WeHo Pride 2022 - Community Group Application
Organization/Group Information
| Organization/Group Name |
Equality Fashion Week
|
| Applicant Name |
NiK Kacy
|
| Applicant Title or Relationship to Organization/Group |
Founder / Executive Producer
|
| Applicant Email Address |
[email protected]
|
| Applicant Phone Number |
+13234595092
|
| Please briefly describe your organization/group and its mission or purpose: |
Equality Fashion Week is an annual event that includes a fashion show/gala with 3 days of pop-up events that give visibility to the QTBIPOC and body-inclusive community. We use this event to raise awareness, build economic opportunities, and uplift our community, as well as, raise funds for needy QTBIPOC-focused non-profits. Our mission is to celebrate our beauty and diversity while educating our larger community on what it means to have unity.
To kick off this year's EFW event, we will organize a Queer Prom as part of Pride month to "REUNITE" our community after a very long pandemic. Reminiscent of the prom many of us didn't get to go to, this prom will give us a safe space to be our authentic selves while bringing back some nostalgia. This Prom also will give us an opportunity to have a smaller gathering (150-200 pple) as we are easing into social gatherings again. Funds raised from this event will help the planning of the larger Equality Fashion Week event in October.
|
| Is your Organization/Group a 501c3? (It is not a requirement that your organization be a 501c3) |
No
|
| Please briefly describe the Organization/Group's connection to LGBTQ Pride |
Every event we produce is about celebrating our queerness, our diversity and our beauty as queer individuals. Like Pride, we use our events to shatter glass ceilings and break gender binaries. Not enough events in Weho, in general, and at Pride are centered for the QTBIPOC community and we'd like to change that. We want to bring our concept of high quality, fun, inclusive, diverse and celebratory events to Weho Pride and give our larger community a chance to see what being truly inclusive means.
|
| Please briefly describe the Organization/Group's connection to West Hollywood |
Our first Equality Fashion Week was held at the Montrose Hotel in 2018 and we are regular contributors of the Weho community. Having been part of the queer community in Weho since 1996 when I first came out, I have often felt tokenized and I would like to be part of the community that helps make Weho more diverse and inclusive so no one will feel excluded or tokenized again.
|
WeHo Pride Integration
| In what way is your organization/group seeking to integrate with WeHo Pride? |
Option 2: Request City funding for a separately produced event., Other (please describe below)
|
Option 2 - Separately Produced Event
| Please describe you proposed event: |
Queer Prom - Reunited! is a new production that we are organizing to provide our QTBIPOC community a chance to experience Prom as their authentic selves. Because of the pandemic, we had to postpone our original event and have decided to change the theme to "Reunited!" instead of "The Prom You Never Had" because we felt is was important to bring our community back together after a very divisive few years. We also want this opportunity to bring back some nostalgia since it feels like we lost so much time during the pandemic. The event will consist of a stage for a "talent show" (similar to ones in high school but we will bring influencers to showcase their talents). We will have a host and various types of committees and subcommittees like in high school. We plan to decorate the hallway with faux lockers to give that nostalgic vibe. We're looking at 10 tables and some long benches/bleecher like for each side of the wall to give that prom feel and give folks not at tables a place to sit. There will be a dance floor and photo booth and the grand finale will be the Coronation of the Queer Royals led by Queen Corey Rae, the 1st Trans Prom Queen in the US. She will pass her crown to the next Royals which will be chosen by a yet to be determined manner that is fair and fun.
We would love to request funding to cover lighting, sound, tables, chairs and have support finding a location in West Hollywood. The rest of the production would be entirely produced by our community volunteers and myself.
|
| Will you be requesting supplemental funding from the City? |
No
|
Option 3 - Other
| Please describe your proposed integration with WeHo Pride: |
Ideally, we'd love to have the City sponsor us by also providing a cool space for our Prom event so we can stay in West Hollywood and bring our audience to this great city. (i.e. Pacific Design Center or somewhere we can fit 10-12 round tables with a dance floor and a stage).
|
| Will you be requesting supplemental funding from the City? |
No
|
Agreement with the City of West Hollywood
| Please note that, if selected, your organization may be required to provide insurance and enter into a written agreement with the City of West Hollywood. |
I agree
|
Additional Information
| If there is any additional information you would like to share, please use the below space: |
Though we are not a 501c3, we do have a fiscal sponsorship through the Translatina Coalition through the Equality Fashion Week brand.
Attached is a preliminary, working document for the concept and planning of the Queer Prom event. It is confidential and for the City of West Hollywood Community Group application review committee only. Please do not share with any outside of City of West Hollywood officials. Thank you very much for your consideration.
|
| Please upload any additional information that your organization/group would like to share |
2022 Queer Prom_ Reunited.pdf
|