Welcome from the Executive Director

Welcome to Winter Party Festival 2023!

It’s good to be back!!! While our community faces challenges and opposition – very urgently here in Florida -- we also need to recognize and celebrate our resilience. And here, in the heart of so much opposition, our queer joy will offer a respite and recharge for the year ahead. I hope you are ready for a week of music, sun and love!

Winter Party was launched in 1994 as a single dance party on the beach to raise money to oppose an antigay ballot initiative. It was an immediate sensation and has continued to grow into the unique week-long festival that brings together an international LGBTQ crowd of thousands. And what happens when you bring together such extraordinary people, music, entertainment, and world-renowned DJ talent, all set in beautiful Miami Beach? Queer magic -- nothing less!

The National LGBTQ Task Force has the distinct honor of putting together this fabulous Festival, which is much, much more than a celebration: it is a unique and exceptional event that funds the Task Force’s activism and community work while also giving back a substantial amount of the proceeds to support local organizations in Florida.

Never underestimate the contribution you are making when you join us in Miami. It’s not just fun and DJs – you’re helping us battle against “don’t say gay” legislation, educate the public and elected officials on the need for nondiscrimination protections, and fighting attempts to harm and erase our community, our families, our youth, and our lives.

2023 is very special. We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Winter Party and the 50th anniversary for the National

LGBTQ Task Force, an extraordinary testament to the countless individuals who have worked with and for this organization in the struggle for queer liberation and equality. All year long the Task Force will be celebrating our golden anniversary as the oldest LGBTQ organization in the country, and I hope you join us at events and celebrations throughout the year that will honor half a century of groundbreaking accomplishments – and prepare us for the next 50 years!

We live in a world that challenges us every day: telling us we’re different… less than… other. And while that may be changing, progress is slow, and inequality persists. It can wear on even the strongest among us. It makes us long for safe havens, places where we can be ourselves, surrounded by our chosen family and accepted and loved just the way we are. Winter Party is that place, a haven where we can LIVE FREE and BE YOU!

So…dance your ass off! We will be right there with you on the dance floor! As we experience the joy of being in community, I know that we are also there to learn what we can do when the house lights come up. I am so grateful that we will all return from this celebration and get back in the fight refreshed, renewed and confident in the love and support of every one of you that comes to Winter Party Festival.

Kierra Johnson Executive Director National LGBTQ Task Force