Big Gay Frat House Blog

Summer Splash 2009

We're delighted to be able to help pass along the word about Summer Splash 09, a pool party fundraiser benefiting the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation taking place on Saturday, June 27, 2009.

 

Please mark your calendars for Summer Splash 09, a pool party produced by Image Three Inc. and the W San Francisco, benefiting the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation taking place on Saturday, June 27, 2009.

The event celebrates REAF’s long-standing commitment to raise funds for AIDS service provider agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area. The event coincides with San Francisco Gay Pride week.

This year’s event is already making a Splash. When the W San Francisco teamed up with veteran event producers, Image Three Inc, Pride revelers and San Francisco Bay Area locals alike, knew they were in for a sensorial experience like no other. One excited attendee commented, "A posh pool party sounds like the perfect Summertime activity. Finally there is an event in San Francisco similar to the pool parties found in Los Angeles and Miami."

Festivities will kick-off at 1:00pm at the W San Francisco's 4th floor Pool Pavilion and Terrace. Partygoers are encouraged to wear chic pool wear, highlighting their sizzling, summer bodies and will enjoy sips, savories, sights and sounds.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.richmondermet.org.

All Fired Up!

Our dear friend Charisma Glitterati, the reigning Miss Gay SF, just lost her home in a terrible fire. She's fine, fortunately, but the wigs, heels, and H&M jewels were scorched. The American Red Cross stepped in to help with basic necessities but apparently they don't have a drag couture budget.

 

So now it's our turn to help! Please just us at LookOut with former Mr. and Miss Gay SF, Johnathan and BeBe Sweetbriar, as we present All Fired Up, a sizzling fundraiser for both Charisma and the American Red Cross.

 

What:  All Fired Up

For Whom:  Charisma Glitterati and the American Red Cross

Where:  LookOut, 16th & Market, San Francisco

When:  Monday, February 9th from 4pm til 8pm

 

 

The event features:

• DJ Stef spinning hits of fire
• giftbags for the first 50 guests
• four upscale raffle items
• red hot drink special
• go-go "fire fighter" boyz

If you can, bring old gowns and other drag items to help replenish Charisma's closet. Raffle proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross. At the LookOut,16th & Market, on Monday, February 9th during happy hour, 4pm to 8pm.

Sponsored by: Johnathan, The Big Gay Frat House, Redbull, Gay.com, Lookout, and Thick n Thin Pizza.

 

 

Thank you for a great 2008!

As the year comes to a close and we look to new adventures in 2009, we wanted to take a moment to look back at the fun we had in 2008 and thank everyone who made it possible.

It was a bit of a different year for us, with fewer parties in our own home, a few fundraisers hosted externally, sponsoring more community events, and the first for us: producing the revival of a favorite drag musical. But though the house itself was a bit quieter, we have still raised a net total of $30,000 for charity in just two years.

We including links to some of Kevin's Flickr photos so you can see more. To see the best ones, be sure to create a free Flickr account and then turn off SafeSearch in your account settings. Some of them are a bit racy and needed to be marked "restricted."

Flop House

Our first event in 2008 -- and the last large fundraiser in our home -- was Flop House, a charity fundraiser in April for SF Boylesque, San Francisco's only male burlesque troupe. The event featured raffles, bachelor date auctions, face painting, our usual open bar, stilts-walkers, and some of the most innovative performances ever at the BGFH: male burlesque choreographed strip teases, jugglers, contortionists, and the strongest man in the world (we had to veto the fire breathing). A videographer was also on hand taking footage for a documentary about the BGFH (more about that later). Check out more photos from the event here, here, and here.

Balls Out Ball 2008

The very first fundraiser in our home was the Balls Out Ball, a 2006 fundraiser for the SF Fog rugby team headlined by Varla Jean Merman. One special highlight that helped set expectations for future BGFH events: we enticed a number of boys from the team to perform a choreographed stripping routine in which they did the full monty and got totally buck naked. It's a rugby tradition. In 2007, the Balls Out Ball 2007 was moved to another venue but the BGFH was a major sponsor. In 2008, we stepped back and watched them produce the best Balls Out Ball ever -- and yes, they got hot guys to once again get totally naked! We have more pictures here, and the Lavender Lounge even got video footage of their full monty strip routine.

