Dancers, singers, chefs and even hair stylists will come together later this month for a night of entertainment and competition to vie for the title of the best of the best of the Gayborhood.
The first-ever Gayborhood Games will kick off at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 at Pure, 1221 St. James St.
The event, staged by Nightlifegay.com and sponsored by 12th Street Gym, will feature seven live competitions that Nightlifegay owner Bruce Yelk said should help shed some light on the real “Best Ofs” in the LGBT community.
“This event is the result of seeing all of these ‘Best Of’ lists in magazines and publications and going through and saying, ‘Wow, how did they arrive at the Best Night Out for Men in Philadelphia and it’s in Atlantic City?’” Yelk said. “I kept thinking that these lists are a little crazy and wanted to do a competition to formally come to what judges thought are really the Best Of.”
A panel of judges will choose winners for best dance crew, vocalist, drag performer, comedian, bartender, chef and hair salon/stylist. The competition is open to LGBT and ally individuals.
The first four segments will be live, which Yelk said should provide audience members high-quality entertainment and friendly, but exciting, competition.
“This event is very original; I don’t know of any event that does seven competitions in one night,” he said. “And these are things that people want to see.”
The bartenders, chefs and stylists will prepare their entries ahead of time and present them to the judges on stage.
Bartenders will make a specialty vodka cocktail, chefs will compete for the tastiest cake and salons will each enter one male and one female competitor to show off their hair-styling talents.
Several judges have already been confirmed, including Derek Hartley from “The Derek and Romaine Show” on Sirius OutQ Radio; Tim Bennett from Sirius’ “The Focus Group”; Jeisohn Fiala, a hair stylist with Fox Network; WHERE Magazine publisher Laura Burkhardt; WHERE editor Karen Gross; local business owner Jimmy Contreras; and Scott Barnes of Festivities Events. Yelk said more judges will be announced in the coming weeks.
Yelk said he expects the Gayborhood Games to become an annual event, and that he anticipates the inaugural competition could draw between 350-500 people.
Tickets are $20 or $40 for VIP access.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.nightlifegay.com.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].