A woman has set up a women-only club night aimed at the lesbian, bisexual, queer and trans community.
Sam Wallace, from Aintree, wanted to create a space in which queer women “could come together to party and feel comfortable being themselves”. The event is set to host its second club night next month on St Patricks Day.
The 35-year-old was inspired to create the event after she set up a group for lesbian and bisexual women on the MeetUp Platform. The initial response is what led her to believe there was enough interest for a women-only club night.
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She told the ECHO: “The UK scene has changed so much. Businesses are trying to survive after the pandemic put on a massive strain on them. But with this people tend to find there are a lot more straight people in places and sometimes that can be problematic for the community. Not just for gay women, but gay men as well. Spaces for women have disappeared and there are very limited options for a women’s only night.”
Sam recalled how many LGBTQ+ spaces have changed on the whole since she was growing up. Venues across the country which were once deemed as “safe spaces” for many, now have become “diluted” in Sam’s eyes. While she appreciates businesses' need to survive, she believes safety for the LGBTQ+ community shouldn’t go unprioritised.
She said: “I remember going to Candy bar and Soho back in the day in London, and Manchester has Vanilla bar but we don’t have anything here in Liverpool geared towards LBTQ women only. If I can host an occasional club night and provide that space, then that’s great.”
The event host herself witnessed first-hand a verbal attack on a close friend in a club she once classed as a “welcoming” space. She said: "I was thinking ‘what’s even going’, this shouldn’t be happening in the first place. I was so shocked and it shows how much we’ve lost our spaces.”
Velvet Liverpool’s first club event happened over Halloween week with attendees spending the night listening to Halloween anthems as well as 80s, 90s and pop music. The next event falls on Friday, March 17 - St Patrick’s day. Guests will be entertained by a queer female DJ at the Monastery Bar, Wood Street, and can expect “Irish pop classics” and other hits all night.
Sam added: “We are getting lots of interest and it’s a really fun event to be putting on. I’m not just putting on a club night for people who are of the younger age bracket, this is for all women of all ages in the LBTQ community to come together and enjoy themselves.”
Tickets can be bought online.
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