Time for solidarity with our favorite bars
Solidarity is a strong value of our community. Today, help our bars to ensure their survival. The sustainability of our social, associative and cultural life depends on it. More than ever #BEyourBars.
Just over a year ago, we gathered in Darklands to celebrate the wide variety of fetishes. At the same time, an epidemic loomed over the world and began its forays into our country. Some countries were already contained. It was only a matter of a few days in Belgium. Despite a very partial reopening during the summer, the bars and nightclubs where we like to meet so much are still closed to this day. Since Friday, we know that we can hope to find our way there from May. In the meantime, the bosses are going through difficult times. The cash registers are empty and all their savings go away.
This is where Growfunding comes in. Growfunding is a non-profit association that uses the power of crowdfunding to produce shared goods for the benefit of communities. In this case, we’re talking about our favorite bars. The structure only keeps 10% of the funds collected and reinvested them in the aim of the organization, in particular for research and development. Note also that the Flemish and Brussels authorities co-finance the general operation of Growfunding.
Growfunding has just launched a solidarity campaign via crowdfunding called ZUUR. It is a dual-impact mechanism that aims to help Brussels’ struggling bars and promote economic actors and social organisations in Brussels. The campaign was launched on Monday 8 February and runs until the end of May.
In recent days, you have undoubtedly seen links to this solidarity platform appear in your news feeds on social media. Indeed, many rainbow bars are present there. In exchange for a donation, you receive compensation in kind. It ranges from a beer at the bar for € 10 to a private party with your friends when conditions allow for several hundred euros. Between these two extremes, lots of formulas exist, in particular admission tickets to museums or the donation of food parcels to LGBTQI+ people in precariousness through Brussels Rainbow Support (an initiative born within the fetish community supported by Ex-Aequo and the RainbowHouse Brussels).
This article is therefore not only information on the existence of the project, but above all a call for solidarity. We know that this solidarity is an intrinsic value in the LGBTQI+ community and even more within the fetish community. Here is the list of establishments that you can support. Every donation counts and we are counting on you!
This year “La Reserve” has existed for 43 years. The last year may have been the hardest year ever, but we are not ready to stop partying yet.
The Baroque has welcomed you for 11 years in the heart of the rue Marché au Charbon to celebrate its “bear spirit” in a friendly, cosmopolitan and baroque setting.
Stammbar has always been involved in the LGBT community life and we hope, thanks to you, to continue to be so with the same intensity.
As a bar, nightclub and cabaret, “Chez Maman” has been badly hit by this sanitary crisis.The lack of audience has made Maman and her girls watch the movie of the 25 years of Chez Maman on repeat, made our DJ’s cry when listening to all the new songs they cannot play and even our doorman lights up when he hears his own doorbell.
For too long now, It has become impossible to welcome you at Castro. We can’t toast to each other, cheer for the rugby (and our team: the Straffe Ketten) together or sing our sorrows away over a pint or two at the moment.
The Crazy Circle is a tiny cozy bar located in Ixelles, with the look of a small theater. We took over this place in 2019 with the project of making it a lesbian and feminist bar, open to the entire LGBTQI+ community and their friends.
Whether for a drink, a nice aperitif or a good meal, on the terrace in the sun, or comfortably inside, for almost five years, you are regular customers of this nice place, the Café Charbon.
Our visitors don’t only come to just a bar, but also discover a cultural experience of this local heritage. We are situated in a UNESCO protected building, called “Le chien rouge” or “The red dog” having the original front and windows of the 17th century building.
In October 2020, Amalgame Bar celebrated its 5th anniversary, but without being able to celebrate it unfortunately. We are super motivated, and this damn pandemic won’t stop us from fighting. We will never surrender! But it’s only with your support that we will be able to continue our activity.
Over more than 20 years, our Brazilian establishment has served you authentic and delicious dishes and the staff would like to welcome you for the next 20 years too…
With our 8 years of seniority in the neighborhood, the CMT is above all a neighborhood bar, colorful, very colorful even. With the arrival of COVID19 in 2020, we stopped our bar renovation project.
It is urgent for our young and new company to repay its financial obligations in order to keep it in good health. We opened 2 months out of the last 12. Our collection objective corresponds to 10 months of rent, we have to honor them.
We have been closed for months and our cash flow is at its lowest… It would have been 8 years ago in October that we opened, unfortunately in 2020, we could not celebrate this together. We very much hope to be able to reopen and blow out the 9 candles of the bar this year.
For 37 years, Le Macho has been a major player in Brussels life and a place of gay socialization. We take pleasure in providing the best service to our loyal customers and try to energize our local gay life.
Thank you. Dank u. Merci. Danke. Gracias. Obrigado. Grazie. Dziękuję Ci. Děkuji. תודה . شكرا لك. Спасибо.
Here are a few media reports illustrating the purpose of this campaign.
Posted on 07.03.2021
Updated on 02.04.2021
