Multi-ethnic club a hit

Hundreds of beautiful men and a handful of beautiful women attended the San Francisco premier of Club La Zeez at Club Eight on Saturday, March 15.

Saleem Azzouqa, 45, brought Club La Zeez to San Francisco after receiving funding for the event from the New Venture Seed Fund, a project of And Castro for All. He is a Los Angeles resident and has been producing Club La Zeez events there. He is hoping to start holding the event regularly in San Francisco.

The event featured Latin, Mediterranean, South Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern music, male and female exotic belly dancers, and Middle Eastern hors d'oeuvres. The crowd was diverse and featured people of all ages, races, and genders.

One third of the over $1,000 raised on Saturday will go toward the gay Arab film All My Life, which depicts the lives of gay men in Egypt. Maher Sabry, who made the film, is a gay activist who alerted the public to the infamous Queen Boat raid in Egypt in 2001.

Those who attended the event had a good time.

"Dancing at this kind of event keeps you young. It's a great time," said Ira Johnson, 48, of San Francisco.

"I'm having a blast. I think they did a great job," said Michael Mullin, 42, who lives in the Castro and has attended Club La Zeez events in Los Angeles. He alerted Azzouqa to the New Venture Seed application. "I'm delighted. It's a huge success," he said.

"We couldn't help but notice all the hot men," said Philip Ruth, 36, who attended the event with Mullin and Johnson.

"There is a really positive vibe and a nice energy to this crowd," said Kathy Reid, 25, who attended the event with her girlfriend.

And Castro for All leaders also were pleased with the event.

"We are truly ecstatic about the launch of Club La Zeez. It is our hope that Club La Zeez will help broaden the breadth and diversity of safe, fun spaces for LGBT people of color within the San Francisco Bay Area," wrote And Castro for All co-founder John Newsome on http://www.OutinPalmSprings.com.

"The event was a great success," said Azzouqa. "The feedback from people was very encouraging. Everyone thought that the music was great. I would like to thank the LGBT community in San Francisco for coming and supporting the event."

The next Club La Zeez will be at the Stone bar in Los Angeles on April 12 and the next San Francisco event will take place at Club Eight on April 19.

This is the pilot year for the New Venture Seed Fund, which "seeks to encourage and support enterprising entrepreneurs to create new social ventures whose formats are explicitly inclusive and affirming of women, people of color, and other underserved LGBT sub-communities – and at the same time, welcoming of all LGBT people," according to a concept paper written by Aimee Forster, an And Castro for All board member.