Big Gay Garage Sale

Not every fundraiser needs to be big and splashy. In May, we turned over the use of our garage to the SF Fog for ... a garage sale! Over a thousand dollars was raised for the team from the sale of items donated by team members, and the remaining unsold items were donated to charity. It was a surprisingly low-effort way of helping out.

Another Gay Fundraiser

In June, right before Pride, we hosted our first event outside of the BGFH. Brent Corrigan (who emceed our Midsummer Night's Dream fundraiser in 2006) approached us about hosting a fundraiser at the LookOut. The event tied in with the film festival screening of Another Gay Sequel in which Brent plays Stan the Merman. It raised $2,500 for Community United Against Violence. More photos are available here and here.

Trannyshack Kiss-Off

In 2007, we sponsored the Miss Trannyshack Pageant by purchasing the winner's crown. In 2008, Heklina decided to bring the weekly club to a close (but there will eventually be special monthly events). The finale was an all-star Kiss-Off Party at the Regency Center, and we sponsored the Jungle Red Lounge, the dance club in the basement with eight go-go boys and music by DJ Earworm. More photos of the event can be found here.

Jungle Red

In September, we undertook our most ambitious project ever: producing the revival of Artfull Circle Theatre's Jungle Red, a musical drag parody of Claire Booth Luce's classic play The Women. The production, held at the Victoria Theatre, was directed by Donna Drake and starred Varla Jean Merman. Other cast members included Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, Birdie-Bob Watt, Trauma Flintstone, Henna Rintz, Marqi de Sade, CoCo Royale, and Ethel Merman. Some cast photos are available here, here, here, here and here.

Desperate Divas 2009 Calendar

Last year (April 2007) we held a competition to see who would be crowned our Miss August 2008, the page we were sponsoring for the AIDS Housing Alliance's Desperate Divas calendar, and Artemis Chase won. For the 2009 calendar, we appointed the writer of Jungle Red and one of its stars, someone who has performed at more BGFH events than anyone else: Ethel Merman! You can get your copy here.

Gloss Sundays @ LookOut

Our very last public event of 2008 was our sponsorship of Lord Martine's Gloss Sundays on December 21st. The event is Lord Martine's weekly Sunday afternoon/evening party at the LookOut with resident DJs Joseph Lee and Pornstar, along with other special guest deejays every week. It was our second event at the LookOut, which is rapidly becoming one of our favorite places. This time the event was a simple canned food and toy drive to help the less fortunate during the holidays. One of our friends brought a Wonder Woman statue that was coveted by the deejays and bar staff alike! A small handful of photos are available here.

My Big Gay Frat House

One final exciting thing that happened in 2008: our friend Sean Chapin directed and produced a 30-minute documentary about us called My Big Gay Frat House. It is currently being shopped around to various LGBT film festivals for 2009, but in the meantime you can watch the teaser trailer here:

As 2008 comes to a close, we want to thank everyone who has performed in our home, worked with us on events, and above all, came out to support the charitable causes and community events we've participated in. It's been another amazing year!

We don't know what 2009 will bring, but no doubt there will be something different and new to surprise you. In the meantime, from all of us fratbois, have a fun and safe New Year's, and bring blessings for a wonderful 2009.

~ David, Jon, Kevin, Tim

Gloss Sundays @ LookOut

We're delighted to be partnering with Lord Martine to sponsor this week's GLOSS SUNDAYS at the LookOut (corner of 16th & Market in SF).

• Bring non-perishable food or unwrapped gifts to receive Red Bull & 42 Below vodka drink tickets.
• DJ Joseph Lee, DJ Pornstar, and special guest DJ DR PROCTOR
• Hosted by Santa Baby Gus Bean (Gus Presents)

Another Gay Fundraiser ... with Brent Corrigan!

We're so excited to announce that we are partnering with our friend Brent Corrigan to produce Another Gay Fundraiser.

Thursday, June 26th
9pm until ....?

LookOut Bar
3600 Market Street @ 16th

The event is a benefit for Community United Against Violence, who was the beneficiary of our Midsummer Night's Dream fundraiser that Brent hosted at our house two years ago.

