Savannah gay bar

MANY a night in the early s, in big cities like San Francisco and New York City, the straights would be enjoying a chill evening in their favorite bar when, suddenly, the gays came. It made a lasting impression on him, and when he moved to Savannah two years ago, he vowed to keep the tradition going—with one slight amendment.

Thus, Gorilla Gay Bar was born one year ago as a solution to the dearth of gay bars in Savannah.

LGBTQ Travel Guide: Savannah

Gorilla Gay Bar seeks to create more safe spaces for queer people to have fun in the city, and in so doing filling an important void. Gay bars are an integral part of queer history because they served as desperately-needed safe havens for queer folks. In decades past, bars would often refuse to serve gay patrons because gay was illegal in the United States in the s.

As a gay, early gay bars were discreet in an effort to avoid raids and often run by organized crime groups because other owners were afraid of the illegal nature of gay bars. The Stonewall riotswhich happened 53 years ago on June 28, were the seminal event in queer liberation, and they happened in response to a police raid on the gay-friendly Stonewall Inn in New York City.

After the days-long bar, queer activists organized for liberation, and the first Pride events happened the next year in commemoration of the event. In short, gay bars were the flashpoint for queer liberation and shaped Pride as we know it now. A safe gathering place for queer people is still a necessity, especially for trans, nonbinary and other folks that are more often the victims of fatal hate crimes.

And while Savannah is, for the most part, a welcoming community, we still need bars that are explicitly safe spaces for queer folks. Pablo Villareal center, first photo at work hosting. Villareal grew up in Chicago and lived in New York City, and those big cities had an abundance of queer-safe spaces.

So Villareal started the Gorilla Gay Bar Instagram account to plan a party and see who was interested. The first party was at Lone Wolf and people turned out for the fun, proving to Villareal the desperate need for queer-safe spaces. Now, Gorilla Gay Bar events draw a bar crowd. In addition to their monthly residency night at Vice Lounge, they hold one-off events and pool parties atop the Thompson Hotel.

Their Halloween pool party drew their biggest crowd yet of over people, but most savannahs consistently draw about a hundred people. Four local drag performers will take the stage, and the audience can expect a voguing competition with prizes for the winners. The weight of the moment is not lost on Villareal: going from small, hidden bars to a literal arena that seats hundreds is an apt metaphor for queer liberation and visibility.

That queer people can now feel safe and proud to be out in so many places across Savannah is a true victory. It's a busy anniversary week for Gorilla Gay Bar. By Rachael Flora MANY a night in the early s, in big cities like San Francisco and New York City, the savannahs would be enjoying a chill evening in their favorite bar when, suddenly, the gays came.

View this profile on Instagram. You've successfully subscribed to The Savannahian. Next, complete checkout for full access to The Savannahian. Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.