming environment for all. "Winter Party Festival has always been friendly and inclusive,” WPF Festival Chair Rene Wolfensberger said in a statement. “This year we wanted to turn it up a notch and encourage everyone, volunteers, committee members, staff, and guests to welcome each other with open arms. It's an international gesture of inclusion and ties to our vision statement: ‘Bringing the world together to create change while celebrating you.’”
When the partying and celebrations come to a close, the proceeds from the Festival benefit the Task Force and South Florida based LGBTQ organizations. In 2018, the Task Force donated $215,000 to the LGBTQ Community Fund at the Miami Foundation, for a total of nearly $3 million given back since the Task Force began producing the Festival and its National LGBTQ Task Force Gala - Miami.
“The LGBTQ movement is as relevant today as it was when we fought back police raids at the Stonewall Inn 50 years ago,” Task Force Director of Communications Sarah Massey explained. “We still have a lot to do to achieve full liberation and equality for all of us. The Task Force is on the vanguard of this work. We keep the Trump administration in check, organize faith communities to be welcoming, and protect our hard-earned freedoms, while expanding legal protections for all of us.”
To purchase tickets to Winter Party Festival 2019, please visit: www.winterparty.com.
About Winter Party Festival:
Winter Party Festival is an iconic week-long celebration of diverse LGBTQ people from all over the world who come together to learn, live, laugh, and forge lifelong relationships. Proceeds from the annual Winter Party Festival support the Task Force’s local and national advocacy, organizing, and leadership development work for LGBTQ people.
About National LGBTQ Task Force:
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we’ve made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. These barriers must go. That’s why the Task Force is training and mobilizing millions of activists across our nation to deliver a world where you can #BeYou.
Major sponsors for 2019 includes: Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Authority, Shelborne South Beach, Bacardi, Miller Coors, WorldPride NYC | Stonewall 50, Impulse Group, The Art of Shaving, Surterra Wellness, AIDS United, Avita Pharmacy, Axel Hotel Miami Beach, Prevention 305, SCRUFF, Toca Events, Walgreens, Atlantic Broadband, Edge Media Network, HomoCulture, HOTSpots!, Passport Magazine, Queerty, WIREMAG
Hi-res photos from Winter Party 2018 are available to download here and here. Media are invited to cover and attend the events.
