Damage at the back of Menfriends Christchurch cruise club Menfriends is today back in business, two weeks after the damaging 7.1 magnitude earthquake which destroyed or damaged hundreds of buildings. Menfriends is on Lichfield Street, in the area hardest hit by the quake. It suffered some damage to its roof, but has now been "green stickered", after a structural engineer ruled it was safe to reoccupy the building. Staff pitched in and cleaned up the premises yesterday and Menfriends can now hold its Sleaze Party tonight, as planned. "All the crew at Menfriends would like to thank the hundreds of emailers, phone callers, and Facebook supporters locally and from all over the world for their messages of support in what has been a very difficult two weeks," says co-owner Stuart Yeatman. "These messages have been what has helped keep us going in the face of some serious obstacles. We look forward to seeing many familiar faces once again." Queer youth social support group Q-topia has still not been able to meet in its base, White Elephant HQ on Bedford Row, near Lichfield St. There is a crack in the roof of the building and it has been "yellow stickered", which means only limited access is allowed. However there is no damage to the inside of the premises– which is a community space used by a number of youth groups. The 'queerest party of the month' Dirty Retro is being held tonight, with the tagline "You feel that? That's right! No more quakes! No more shakes! Just Dirty Retro Disco Beatz!!!!" Dirty Retro is at BAR5 from 10pm, featuring a pile of drag shows. Entry is $5.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 18th September 2010 - 10:32am