IBT’s 40th birthday isn’t until  Nov. 16,  but preparations for a blowout celebration featuring a nationally known entertainer already are.

By the end of March, the bar’s first billboard will pop up at West Grant Road and North Stone Avenue, advertising the biggest party the popular gay bar has ever hosted.

On the bar’s birthday weekend, Nov. 15-16, IBT’s will throw a weekend of celebrations, including an appearance by a “notable national level entertainer.”

IBT’s opened on Nov. 16, 1985, in the height of the AIDS crisis and eight years after the city launched its Pride parade and events.

When Michael Kramkowski took over the gay bar IBT’s on North Fourth Avenue in 2004, he never thought he would still be running it more than two decades later.

“I always loved IBT’s for what it was, even before I had the opportunity to buy it,” Kramkowski said. “It meant a place for me to go and have fun, not worrying about other people who had a problem with who I was.”

When he bought the bar,  Kramkowski became responsible for continuing IBT’s mission and legacy as “a place for anybody,” he said.

“We have an audience of 21- to 70-year-olds: IBT’s is a place for gays, lesbians and trans and anybody who wants to come in and feel safe and comfortable,” he explained.

Under his leadership, Kramkowski, who met his husband Alvaro at the bar, has earned a number of local awards.

Alvaro Kramkowski started washing dishes at the bar here in 2003 when he was 20 years old.

“Later on I bartended, and I got inspired by the movie ‘Party Monster’ so I started throwing parties for the bar,” he said.

He is now the bar’s manager-promoter and organizes events including “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” special event nights and the popular karaoke nights that gained recognition from all around Tucson.

For the 40th anniversary, Alvaro is planning to go above and beyond.

“Our anniversary will be one week after Tucson Pride,” Alvaro said. “We are planning a whole weekend of celebration with a special guest.”

IBT’s now stands as one of the oldest bars on Fourth Avenue, surviving four decades and the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. In 1985, they were one of the few bars for the gay community.

“That time period was very different,” said Alvaro, who is raising two young sons with Michael. “We had a president who wouldn’t even say the word ‘gay.’ People were stigmatized and associated with AIDS or HIV, which made it even more difficult for them to come out.”

In recent years, he has seen a positive attitude shift towards the LGBTQ+ community.

“Today, there is less stigma around being gay,” Alvaro said. “The biggest change I see is that more people are accepted. When I was in high school, gay people were always made fun of.”

Because of the Internet and social media, gay bars over the years have disappeared in some communities. But Alvaro said IBT’s has no such plans. Instead, they will expand their footprint when they take over a space next door.

“We have redone most of the bar at this point,” Michael said. “But since we are still growing, we will be expanding even more in the next couple of years, almost doubling the size of the bar.”

“IBT’s success is our success,” Alvaro said. “It is our bread and butter; it feeds our kids and ourselves. Our plan is to be here as long as possible.”

Arizona Sonoran News is the news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.