In 1988 Asians & Friends - Washington (AFW) invited Asians & Friends
- New
York (AFNY) to come to Washington to celebrate AFW's fourth anniversary. For
that occasion AFW organized a special potluck dinner and arranged for a
guided tour of the newly opened Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Asian Art. AFNY
reciprocated and invited AFW to come to New York the following year.
In September of 1989, AFW chartered a bus and headed
for the Big Apple. AFNY
treated about 45 of our members to a weekend of tours, shows, parties, and
dim sum at a trendy Chinese restaurant in the South Street Seaport festival
marketplace in Lower Manhattan.
In 1990, it was AFW's turn to host AFNY in what was
becoming an annual
event. In preparing for the weekend, the organizers felt that other groups
should be invited to participate, thus the International Friendship Weekend
(IFW) was born.
Early on, it was decided that Washington would host IFW with AFNY co-sponsoring
the event. 120 people registered for the first IFW, with five organizations
represented: AFW, AFNY, Asians and Friends of Chicago (AFC), Asians and Friends
of Pittsburgh (AFPgh) and Gay Asians of Ottawa and their
Friends.
The events included a welcoming reception at the Stuart-Mott
Mansion on Capitol Hill, conference and discussion groups, tours of the city,
a Saturday night dinner-dance, a Sunday picnic, and a farewell dim-sum in Chinatown.
Plenty of photo-ops were available, including group pictures in Dupont Circle
and Chinatown, where traffic was stopped for a few minutes
while the group posed underneath the Chinese gate (above).
At Saturday's conference, each organization's president
or representative
presented his organization to the attendees. Later on that day, those
representatives met at Frank and Nicolas' home to discuss mutual business
concerns, to plan for the creation of a national network of Gay Asian and
Asians & Friends groups. The seed for Asians and Friends International was
planted. Also, it was decided that AFC would host the 1991 IFW, and with a
whole year to prepare, to try to get more organizations involved.
Chicago succeeded in attracting representatives from twelve gay Asian or
Asians and Friends organizations from all across North America. A total of
163 people attended the weekend activities.
IFW '91 opened with a wine and cheese reception at the
Museum of the Chicago
Academy of Sciences. Saturday morning, participants came bright and early to
the Rodde Center, Chicago's Gay and Lesbian community center, for a series
of workshops and discussion groups. AFC's president Michael Barnett welcomed
people and groups from many different locales, including Washington, New
York, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Ottawa, Florida, San Diego, Los Angeles, San
Francisco, and Hong Kong.
Saturday evening's event, as in Washington, was a dinner
dance at Ann
Sather's Restaurant, a Swedish restaurant with a tradition of service to the
gay and lesbian community. The highlight of the weekend was the Sunday boat
cruise up and down the lakeshore and up the Chicago River, which snakes
through downtown. When the disco music started playing, several shirtless
men danced together in the middle of the upper deck, in full view of the
people on the shore or on the bridges. Those dancers, and those watching,
truly shared an unmatched feeling of warmth, love, togetherness, and gay
pride.
Important results from the second IFW were the selection
of San Francisco as
the site of the next year's conference, the recommendation that the
conference remain on Labor Day weekend, and steps toward formalizing
connections among our various groups.
San Francisco undoubtedly is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
And certainly it is renowned as one of the great gay meccas. So it is not
surprising that IFW '92 attracted over 340 participants, easily twice as
many as the previous year. People flew in from many different countries,
including Japan, Singapore, Thailand, England, Australia, and Canada.
Attendees included members of at least 23 organizations, particularly Gay
Asian, Asians and Friends, international-oriented, and/or HIV education
groups.
The host group was Pacific Friends, with help from Gay
Asian Pacific
Alliance (GAPA) and Pacific Friends-South Bay, based in San Jose. Most of
the IFW events were held at the Unitarian Church conference center near San
Francisco's Japantown. Besides the now-traditional welcoming reception,
dinner dance and workshops, Pacific Friends held the first Miss and Mr. IFW
Pageant, and treated us to a Sunday morning boat cruise on San Francisco
Bay.
At the movers and shakers working session, names for
the umbrella
organization were suggested and Asians and Friends International (AFI) was
selected. The other major decision was to select Pittsburgh as the site of
IFW '93 and New York for IFW '94.
Saturday's
Mr. & Miss IFW'93 Pageant opened with "It's Raining Men" and
ended with "We Are Family". This pretty much summarizes what this
weekend
was all about: a family of over 200 men from all over the world meeting in
Pittsburgh at the fourth annual International Friendship Weekend for three
days of fun, friendship, love, and more fun.