The event will feature:

• Porn raffles
• Jello shots sold by porn stars
• Limited edition auction of art prints by Ismael Alvaraz for "Another Gay Sequel"
• Tickets to the world premiere of "Another Gay Sequel" at the Castro Theatre on June 28th
• Performances by Katya Smirnoff-Skyy
• Live performances by Brent Corrigan and his boys

No cover charge! But bring your cash for the Jello shots, auctions, and raffles. All money raised goes directly to CUAV.

FLOP HOUSE!

We're excited to announce that our first fundraiser of 2008 will be Flop House, a benefit for SF Boylesque, San Francisco's only male burlesque troupe.

Saturday, April 12, 2008
Doors open at 7pm
Event must end by 11pm

Originally conceived as an all-male burlesque review in the style of the vintage Weimer Era shows (think Cabaret), SF Boylesque now works as traveling nomads, performing in different venues and charity benefits throughout the City. This fundraiser will help them raise funds to travel to Las Vegas in June to compete as the only male troupe in the Miss Exotic World Pageant, the most prestigious burlesque competition in the United States.

The event will feature:

• Performances by SF Boylesque
• Bachelor date auctions with the boys of Boylesque
• Open bar sponsored by Michael Daniels of Young's Market

A donation of $20 in advance (through Frantix.net) or $25 at the door is requested.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This event will be photographed and videotaped by members of the media, including a documentary film crew. Your presence indicates your consent that you might appear in photos or video to be used for editorial, marketing, and other promotional purposes.

More SF Boylesque images from Kevin and others...

Thank you for an amazing 2007!

This has been an amazing year for the Big Gay Frat House, and we want to thank everyone who participated and helped us do so much for so many people.

Last year, we focused our efforts on two large events. In 2007, we chose to do more frequent, smaller events, and managed to raise thousands and thousands of dollars for so many worthy organizations covering the gamut of the LGBT community's interests: social service organizations (the AIDS Housing Alliance, Community United Against Violence, Project Open Hand, and the Stop AIDS Project); athletic organizations (the San Francisco Fog rugby team and the SF Goaldiggers hockey team); artistic organizations (the SF Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band); and social support and network organizations (Sigma Epsilon Omega and the UC Gay & Lesbian Alumni Association).

Our efforts were aided and abetted by so many wonderful, talented performers. Five people emceed our events. Trauma Flintstone emceed a record five times for Girl Drink Drunk, a party that seems to have lived up to its name. Our other wonderful emcees have included Ethel Merman, Greg the Gay Sportscaster, Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, and Landa Lakes. Performers have included: Trauma Flintstone (six times); Ethel Merman and Garza Peru (three times each); Connie Champagne, Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, and Landa Lakes (twice each); and Artemis Chase, BeBe Sweetbriar, Cookie Dough, Donna Sachet, Holy McGrail, Janet Fly, Liliana Herrera, Litz "the Opera Lady" Plummer, Lucy Borden, Mercedes Monroe, Monistat, Nikki Starr, Pollo DelMar, Samantha Richards, Starr Monroe, and Steven Satyricon. We're delighted to have been able to mix drag with a little male flesh, we want to thank our strippers and go-go boys: Luca, Michael, Patrick, Stephen, and especially those who went all the way and showed everything: Danny Tagert, Elliot Tyler, Wes Brady, and Wolf Hudson. Our regular deejay, Jimmy Strano, who rocked the rafters and brought the police out on more than one occasion! And Zhenya, our favorite bartender.

None of this would have been possible without the expertise, equipment, and hard work of Richard Winchester, who managed the lighting and sound for our stage, and for the alcohol donated by our largest sponsor, Michael Daniels of Young's Market.

We were also involved with numerous events held outside of our home. The second Balls-Out Ball grew too big and was moved to Danz Haus, where we got to meet legendary Julie Brown and once again watch rugby boys get completely naked. We provided the alcohol for Community United Against Violence's "Bat Out of Hell" fundraiser in October. And to top it off, so to speak, we provided the new crown for Miss Trannyshack 2008: Pollo DelMar.

Special thanks are in order for Artemis Chase, whom we are so proud to represent us as our own Miss August in the AIDS Housing Alliance's annual Desperate Divas calendar. You are a credit and a tribute to our house.

