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says Dutch-bom D-J. “It’s given me incredible
energy.”
While D-J states he diK'sn’t have pretensions
about the overall stxrial contributions the cluh
made to the queer community, he says he’s
happy that he was able to create a space where
queers could feel comfortable just being queer.
It’s clear, however, that D-J and Baggadonutz
succeeded in creating more than just a pleasant
atmosphere. Over the years, Queer Night was
able to raise more than $22,000 for various orga
nizations, including Right to Pride and Radical
Faeries.
Baggadonutz fondly remembers a Christmas
Tupperware party hosted by drag queen Bobhi
M ichelle, which benefited Our House of
Portland, a residential care facility for people
with AIDS.
“I’m happiest that we were able to raise
money for the community and create an alter
native space," says Baggadonutz. He adds, “You
can raise consciousness and create a gixxl envi
ronment at the same time.”
wanting to escape the cruisey atmosphere of
many downtown bars.
Women also appreciate the spot. Julia
Waters, a bike mechanic, says Queer Night is
one of the few clubs in town where she feels
comfortable.
"It’s great to have dykes welcomed,” she says.
While she appreciates the efforts of predom
inately male clubs, such as the Eagle PDX, to
host nights for women, Queer Night is a place
she can already call her own.
A newly-transplanted high schixil student
from San Diego, Mark Ramos, says he likes the
fact that Queer Night gives underage people a
place to go on a weeknight.
His friend, Kevin Trendi, 21, agrees. “There’s
not a lot of gay things to do here,” he says.
Unlike their native San Diego, Ramos and
Trendi have found Portland lacking in queer
coffeehouses, proms and all-ages dances.
“Here I know this boy who’s gay,” says
Ramos, “but he doesn't know how to come out
because he divsn’t know where to go.”
On a recent Monday
night, the ruckus of
the dance room was
balanced by the
sepia-lit, semiquiet
mellowness o f the bar
and pool area.
Patrons were already
expressing
disappointment.
Folks get all the way down at a recent Queer Night gathering
P utting the L ights
O ut on Q ueer N ight
The promoters of Portland's alternative Monday mainstay
are calling it quits by Grace Pastine
ueer Night at LaLuna is about to
dance its last dance.
W hen it started in 1993,
Queer Night was viewed by many
as an invigorating alternative to
Portlands typical Top 40 club
fare. It was an all-ages queer venue that show
cased house and techno music, featuring both
DJs and live performers.
But despite a successful five-year run, Queer
Night is coming to an end. O n July 6, the event
bids its final adieu to the cozy second-floor space
it has inhabited every Monday night at LaLuna.
It will leave behind a cadre of saddened, loyal
patrons and a gap in Portland’s sometimes stale
queer night life.
D-J, also known as Hans Brinker, founder
and organizer of Queer Night, says that while it
has had its ups and downs, the cluh has, on the
whole, been self-supporting. He says the night
life is shifting, however, with more people being
drawn away from the club scene by private par
ties and raves.
“There’s more going on now, which is good,
but it’s also more competition,’’ he admits.
Howie Baggadonutz, who has co-promoted
the event for the past three and a half years, rea
sons, “It’s better to go out on a high than to wait
for it to collapse.”
Additionally, both D-J and Baggadonutz
want to concentrate on other projects. D-J is
now pursuing film production in Los Angeles.
Baggadonutz will continue to work as an arts
fund raiser and theatrical producer in Portland,
while fulfilling what he calls a middle-age desire
to spend Monday nights at home.
“It will he nice to wake up and have a clear
headed Tuesday,” he says with only a trace of
remorse.
“I’m incredibly proud of my Queer Night,"
Only the truly queer get past Erin, the door dyke
O
n a recent Monday night, the ruckus of the
dance room was balanced by the sepia-lit,
semiquiet mellowness of the bar and pool area.
Patrons were already expressing disappoint
ment.
Randy Craddock, a 33-year-old jewelry and
stained glass designer who has been going to
Queer Night since its inception, values the
diversity of queer people who attend the event.
Cradd(x:k likes the fact it’s a place where men
and women, old and young, and people of all
ethnicities can hang out together in a easy
atmosphere.
“Now that it’s closing, I probably won’t go
out as much anymore," he says.
According to one patron, the feeling of
Queer Night has made it popular among men
But it’s not gone yet. W ith a lineup of DJs
and special events, Queer Night will go out with
bang. On June 22, United Kingdom DJ Lewis of
the recording group T he Orb visits town, shar
ing the evening’s bill with Portland’s Chicago-
house DJ George Holland. July 6, billed as a fifth
anniversary party and the last Queer Night, will
feature a screening of Sufxrstar: The Karen
Carpenter Story and the debut of the Seattle
band Dragonfly.
■ Catch the last QUEER NlGHTs: 9 p.m . Monday
at La Luna, 215 S.E . Ninth A ve.; $3-$5 cover, all
ages. Advance tickets for the last Queer Night are
available in Portland at Platinum Records and
Starbass Records; $6 in advance, $8 at the dixrr.
For more information, call 2 4 1-5862.
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