National Black Lesbian Conference 2003
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Girls In The Night

Girls In The Night...

All Girl Productions was founded on a long boring Saturday night in September of 1988 in South Beach Miami, Florida. After doing laundry, ordering pizza, hanging out the window of her South Beach apartment watching the women go by trying to figure out who was and who was not, Marketing Coordinator for King Motor Company "Would be" Promoter - Lisa Cox yearned to simply go out and DANCE! Much to the dismay of Cox, a recent import from New York City by way of the Bahamas, there was simply not one nightclub within 3000 Miles that offered a high energy, safe, sexy, environment for women that dance for women. Fort Lauderdale offered a little bar called "The Otherside", and south Miami had a club called Cheers. Both clubs targeted for WGF exclusively, so if you were Latin, African American, and from any other ethnic background, you stood in the corner, and hoped you might meet someone that didn't look at you as if you just landed from a lesbian planet in another galaxy.

Cox rapidly grew tired of going back to New York every other week to get her party on. Frustrated with going to Boy Bars, and bored with girl watching out of the window, Cox decided, "If I can't find a party, I'll make my own! At that time, the only experience Cox had was for promoting straight parties for her sorority in college and organizing special events for King Motor Company. Cox called upon life long friend and Mentor Angie Oliver, a graphic designer/newspaper publisher. Oliver agreed to help Cox with a few stipulations: No stereotypical images of Lesbian women, and no marketing that targeted women based on their race, or profession. All Girl Productions would have to be for all women. Cox vowed to follow her mentor's lead, and abide by Oliver's wishes. Angie Oliver agreed to create the imaging and promotional materials for the first event.

Combining Oliver's design skills and Cox's marketing background would prove to be a huge success! The newly formed promotion company chose a piece of vintage artwork for it's first advertising campaign; it was an illustration of a woman. The Woman was extremely sexy and there was no way to discern whether she was Anglo Saxon, African American, or Latin, which was perfect!

Where did the name Girls in the Night come from?

Strange enough behind the woman on the first flyer for All Girl Productions, was a 1957 movie marquee that read: 

"Girls in the Night"

While All Girl Productions was prominently displayed on the flyer, the women of Miami picked up on the Girls in the Night movie title and began to refer to the first event as "The Girls in the Night Party".

The first event had little over 150 women. It was not a discouraging number. It marked excitement with the prospect of creating the first Lesbian Production Company on the South East Coast. Lisa Cox reported to work the next day, came out of the closet she hid in for 10 years, packed up her desk, and set out to promote the next event 7 days a week for 30 days.500 women turned out for the next event and the Girls in the Night Fever was on! Girls in the Night exploded! Local and national newspapers and magazines wanted to write all about the super girl party with the Lipstick Lesbians from every ethnic background that existed. The events became so popular; the boyz started showing up by the hundreds. Standing by the rules that Oliver outlined from day one, gay boyz were always welcomed to Girls in the Night events, allowing men to attend the parties did not sit well with some of the clientele. Thus, the first expansion of Girls in the Night was born: The Wee Hour Boyz.

In its first year Girls in the Night boasted an attendance of well over 1200 patrons per event! The attendance at the events quickly was became 60% female and 40% male. After a little strategy session with Oliver it Cox decided to try to give the men their own party so that the original mission of the organization was not lost. Cox would stay true to providing entertainment for women, without alienating our gay male counter parts, by creating a brother organization for the boyz. At 4:00am when the Girls party ended the Boyz parties began! The boyz would party into the WEE hours of the morning; So Oliver dubbed the men's parties "The Wee Hour Boyz! The first member of the Wee Hour Boyz Juan Camilche headed this division up. Girls in the Night quickly created other divisions that would address all the entertainment needs of our members:

Girls in the Day - Day time events i.e.: Horseback Riding, Picnics, Girls in the Day does the Movies, "Girl Talk" - Bi-Monthly discussion group.

Girls in the Night Community Group - volunteer services for hospitals, counseling, and Working with the gay and lesbian youth groups in Miami.

