Sapphic NYC: The City’s Newest Queer Event Database

Featured Image: Anita Obasi at Late Night Tea with Sapphic LA, the first in-person event of the brand. Photo courtesy of Sapphic NYC.

Despite the current political uncertainty, queer womxn’s spaces are continuing to push forward. With new bars opening, exciting parties popping up, and a growing need for community, we can never have enough resources on how to find queer spaces. That’s why we were founded after all, to provide resources, event listings, and all things going out in NYC. Now, GO’s welcoming another service to the city to help further connect you to all the wonderful safe spaces and events the queer community has to offer.

Looking for a dance party? A book club? A queer-owned café? A queer pick-up basketball game? Sapphic NYC has got you covered.

An expansion of the popular newsletter and event curator Sapphic LA, Sapphic NYC is traveling East and hoping to bridge queer communities from coast to coast. Already beloved in SoCal, the NYC platform will create a national network of curated resources, community, and intentional events for all sapphics searching for genuine connection.

Founder Anita Obasi, a queer Nigerian/Indian first-generation American community leader and event producer, recognized a lack of places to form authentic connections in Los Angeles. Obasi, who has experience ranging from managing multi-million dollar event budgets to hybrid events for criminal justice reform to producing a ballroom competition, started Sapphic LA in January 2023 as a Substack with one subscriber—herself.

Over the past two years, Sapphic LA has grown into a digital hub and event series for LA’s queer community. The free weekly newsletter, curated event listings, city guides, and community-driven experiences reach over 50,000 people a month.

What makes Sapphic LA stand out is its intentional focus on being accessible, rather than centering on alcohol-focused environments. While a paid membership will get you perks like free city guides and event discounts, the free newsletter ensures that core resources remain accessible. Event tickets are often sliding scale to prioritize access for the QTBIPOC community.

As for events, Sapphic LA has a little something for everyone. Past events in LA have ranged from the Negritude Fest, a cultural festival celebrating the Afro-diasporic community in LA, to Late Night Tea, a sober-centered social event at a tea house, and Queer Love is Blind, sapphic speed dating in front of a live audience. Sapphic
LA also hosted fundraising events for the LA fires and for Gaza.

Obasi is excited to bring the same level of trust, joy, and community to New York. Hoping to continue facilitating connection, a weekly NYC newsletter will amplify the best of sapphic events, businesses, and stories in New York City. Events will focus on connection through sober socials, workshops, fundraisers, and discussions, all moving beyond the typical club-centric model. As with the LA chapter, the main focus of the platform will be to create a dedicated digital and physical space for queer women, non-binary, trans, and gender-nonconforming people in NYC to find their people.

If you want a rundown of queer, sapphic-friendly NYC events sent straight to your inbox every Monday, visit sapphicnyc.substack.com and subscribe. Stay up to date with Sapphic NYC on Instagram @sapphic.ny. With Sapphic NYC on your side, you’ll always know where to find the queer camaraderie you’ve been craving.