Editing Circuit party (section)

===AIDS crisis and growth of parties (1980s–1990s)===
The early 1980s saw the start of the AIDS crisis, and entire communities were affected.  Several benefit parties sprang up around the country, which were run by volunteer organizations that donated their proceeds to [[HIV/AIDS]]-related charities, such as ''Halloween's in New Orleans''. The success of these early parties gave way to other events hosted in other cities, with each party having its own theme.  Many were named after colors, such as ''White Party'', ''Black Party'', ''Blue Ball'', and ''Black and Blue Festival''.  And many center around other events, such as ''[[Southern Decadence]]'' and the [[Folsom Street Fair]]. Dance parties provided an environment in which gay men processed the experience of HIV/AIDS and served to build particular forms of communal response to the epidemic <ref name="Race" />

[[File:White Diamonds Party.jpg|thumb|right|260px|The White Diamonds Party at [[Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend]]]]
One economic reality of a well-run circuit party is that the event can bring large amounts of tourist dollars to the locality where the event is held.  Because of their economic impact, Circuit parties have been welcomed in some of the more liberal cities where they are held.

In the early 1990s, as more and more gay men became attracted to these mega dance-events, the real modern-day circuit party scene emerged and expanded into ever-larger productions, featuring superstar DJs and performers.  Promoters sometimes turned events from one party into a major series of parties at various venues, transforming a weekend into a three-day or longer continuous party.  For example, a pool party might go from noon to 5PM, a "[[Tea dance|t-dance]]" from 5PM to 9PM, a main event from 9PM to 4AM, and an after-hours party from 4AM until 12 noon, after which the cycle repeats itself.

To keep putting together these increasingly elaborate and costly productions, the prices (cover charge) of circuit parties increased greatly, so that it was not uncommon for a ticket covering the full weekend of parties to cost $400 or more.<ref name="Cheves">{{cite news|last1=Cheves|first1=Alexander|title=Gay circuit parties are awesome — but they come at a price. At what point does it become too much?|url=https://www.hivplusmag.com/prevention/love-sex/2015/11/09/you-cant-afford-gay-circuit|access-date=27 May 2018|work=hivplusmag.com|date=14 March 2016|archive-date=28 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528051751/https://www.hivplusmag.com/prevention/love-sex/2015/11/09/you-cant-afford-gay-circuit|url-status=live}}</ref>