Hundreds of LGBTQ+ business and community members made their way to nightclub Stampede Houston Dec. 11 to unwind and have a few drinks at the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce’s annual Holiday Jingle.
For a few hours, attendees networked, line-danced, rode on a mechanical bull, went ax throwing, and sang along to their favorite songs on karaoke, while exploring items at the “Rainbow market,” which showcased LGBTQ+-owned businesses to support for the holidays.
“Being a part of the community, LGBTQ+ is not what it was yesterday, or the year before the decade before, but it’s still a bit taboo in some spaces. So where do you find comfort? You find it here,” said Stacy Williams, who leads employee engagement at HP, one of the event sponsors, and attended for the first time. “It’s about that camaraderie amongst like-minded people.”
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones gave a few opening remarks vowing to continue to advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Harris County.
“I look forward to making Texas, the Texas that we deserve but until then, everything that’s bigger in Texas will be bigger in Harris County because of our opportunity, rareness, our inclusion and our justice,” she said to the crowd.
“It’s up to us to build community, to create this welcoming environment where all feel welcome,” Briones said to the Landing.
While the chamber has hosted a holiday celebration every year since its inception in 2016, this year, organizers said they noticed an uptick in registration numbers and participation in many of their recent events ever since the Nov. 5 election.
More than 450 registered for this year’s Holiday Jingle, up more than 100 from last year, and the chamber also hosted its largest monthly chamber breakfast held Nov. 21, which focused on empowering voices for the upcoming legislative session, said Tammi Wallace, co-founder, president and CEO.
“It’s clear that people need to be with community right now,” Wallace said. “Holidays are hard in general, and if you look ahead to what you think is coming and what that may be, it’s challenging.”
The chamber is also planning a post-election panel at its upcoming monthly breakfast Jan. 16, where three attorneys will discuss the upcoming political landscape and how the community can prepare for it, Wallace said.
“All of our events take on even more relevance going forward even something like the holiday celebration,” she said. “People need to know, especially during the holidays, that they are not alone. We’re all in this together.”
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