DILLY DALLY: a #mask4mask Mixer - Clothing Swap, Karaoke + more!

Dilly Dally is a mask-required quarterly mixer series for COVID-cautious queers (and allies) at RAYGUN in Andersonville. Each mixer is a little different, with activities ranging from karaoke, bingo, and even "speed friend-ing" curated by your hosts, Amanda Payne & Anna De Ocampo Kain.

WHAT TO EXPECT for 6/15 DILLY DALLY:

Kick off Pride Month with fellow COVID-cautious queers!

First floor: Curated Karaoke sets with DJ Dickey Black, All-gender Secondhand Clothing Swap, Speed-Friending group activities at 8 & 9 pm, Dilly Dally Drink Station, and vegetarian-friendly Mexican street food from Tamales Express available for purchase (outdoor eating area is out back)

Second floor: Additional karaoke area, a FREE/Pay-What-You-Can secondhand stand from Quarantini Vintage (proceeds supporting Dilly Dally), and Speed-Friending / Clothing Swap "spill-over" areas as needed

Throughout the space: Ice breakers, name tags, games, friendship bracelet-making, a coloring station/community banner, and even a shop puppy or two! Don't forget to shop at RAYGUN with their 10% off Dilly Dally Discount!

😷 Mask drive by local mask bloc, Collective Air! Bring your unused, unopened packs of K/N95 masks to donate if you have some to spare, or come take what you need for FREE!

🎟️ RSVP required for entry:
A suggested contribution of $5, $10, or $20 to enter the event earns you Dilly Dally Tickets! Each $5 you spend on your entry equals ONE ticket, redeemable for 3D-printed fidget toys, drinks, and more! Dilly Dally is for everyone, even if you don't have the funds to spare - admission is free (choose "Free RSVP" at checkout instead of the $5-$20 pay-what-you-can ticket option).

Things to note:

💨 XL air purifiers on each level provided by Clean Air Club
☀️ NEW! Far UV (222nm) Legacy Guard disinfection lights and an additional large purifier near the karaoke/dancing areas
😷 Masks are required unless sipping drinks; food consumed outside only
📸 Those registering for and attending this event will have their photo/video taken for our socials and future content. If you wish to opt out of this, please notify a volunteer at check-in

👕 "BEST OF" Clothing Swap Instructions: Due to limited space, we are asking our guests to edit down their clothing choices: Bring your favorite 2-5 swappable clothing pieces only! All garments should be free of stains, tears, or other damage.

Leftovers from this swap will be distributed throughout the community. We currently have a larger, outdoor clothing swap in the works for this Summer, so start gathering your bags of clothes to bring then!

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Presented by Parallel Play (@parallel.play.chi): Parallel Play is a growing grassroots collective organizing to foster community among COVID-cautious folks in Chicago. In curating events, they seek to create safe spaces that are inclusive of immunocompromised, disabled, and neurodivergent individuals through a multi-layered approach to COVID precautions and spaces for sensory breaks. Parallel Play works to center the liberation of Chicago QTBIPOC through mutual aid, supply drives, and collaborative arts partnerships in the community.

Accessibility: After receiving feedback from our community, we have changed the layout to double activities (karaoke, clothing swap, and speed-friending) between both floors. We want to make vital resources available to everyone and believe this sort of “parallel play” is the most equitable and COVID-safer, spaced out way to make use of this donated venue while we are still at RAYGUN. These solutions are imperfect, but we are doing the best we can to show up for our community with the limited tools we have right now as a new, grassroots organization.

The front door of RAYGUN is at sidewalk level and provides access to the first floor which is wheelchair accessible with a single stall restroom. The outdoor area can be accessed via a 31" wide hallway and ramp. There are ~16 steps up to the second level and no elevator. Upstairs has two all-gender restrooms with two to three stalls each. Each floor will have 20-30 chairs scattered throughout the space but attendees are welcome to bring their own as well. Free bottled water will be available and food will be available for purchase outside.

Because there are many immunocompromised and otherwise medically vulnerable people attending Dilly Dally, we HIGHLY recommend that folks mask extra carefully in the week leading up to the event and that they rapid test for COVID if it is possible/accessible to do so. Two XL purifiers will be on each floor with open windows/garage door when possible. Masks are required while indoors and free K/N95s will be provided. We kindly ask attendees to notify us if they test positive for COVID-19 or the flu in the week following Dilly Dally so we may anonymously share that info with our community.

If attendees have specific access needs or questions upon arriving, please ask our volunteers at check-in or email us (parallelplaychi@gmail.com) prior to the event.

Want to support our vision to foster community among COVID-cautious Chicagoans? Email or DM us on Instagram if you're interested in volunteering! (@parallel.play.chi)