Sagamore Club Presents: Tea Dance w/ DJ Skooch

Sagamore Club Presents: Tea Dance w/ DJ Skooch

Sat 6/22

21+ | 3pm-7pm| $10

True story: from 1957 to 1975, the second floor of what is now The Press Room was The Sagamore Club, a speakeasy gay social club. Ironically, for many of those years, the club resided above Big Daddy’s, a rough-and-tumble biker bar.

Back in the day, members of the gay community looking to go out would take a semi-hidden back stairwell up to the Sagamore to socialize, drink, and dance in a safe and welcoming space. It’s easy to imagine the venue being a saving grace for the community in this less-evolved era.

It was during the same period that tea dances became popular in the gay community.

They offered refuge for those that wanted to be able to drink and dance without fear of discrimination or violence. The "tea dance" name was carefully chosen to imply that it was a daytime function without alcohol— a necessary deception since gay nightlife in that time was literally illegal.

Flash forward 44 years and the days of back stairwells and hidden clubs are thankfully over. We still have a long way to go, to say the least, but cue Pride: a celebration of how far we've come and the journey it took to get here.

In honor of that journey, The Press Room is beyond proud to team up with good friend DJ Skooch to resurrect the Sagamore Club for a day of tribute and festivity.

Host or Publisher The Press Room