Last Saturday we joined the celebrations for O Bar's 13th anniversary, which is quite the achievement when you look at local LGBT establishments. They are the longest-operating LGBT entertainment venue that's really more than "just" a gay club but more a dedicated performance space for celebrating the art of drag. It's not a comedy bar where queer performers insult the crowd. It's not a dance space that ends up feeling more pretentious than inviting. It is a drag theater that aims to deliver some of the best drag shows in Asia (or even the world) every night they're open.
You already know that Tobie and view our O Bar friends as part of our family and O Bar in itself feels like a second home to us as well. And those feelings only deepen and strengthen as the years go by. We may not be able to go as often as we'd like to given real world obligations and the fact that our older selves are not as quick to recover from late nights out. And thus every trip we do make is a fun celebration indeed and one that never really goes bad for us.
For 13 years O Bar has continued to hone some already talented performers to give their best in the form of drag, dance and even singing when the chance arises. They have also helped expose their audiences to diverse forms of performance at through the participation of guest artists of different disciplines including traditional folk dance, classical ballet, and modern dance. O Bar is not just place to go drinking for a fun weekend night (not that you still can't do that) but to also watch a phenomenal show that continues to delight and amaze folks from all over.
This is why Tobie and I are always so eager to encourage people to join us for O Bar nights. I never understand how people can even choose not to go at least once especially with how many people are now fans of shows like RuPaul's Drag Race. If you really love drag queens, then you need to watch the O Divas perform and see what it's like when drag is combined with dance in order to elevate the whole experience into its own expressive art form. The O Divas aren't just pretty faces with beautiful outfits and makeup. They are seriously some of the most talented performers I've ever seen and their continue to grow in their ability to perform a wide range of numbers including outright impersonations of popular artists or even emotional, expressive tribute dances that interpret the song in their own way. Every show is simply amazing and thus we always want to get more people to experience the magic and hopefully feel even a fraction of the delight we do whenever we go.
We are obviously O Bar fans for life at this point and we'll continue to advocate for the bar as our way of saying thank you for all the happy nights and irreplaceable memories they've given us.
O Bar is family. O Bar is home. O Bar is love. Thank you so very much, O Bar. May you continue to inspire generations of queer individuals with your brilliance achieved through hard work, determination and drive and a whole lot of heart.
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