DiFiore is the owner and creative director of Neverland Events, which has been in business for about three years and runs five or six large Neverland parties annually, some corporate and private events, and four or five other smaller GayGlow dance parties at Hydrate Nightclub in the heart of Boystown. In addition, Neverland has tried its hand with a Market Days Yacht Party and the Pride Pool Party.
Neverland events are not—repeat, not—just for the twentysomething, muscled party boys with no more than 1 percent body fat.
“The actual people who come to our party fill a wide spectrum of ages, body shapes, genders and sexualities,” said DiFiore, 31, who lives in Chicago’s Lake View neighborhood. “People of all ages like to go out and have fun, and Neverland is a conduit for that, with glossy production and great music.”
And that’s not just words to push attendance. Neverland proves it. DiFiore said it is “extremely important” to reach all demographics, all sub-communities that stand under the rainbow flag.
“The more people who come to our parties, the more diverse the crowd, and the cooler the experience,” he said. “If you break everyone down into niche groups and throw a bunch of small niche Pride parties, you can’t create the kind of big experiences that will make Chicago’s Pride world-class. If everyone bands together to support a great party, our community could be taking over places like Millennium Park and the Aragon to celebrate Pride in the years to come.”
Neverland has certainly tapped into Chicago’s local transgender community. “Long before transgender issues became a hot button topic, Neverland was including transgender people in its photoshoots and was hiring transgender performers at our events,” DiFiore said. “We believe that the trans community is largely left out of the marketing that goes into big gay dance parties. When we work with a variety of types and genders, it makes the party feel much more welcoming and inclusive of everyone.”
In advance of Neverland’s three major events around Pride weekend in late June, the company has already done a promotional photoshoot with transgender model Joselyn Lopez, and another is planned with model Alessa Schmalbach, DiFiore said. The star performer at Neverland’s “Bougie Ball,” Sasha Colby, is transgender and a former Miss Continental.
Neverland’s Pride weekend plans are threefold: On Saturday, June 27, there will be an outdoor, daytime pool party for 400 people at Deuce’s and the Diamond Club in the Boystown area. The Neverland “Bougie Ball” is Saturday night at Metro, which will be a massive event with glitzy production, and music by Neverland alumni Alex Acosta (Mexico City) and Alexander (Los Angeles). With most of the Halsted bars closing at 2 a.m. on Pride Saturday so that Halsted Street can be prepped for the parade, Neverland’s party at Metro will be one of the only late-night options for the community. Then Sunday, after the parade, Neverland is taking over The MID, for a closing party with Europe’s Ivan Gomez and Puerto Rico’s Queen Bee Ho. A portion of all proceeds benefit the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
The Bougie Ball and the Pride Closing Party are each expected to draw 800 to 1,000.
Individual tickets for each event are available at Egoist Underwear in Boystown, or online at www.showclix.com/event/neverlandpride. A weekend pass for all three events is $95. The Pride Pool Party and the Neverland “Bougie Ball” are $50 each, while the Pride Closing Party is $40.
There will be a variety of go-go dancers at the “Bougie Ball,” including a transgender dancer.
“Our goal is simple: We want to create a cool environment where anyone can go to have fun, no matter what they look like,” DiFiore said. “Trans people encounter a lot of discrimination in daily life, and we want to create a discrimination-free zone where people can party and feel good about themselves.”
DiFiore expects a strong trans presence at all three events.
“Neverland started as a costume party, but has evolved to become a thematic dance party, but the original idea was that anyone should come dressed however they want. The idea has been ‘be yourself and be comfortable with yourself’ since day one,” he said. “The key to our marketing is that we work with a variety of people, but still maintain the fantasy.
“The evolving emphasis of a Neverland party has always been about the art. Art is inclusive of all types of people, and so as an art-centric party, it would be silly for us to only work with chiseled, muscular men. We’ve worked extensively with drag queens since the very beginning, inviting artists like Kim Chi, Pearl, Shea Coulee and Eddie Couture to host and perform at our parties. We’ve worked with a variety of models and go-go dancers of all races, from big muscle to trim, from smooth to hairy. We’ve also worked with a number of transgender models and go-go dancers. My favorite photos from our marketing campaigns are when you see the muscle boys alongside drag queens and trans people and club kids.”
Kim Chi, a gay drag queen who lives in Andersonville, said working with Neverland has been “the best opportunity I’ve ever gotten in my lifetime. I get to work alongside incredibly talented and kind hearted people and help with some of the best production Chicago’s seen in a party.”
Chi agreed that Neverland events are for everyone. “We’re all about the gay community coming together and becoming a part of this elaborate, avant-garde costume party,” Chi said. “We’re all creatures of vanity to an extent and what better way to celebrate than at an over the top party.
“Neverland is very inclusive when it comes to models for [promotional photo] shoots. [There have been] transgender models, models of all diversity, biological woman, legends in the Chicago club scene, etc. As long as their look matches the concept and the theme of the event.”
The upcoming Bougie Ball is the lone themed night for Neverland during Pride, and the Bougie Ball is “a celebration of all things luxurious and fabulous,” DiFiore said. “It’s a perfect fit for Pride weekend, because it encourages everyone to dress their best. There’s going to be huge production at the Bougie Ball, with a massive stage installation, costumes, performances, and décor that matches the theme.”
DiFiore added, “For the past three years we’ve been working hard to get to the point where we can provide all the big dance party entertainment on a major weekend like Pride. We’ve had our ups and downs with different venues around the city, and different experiments in date selection. But now we’ve finally got three awesome venues and a lineup of exceptional DJs on a weekend when 1 million people [locally] are celebrating Gay Pride.
“This year is going to be the beginning of an exciting new chapter.”