Girls in the Night NEWS - G.I.N. News is an award-winning magazine. Vivian Galliena turned a pasted together little gossip rag into the talk of the town! With our expansion goals, the magazine was put on the shelf due to lack of financing and time, but the year 2002 will see the little magazine that could jump and the shelf, and return to the hands of our members BI-monthly.

The Women's Club - Viva Lé Elegante! Upscale events produced bi-monthly. An evening at the "Women's Club" includes a elegant dinner, live ballet or jazz dance performances, and live music. When the clock strikes midnight, the women hit the dance floor and it's on!

Fundraising -- Girls in the Night enjoyed over a decade of success in Miami. We produced everything from events with underground swimming pools, to the first topless event in the country for women. Our attendance has included the clientele of Madonna, Dennis Rodman, Versace, and numerous female celebrities that we won't name. The accomplishment and division of All Girl Productions that we are most rewarded by is our Fundraising Division. In our 14-year History (Herstory) we have raised over $250,000.00 for over 75-community service and AIDS organizations. A Girls In The Night fundraiser provided the seed money for the first Lesbian, Bisexual, and Gay Community Center on South Miami Beach.

Turmoil Strikes -- Whenever you read the about us portions of any BIO, it's usually boasts highlights of the organization. The founder of G.I.N. has asked me to tell the whole Girls in the Night Story. Girls In The Night has faced its fair share of scandal and turmoil. With all the media attention and the overwhelming growth, Girls in the Night has bounced back from near ruin, numerous times. From the Lesbian Club Wars to Nightclub takeovers, G.I.N. has faced every type of foe imaginable. At on time, the rumors being spread about weakened even the founder of our organization's views about all the hype written in The New York Times, Interview Magazine, Details Magazine, Allure Magazine, OUT, and a laundry list of 200 Newspapers and Magazines. Arrogance and lack of focus would soon turn an attendance of 1200 to 200, thus financially draining the organization. Fortunately, the members of Girls in the Night did not give up! After all they were the members, and if it were not for them there would be no Girls in the Night! The entire Girls in the Night Organization survived due to the loyalty of its members.

Turn Around -- In 1996 Hurricane Andrew hit Girls in the Night directly in the face. Several women lost their homes and the city was crippled. Without even realizing it, the members of Girls in the Night formed a posse. Twenty-five of us divided up addresses and went to the homes of as many members as we could. Our DJ Shibumi (First Female DJ for GIN) sheltered about 9 of us. We bused the women out of Miami into Fort Lauderdale that next weekend for a party. The cover charge was: Food, Clothing, and Cash Donations for the Girls in the Night Members that lost everything. There was so much food and supplies donated that we had water and food to provide for over three shelters! 1,100 women were in attendance that night! It was our first successful event in over 11 months. In Girls in the Night fashion, we partied until 5:00 am! When those women got back on that bus, we all knew what Girls in the Night is truly all about! Since that momentous event (Hurricane Andrew), we have met numerous obstacles and head on attacks from rival promoters. We have learned to take the high road no matter what the cost. Now our membership continues to grow daily. As Cox still says today, "If we can survive Andrew, we can survive anything!" And we do.

Future -- Girls in the Night's immediate goals are to expand and develop our National presence. We now have over 20,000 members worldwide! With the induction of our Website, our list grows every day. We have numerous projects currently progressing, our first being returning home to Miami to re-affirm our presence in the community for LGBT. After a 2˝ -year break, the women of Miami, our founding chapter, want their Girls in the Night back!

Our targeted expansion includes Chapters in Chicago, Detroit, DC, Houston, and Memphis. Soon please stayed tuned, and get on the list, or there's no telling what you might miss! Girls in the Night might just be rolling through a venue very near to you!

Contact Girls in The Night:

All Girl Productions
2625 Piedmont Road
Atlanta , GA 30324
(404) 312-2056


  • Source:  Girls In The Night -- http://www.girlsinthenight.com/
     

 

 

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