The White Party Miami, one of the oldest HIV/AIDS fundraisers in the world, started from humble beginnings in 1985 to celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year as the powerhouse week-long event it is today. This means a lot of money is raised and donated to Care Resource, which is a primary care provider helping the LGBT community impacted by HIV/AIDS in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.
There are many events going on during White Party Week, which starts on Wednesday, November 26, and runs through Sunday, December 1. The signature White Party has a new venue this year: the Pérez Art Museum (1103 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami). The party starts at 7 p.m. with entertainment by Elaine Lancaster, Sam Hyken and the White Party Orchestra, and DJ David Knapp. Profiles of those four entertainment acts are available below, and also in this article we’ll tell you which DJs are performing at your favorite parties.
Sam Hyken
Sam Hyken is a well-known music composer, performer and producer, who currently calls Miami home. He graduated from Juilliard in New York City and has studied further at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and at the University of Miami. He is a faculty member at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, teaching pop music composition. He is also an artist in residence at the Miami Symphony Orchestra, having first showcased his work there three years ago.
The White Party Symphony
The White Party Symphony is a 30-piece orchestra that is led by conductor and artistic director Sam Hyken. This orchestra has played with a diverse group of recording artists, such as Dirty Vegas, Talib Kweli, Glen Matlock, Res, Tiara Thomas, and others. The orchestra has provided music for such important South Florida events as Art Basel, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, and the Miami International Auto Show.
David Knapp
David Knapp calls Atlanta home, but he has been well-known throughout Miami Beach for decades, and has performed his sets at the hottest clubs on the island. Knapp has been involved with the White Party Week since performing his first set there in 1992. He was the lead DJ for the parties at Vizcaya for eleven straight years, the longest headlining stretch by any one DJ in White Party history. He has also been a featured DJ at New York’s Gay Pride Pier Dance, Winter Party in Miami, IML in Chicago, White Party Palm Springs, Montreal’s Black and Blue Ball, Pensacola’s Memorial Day Weekend, Provincetown’s Fourth of July, and abroad in places as far-flung as Amsterdam, Mykonos, Sydney, Tokyo, and Tel Aviv. Knapp counts the late Peter Rauhofer and Frankie Knuckles as a couple of the people who influenced him musically.
Elaine Lancaster
James Davis has entertained crowds for many years as drag persona Elaine Lancaster. Glamorous like a character out of “Hollywood Wives,” that was indeed how Davis was inspired to create the character that we love today. Davis and Lancaster first stepped foot on South Beach seventeen years ago, and within a year, Lancaster was making a splash in the society pages. A noted national magazine even selected Lancaster as one of the ten defining drag queens of the 1990s. Elaine can be seen at galas, benefits and nightclubs all over Miami, giving these events the “Elaine touch” as only she can. People who are interested in having that “Elaine look” can even buy her very own Elaine Lancaster line of lip gloss, available online.
Additional Talent
DJs Joe Gauthreaux and Kidd Madonny will be providing music at the first party, White Journey, on Thursday, November 27. DJs Alain Jackinsky and Ivan Gomez will be performing their sets at the White Dreams party on Friday, November 28. DJs Grind and Sushiman will be spinning poolside at the White Splash party, DJ Affect will be at the Cirque Blanc party, and DJs Isaac Escalante and Paulo will be the talent at the White Starz party; all three of these parties will be presented on Saturday, November 29. On Sunday, November 30, partygoers can enjoy DJs Micky Friedmann and Tristan Jaxx at Muscle Beach, DJs Billy Lace and Nando at White Sunset Tea, and DJ Abel at Noche Blanca. On the last day of White Party Week, DJ Morabito will be spinning at White Horizons, DJ Deanne will be the official DJ at the closing event Swan Song, and DJ Cris A.M. will be providing the music for Key West revelers to dance to at Island House for WhiteHaus 3.
Read Hotspots next week for a full rundown of White Party Week events! For more White Party information, visit whiteparty.org.
