Author Archives: gaysixflagschicago
Northalsted is named 2015 Beneficiary
Chicago’s PROUDEST Neighborhood
Our Annual LGBT event OUT IN THE PARK @ Six Flags Great America will celebrate its 4th year in 2015! Each year we have chosen a different non-profit organization to be the beneficiary of our efforts and thus far we have gifted $33,000 to recipients. This year Northalsted Business Alliance will benefit from both OUT IN THE HARBOR and OUT IN THE PARK! The more tickets we sell, the more Northalsted gets to put back into the neighborhood!
Northalsted (also known as “Boystown”) was voted the 2013 “the best gay neighborhood in the world” by Out Traveler Magazine. And it’s easy to see why: our collection of fabulous shops, fantastic restaurants, famous nightlife, and our proud LGBTQ legacy gives us a sense of community spirit unlike any other place.
SAVE THE DATE: Saturday September 12th 2015!
Saturday September 12th 2015!
Details coming soon!
It Takes a Village
When BestGayChicago.com was hired for their very first event. We knew, we could not do it alone, and we knew we wanted to give back to community.
In 3 years we have given back $35,000 to the community. But we did not do it alone. Our community partners play a HUGE role in our events. Media Sponsors donate free advertising space, and other sponsors put up dollars to help defray costs, so more money can go directly to the charities.
BestGayChicago.com is merely the organizer and promoter. We bring people together, for the greater good.
So please, support our community partners. All of our community partners are listed to the right, in the sidebar.
Without them, we can not do these awesome events!
OUT IN THE PARK Six Flags Great America 2014
Out In The Park at Six Flags Great America
Returns in 2014 BIGGER Than EVER!
Lady Bunny Takes On Goliath!
A Spectacular Night of Amusement and Entertainment
Presented by MINI Cooper Chicago
That Will Help Benefit AIDS Resource Center Wisconsin (ARCW)
Saturday, September 13th, 2014 from 7PM to 12AM
Attendees for this year’s third annual Out In The Park Celebration are in for a night of EPIC proportions. Those who dare will have a unique opportunity to experience GOLIATH with the shortest waiting times of the season! Setting not one, but THREE new world records, Six Flags Great America’s GOLIATH will be the World’s fastest wooden coaster complete with the tallest and steepest drop, plunging riders 180 feet nearly straight down (85 Degrees) at 72 miles per hour!
All night, attendees can follow the bass to the Hometown Square dance area where The DJ’s of SCARLET Bar Chicago and Hostess Trannika Rex are paired up with the legendary, larger-than-life, over-the-top, gorgeous NYC entertainer that is the one and only LADY BUNNY! Drag Diva Supreme, DJ, and Comedienne Extraordinaire Lady Bunny takes center stage with SCARLET Bar burning up the turntables with nothing but danceable, FUN music and Lady Bunny closes the evening with her trademark, OUTRAGEOUS, pop-culture-lyric-comedy parodies!
Out In The Park is an annual private LGBT Saturday night fundraising event featuring unlimited riding of Six Flags Great America’s amazing THRILL rides with a portion of all ticket sales this year helping benefit AIDS Resource Center Wisconsin (ARCW). “One of the best elements of this event is that it is closed to the general public and this year our event piggy-backs a daytime corporate buyout so our attendees will be entering an EMPTY PARK!” explains Michael Snell, co-owner of BestGayChicago.com. “The LGBT community, their family, friends and supporters can enjoy the park with little to no lines and without homophobic hassles from anyone. It’s like a Fall Gay Pride Celebration with even MORE amusement and entertainment!”
In an interview with ChicagoPride.com: “We are very excited that this private night for charity continues to grow every year,” said Derrick Sorles, Snell’s husband of 15 years and business partner, “We are more than thrilled that Lady Bunny is flying in from New York to guest DJ and do her comedy schtick and be a part of the festivities. Trannika Rex and the DJ’s of SCARLET Bar know how to have FUN and play music you want to dance to! Handsome designer Traver Rains will be on hand! Add GOLIATH to the mix of all this and it will truly be a night that’s ridiculously great!”
Sorles continued on to say “The last two Out In The Park Events allowed us as a community to raise almost $25,000 for Chicago’s Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) and Chicago House. This year were changing it up and raising money for the ARCW because Out In The Park enjoys huge support and attendance from Wisconsin folks because of the park’s close proximity and we feel it’s only fair that Wisconsin charities share in the proceeds occasionally as well.”
“We thank the Six Flags organization and Best Gay Cities for this wonderful opportunity to benefit from their 2014 Out In The Park event. The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, the first Medicaid HIV medical home in the United States, serves 3,000 patients who are all confronting HIV/AIDS, a disease that is expensive, complex and still has no cure. We encourage every fan of adventure and adrenalin rides to come OUT on September 13, 2014 and have fun at Six Flags, because this fun will be converted into crucial funding for the ARCW Medical Center helping patients achieve longer, healthier lives with HIV.”
