Photos from the Red Hot Happy Hour

Thank you boys for making our Red Hot Happy Hour such a smashing success!! Scarlet and it's staff gave our little cocktail club a lot of Holiday Cheer!

The BGCC Santas and the staff Elves & Reindeer made sure everyone had a cup of yuletide spirits, a sleigh full of great food and stockings full of fun.

With Season 9 is off to such an amazing start, we are looking forward to seeing all of you in 2008.

May your holidays be "Merry" and may each of you have a very safe and VERY gay New Year!!

Red Hot Happy Hour - Pre-sold!!

Word is out and this BGCC/LGCC Holiday Happy Hour is definitely going to be Hot, Hot, Hot!

Looks like we have pre-sold all our tickets, so come to Scarlet ready for some holiday cheer and plenty of Ho, Ho Ho!


See you Thursday!

Xoxo,
Your Hosts

Red Hot Happy Hour Details

Something new is coming to boystown, so we thought we should go there and warm things up a bit! Join us to celebrate the holiday season and bid a fabulous farewell to 2007!

Please note this is a "Little Gay Cocktail Club" event, with advance donations and limited attendance!

WHAT: The Red Hot Happy Happy Hour

WHEN: Thursday, December 13, 2007, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

WHERE: Scarlet, 3320 N. Halsted (at Aldine). Fabulously remodeled from the former Gentry on Halsted.

DRINKS: Get in the holiday spirit with special $5 Stoli cocktails and $8 Stoli martinis!

DONATION: Because the venue is very small, please make your $10 donation to Lambda Legal in advance! Passes are available at RJ's Video, 3452 N Halsted. Ask for the Big Gay Cocktail Club event. Only 150 are available, so get yours soon!

BGCC Holiday Party

Psst: The BGCC is planning a merry little cocktail party for Thursday, December 13th. The location is a big gay holiday secret, but we can give you a hint... it's a new little place, so the event will be the donate -in- advance "Little" Gay Cocktail Club format.

Be sure to check back soon as rumor has it, this will party will definitely warm your chestnuts!

Lakeshore Theatre Photos Posted

The Lakeshore Theater was the perfect venue for our boys to experience a new concept for our "little" cocktail club... drinks & a show!

With the martini's flowing and the lights down low, the stage was set for Cashetta to cast her magic spell on the BGCC!

After settling in with a few drinks and some amazing food, courtesy of Halsteds, Cashetta, the worlds first Drag Queen Magician, took the stage to amaze the audience with her magical powers.

With a little help from some our cocktail club boys, Cashetta performed her famous card trick, rope trick and even sang us song about her cute little "cat".

To find out where that card finally appeared and to see the rest of the Photos check out our new Photo Viewer at Shutterfly!

Till next time,
XOXO
Your Hosts

The BGCC Takes Over the Lakeshore Theatre

The change of the seasons has arrived just in time for the gayest of all holidays, Halloween - And we are ready to celebrate the change with a special Halloween event that is not to be missed!

WHAT: The Halloween Theater Happy Hour

WHEN: Wednesday, October 24, 2007, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

WHERE: The Lakeshore Theater, 3175 N. Broadway (just south of Belmont)

DETAILS: Starting at 5:30 p.m. the BGCC is going to have run of the theater, with cocktails in the lobby, as well as on-stage, delicious hors d'oeuvres, music by Brett Locascio and more!

SHOWTIME: At 7 p.m. The BGCC will be presenting the Chicago Debut of Fort Lauderdale performer Cashetta, the world's only Drag magician, not to mention the only one reviewed by the New York Times ("Hysterically Funny" -The New York Times)! Continue enjoying cocktails during the show in the theater and stay around for drinks with Cashetta after her performance.

BENEFICIARY: Howard Brown Health Center

PRICE: $20 or $30 VIP tickets. The $30 tickets include seating in the first 10 rows for Cashetta's Show.

Tickets Are Available Now!

The Lakeshore Theater is a small venue, so don't miss out. Tickets will be offered for sale to the public later this week, but we would rather have our BGCC members get them first!

Men at Sea Photos!

What a FABULOUS opening for our NINTH Big Gay Season! Mother nature provided a little opening drama, all the hosts got lei'd and everyone contributed to the WAVES of enthusiasm for our conclusion of Summer event.

The skyline was the backdrop for our beautiful Spirit of Chicago cruise. From what we saw, there was a lot more cruising going on once everyone got one of the huge martini specials! Click to see the photos over on Shutterfly.

A quick mention about photos... With the new format for the site, we are doing photos a little differently, too. Instead of posting the thumbnail spread, we will be putting all of the pictures on Shutterfly with a link from here. The new format will be easier to navigate with your choice of slideshow or thumbnails. Since we often get requests for the photos we take, we set it up so that you (or anyone) can order prints of yourself, your friends, or the new friends you made. No, we aren't getting a cut of anything, we just hope you like it!

xo, Your Hosts

BGCC Men at Sea Party on 9/25

The BGCC Kicks Off Fall 2007 Overlooking our Beautiful Lakefront!

With September underway, it seems like a great time to get together and celebrate the end of summer with one of our favorite events... "Men at Sea!" Get your sailor hats out and be ready to board on September 25th after works as we launch our fall season of the BGCC!

The Details:

What happens when you get a boat of Chicago's Hottest Men together and send them off on Lake Michigan with plenty of martinis, food and more?

