On Thursday, June 26, Williamsburg’s Llama Inn (50 Withers St.), The Exley (1 Jackson St.), and Animal (307 Meeker Ave.) have teamed up to host an all-night event to kick off Pride weekend. The party will be a progressive dinner and bar crawl to raise money for the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.
The event starts with an aperitivo at The Exley from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m., followed by a ticketed dinner and entertainment at Llama Inn, and concludes with late-night drinks and dancing at Animal starting at 10 p.m.
The ticketed portion at Llama Inn will include a DJ, drag shows, dancers, and specials on cocktails and food. Tickets are $20 on Resy and provide admission to Llama Inn’s festivities.
Dan Goynes, the General Manager of Llama Inn, is the “mastermind” of the event according to The Exley’s Matthew Ricke. Llama Inn, The Exley, and Animal have been neighbors for years, and the teams at each spot have been “patrons of each other’s establishments,” according to Goynes.
“I have been wanting to team up with them for Pride for awhile since we are all queer-owned venues so close by each other,” Goynes told Greenpointers.
Goynes also explained that he “wanted to focus on support for an organization that specifically supports the trans community,” and both Animal and Exley got on board right away.
“All of our annual Pride events have been focused on community with a charitable aspect to them so it just made since,” Goynes said.
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project aims for all people to be free to self-determine gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race and without facing harassment, discrimination or violence, according to the organization’s website.