On the evening of June 26, Chicago Urban Pride seemingly had the attention of the heavens. The group’s second annual Chicago Gay Pride All White Kick Off Yacht Party was in every way bigger and better and stuffed with more cheer than the first edition last year.
This time there was a bigger yacht—the Anita Dee II, a 140-foot floating fortress which accommodates 400 people—with more guests. The mini cruise, which took place under one of the ugliest skies so far this summer, with chilly rain promising to make a return from previously in the day, set off from DuSable Harbor at the 200 N. Breakwater Access.
Despite the chilly sheet of gray and whiffs of clouds hovering over the skyline, the outing went off without a hitch or a single drop of moisture. The sold-out event attracted a refreshingly intergenerational LGBTQ+ crowd including some pillars of the queer community, among them Jae Rice; Otis Mack; Pat McComb; Maya Green, MD; Dymond Onasis; and a particularly rowdy group of queer women from Kansas City.
The boat featured three decks, two DJ’s spinning beats, two dance floors, and three full-service bars. To top that off, catering was provided by The Nacho Lady, who provided a feast of Mexican delights the entire evening. Tickets for the event were sold out weeks before and it was clear that the party is becoming one of the hottest Gay Pride events in the Chicago area.
The Chicago Gay Pride Kick-Off Yacht Party was presented by David Dodd Events VI, Rails Marketing Group and Chicago Urban Pride.
Photos by Vern Hester
More Pride coverage:
