High-minded Events and The Paramount Group are excited to announce the Higher Love Pride Tea Dance to celebrate Pride Month at Eden Restaurant on June 27th, 2021. This event symbolizes the first opportunity (post-COVID-19) to celebrate Pride where recreational cannabis use is legal in the state of Illinois.
“Because of the pandemic last year we weren’t able to have a Pride or celebrate the new legal possibilities of cannabis,” says Phil Cooper, founder, and owner of HighMinded Events. “We thought this would be a great opportunity to do that, and the private outdoor setting of Eden allows us to be open and honest with our consumption,” he says.
The event will combine elements of a traditional tea dance with cannabis education and opportunities to engage with cannabis brands. Fresh, unique twists on traditional street food from Eden, a live DJ, and appearances by drag queens will lend excitement and color to the celebration.
“I have a strong belief that live events are a very powerful way to introduce cannabis to people,” says Cooper. “We make sure these interactions are positive and responsible by providing education, but in a fun and interactive way that gets the education across,” he says.
Founder and CEO of the Paramount Group, Jodi Fyfe says that the event is exciting on multiple levels. “We are always searching for the latest trends pushing the boundaries on what is possible in an event setting. This is such an exciting opportunity, and also demonstrates one of our core beliefs of inclusion,” she says. “ We want people to feel safe, enjoy and express themselves and this event is an opportunity for that.”
Your ticket includes
All Tickets
-
Festival food with a unique twist
-
Water and non-alcoholic refreshments
-
Vaping stations – Bello Vape Statio
-
Live DJ
-
Dancing
-
Drag Queens
VIP Experience
-
Private lounge space in Eden
-
Deluxe Charcuterie and Vegetable board
-
Indoor Restrooms
-
Full Bar featuring Froze
-
Full-service High-minded Vape Bar
Sunday Tea Dances have a rich history in the gay community.
With roots dating back to afternoon high tea in England in the 1800’s, tea dances were a brief tradition in both the UK and the US from the late 1880’s until the pre-World War Two era. Michael Fresco, owner of The Ice Palace on Fire Island, NY, revived this tradition in his bar in the late 1960’s, and employed Cherry Grove’s famous drag queens to serve the tea. Created as a safe, alternative community space to gay bars and clubs, tea dances were a way for venues to avoid attracting attention as serving alcohol to known or suspected gay individuals was illegal until the Stonewall Riots in 1969.
For Cooper, deciding to host a Tea Dance as the event was an easy choice.“I love to dance and I know lots of other members of the LGBTQ community who love tea dances,” he says. “There is nothing more fun than leaving the beach or brunch and coming to dance and being done by 8 o’clock, or being done early enough to enjoy the next dinner or social gathering. They are just so much fun.”
The event will be hosted at The Paramount Group’s Eden restaurant and patio and will serve food prepared fresh in-house. Brands such as Consume Cannabis, PTS, 1906, Grenco Science, Stundenglass, and upcoming craft growers like Chicago Kush will all be in attendance.
“I’m most excited about being outside and dancing. And having people together again”, says Cooper. “It will be nice to celebrate not just Pride but the last 14-months that we have gone through with COVID,” he says.
