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Coordinates: 45°31′29″N 122°40′23″W / 45.52469°N 122.67294°W / 45.52469; -122.67294
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CC Slaughters
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Entrances to the club and neighboring drag venue Darcelle XV Showplace, in Portland, Oregon, in 2012
CC Slaughters is located in Portland, Oregon
CC Slaughters
CC Slaughters
Location within Portland, Oregon
AddressPortland, Oregon:
219 Northwest Davis Street
Puerto Vallarta: Lázaro Cárdenas 254
LocationPortland, Oregon, United States; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Coordinates45°31′29″N 122°40′23″W / 45.52469°N 122.67294°W / 45.52469; -122.67294
Type
Opened1981 (1981) (Portland, Oregon)
Website
www.ccslaughterspdx.com
ccslaughterspv.com

CC Slaughters is a gay bar and nightclub located in Portland, Oregon, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.[1] The Portland bar is located in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, and the Puerto Vallarta bar is located in Zona Romántica.[2]

The Portland bar closed in October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, but re-opened in April 2021.

Portland, Oregon

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Description and history

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The CC Slaughters in Portland, Oregon, located on Northwest Davis Street in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, was established in 1981.[3] It plays different music genres every night.[4] The Portland Mercury has described the club as having a "shiny and modern inside with no cover charge, a big dance floor and crazy laser/light show".[5] Adjacent to the dance floor was a lounge called Rainbow Room.[5]

The bar has hosted "Ladies' Night" on Tuesdays and drag shows on Sundays, plus many events throughout the year.[5][6] It hosted an annual block party during the summer and a "Platinum Ball" on New Year's Eve.[7][8] In 2011, CC Slaughters served as a gathering point for a demonstration called "We Are Not Afraid", which was organized by the Oregon State Gay Pride Organization and attracted an estimated 400 people.[9][10] The business has participated in Portland's pride parade, organized by Pride Northwest.[11]

Dancers representing the bar at Portland Pride 2014

In 2014, CC Slaughters was one of the few two bars to be featured in the list of bars attributed to DUI arrests in Portland in four years of data reviewed by Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland.[12] In May 2017, one of its DJs was murdered in a random stabbing near his home.[13]

In his 2019 "overview of Portland's LGBTQ nightlife for the newcomer", Andrew Jankowski of the Portland Mercury wrote: "CC Slaughters & Rainbow Lounge is your prototypical gay bar. It's split into two spaces, joined by a video slot parlor. The Rainbow Lounge is next to Darcelle XV Showplace, and is perfect for a cocktail, chatting, or attending a viewing party, while CC's dance floor hosts multiple drag revues and party nights every day of the week."[14]

The Portland club announced plans to close indefinitely in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic[15] and was closed on October 11, 2020 "for the foreseeable future".[16] The manager said the strain on the business from the pandemic and increasing homeless camps in the Old Town neighborhood was too much.[17] In March, the business confirmed plans to re-open in April 2021.[18]

Dress code

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Interior of the Portland bar, 2019

In August 2012, CC Slaughters issued a statement on its dress code regarding bachelorette party attire. The bar commented that bachelorette groups would be admitted, but affiliated attire such as penis hats or other costume jewelry, tiaras, veils or other accessories referencing bachelorettes, brides or weddings, were not allowed.[19][20] The statement issued by the company's marketing director stated:

[The] majority of [CC Slaughters] patrons are prohibited under Oregon Law from entering into a marriage with the one they love. To put it plainly, they're gay. So, when parties of bachelorettes walk through the doors of a gay nightclub, branded from head-to-toe in prenuptial garb and there to celebrate their upcoming marriage, many of our patrons were taking offense to it. This was creating an issue that CC Slaughters and many within the LGBTQ community felt very strongly about. The 'Bachelorette Attire Policy' was created to address this issue.[19]

In 2013, the policy was criticized by a lesbian couple who were denied entry to the bar when they arrived in their wedding dresses (they were married earlier that day). The couple called their experience "discrimination against lesbians".[21] The bar's owners issued an apology, but the couple demanded "some kind of explanation or a change in policy".[21] A short while later, two male patrons in matching grooms shirts and bow ties were refused entry on the ground they violated the club's policy against bachelorette party attire.[22]

