[This story appears in the current March/April 2019 issue of Boston Spirit magazine. Subscribe for free today.]
Chris Harris lit up the night.
If you came out or came of age in New England’s gay nightlife post-2000, you probably partied at one of the many vibrant events conceived by Chris Harris Presents, named for the beloved producer and promoter. During a period when many gay clubs shuttered in the Boston area, Harris was credited with keeping alive a certain brand of big-room excitement—from massive military balls and performances featuring “RuPaul’s Drag Race” vets, to concerts and club nights at EGO, a Providence, Rhode Island club he co-owned. His profile grew over the years, and he wound up tapped for circuit parties around the country. When the sun went down, he didn’t just illuminate the darkness; he filled it with every color of the rainbow.
Harris died in January at age 51, following a battle with cancer. But those who knew him best say that his legacy will live on in the memories he made.
“He was a force of nature, a self-made man, and an amazing friend,” says DJ Richie LaDue, who worked with Harris regularly at events like EGO Saturdays. “Trying to describe Chris is like trying to describe what a hug feels like. When a person goes to a Chris Harris event and sings and dances and laughs and drinks and flirts and kisses and twerks and vogues and gets wildly entertained by famous drag performers those fun, awesome feelings that are created and shared are his legacy. He was keenly aware of how important it is for all people to have a place to either escape or celebrate their lives.”
Rafael Sanchez of Gay Mafia Boston, Harris’s events business partner and his EGO co-owner, shared some thoughts on social media.
“I’m grateful to have been able to share this life with you and know one day we will meet again to keep the party going up there,” Sanchez wrote in a post addressed to Harris posthumously. “As promised, your legacy will be kept alive and dreams we shared will be fulfilled.”
Though many New Englanders best knew Harris for his parties, friends and peers also point to his big heart.
DJ Dena Cucci, one of Harris’s closest friends, remembers the support he showed when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago. “He insisted on me getting a second opinion, and came to the appointment,” she says. “I was a nervous wreck.” To help her relax, Harris blew up surgical gloves like balloons, and hid them in drawers and cabinets for the doctor to find. “We laughed all the way home,” Cucci says. “He knew something that stupid would help me relax, and I’ll never forget it.”
Harris, a Rhode Island native, was also dedicated to building a bigger, stronger community in that smallest state. He supported homegrown talent like the Perry Twins, now an LA-based DJ, remix and production duo with regular tour dates around the country.
“Derek and I wouldn’t have the DJ careers we have now if it wasn’t for him,” says Doug Perry. He remembers when Harris cohosted a red-carpet release party in West Hollywood for the Twins. “It was a really big moment for friends from Rhode Island to experience and accomplish something like that together.”
Rhode Island Pride honored Harris’s lifetime of service to the local community by awarding him its annual Pyramid of Pride Award shortly before his passing. The organization’s board of directors has also named Harris as an honorary marshall in its 2019 Illuminated Night Time Parade, which will take place on Saturday, June 15.
Similarly, Boston Pride has named Harris as an honorary parade marshal for its upcoming parade on Saturday, June 8. Linda DeMarco, former president of Boston Pride and current acting president of its board of directors, hopes Harris will be remembered for his great generosity—including support for Boston Pride that goes back to 2007, when he produced a major fundraiser for the organization.
“He wrote a check for us for $10,000, and I almost died,” says DeMarco. “For Boston Pride to get a check like that then was unheard of.” Harris’s support continued over the years. “Even if he didn’t make anything from an event, he always gave some to us,” she says.
The bright light Harris shared won’t be forgotten. DeMarco recalls the “Celebration of Life” event that followed Harris’s passing, which took place at Providence’s Biltmore Hotel and was followed by a parade procession to EGO. Along the way, there were fireworks—and that, she says, was all too perfect. Once more, he brightened the night sky.
“He always wanted fireworks,” says DeMarco. “It was his way to say, ‘celebrate your identity, celebrate love, and enjoy life.’”
Donations can be made online to the Chris Harris Tribute Fund at the National LGBT Cancer Network at ChrisHarrisTribute.org. This fund will be used to establish a LGBTQ cancer prevention and education program in Rhode Island and beyond.