Dan Mueller, Chief Development Officer for AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin
Advance $39 tickets can be purchased at
and follow the instructions!
Hotels —if you are coming to Chicago for the weekend, we have 3 hotel choices in the heart of Boystown! CITY SUITES, WILLOWS HOTEL and MAJESTIC HOTEL. All the hotels are on our website GaySixFlagsChicago.com
AIDS Resource Center Wisconsin (ARCW)
The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin is home to the ARCW Medical Center – Wisconsin’s largest and fastest growing HIV health care system. Through its integrated medical, dental and mental health clinics along with its pharmacy and dedicated social services that include food pantries, a legal program, and social work case management, more than 3,300 HIV patients in Wisconsin gain the health care and social services they need for long-term survival with HIV disease from ARCW.
BestGayChicago.com
Since 2007, BestGayChicago.com has been providing the best of everything gay and gay-friendly in the greater Chicago area. Owned and operated by Best Gay Inc., their sites provide news, information, travel tips and entertainment for the LGBT community. In 2012 they turned their network of connections and supporters into an opportunity for philanthropy. Producing and marketing events for the greater good in 3 states! (so far!)
Out in the Park in Chicago 2014 is Going to be EPIC!
LADY BUNNY & GOLIATH! September 13th, 2014!
7pm -12 Midnight Only $39 in advance!
Pre and Post OFFICIAL Six Flags Parties
3 Days of fun with more Chicago events happening!
3169 N Halsted St Chicago
3320 N Halsted St Chicago
750 W Cornelia Ave Chicago
followed by GLOW the OFFICIAL after Party at CHARLIES till 5am! Free admission with your Six Flags ticket! 3726 N. Broadway Avenue
(CHARLIES WILL OFFER 2 BUSES GOING TO SIX FLAGS @ 6:30pm – coming
back at 1:30am. $25 round trip gets you round trip ride, drinks on the
bus PLUS a special SURPRISE!!! Tickets go on sale AUGUST 27th at 3pm, at the bar, for the bus
seats! Tickets can purchased any day at the bar, in person, until they sell out)
750 W Cornelia Ave Chicago MAKE A RESERVATION – THIS WILL SELL OUT! (773) 904-7466
3320 N Halsted St Chicago
followed by Liquid Brunch at Scarlet- The official Closing Party! Photos from OUT IN THE PARK will be shown on the screens.
Out in the Park 2013 Concert with Eli Lieb, Jess Godwin and Isaiah Grass
There is something for EVERYONE,
at OUT IN THE PARK 2013!
NEW this year, 3 mini concerts plus awesome impersonators from Milwaukee!
ELI LIEB was just nominated by OUT Magazine in their Third Annual 100 Most Eligible Bachelors” – and he placed in the top 5!
Eli’s has been uploading videos to YouTube for over 2 years now, and is almost at 10,000,000 views!
Spring-boarding his musical career during his 10 years living in New
York City with early musical roots in the East Village, Lieb took the
NYC songwriting scene by storm. After his first performance at Sidewalk
Café he was immediately swooped into meetings with producers, label
execs and collaborators of the highest caliber. After a year or so
exploring the big-labels, Eli put on the brakes and retreated to his
hometown of Fairfield, Iowa. It was in this rural refuge where Eli was
able to write one of this year’s most exciting club-beat driven albums
from his own musical instincts.
In a pop musical climate dominated by performers that are auditioned, packaged and produced for the public’s easy consumption, Eli Lieb has self-produced his debut album, titled simply Eli Lieb. (Released Oct 2012).The collection of 10 original songs resonates with honest and touching sentiments within cinematic melodies, delivered in the spirit of uncompromising integrity. Appealing to fans of Robyn and James Blake, Eli Lieb has created something emotional and empowering. If all goes well, his new album will be available in time for OUT (IN THE PARK 2013, and he will have copies available for purchase and autographing! ELI ON FACEBOOK.
Honest, unassuming, and passionate, Jess Godwin possesses one of the
most dynamic voices both in and beyond the Chicago music scene. Combine
the music of Alicia Keys, Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, and Stevie
Wonder, and you get the unique sound of this energetic redhead. Her
soul-bearing lyrics will touch your heart, and her music will make you
tap your feet and sing along at the same time.
Born in Atlanta, Godwin moved around a lot as a child – 5 states and
10 different schools to be exact! Eventually, Jess and her family
finally settled in Chicago. She has been a proud resident of the Windy
City for the past 14 years.
She has released four EPs, each one demonstrating her tremendous talent and wide-ranging musical influences: To the Heart of It, Quiet the Room (produced by Jan Smith, vocal coach to Usher, Justin Bieber, The Band Perry), Klutz, and her most recent self titled EP released in November. Godwin’s single, Katy’s Side, was featured on Keeping up with the Kardashians this summer. JESS ON FACEBOOK.