WHAT: The "Men at Sea!" Happy Hour

WHEN: Tuesday, September 25th, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

WHERE: The BGCC takes over the Spirit of Chicago at Navy Pier for it's annual voyage at sea! The boat will be overstaffing the bars and loading up the buffets for our launch, and DJ Brett Locascio will be setting the tone for a great Happy Hour on our fabulous lakefront!

FOOD: A full buffet will be offered that will include Chicken Quesadillas, Chicken and Beef Skewers with an assortment of Dipping Sauces, Spanikopita, Fresh Vegetables and Dip, Assorted Imported and Domestic Cheese with Crackers, and delicious Artichoke Dip.

COST: Only $25 includes the cost of the cruise and delicious buffet!

BOOKING YOUR SPOT:

We are limited to only 300 people, so plan ahead and book now! The tickets are available on-line at http://www.spiritofchicago.com/ch/special_cruises.jsp#bgcc. You’ll need to follow the below process...

When you click the link to purchase tickets it will take you to a page that asks you for the month (September), number of tickets (up to you) and the Cruise Type (select midday/cocktail). Don't select an enhancement upgrade! When you do this, it will automatically take you to a page with a calendar and it will show 6:30 p.m. on the 25th. Click that time (that is the time the boat leaves... we board at 5:30!), and then a bar will appear on the right of the calendar which you can click to purchase your tickets.

Tickets are only $25. Remember, boarding starts at 5:30 and we leave promptly at 6:30, returning at 8:30 p.m.

Welcome to Season 9!

Hello boys!

We hope everyone has had as fabulous of a summer as we have had! From Movies in the Park, Market Days, days at the beach, and Pride ... its been a great summer and has slipped away fast!

Season 9 is full of new surprises! For the first time in our history, we're not pre-announcing the dates of our events. Though you might think that we just want to add to the mystery, the truth is that we want to make sure we have the perfect venue booked before putting it on the calendar. This season's events will be extra special and ones that you won't want to miss! We'll announce full details as soon as the venues are booked and the contracts are penned so that you can get them on your calendar ASAP.

Hope you can join us for a fabulous start to the fall season of the BGCC!

xoxo,
Your hosts

About Hazzzard (new!)

Hazzzard (Luke), born and raised in Chicago, is a school principal and a self proclaimed "life-long learner." Growing up in a large Italian family has made him appreciate the value of gatherings, great food, wine, and good conversation. He's honored to be a host for the BGCC and hopes to welcome many new members.

About Mike (new!)

Mike, locally know as "The Realtor to the Stars," has lived in Chicago his whole life. He loves this city and wants to share all it has to offer. He says he is honored to be a new host with the BGCC!

About Frisky (new!)

Frisky (Tony) is your corporate guy by day ... Director of Catering & Guest Relations by night. Tony has developed many talents while whipping up sumptuous dinners and mouth-watering party treats in his "frisky" kitchen. Tony is delighted at the opportunity to make every old and new member of the BGCC family feel welcome.

About Fuego (new!)

Fuego (Jose) was born in the green mountains of Cuba, but was raised in Chicago. During the day he works for corporate America while at night he drinks to erase any memory of communism. He is honored to fill the Hispanic quota of BGCC hosts and is as exicted about this season as when he arrived in the USA in 1979.

About Marcus (new!)

Marcus is a brand new host this year, and promises to share his bio with you soon!

About Drew

Drew is one of the BGCC's founding fathers, as well as an I.T. director, spin instructor, photographer, and triathlete. He lives in Andersonville with his partner and a cat named Spud, and one day hopes to run away and join the circus.

Drew can be reached by email

About Mark

Mark is a man with a flair for throwing fabulous parties. As owner of Hydrate and Halsted's, he shares this talent with much of Chicago!

About Salsa

Salsa (Rich) is Director of Human Resources for an international company. He can say "Margarita" in five different languages.

About Romeo

After cashing out of the Internet biz, Romeo (Steve) now toils as a Fortune 100 peon. He may not dress at the height of fashion, but has a versatile range of skills from shaking dry martinis to wielding various power tools.

About La La

Formerly a Solid Gold Dancer, La La (La'Mont) now works as a Medical School Admissions Counselor. La La has high hopes to one day take on the job as the first "First Man" of the United States. His platform: to establish federal bad fashion legislation and host Big Gay Cocktail parties in every state, territory and cute boy's penthouse.

About Tay

Tay is an event planner by day and an event photographer by night. On his own, Tay shoots everything from floral & lighting designs, to fine art photography and most recently a CD cover for a local Cabaret performer. He is also available for "private photoshoots".

About B.Lo

B.Lo is a Corporate Finance Consultant by day, and by night he lives it up like Paris Hilton. You may recognize Brett through his association with the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association (CMSA), or as a DJ at one of Chicago's trendy nightclubs.

Brett's nickname "B.Lo" was appointed to him after winning a Best Booty Contest in Austin, Texas. Rumor has it that the concept for the "Milkshake" song is a tribute to that day.

About Sport

A self-professed Beer Connoisseur, Sport (a.k.a. Mark, Nando, John McEnroe) is often found perusing the sports bars to catch the next big game or a chill jazz lounge to relax and listen to good music (or perform a couple of songs himself). A freelance visual communicator, he's often found after work training for swimming and triathlon season or getting his butt kicked in boxing and kickboxing. A chameleon in all aspects, if you see him out, you're sure to catch him either in swanky attire (and green mohawks) or sportwear, whatever befits the mood.