Reception

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In 2013, Out included the Portland location in its list of the "200 of the Greatest Gay Bars in the World".[3] CC's was a runner-up in the "Best Drag Show" and "Best LGBTQ Bar" categories of Willamette Week's "Best of Portland Readers' Poll 2020".[23]

Puerto Vallarta

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The Puerto Vallarta bar, 2023

PinkNews has said the CC Slaughters in Puerto Vallarta "tends to be quite mixed". In 2020, the site's Amy Ashenden wrote, "If you’re going out mid-week this is likely to be the busiest (although its nightclub at the back of the bar will be painfully empty). Playing pop and Latino dance, the bar is quite friendly and, after you’ve had enough tequila, it has a nightclub at the back."[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Don't Have FOMO In Puerto Vallarta". Out. November 3, 2015. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  2. ^ "Beach clubs, drag shows and tranquil relaxation: Why Mexico's Puerto Vallarta is the perfect queer winter sun getaway". Pinknews.co.uk. 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "200 of the Greatest Gay Bars in the World". Out. Here Media. June 27, 2013. ISSN 1062-7928. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "C.C. Slaughters". Frommer's. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c "CC Slaughters". The Portland Mercury. February 8, 2014. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  6. ^ "LGBT nightlife: You'll find plenty of LGBT-friendly places to visit when the sun goes down in Portland". Travel Portland. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  7. ^ "Portland's CC Slaughters 4th Annual Block Party features special guest performance by RuPaul". Seattle Gay News. 33 (32). Seattle, Washington. August 12, 2005. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  8. ^ Hector, Alley (December 29, 2008). "A gay ol' time for New Years". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  9. ^ "Oregon State Gay Pride Organization schedules 'We Are Not Afraid' Portland peace march on July 23". The Oregonian. July 20, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  10. ^ Bailey, Jr., Everton (July 24, 2011). "Gay advocates and supporters march on Portland in light of recent bias crime attacks". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  11. ^ "Pride Northwest: 2013 Portland LGBTQ Parade Lineup" (PDF). Pride Northwest. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-09. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  12. ^ Maus, Jonathan (7 April 2014). "Beaverton bars top OLCC list of establishments linked to DUII arrests". Bike Portland. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019. There are only two establishments in Portland (and not in Washington County) that appear in the four years of data we looked at: the Dirty Bar and Grill at 35 NW 3rd Ave (they appeared for two years, with an average of 13.5 incidents each year); and CC Slaughters at 219 NW Davis (they had 12 incidents in the period between July 2012 and July 2013).
  13. ^ "Portland stabbing victim 'made everybody happy'". KGW. 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  14. ^ Jankowski, Andrew (June 6, 2019). "An Overview of Portland's LGBTQ Nightlife for the Newcomer". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  15. ^ "CC Slaughters, One of Portland's Oldest Gay Bars, is Closing Indefinitely". Wweek.com. 4 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Portland nightclub CC Slaughters has its last call". kgw.com. 12 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  17. ^ "CC Slaughters closes doors, patrons celebrate final night". KOIN.com. 2020-10-10. Archived from the original on 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  18. ^ Gormley, Shannon (March 30, 2021). "CC Slaughters, One of Portland's Oldest Gay Bars, Will Reopen Next Month". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  19. ^ a b Spencer, Aaron (August 17, 2012). "Sorry, Bachelorettes: No More Penis Hats at CC Slaughters". Willamette Week. Portland, Oregon: City of Roses Newspapers. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  20. ^ McCurdy, Christen (December 6, 2012). "Lady Liquor: Straight women, gay bars and safe spaces". Bitch. Bitch Media. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  21. ^ a b Damewood, Andrea (August 28, 2013). "Brides Denied: A same-sex couple says CC Slaughters nightclub barred them for their wedding dresses". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on August 31, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  22. ^ Damewood, Andrea (4 September 2013). "CC Slaughters Rejects Newlywed Grooms, Citing "No Bachelorette" Policy". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  23. ^ "Bars Nightlife: Congratulations to the winners finalists of Best of Portland Readers' Poll 2020". Willamette Week. July 21, 2020. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  24. ^ "Beach clubs, drag shows and tranquil relaxation: Why Mexico's Puerto Vallarta is the perfect queer winter sun getaway". Pinknews.co.uk. 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
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