The annual Black Party in New York City is one of the most iconic and longest-running events to take place within the gay community.
This is an arena that takes NSFW to a whole other level, to the point where photos are strictly forbidden. That would’ve been an easy task when this started many moons ago, but can be much trickier in the Instagram-heavy world that we live in today.
Rites XL: The Black Party 2019 took place uptown in The Bronx at the New York Expo Center on Saturday, April 6 through Sunday, April 7. Several DJ’s, including Ryan Smith and Byrell the Great, kept the party going for over 18, yes,18 hours of fun, debauchery, scandal and more.
Other locations have played host to The Black Party in the past. Roseland Ballroom in midtown Manhattan was it’s primary location for several years in the early 2010’s that also included a fantastic Black Party Expo where several brands, porn stars and more came out to show their stuff.
I’ve heard several stories about what goes on inside this infamous party. Your imagination can truly run wild in an atmosphere like this where everything from the shows on stage to what goes on among the other men in the crowd can simply be described as an OMFG type of situation in the most delicious of ways.
The bottom line is that Black Party happens to be one of those rare events that keep the seedy underbelly (that’s a compliment, by the way) of New York City alive amid a rapidly suburban, strip mall kind of vibe that it’s become over the past decade. They just celebrated their 40th anniversary this year and here’s hoping there’s 40 more for the generations to come.
More on Black Party here.