IsaiahGrass is an American Pop Singer &
Song Writer whom is quickly gaining recognition in the music industry as
“the one to watch”.
Isaiah is one of underground pop music’s
latest sensations. When most male pop artists are trying to duplicate other top artists on
the charts, this guy is pushing the extremes of popular dance music and establishing his
own unique sound and identity.
His versatile vocal style and self-penned material are attracting international attention!
Breaking barriers and
encouraging himself in the fashion industry is just one of the many
goals he is determined to accomplish throughout his career. Since the
day he made a commitment to modeling, he has worked with some of the
most prestigious industry insiders in the modeling industry.
Isaiah was discovered in the summer of 2010 by LEDOM Management Group which happened to come across Isaiah’s photographs in Facebook. By late 2010, LEDOM Group became his managing company as a model and during late 2011 – LEDOM Enterprises signed him as a singer.
His debut CD, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED was released December 2012.
ISAIAH ON FACEBOOK
Six Flags Great America is an amazing park with 13 roller coasters and lots of cool rides. Enjoy those rides with hardly NO LINES at our private event!
You can dance to the sounds of Matthew Harvat in Hometown Square with added lights and sounds this year.
Or just have some drinks and socialize with thousands of new friends! There is something for EVERYONE, at OUT IN THE PARK 2013!
2013 Music from Scarlets Scotty T followed by Matthew Harvat
8pm -9:30pm – Scotty T from Scarlet along with the infamous Trannika Rex, plus a couple hot boys – will kick off the evening and get the party started!
Hang out with them at Hometown Square or simply enjoy their music throughout the park, as their music will be piped live throughout Six Flags Great America, in most places, for this very special event!
Matthew Harvat – His DJing includes headline appearances in Vancouver, Prague, Miami, Chicago, Orlando, Toronto, and Hollywood. He creates great music wherever he goes, and we are so excited Harvat is bringing his talents to this First Annual Gay Six Flags Event! Gay and straight audiences alike embrace Harvat’s unique combination of DJing, production and performances that fuse glamour, wit, and audacity. His creativity is irrepressible.
Out In The Park at Six Flags Great America Chicago 2012 Inaugural Year A Huge Success!
Michael and I wish to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make this years inaugural Private LGBTQIA
OUT IN THE PARK at Six Flags Great America Chicago
a GINOURMOUS success!!!
Michael and I connected with the executive team at Six Flags in May of this year, 2012, wanting to do something officially “BestGay” sanctioned and they were ecstatic because they had been wanting to do a Gay event on a much more massive scale than ever hailed before at the park and we were fortunate they felt our vision of what this
GAY event could become fit best with theirs.
Yet, this year almost never happened and we were talking about 2013 because we simply couldn’t find a Saturday in September of 2012 where they could accommodate us without upsetting their existing general admission schedule or without competing with previously scheduled Gay fund raising events within our community those Saturday September nights.
HUGE props to the executive team again at Six Flags for thinking outside the box and coming back to us and saying “We are willing to keep the park open after our official closing time of 9pm on Saturday September 8th if you think you could make
a 9pm to 1am party in the park a success.”
That was all Michael and I needed to hear and we were off and running to make it happen with less than 7 weeks to the actual event day.
A HUGE heartfelt thanks to:
ALL of YOU that supported the event, came out, championed the hour of monsoon rain, and REALLY made it all happen (just hinting here-imagine, bring along simply ONE new friend next year and we can easily double our numbers-just saying).
HUGE Thank You to the executive team at Six Flags Great America Chicago, GLACEAU Vitamin Water, AbsolutelyChicagoSegwayTours, Halsted Pharmacy, RainbowPizza, Viaggio Italian Restaurants, and of course Ryan VanMeter, Bill Farrand and TPAN’s entire staff and volunteers that helped make this inaugural year’s event a huge success generating nearly
$12,000 for TPAN (Test Positive Aware Network)!
Also a big shout out to Matthew Harvat and Phil DaBeatz, our amazing hometown DJ’s, for giving us grooves to remember and dance to all night, despite soggy equipment at points and to GRAB Magazine, Chicago Pride.com, Boi Magazine and the L Stop for helping to spread the word to the entire LGBTQIA community
in such a short amount of time.
And so to make things easier to remember moving forward, OUT IN THE PARK Gay Day at Six Flags Great America Chicago will always be the
second (2nd) Saturday night every September for years to come.
So save the date for next year!
Saturday, September 14th, 2013 for 6pm until 1am.
OUT IN THE PARK 2013 will be bigger, better, longer and even GAY-er and
continue to raise money for local charities!
See you next September!
Derrick Sorles and Michael Snell
www.BestGayChicago.com
