By Amber D. Dodd
WASHINGTON – From February 26 to March 4, Winter Party Festival returned to Miami and
Miami Beach as a cornerstone of queer culture and advocacy.
The 2025 Winter Party Festival’s “Dance is Revolution” theme is a nod to the 1998 “Dance
Dance Revolution” and a commentary on the state of queer liberation and the need to fight
back against the unrelenting attacks on queer people.
Since its founding in 1994, Winter Party Festival has created a space for queer liberation in
Miami Beach. The Task Force took over production of the Festival in 2005 with a promise to
donate a significant portion of its proceeds to the local organizations serving the LGBTQ
community. From the money raised through Winter Party, and its sister event, the National
LGBTQ Task Force Gala, the Task Force has donated over $4 million to support queer
organizations.
“Throughout history, dance has been more than just a movement – it has been a form of
resistance, liberation, and social change,” say Festival co-chairs Rene Wolfensberger and
Jason Hellinger. “Our community has long used dance to break down barriers, challenge
social norms, and create spaces where we can truly be ourselves. When we dance
together, we don’t just move our bodies, we move society forward.”
Held a month after the Task Force’s Creating Change Conference, the music festival and
dance party sought to lighten the load of advocacy work in today’s political climate. Anti-
trans and anti-queer executive orders and laws have intensified the need for queer visibility
and joy.
Jeremy Rye, a Winter Party Festival attendee since 2017 and board member of the Task
Force since 2020, says that the Task Force’s back-to-back events, are crucial to the vast
experience of being queer in America today.
“Creating Change activates our community and gives us the tools and know-how to
organize and defend the rights that we have and advance our rights. Winter Party provides
a space for joy and a way to introduce folks to the organization which could then hopefully
catalyze them to be involved in our movement,” Rye said.
To kick off the weekend, the iconic Palace welcomed Winter Party Festivalgoers with
fabulous drag performers and a welcoming vibe. We were thrilled to welcome several of
our partners and sponsor organizations, including Avita Pharmacy, Prevention 305, Inc.
and Q Care+.
FKA Twink, a drag queen and Miss Wynwood Pride 2024, served as the host of the opening
ceremony. For his contributions to Winter Party Festival and the Task Force annual gala
over 20 years on staff, February 26 was officially named “Michael Bath Day” by the Miami
Beach City Commission.
“I’m really blown away,” Bath said. “Thank you so much. I’ve been so fortunate to have this
job, and volunteers are the best people and those with the biggest hearts. Winter Party is a
labor of love for the people who spend countless hours and who go above and beyond.”
This year, the festival raised over $1.5 million to further efforts in queer advocacy. Over the
course of the week-long Winter Party events, over 5,000 people attended. More than 320
volunteers served during the week.
The Friday of the festival, the Winter Party Festival VIP Cocktail Reception was held at The
Standard hotel in Miami Beach. German performer CeCe Glitzer served as host. “It’s
always good to see the community, as we need this space to stand together and be as loud
and proud as we can together. We need to uplift, support and be there for each other,” she
said.
Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the only gay member of the Commission,
was joined at the VIP Cocktail Reception by Vice Mayor Tanya K. Bhatt and Commissioner
Laura Dominguez, both allies of the LGBTQ community. They shared their gratitude for the
Task Force and Winter Party Festival’s ongoing support of local efforts for queer rights. “I
care about each and every one of you, and it’s so important that we celebrate and love
each other. We attend Winter Party and all of the events,” Dominiguez said. “As Vice
Mayor Bhatt mentioned, watch who you vote for. The three of us are the only
commissioners for the City of Miami Beach who consistently put forth legislation for the
LBGTQ community. Thank you for inviting us to your annual party.”
Kierra Johnson, President of the National LGBTQ Task Force, shared remarks for the event.
She began by singing Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change is Gonna Come,’ referencing Cooke’s lyrics
of struggle and sacrifice for liberation.
“I share that piece of the song because…its pertinent to the moment we’re in,” Johnson
said. “This happened before, in the 30s and 40s, it happened in the 50s and 60s and it’s
happening right now.”
Johnson continued: “I know we are afraid, and I know it’s hard to know what to do, but the
worst thing is to numb out and not pay attention to what’s happening in the news. We
cannot ask a question of what’s required of us and be ignorant. We owe it to ourselves, to
our communities, to our movements, to our country, to our ancestors, to every freedom
fighter in the world. It’s been hard already and it’s going to get harder. The question is, what
are you willing to do for freedom?”
The VIP Cocktail Reception also honored Lisa Mercado, who Bath and other WPF leaders
called an “unsung hero.” She joined the festival committee in 2006 as director of women’s
programming and producer of the Festival’s LGBT Family Picnic. Mercado became the only
woman to chair Winter Party Festival and eventually joined the Task Force staff for a
decade.
The crown jewel of Winter Party Festival, Sunday’s Beach Party welcomed nearly 4,000
attendees. DJs Erik Vilar and DJ Micky Friedmann spun as day turned tonight, as partygoers
were able to enjoy food from the popular South Beach eatery Bodega and interact with
sponsors of the festival such as Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps. VIPs enjoyed an open bar,
while nine major donors purchased the exclusive Cabana Club package that offereda
private, elevated space overlooking the dancefloor and offer a spectacular view of the
Atlantic Ocean on the other side.
Other Winter Party highlights included the Under One Sun Pool Party, nighttime dance
parties co-produced with Masterbeat, Hilton Wolman Events and Midnight Service, and
Carnival, a dance party geared to the leather community.
As the 2025 Winter Party Festival concludes, volunteers and workers of the festival are
looking forward to their return to Miami Beach for another year of waltzing into new wins for
queer and trans liberation and the future of the community. The 2026 edition of the festival
will take place from February 25 to March 3.
“We will not give up our joy. We will dance in our bodies. We will control our bodies. We
will rebel on the dance floor because that is joy and liberation, and you can’t take that
away from us,” Rye said. “You may pass laws, but just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s
just.”