The nonprofit Tacky Tourist Clubs of America was founded in Seattle in the early 1980s, and incorporated in 1988. The organization sponsored annual parties and events to raise money for other nonprofits, mostly those benefiting the gay and lesbian community. Three popular annual events were the Queen City Cruise, an "unofficial Seafair" event on Elliott Bay and beloved by many; The Prom You Never Went To, another popular event billed as a "madcap costume party for all lifestyles"; and Things That Go Bump in the Night, also known as "The Bump," a Halloween costume extravaganza.

The Queen City Cruise on August 6, 1983 promised "An Unforgivable Naughtycal Adventure on the High Seas!" The event raised money for the Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities (now known as Seattle Counseling Service or SCS) and for the Northwest AIDS Foundation (now part of Lifelong). This poster advertising the cruise features a photograph of costumed people boarding a boat docked on Seattle's waterfront.

Caption information source: "On the march, Parade sets pace in Greenwood," The Seattle Times, August 1, 1984, p. 45.