JR.’s played host to this month’s Chick Happy Hour on Thursday, July 11. The event is organized by Dee Pennington and Carolina Azevedo.
Approximately 350 showed up, including a few local celebrities. Spotted at JR.’s during the event were A-List Dallas’ James Doyle and Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez.
Chick Happy Hour began 11 years ago out of Pennington’s desire to keep up with friends.
“The first bar was the Stoneleigh P,” Pennington recalls, “and there were 60 people who attended.”
Attendees say they get different things out of Chick Happy Hour. Jessica Meyers has been a regular for three years and enjoys the monthly change of scenery.
“I’ve found a lot of new places because of this,” she says, adding that “it’s a good cross-section of the lesbian community.”
Meyers’ girlfriend, Erin Jordan, likes the social aspect. “I’m not from here and haven’t lived here that long, but it’s a good crowd mixture,” Jordan says.
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez goes to the monthly event regularly.
“Even though it’s at a bar it’s an alternative to the bar scene,” Valdez says, adding that she also likes the fact that there are a lot of women in one location. “My concept of it is a professional women’s group who happen to be lesbian.”
Pennington says that for her, it’s purely social.
“I’ve done fundraising forever, and I wanted to do something where we were not asking for money,” she says. “It’s social and extremely diverse.”
Chick Happy Hour meets the first Thursday of every month. For more info, visit the Facebook page.
More photos below.