Purple Party - A Vision of Love
Written by Jeffery Taylor
Saul Flores had a dream, a Jimi Hendrix-like vision of a purple haze. In the midst of his purple passion, everything appeared in various shades of the royal color. Flores envisioned purple as more than a dab on a palette; it would serve as inspiration to help people and bring the community together. In Flores’ purple dream, a weekend of events would be dedicated to charity, drawing people from all over the country to Dallas.
In 2001, Flores made his dream a reality when he founded the Purple Foundation, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to raise money to assist people living with HIV/AIDS. As Purple approaches its eighth year this April, it has been able to donate in excess of $150,000 to various beneficiaries.
Purple Foundation Board Chairman Rich Hill has taken over the reins of the party. He recently signed dance diva Deborah Cox for this year’s event. Cox, who also starred on Broadway in Aida, will perform at the Saturday night main event, “Amethyst.” The event will be held at the recently opened House of Blues in downtown Dallas. Hill tells noiZe that this will be the first dance event at the venue, the latest addition to this world-famous chain of music halls.
Purple Board Member Blake Baker, who handles all of the creative aspects of the events, is psyched about the new venue. “We’re so excited, primarily because for the past four or five years, our main events have been in basically a warehouse space or a public space where we had to build an entire club,” he says, “build all the trusses, hang all the lights. A lot of money went into that, and also a lot of sweat and hard work. We’re excited that we don’t have to build a club. It’s at an incredible venue.”
Roland Belmares, who got his start in nearby Austin before his reputation soared as one of the Circuit’s most popular DJs, has played the Sunday tea dances the past two years for Purple. This year, Belmares will be stepping up to the plate as the main event headliner. Coming off last year’s “Muscle Beach” party during White Party week in Miami and a recent gig in Rio for Carnival, Belmares plans to turn it out.
Friday night starts off the weekend with “Purple Hearts” at another great Dallas hot spot, Minc Lounge, with Alyson Calagna behind the turntables. “If anyone can bring the boys out to the events, she can do it. They love her here,” Baker says of the New Orleans native. Minc features a small dance floor where the boys can dance if they want to as well as couches and cozy nooks for more intimate interactions. Minc also has a 2,500-square-foot back patio where Purple patrons can sip cocktails under the stars while they mix and mingle.
After the rockin’ Saturday night main event at House of Blues, New York DJ Joe Gauthreaux will take it harder and deeper at “Resurrection” at the Starlight Room. Another DJ who originally hailed from New Orleans, Gauthreaux now plays all over the country and will be headlining the 15th Annual Winter Party Beach Party in Miami at the beginning of March before heading to New York to play the morning set at the Black Party on March 29th.
West Coast sensation Phil B. is making his Dallas debut at the Sunday tea dance, “Wild Orchid,” at Purgatory, a multi-level velvet rope dance club deep in the heart of Dallas. Phil B. has been on the scene for over 15 years, playing at such legendary venues as The Tunnel in New York and Crobar in Miami. Sinners will shake the shackles off their feet so they can dance to the beats of this San Francisco mixmaster as the weekend draws to a close.
Starting out as a modest gathering with small donations, Purple has grown into an impressive weekend of dance and community. In 2006, Purple presented a check to AIDS Services of Dallas for close to $60,000 totaling more than the first five years combined. This organization, which provides housing and medical care and job placement for people living with HIV, is again this year’s beneficiary. They hope to present AIDS Services of Dallas with an even bigger check this year but need the financial support of the community to reach that goal.
“It’s always been an uphill battle,” Baker says. Whereas Miami has the beach and New York has everything for everyone, Dallas might not seem the obvious vacation destination. However, Blake continues, “Dallas has really grown as a city; it’s become very cosmopolitan.” Though Dallas is in the Bible Belt and is relatively conservative, Baker notes that, “Dallas has become a very friendly city. It’s a very welcome and hospitable group here.”
Rich Hill concurs, “It’s not like any of the other big parties you go to everybody has a very down-home, very welcoming feeling. We really enjoy all the people that come from different parts of the country.” Featuring a lineup of some of the Circuit’s hottest DJs, exciting venues like House of Blues, and the ultimate diva Deborah Cox, Purple 8 will show off the cowtown to best advantage not to mention those sexy cowpokes and cowgirls.
With a host of volunteers, friends, and dedicated individuals like Rich Hill, Blake Baker and board members Peter Brown and Aaron Carrasco, Saul Flores’ dream lives on, touching the lives of countless others. So brush off the 10-gallon hat, click on the spurs, break out the chaps, and saddle up for a weekend of fun, y’all. Hyah!
Purple 8 takes place April 18-20, 2008. For more information, visit http://www.dallaspurpleparty.org. Also, check out the Dallas city spotlight in the Winter 2007 issue of noiZe (Issue #54) available online at noiZemag.com.
