~ Countdown To Gay Games VII ~
100 Parties, 100 Ways to Support
the 2006 Chicago Gay Games

Chicago, IL – Starting 28 October 2005, friends and allies of the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago will have 100 more ways to show their support for the 15-22 July 2006 sports and cultural festival.

Chicago supporters will hold up to 100 Parties in private homes, clubs, cultural centers and restaurants around Chicago, across America and throughout the world. Each of the 100 Parties will raise visibility, fundraise and increase registrations for the Gay Games. With an average of 50 people attending each party, more than 5,000 people worldwide will participate in the parties taking place from the last week of October through November 2005.

Party hosts are still needed. To learn how to become a host of one of the 100 Parties, visit the Party Page at www.GayGamesChicago.org/100parties/.  Learn the Top VII Reasons to Host a Party, Top VII Party Ideas, Facts about the Gay Games, and the contents of “Party in a Box,” a kit sent out to every party host. “Party in a Box” includes beautiful four-color brochures, promotional post cards, sponsorship information, registration forms, a wonderful DVD about the Games, a Gay Games tee shirt for the host and tons of information and tips. Each Host is asked to raise at least USD$500 at his or her party through cash donations or by registering Gay Games athletes and artists.

For those who can’t host a party but are willing to attend and support the Gay Games, view the list of public events at www.GayGamesChicago.org/100parties/. Friends, work colleagues, neighbors, friends – all are welcome at these public events. Selected public parties include:

• Tue, 1 Nov 2005 – Pow Wow Tuesday, 7401 S. Chicago Ave, Chicago, 7 pm to midnight. Featured poets include Art of Change, Lee’s Unleaded Blues. Great raffle prizes, Gay Games Trivia. $5 cover. No RSVP necessary, call (773) 592-3492 for more information.
• Wed, 2 Nov 2005 – Women Got Game, Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted, Chicago, 7 pm to midnight. Presented by the CFW Lesbian Leadership Council, and the African American Coalition for Gay Games. $10 donation requested. No RSVP required.
• Fri, 4 Nov 2005 – Argentine Women’s Soccer Team Benefit, T’s Restaurant & Bar, a Gay Games sponsor, 5025 N. Clark Street, 7 to 10 pm. Co-hosted by local soccer athletes and Amigas Latinas. Donation requested. No RSVP needed.
• Fri, 4 Nov 2005 – Fundraising Party, home of Debrah Goodman on North Lake Shore Drive.  $60 minimum donation requested. RSVP to (773) 907-2006.
• Fri, 4 Nov 2005 – Joburg/Chicago Gay Games Party, Club Ramp Divas, 154 Annabella Rd, Bartless, East Rand., South Africa. Phone 082 680 3691. 15 Rand ($2USD) donation requested. No RSVP required.
• Sun, 6 Nov 2005 – Benefit for South African Lesbian Athletes, 1900 S. Prairie Historic Home, Chicago, 3 to 6 pm. Hosted by Tracy Baim, co-hosted by Affinity. Donation requested. No RSVP needed.
• Sun, 6 Nov 2005 – Turnabout Show at Hydrate, 3458 N. Halsted, Chicago, 9 to 11 pm. Hydrate bar, a Gay Games sponsor, hosts this fun event to benefit the Gay Games.
• Mon, 7 Nov 2005 – Plaza Club Celebration & Benefit, 130 E. Randolph Street, 40th Floor, Chicago, hosted by Michael Leppen. $100 minimum donation requested. RSVP to (773) 907-2006.

About Gay Games VII:
Gay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival will take place 15-22 July 2006. Over 12,000 athletes from more than 100 countries will compete in 30 sports ranging from softball to dancesport, swimming to tennis. The weeklong event will include band, cheerleading and colour guard performances, chorus, an ancillary arts festival, and a series of community-organised social events and parties. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 15 July at Soldier Field, the lakefront home stadium of American-style football’s Chicago Bears. Closing ceremony will be 22 July at Wrigley Field, the home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, located in the heart of Chicago’s largest LGBT neighbourhood. 

For the first time, the Gay Games in Chicago will receive widespread television coverage on the Q Television Network. Early sponsors of Gay Games VII include PlanetOut/Gay.com; Q Television Network; Walgreens; Orbitz; Sydney New Mardi Gras; McKnight Kurland Baccelli; Human Rights Campaign; Mate, Genre, Pink and Girlfriends Magazines; Windy City Media Group; Olivia Cruises and Resorts; and more than 80 business sponsors.

Registration for Gay Games VII is now open at http://www.GayGamesChicago.org (English), http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/es/ (Spanish), http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/fr/ (French), and http://www.GayGamesChicago.org/de/ (German).

About The Gay Games
The Gay Games was conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, and was first held in San Francisco in 1982 with 1,350 participants. Subsequent Gay Games have been held in San Francisco (1986; 3,500 participants), Vancouver (1990; 7,300 participants), New York (1994; 12,500 participants), Amsterdam (1998; 13,000 participants), and Sydney (2002; 11,000 participants). 

The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body that perpetuates the quadrennial Gay Games and promotes the event's founding principles of Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best™. For more information, visit http://www.GayGames.org.

Chicago Games, Inc. is the host of Gay Games VII and is led by experienced civic leaders from Chicago’s business, sports and non-profit sectors. For information about how to sponsor or participate in Gay Games VII in Chicago, visit http://www.GayGamesChicago.org, e-mail info@GayGamesChicago.org, or phone (773) 907-2006.