One year ago, Noah Vella planned a queer dance party for their friends in celebration of their birthday. As the idea took hold, they were inspired by the disco era and what it represented in queer history—thus One Big Gay Disco (OBGD) was born.
The first disco was a resounding success and now, one year later, they are celebrating their anniversary on Dec. 14, 2024.
Initially, the Dancember Disco was only supposed to happen once, as an afterparty for one of the Drag Open Stage events at AOK. The event was sold out with the marketing help of Ashley Barry from the @kwgaysandtheys Instagram account, Vella’s friend and event organizer Alex Hannides.
Following the first event, it was clear to the OBGD team that the community wanted another disco. The second iteration of the disco, Inferno, happened in April 2024.
“It was the moment when we were about to open the doors and there was a line around the block… That was the point where [we realised] we need to keep doing this, but we need to take it bigger,” Vella said.
Inferno was also the first disco that Vella DJ’d at in their drag persona as Mary Poppers. Poppers had previously made appearances at the Open Stage, but Vella saw further growth for their drag persona.
“I DJ in drag specifically so that people know that the person running this event is dressing however the hell they want to and gender bending the house down, [and attendees] can do that too,” Vella said.
“As a DJ and an event host, you’re in a really unique spot, as DJs are tastemakers throughout queer history. It’s an honour to have the place that I do because I feel like I’m taking people along for the ride,” they said.
Throughout the night, there is a space created for drag performers to inspire the crowd to dance with numbers halfway between a drag performance and go-go dancing. Vella believes that drag is powerful because it inspires freedom and joy for everyone who witnesses it.
“If you don’t have anybody in drag, how free do people truly feel? Drag performers are beacons of light in terms of expression,” Vella said.
The subsequent disco’s Pride in Paradise and Revival took inspiration from famous discotheques in history: the Paradise Garage and Studio 54. The production of each event takes design elements from these famous discotheques and translates them into modern contexts, using lighting, graphic design, props and mood board outfit inspirations to create the ambiance.
The upcoming disco, Love Saves the Day, takes inspiration from David Mancuso’s private invitation to underground dance parties of the same name.
These were held at his home, which he called the Loft. Mancuso’s parties catered to racialized as well as queer and trans individuals, creating a safe space for folks to dance together without fear of violence or harassment by police.
“I believe that queer dance spaces are truly sacred. We try and keep that very central, so that’s why everything is branded as it’s a celebration of love’s unstoppable groove throughout history,” Vella said.
As the 1970s progressed, discotheques, including Studio 54, became places where cisgender heterosexual people mingled with queer and gender-diverse people and many folks felt safe in society, often for the first time.
However, in 1979, the end of disco began with Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in Chicago, which ended in a riot. Disco records were not the only target; it was also Black records and records written by anybody that was considered queer.
“I think that what we’re seeing today is almost like a direct parallel—we hit a breaking point where everything was pink wash all of a sudden. And then all of these companies are capitalizing off of the [queer liberation] movement, and then as soon as it starts to not be profitable for them anymore, they turn their backs,” Vella said.
This world is something that Vella was intimately familiar with as they recount their personal coming out journey. Watching Milk, a movie about queer politician Harvey Milk, prompted deep introspection in terms of the cultural intersection they found themself in as a conservative Christian who is queer.
“I realized that I was actually betraying my own people by not allowing myself to embrace my identity and keeping other people in the closet as well,” Vella said.
At the time of this realization, Vella worked in a youth ministry and saw many queer kids come through their doors looking for guidance.
In 2025, Vella hopes to continue bringing joy and light to the queer community through their discos because people need now more than ever. The core of the OBGD community is in Kitchener-Waterloo (KW), but they hope to bring elements of the disco out to other cities like Cambridge.
“As somebody who grew up [in Cambridge], it’s surrounded by a lot of churches, and I think we sometimes forget, but we’re kind of situated in an Ontario Bible Belt in KW. There’s a lot of people that probably need that space in Cambridge,” Vella said.
Many folks have come up to Vella to share that they are appreciative of the discos because they feel safe and free to be themselves, some even expressing that they had the peak of their queer experience thus far at the disco.
Overall, the experience of running OGBD has been rewarding for their team. The group will continue to be as loud and proud as they can be with the time they have.
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