Fourteen organizations were represented, including Asians
& Friends
organizations from Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Florida, Houston, New York,
Ohio, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, and Washington; Pacific Friends (San Francisco),
A/PLG (Los Angeles), Gay Asians of Ottawa, and Long Yang Club (London).
At the annual meeting, Asians and Friends International
was the name
selected for the umbrella group; New York was chosen for IFW'94 and Dallas,
Texas for IFW'95.
New
York City hosted the fifth International Friendship Weekend over the
July 1-4, 1994 weekend, to coincide with the celebrations of the 25th anniversary
of Stonewall. Well over 200 participants came from around the
world to join in the festivities. Many of the events were held at the Seventh
Avenue, just across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. This grand
lady of a hotel was an echo of the Glenn Miller days when radio and railroads
were king and nearby Times Square was
"really something".
The program
was similar to previous IFW's, but with a "Big Apple" flavor. The
Saturday Mr. & Miss IFW'94 pageant at the Grand Ballroom of the
Pennsylvania Hotel was a big show, complete with spotlights, beautiful stage
designs, stagehands, and gorgeous participants.
At the
official Asians and Friends International meeting, representatives
adopted bylaws for AFI, confirmed Dallas as the location of IFW'95 and
selected the Long Yang Club in London, England to host IFW'96.
Texans
say that "everything is bigger and better in Texas", and Asians and
Friends Dallas was out to prove it with its "The Far East Meets The Wild
West" theme. IFW'95 might not have had the attendance of some of the previous
IFW's, but it was one of the most memorable.
The moment
we walked into the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel we knew we were in for something
big. The facilities were by far the most luxurious we had had
to date. Everything ran smoothly, from the registration at the Hospitality Room
to the Talent Show. Almost everyone agrees that the highlight of the
weekend was the Sunday afternoon Pool Party.
At the annual board meeting Cleveland was selected as the site for IFW'98.
IFW
became a truly international event when the Long Yang Club - London,
hosted the 1996 event for the first time outside the United States. It was a
memorable weekend and the Long Yang members made it even more special.
The Weekend
started with the traditional Welcoming Reception on Friday evening. Although
many of us were tired and jet-lagged, the atmosphere in the party room of the
Kensington Hotel was lively and charged to get the
weekend off to a roaring start. Saturday morning and part of the afternoon was
dedicated to workshops (or playrooms as the organizers called them.) Saturday
evening we boarded the Naticia for a river boat dinner cruise and
disco on the Thames. We danced our shoes off under the stars and the Tower Bridge.
On Sunday,
LYC offered us what could be considered the high point of the
weekend, a Pink Tour of London on an open-top double decker bus. Try to
imagine three buses loaded with screeming queens waving rainbow flags while
blowing whistles to the crowds all over the city of London. It was the ride
of a lifetime.
The fun
and excitement wasn't over yet. Sunday evening we were treated to a
great show (including a visit by the Queen Mother) at the International Gala
Cabaret, with dancing afterwards at Heaven, "the" gay disco in London.
Asian/Pacific
Gay Asians and Friends hosted the 1997 International
Friendship Weekend in a grand scale, starting with the magnificent Regal
Biltmore Hotel, site of the weekend events. There was a Welcome party on
Friday evening, a very impressive line of workshops on Saturday and Sunday
mornings, a fun filled Saturday afternoon at Universal Studios, FantAsia
(showcasing the talents of many API's and friends) on Sunday evening, and
several inspiring speakers.
But IFW'97
wasn't all workshops and lectures, it was lots of fun and dancing
to the wee hours with special Asian themed nights at local dance clubs. As
usual it was also a great opportunity to visit with old friends and make new
ones.
The weekend
ended with an unofficial Pool Party at member's home. It was the
perfect way to relax after a fun-filled and busy weekend.
1998's
International Friendship Weekend was hosted by Asians and
Friends of Cleveland, showcasing their beautiful city and landmarks.
Events
included the traditional welcoming party with a Gala Piano Bar at the
Sheraton Cleveland City Center, Taste of Cleveland Fair, workshops, museum
visits, gay beach volleyball, and enough free time to visit other
attractions on our own, such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, just a few
blocks from the hotel.
On Sunday
night we were treated to a boat cruise on Lake Erie aboard the
Goodtimes III... and what a good time we had, dancing under the stars.
What most
people considered the best of IFW'98 were the informal gatherings
at the IFW hospitality suite, where attendees could relax and meet new
friends.
