Celebrating the Life of Ralph P. Arena The Polo Clubs 17 Year Anniversary

****** SEASON 6 ALERT ********* We interrupt this weeks scheduled episode with a Special Remembrance of Ralph Arena​ who passed away on February 10, 2017 month and has been a great support to many of us entertainers him and his brother Sean Arena gave so many of us a place to call home. I had the honor and privilege to work with The Polo Club to the very end and we lost a great LGBTQ mentor who believed and helped a lot of us to find our way and find out what kind of Artist we are. the amazing Carmen Carrera​ was one of many girls that calls The Polo Club Hartford Home. I had the opportunity a few years back to interview both Sean and Ralp Arena and some Queens that LOVED BOTH THE CLUB AND THE ARENA !!! Footage is from the Polo Clubs 17th Year Anniversary join me by watching how many people has been touched by the Legendary Club and its Founders... Rest in Peace Ralph Arena and I say THANK YOU on behalf of every customer , employee , performer that has ever worked for you.

Celebrating the Life of Ralph P. Arena

On February 10, 2017, Ralph P. Arena Jr., 60, son of Bernice Ermark Arena and Ralph Arena Sr. (deceased), died of heart and kidney failure at Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Arena was born and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut with his brothers Phillip (now deceased) and Sean and sister Tami. He attended Norwalk High School and Johnson & Wales University.

Known for his business acumen, his civic engagement, and particularly his dry sense of humor, Arena was a beloved son, brother, and uncle, and a respected community leader in Norwalk and Hartford.

Co-owner of the Polo Club in Hartford, Arena was a familiar figure to patrons and was known affectionately by his staff as “Big Daddy”. The Polo Club, open from 1998-2015, was an important LGBTQ community partner. Throughout its nearly 20 years under Arena’s direction, the Club supported a variety of initiatives that benefited Hartford-area residents. Beyond being a popular dance spot, the Polo Club held special annual events for Hartford Hospital’s breast cancer center and Connecticut Pride, and helped organize young people around civil and human rights issues.

Arena also served on the Hartford Democratic Town Committee from 2006-2012, co-owned The Brook Café in Westport, and volunteered his time as past president of the Mid-Fairfield AIDS Project; a nonprofit organization providing housing and assistance to people living with HIV and AIDS.

Arena will be remembered by friends and family as loyal, loving, and irreverent.

He leaves his mother, Bernice Ermark Arena, his brother Sean P. Arena and Sean’s partner James Holcomb, and his sister Tami Arena, all in Florida. He also leaves nieces, nephews, and cousins.

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