Ambush Magazine Volume 37 Issue 24

THE OFFICIAL GAY MAGAZINE OF THE GULF SOUTHâ„¢

A Biweekly Publication Celebrating LGBTQ Life, Music & Culture Since 1982 VOLUME 37 ISSUE 24

TUESDAY, November 19, 2019

www.AMBUSHMAG.com

Thanksgiving & World AIDS Day

HAPPY

THE “OFFICIAL” DISH

by TJ ACOSTA, PUBLISHER

Dear Ambush Nation, On behalf of myself and everyone at Ambush, I want to wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope each of you have a wonderful holiday filled with joy and laughter, celebrated with the people you love.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving we should all take a moment to reflect on that for which we are thankful in our life.

First, I want to take this opportunity to personally thank you, the readers of Ambush. If not for each of you, there wouldn’t be an Ambush Magazine.

We have a wonderful staff and team of writers & contributors--they are the ones who make this magazine great! And, although I probably don’t tell them enough, I’m very thankful for all of their talents and efforts.

I’m also thankful for all the advertisers who use Ambush as a vehicle to promote their businesses and events.

I would ask you, the readers of Ambush, to make an effort to support our advertisers as they make all of this possible.

I’m thankful for my family and friends who are always there when I need words of encouragement and support. I’m thankful for all of the new and wonderful friendships I’ve made over the last two years of being the owner of Ambush.

I’m also thankful for the countless people and performers who give of their time and talents to help raise funds for many of the LGBTQ charities in our community. Your efforts do not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

Let us also take time to remember that the holidays are not always a joyous time for members of our community. Please make the effort to reach out to friends who are elderly or from out of town and don’t have family nearby to spend the holidays with. Or just someone you haven’t seen in a while.

It’s important year round, but especially during the holidays, that we all

feel like we belong to a family even if that family isn’t biological. Think about having a dinner party for these friends so that they too may enjoy the holiday with people who love and care about them.

OUR HATS ARE OFF TO OUR GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS We turned up for you and so did more than a majority of the voters in Louisiana. We’re thankful to have a partner to our community such as yourself in office! Here’s to four more years for you and hopefully not someone else!

MYSTIK KREWE DE LA RUE ROYALE REVELERS The holidays are upon us and that means it will be Mardi Gras before you know it. Twelfth Night is on January 6th and it marks the Feast of the Epiphany, when the three wise men visited the Christ child. In New Orleans, Twelfth Night is the beginning of Carnival Season. Throughout the city people have parties to celebrate the event.

One of the largest Twelfth Night celebrations is Frank Perez’s party hosted by the Mystik Krewe de la Rue Royale Revelers. A party that started in Frank’s apartment on St. Ann, it has continued to grow each and every year and will this year be hosted at The Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture located at 1010 Conti Street in the French Quarter. For the price of $20 ($25 at the door), you get admission to the party which includes dinner and an open bar. You also receive a yearlong membership in the Krewe de la Rue Royale Revelers.

The highlight of the party every year (other than the food, booze and eye candy) is the crowning of the Grand Reveler. Each year a new Grand Reveler is chosen with their identity being revealed at the party. The only requirement of the Grand Reveler is to have a fundraiser at some point during the

Inside this Issue of Ambush Magazine Community Announcements

6

Arts & Culture

8

Health & Wellness

26

Hot Happenings Calendar

32

Business & LGBTQ Owned & