Nark calls his parties “high-quality, off-the-wall, and inclusive.” Credit: COURTESY OF KEVIN KAUER

Nark calls his parties “high-quality, off-the-wall, and inclusive.”

Nark calls his parties “high-quality, off-the-wall, and inclusive.” COURTESY OF KEVIN KAUER

“Things are better than ever,” said Kevin Kauer, aka Nark, over lunch on Capitol Hill the other day. He was wearing a chandelier pendant that he had made into a necklace and had a diamond tattoo on his left temple. He was talking about his work as a party starter and promoter in Seattle for the last 10 years.

He moved here from San Diego (where he “couldn’t relate to a single person”) and got his start taking photographs and DJing in Seattle’s underground music and queer performance scenes. Within months, he says, he was throwing parties of his own at venues like Pony and the Eagle, involving wild themes and hilarious costumes.

Christopher Frizzelle was The Stranger's print editor, and first joined the staff in 2003. He was the editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2016, and edited the story by Eli Sanders that won a 2012 Pulitzer...