Dave’s Lesbian Bar heads to Astoria
AUGUST 2 0 2 1 I BOROMAG.COM 21
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Photo courtesy of Kristin “Dave” Dausch
Screenshot via GoFundMe
A lesbian bar functioning
partly as a music
space and also as a mutual
aid hub is heading
to Astoria, Queens.
Kristin “Dave” Dausch, the
owner and founder of
Dave’s Lesbian Bar, hosted
a summer pop-up in partnership
with the bar Heart
of Gold on July 24 at 2 p.m.
on 37th Street and 31st Avenue
in Astoria. Attendees enjoyed
live music from queer bands, including
the owner’s band “Themme,” as well as
flash tattoos and queer undercuts.
Dausch, a singer, performer and open
mic host, said they envision a space
where LGBTQ folks can listen to queer
artists while perusing a free clothing
rack, donating to a local food pantry, or
grabbing fruit from their in-house community
fridge. The owner hopes this mutual
aid model can encourage others to
help those in need.
“Because money is fake and community
is real,” Dausch said, referring to
the importance of building resources
for marginalized folks. “It has just been
rewarding that everybody I’m around
is giving a little bit of themselves, to
make all of us better.”
In the future, they added that this could
also apply to ticket sales at the venue:
“‘Oh, you bring groceries, you see the
show,’ come see the show with non-perishables
so that we can give them to the
community.”
The venue is hoping to build momentum
for the watering hole before
they secure a spot of their own. Since
launching a GoFundMe for the bar,
they have raised more than $7,000 of
their $70,000 goal.
The creation of the pop-up is especially
timely given that several lesbian
pubs have shuttered in the U.S. due to
the COVID-19 pandemic. In New York,
the lesbian bar Ginger’s in Brooklyn is
closed indefinitely while Cubbyhole
and Henrietta Hudson in Manhattan are
open. With only two lesbian bars open,
Dausch is ready to join the select few.
“It’s time for us to take some space for
ourselves,” Dausch said. “I’m very proud
to be loud enough to say let’s go.”
For more information, visit gofundme.
com/f/daves-lesbian-bar.
Story courtesy of Gay City News
FOOD + DRINKS
Kristin "Dave" Dausch
/BOROMAG.COM