International Friendship Alliance or IFA, the umbrella group for the various
gay Asian organizations around the world, chose Washington, D.C. for IFW-99.
This was the second time for Washington as well as the 10th anniversary of IFW.
We were invited to an Art Exhibit Reception "East & West" at the Rivaga Gallery for those in DC on Thursday night. The official Hotel was the very famous Mayflower Hotel where all of the events were held. Workshops and most meals were also in the hotel.
A highlight of the weekend was held in the Chinese Room (would you believe). The Dinner, Presentations, and Entertainment were held in the Grand Ballroom. Badlands Bar, and the Disco was where most guys ended up. A rainbow tour of DC and Sunset Trolley Tour made the weekend just right. "The IFW 10" were the people who had been to all 10 IFW's. They were awarded special tee shirts with the logos of all 10 IFWs logo printed on them. At the IFA meeting, Chicago was picked for IFW-2000.
This was
the second anniversary for their IFW also. By this time, there was a certain
expectation of each host city and none has disappointed. Attendance which started
as a handful during the first IFW has now averaged well over 100 attendees and
as many as 300 at some events IFW'2000 - Chicago, IL.
Chicago is a fun city any time of the year. Friday night was the usual welcome reception, a great place to meet old friends and meet new ones. The Westin Michigan Avenue Hotel was the official hotel in a great shopping mall. Asians and Friends Chicago threw a great party, and the place to be was the hospitality suite. Other events were the group trolley ride through Chicago, Chinatown lunch, and the Lake Michigan dinner cruise/dance. The best was the farewell brunch at the John Hancock Building. What a view.
Pictures from IFW 2000 are available on the Asians and Friends Chicago website
In
2001, Asians & Friends Houston had been fixin' "A Houston Odyssey!"
Friday's well-organized registration in one of the hotel's expansive suite
was followed by a Texas-style barbeque dinner buffet served in the hotel's
glass-walled top floor. Later that evening, a convenient shuttle bus
service transported us between our host hotel, The Westin Oaks, and
Houston's Montrose "Boys Town" area.
Saturday
morning continental breakfast buffet seemed to come all too early
at 8:30 for those who just stopped partying at 3:00+am. In addition, two
morning workshop sessions offered attendees various subjects such as Feng
Shui, Flirting and Relationships, S&M, Fitness and more.
Our
hosts presented a plentiful Tex-Mex lunch high atop our hotel once 
again. The views were not as nice as normal because, up until this time, continuous
thunderstorms were the order of each day. However, "the gods
must be Gay", since the skies miraculously opened up and the sunshine poured
down upon our exclusive Pool Party at the hotel's outdoor pool for the entire
afternoon only.
Saturday
evening was another night to party, so the well-organized bus
shuttles carried delegates once again to the Montrose area where the
"Pacific Street Bar" closed its doors to the public and became the
venue for
our privately catered Asian Happy Hour buffet.
Sunday's
continental breakfast buffet was so sumptuous that it was more like
a brunch. Such a meal prepared everyone for the bus ride through the rains
to the Johnson Space Center where everyone was free to explore such things
as Rocket Park where those big, long, thick things are truly "bigger than
life".
Sunday
was the designated night for this year's Dinner/Show/Dance. Held at
the host hotel, the gala was a delightful variety show that featured singers
and dancers. Our stage quickly turned into a hopping dance floor, as club
wear became the norm for the rest of the night.
Our
efficient bus shuttles were awaiting our delegation on Monday morning to
whisk everyone to Fu-Kim Restaurant for our Farewell Vietnamese Brunch.
There seemed no end to the good family-style dishes that were presented. It
was decided that we were ready for our group photo close-up now and the
paparazzi flashing non-stop throughout our entire good-bye affair.
As
our delegates would concur, the on and off rains during this weekend did
not hamper the unending activities from start to finish.
Pictures from IFW 2001 are available on the Asians and Friends Houston website
This
was the first IFW on a cruise ship. Basically it was unique because it was more
of a vacation than a IFW. There was a show as well as announcements and cocktail
hours provided by Liberty Travel, but mainly it was a group of IFW guys getting
together and having a great time on a cruise ship to the Bahamas where they
got to explore Nassau and the island of Coco Cay. IFW attendees ate, drank,
ate, swam, ate, jet skied, ate, shop, ate, para-sailed, ate, went to casinos
and gambled, and ate. Basically breakfast ran into dinner. Dinner ran into lunch.
Lunch ran into dinner. Dinner ran into the Midnight Buffet. In between they
had free pizza. The food was gourmet.
