Looking out of the window of her Ft. Lauderdale, Florida villa on a summer day in 1991, Jame Foks (pronounced Jay-me Fox) had a spiritual awakening. The award-winning DJ, promoter, and former radio personality had made her mark in South Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, spinning regularly at such prestigious hot spots as Torpedo, Club 21, and the Otherside, and she was getting restless. She decided it was time to make a move.
Foks picked up her Gaias Guide for gay travelers and flipped to the entry for Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. She made a cold call to the Renegade Resort and hooked up with club manager Wayne Hodge. She told him she wanted to do a tea dance for women at the Renegade.
"He told me hed tried it, and it didnt work," said Foks. "I had to convince him I could pull it off. I offered to travel to Rehoboth at my own expense and do all the promoting just for a DJ fee. He agreed, and I am indebted to him for taking a chance on me."
Foks packed her van with her sound equipment and dalmatian puppy, Alta, and headed north. She hit the beach armed with promotional flyers and her pitch.
"I call it shaking hands and kissing babies (ed. note: or is it babes?). I wanted them to get to know me," said Foks. Some of the women had heard of Foks and her company, Partygirl Productions, but many had not. "They were curious, and they came to the party to check it out."
Renegade manager Hodge, who had expected maybe 200-300 people, was blown away when 800 people packed the club. The rest is history.
Every summer since, Foks has hosted record-breaking crowds at the Renegade and other venues in town every holiday weekend. On Saturday of Memorial Day, Partygirl Productions will sponsor SPLASH 97, Rehoboths largest womens party to date at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, a benefit for Sussex County AIDS Committee and the Mautner Project for Lesbians With Cancer.
The party will feature music by Foks along with DJ Tracy and Monie T. Door prizes will include a mountain bike, LA Eyeworks frames from Dupont Optical, and a weekend get-away at 10 Baltimore, Rehoboth Beachs newest bed & breakfast. So far the response to the event has been very enthusiastic, with major companies such as Skyy Vodka, Naya water, the Advocate, and 12-Inch Dance Records signing on as sponsors.
"This is my biggest undertaking ever. Im hoping to make it an annual event," said Foks.
While planning SPLASH 97 and Partygirls other parties July 4th and Labor Day, Foks sustains herself by managing a bar in a gourmet restaurant, Bilbo Baggins, in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. There she hosts a Monday ladies night that attracts a regular crowd of friendly patrons who jokingly refer to the bar as "the gay Cheers" or "Queers" - where everybody knows your name." Foks is also the resident DJ for the Washington, DC private womens social club, Bon Vivant, and she guest DJs at clubs and at private gigs in the Washington, DC area and Baltimore. But it is her Rehoboth Beach parties that are the foundation of her business.
"Jame has developed a following. She promotes to a large market. Shes on the Internet (partygirl@pop.dn.net), she does direct mailings, and of course she does the flyers on the beach. However they hear about her dances, the women come and have a wonderful time, and they keep showing up each year in greater numbers," said Hodge.
Because Foks is a firm believer that you reap what you sow, she is careful to handle her business in the most positive way she can in a competitive marketplace. While she promotes her own events with vigor, she also supports others who have followed her lead, and she salutes the local community for making Rehoboth the gay-friendly resort it has become over the last decade.
"I think its great that the Frogg Pond and some of the other places have stepped out and are providing more places for the women to go in Rehoboth, and I give kudos to the pioneers in this town who made it their home year round and made it a place for us to come and feel that our lifestyle is accepted. It feels good to go to the beach and be ourselves," said Foks.
Indeed, it seems the personal rewards are equal if not greater than the professional rewards Foks gets from her parties. She gets misty eyed when she talks about looking out from her DJ booth and gazing upon the women gathered for her parties, laughing, partying, and dancing to her music.
"I live for it. Its what I do. I dont need alcohol or drugs Im high on the energy the people bring to my parties. I think the women know I do this with my heart and soul," she says, starting to tear up. "I feel very fortunate, very blessed to be able to do what I do."
K. Pearson Brown is a freelance writer and film and video producer in Northern Virginia.
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5/16/97 Issue. Copyright 1997 by CAMP Rehoboth, Inc. All rights reserved.