In 1999, 800 women gathered in South Florida for a one-day event and raised $15,000 for two local breast cancer organizations. The seed that was sown as Sweet Charity has grown into four days of parties and special events attracting thousands of women from around the world and continuing to raise money for charity.
This year Aqua Girl, as it is now called, will take over Miami, Florida, May 12-16, and offer LBT women 14 events from parties to dances to shows, dinners and live entertainment. And Aqua Girl has stayed true to its roots -- all of the proceeds will benefit the Aqua Foundation for Women, a not-for profit organization that promotes equality, health and visibility of LBT women.
Aqua Girl is the brainchild of event producer Alison Burgos. "I think I had this dream in my head of this great party with thousands of women with lights and sounds but I don’t think I had the vision that women would come from all over and become so empowered and that it would become such a positive weekend. It’s really special because it’s done by the community."
“We are looking for the event to be bigger and better than ever,” says Aqua Foundation President Laura Steckler. “We want to make sure that we appeal to a cross section of LBT women so of course we have a lot of exciting pool parties but we have also developed a new cultural path where there is a dine out event on South Beach. We have a comedy show with Elvira Kurt …We have a brunch … we have lots of events that will appeal to women across all spectrums, which is what we want to do.”
This year’s Aqua Girl will reflect some changes and growth for the Aqua Foundation, explains Steckler. “We have grown the board of directors and have hired an executive director as well as another full time director.”
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Offering memberships is another new initiative. “We want to make sure that women have ownership so we developed our first membership drive where we are going to be creating member benefits and people will have an opportunity to be a part of the work we are doing,” adds Steckler.
The growing success of Aqua Girl means the foundation can provide expanded help to the LBT community. “Since 2004 Aqua Foundation has given away over $250,000 in grants and scholarships. In 2010-2011 we are going to give grants up to $50,000 in addition to expanding our scholarship program to graduating high school seniors, college students and graduate students who identify as LBT and are active in the LBT community. Our goal is to foster leadership and empowerment...
“We are really proud of our scholarship program … we give a grant of up to $5,000 and then we follow them for a year and link them with a mentor in the community, typically a professional woman, ideally in the scholar’s field of study.” The mentor provides academic, community and professional support.
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Aqua Girl 2010 will present a variety of programs at locations in Miami and Miami Beach including:
- Lady Luck Bowlathon - Wednesday, May 12 - 8pm to 11pm - first Aqua Girl bowling event at the Lucky Strike. Bring a team or get matched up.
- Traffic Jam kick off dance - Thursday, May 13 - 10pm to 3am - Dream Nightclub. Check out the colored glow necklaces - red means she’s taken; yellow, approach with caution; and green, GO FOR IT!
- Splash Pool Party - Friday, May14 - 11am to 5pm - Surfcomber Resort
- A Night of Comedy with Elvira Kurt - Friday, May 14 - 8pm to 10pm - Colony Theatre - star of The Comedy Network’s new series Popcultured and has appeared on her own Comedy Central special and on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, HBO and Showtime
- Havana Nights - Friday, May 14 - 10pm to 4am - Dolce Nightclub – featuring the Latin flavors that have made Miami famous.
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- Aqua Beach Pool Party - Saturday, May 15 – 11am to 5pm - Surfcomber Resort
- Dish - Saturday, May 15 - 8pm to 10pm - Dine and socialize on Miami Beach with a three-course gourmet meal in a private dining room
- Paradise - Saturday, May 15 - 10pm to 4am – Mekka - signature dance event
- Jazz Brunch - Sunday, May 16 - 11am to 2pm - Food, complimentary Bloody Marys and a jazz performance
- Aqualicious Tea Dance - Sunday, May 16 - 2pm to 7pm – Klutch - Co-ed party inviting gay male friends to show them how the girls can party with the best of them!
- Afterglow - Sunday, May 16 - 9pm to 2am - Score Nightclub – closing party
For more information visit Aqua Girl and the Aqua Foundation for Women
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