In these times of extreme ideological conflict, Sugar Town celebrates the spirit of a magical place & time by throwing a holiday party with a TWIST! For one night only The Spare Room will become The Peppermint Lounge, a safer place to unite and TWIST the night away.
Please join your host DJ Action Slacks in welcoming special guest DJ AM GOLD for a night of your favorite 60s soul and 50s R&B with an extra helping of music for TWISTIN’!
In celebration of the theme PLEASE wear ensembles of RE...
In these times of extreme ideological conflict, Sugar Town celebrates the spirit of a magical place & time by throwing a holiday party with a TWIST! For one night only The Spare Room will become The Peppermint Lounge, a safer place to unite and TWIST the night away.
Please join your host DJ Action Slacks in welcoming special guest DJ AM GOLD for a night of your favorite 60s soul and 50s R&B with an extra helping of music for TWISTIN’!
In celebration of the theme PLEASE wear ensembles of RED & WHITE.
Important historical background on this month’s theme:
50 years ago an infectious tune called "The Peppermint Twist" was the hottest dance record in the country. It was in 1962, after a year of growing notoriety, that a little gay leather dive was lifted from the shadows and was rechristened "The World Famous Peppermint Lounge." The "Pep" was so influential in this era (The Ronettes are said to have started their career with a stint there) that it became the subject of "Mr. Soul" Sam Cooke's 1962 MEGA dance hit record "Twistin' the Night Away."
"Let me tell you 'bout a place
Somewhere up-a New York way
Where the people are so GAY
Twistin' the night away-ay"
And in this case "gay" meant both happy and actually GAY. Later on in the song he also refers to a "queen" dancing with a guy in blue jeans. An accidental double meaning? I think not.
It was at the Peppermint Lounge where high society and working class leather daddies found equality on the dance floor. The dance step behind the magic was The Twist. For the first time people could take to the dance floor without being shackled to a dance partner. FINALLY, America's dancers were free to express themselves regardless of whether or not they had a dance partner. The beauty of "the twist" was in its simplicity - Anybody could do it with different degrees of ability and flair. The twist brought a new kind of individual expression while at the same time uniting a congregation of diverse dancers on the dance floor.
About Sugar Town : With elaborate decorations, original themes and exciting guest DJs, Sugar Town has earned a dedicated following and has become one of PDX's most beloved queer dance nights. For over a year Sugar Town's host DJ Action Slacks has provided a safe space for the queer community (and it's allies) to comfortably dance to classic and rare R&B, soul and groovin' garage music of the late 50s, 1960s and early 70s. The vintage super club atmosphere of the historic Spare Room is the perfect setting to transport you to another place and another time. On First Saturdays the Spare Room is transformed into Sugar Town, a magical village painted with candy, rainbows and pure glitz. It's an enchanted land with a vintage dance adventure beyond your wildest dreams! You'll want to visit again and again.
Location of event: The Spare Room - 4830 NE 42nd Ave, Portland, OR 97218
Cost: $5
Age limit: Is it 21+