Bring Out Your Kinky Side at the First-Ever Pig Week Fort Lauderdale

As many people in the South Florida community already know, the Pig Dances that are thrown each month at Ramrod in Fort Lauderdale have been very big successes - so much so, in fact, that the bar regularly reaches capacity and the outside has to be turned into a makeshift bar and party spot for all the people wanting to get down (and maybe a little dirty). This intrigued bartender Chad Bush and owners Zak Enterline and Steve Whitney.

Bush, who owns his own production company, Cubcuda Productions, was the creative force behind BeachBear Weekend, among other popular South Florida events. He pitched the idea of a "Pig Week" to Zak and Steve, as well as to a co-worker, Rich Rodriguez, who thought it would be a good idea to have the annual Leather Masked Ball event be part of the festivities. In short, "Pig Week" was born.

There will be a number of dance parties, leather parties, BDSM parties, and parties that are a little more risqu� (both public and private) filling out Pig Week, which will begin with the Leather Masked Ball on Saturday, November 28 at Rumors Bar and Grill.

Other notable parties during the week include the Pig Party on Sunday, November 29 at Hunters Nightclub, an Underwear Party at Ramrod on Tuesday, December 1, multiple parties throughout the week at The Clubhouse II, and the final event, the Pig Dance at Ramrod on Saturday, December 5. For more information on how to register for this event and a full list of events, visit pigweek.com

I talked to Chad Bush about the upcoming Pig Week and what it means to be a "pig" in this exclusive Hotspots interview.

How much interest have you received from people wishing to attend Pig Week?

I've never received so many pre-registrations so early on for an event before. A month out from Pig Week, I had already received nine pre-registration forms from people who were flying in from Dubai. I learned a lot about gay world politics because... you can't exactly send gay things through the mail to those countries. I can't send them their registration packets. As a result, people can pick up their packets and their dog tags at The Athletic Man during their regular business hours. People can buy tickets for all the parties, including the private parties, there too.

What is a pig?

I would say it's someone who is sexually adventurous, so I think nearly all men are "pigs." I put on BeachBear Weekend for many years and I had many people come to me and say that they wanted to go to a bear event, but they were afraid of how they would be perceived because they aren't bears, or they don't "look like bears." I wanted to throw something that was more inclusive and more... "now." I didn't want to split things up by genre of person, for lack of better phrasing. That's why on the website, the tagline says "All men are pigs." Not only is it pretty true, but it's inclusive.

What makes a party a "private party"?

People can purchase tickets to private parties at The Athletic Man, and parties are usually $25 per piece. Most of our parties are already included for people who pre-registered and received their dog tags. When we say "private," I mean that some of these parties are held at mansions or people's houses, and I can't exactly publicly announce someone's home address like that; everyone will want to go. [laughs] They have to either register or go to The Athletic Man, look at the schedule, and pick which parties they want to go to.

How does putting on an event like Pig Week measure up to BeachBear Weekend?

It's kind of hard to draw that comparison, because I've found that people in Fort Lauderdale don't pre-register for events. They pay for their tickets and go. So it means we have to be ready for big crowds. I'd say we're gonna need about fifteen people per day for these parties, working setup, cleanup, parking, security, all of that. It's a very labor-intensive set of parties but they're going to be a LOT of fun.

What would you say to people to convince them to check out Pig Week?

These parties are for everyone. They are for leathermen, jocks, bears, twinks, the average Joe. The magic about this kind of party week is that you're going to see all of those people at once. No matter what party you're going to, you know you're going to fit in.

For more information on Pig Week, visit pigweek.com. Follow them on social media for real-time updates at facebook.com/pigweekfortlauderdale