Thank you, also, to the legions of volunteers who helped at every event, and to everyone who helped publicize our events: Sister Dana, Rink, Donna, Beven Shamel and Gloss Magazine, Jim Provenzano, Sister Roma, mr. Pam, and so many more too numerous to mention.

Finally, our end-of-year wrap-up couldn't be completed without a special word about our friend Danny Roddick, who starred in COLT Studio's film "Brotherhood" that was shot in our home, and who tragically passed away a week before the September release party. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Special thanks, too, to everyone else in the cast (Dean Phoenix, Jan Fischer, Trey Casteel, Justin Burkshire, Kurt Wild, Sebastian Rivers, Kevin Armstrong, Jorden Michaels, Dallas Reeves, and Tory Mason) and crew (Jerry Douglas, Kris Weston, Michael, Chuck, and so many, many more) who made the filming such an amazing, memorable experience.

Some highlights from the year...

Girl Drink Drunk - February 2

More...

Girl Drink Drunk - March 2

COLT Studio's "Brotherhood" filming

More...

Girl Drink Drunk - April 23

More...

Girl Drink Drunk - May 5

More...

Girl Drink Drunk - June 2

More...

Girl Drink Drunk - July 14

More...

Girl Drink Drunk - August 4

More...

Balls Out Ball 2007 - October 13

More...

Frat House for the Holidays - November 17

More...

As 2007 comes to a close, we look back marveling at what at amazing, crazy, chaotic experience it's been. Please raise a glass with us and toast to more adventures in 2008.

All the best,
   David, Jon, Kevin, and Tim

Mark your calendars for November 17

We will have a recap posted soon about the Balls Out Ball, which was a smashing success.

In the meantime, those of you who aren't pageanting should mark your calendars for November 17 for a revival of frat house fun at the Big Gay Frat House! More news about that coming very soon...

Don't miss out COMPLETELY NAKED rugby boys!

Last year, we had seven members of the San Francisco Fog rugby team strip completely naked in our garage for their Balls Out Ball charity fundraiser. And by completely naked, we assure you: it was full frontal, full monty, total nudity, no hiding the good stuff - the balls in this photo were dropped seconds after this picture was taken!

If you were there, you were part of the largest, most infamous fundraiser we've ever held. If you missed it, you'll want to be sure to attend Balls Out Ball 2007 - more naked boys doing the full monty, the first ever Rugby Ladies Burlesque, more bachelor date auctions ... oh, and did we mention the open bar???

Located at:

Danzhaus
1275 Connecticut Street
San Francisco, CA 94107

Special Guest: Julie Brown
Featuring: Ethel Merman and Monistat

Order tickets at http://www.sffog.org/tickets

General Entry - $50 online, $80 door

• Fully stocked open bar from 6pm to 12am
• Men's Full Monty with new moves guaranteed to keep toungues wagging
• Our first ever Sexy Fog Ladies Burlesque Show
• Bachlor/ette Auction for your favorite rugger

VIP entry - $150 online, $180 door

• Top shelf open bar from 6pm to 12am
• Champagne service by our sexiest ruggers
• Amazing treats from Il Fornaio and others
• Gift bag with speciality items from our sponsors

Balls-Out Ball 2007 - The Trailer

The Big Gay Frat House & Danz Haus are proud to present the Balls-Out Ball 2007 on Saturday, October 13.

Saturday, October 13th, 6pm to 12pm

at Danzhaus
1275 Connecticut Street
San Francisco, CA 94107

Hosts: Fernando & Greg in the Mornings from Energy 92.7
Special Guest: Julie Brown
Featuring: Ethel Merman and Monistat

Order tickets at http://www.sffog.org/tickets

General Entry - $50 online, $80 door

• Fully stocked open bar from 6pm to 12am
• Men's Full Monty with new moves guaranteed to keep toungues wagging
• Our first ever Sexy Fog Ladies Burlesque Show
• Bachlor/ette Auction for your favorite rugger

VIP entry - $150 online, $180 door

• Top shelf open bar from 6pm to 12am
• Champagne service by our sexiest ruggers
• Amazing treats from Il Fornaio and others
• Gift bag with speciality items from our sponsors

Chance to mingle with our performers

Funds go to support the SF Fog's participation in the Mark Bingham Memorial Cup 2008 in Dublin, Ireland!