It's that time of the year again. Just as the surely as the flamingos come to Sewri, those equally pink and elongated gay tourists are descending for the winter tourist season. Mumbaikars are complaining about the cold and Delhiites are almost dying laughing hearing them. And the GB organisers are tearing what little hair we have left, wondering how we are going to organise our New Year's party.
Every year this gets harder, as more and more people get into the habit of going for New Years parties and as a result the occasion is becoming increasingly important for the hospitality industry, so every place wants to have its own party. This year it's particularly hard since 31st Dec is a Saturday, so its a normal partying day anyway. So nearly every hotel, club and hall is planning on having its own party. The GB party organisers (which mostly means Dee, with the rest of us making encouraging noises in the background) have been trying to find places, and to be honest, we almost gave up at one point. All our regular venues were either having their parties or were simply not large enough. Last year's New Year's party had at least 450 before we stopped counting. Many many more had to be turned away (I think I still have the scars from having to refuse two drag queens entry). This year too we've already started getting queries from people from out of town wanting to make their plans to be here, or people from here wanting to make sure they get in. And we couldn't find a place. The few places that fitted our requirements and were willing to consider a party were asking for cover charges of Rs2,000-2,500/-!! It does look like this will be a normal price at many places, but it was not a price we felt we could inflict on the community. Last year we were Rs950/- (still one of the cheapest large organised parties in town) and while we knew an increase is inevitable, beyond a point it doesn't seem fair or feasible to have a party. Some people we've spoken to have suggested an expensive and small party, but that doesn't seem to be what GB is about. That was when we starting thinking that this year perhaps we should skip a party. But thanks to Dee's persistance we now have a possible place. Its large (none of the claustrophobia of Chat Masala last year), a beautiful place and well located near a station, and while it won't come cheap, it is not unreasonable. Against this it is not a regular restaurant or club, which means that we cannot count on an existing management to organise things for us. Everything will have to be hired and organised by GB. This won't be the first time we're doing something like this - the Valentine's party we had on a boar last year was like this. We have some expertise by now in managing events, and in Dee a professional who knows this business. And the GB organisers will spare no effort to make sure this New Year's event is a blast and works out well. But yes, it will be community organised event, not an entirely professional one, and if this matters to you, please factor that in. We are far from finalising things, so we aren't yet sure how much the entry cost will work out to, but our estimation is that it will be in the Rs1,200-1,500 per head. For this you will get six drinks, dinner, music, a large dance floor and a great gay and lesbian party space till 4.00 am on the 1st morning. We realise this price will be a substantial jump from Rs950 last year and we're not happy about it. As we said, this year all New Year parties are going to be expensive. At this price range GB's will be one of the cheaper ones. But we REALLY want feedback. We have still not finalised things, and we're open to changes. If people feel that this price is too high and that they would rather not have a party, let us know. (The GB organisers would certainly be saved many headaches that way). But if you feel that a city like Bombay needs a gay New Year's party and if on New Year's night you don't want to be stuck with straights on every side, then is this a fair price to pay? Or do you have other suggestions? Guys, I repeat, we really need this feedback. People we have spoken to verbally about the potential cost have all said it is going to be too high, though they haven't ruled out coming either. I was to emphasise that GB does not have vast resources to fund something like this. We're a non profit group and any margins we might charge on some parties are recycled into funding film festivals and other GB events. So please understand that we are not happy about the potential price for this party, but given the circumstances of this year, we can't seem to bring them down very much. Mail on this list about what you feel about this price range, or mail me directly at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Vikram ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Help save the life of a child. 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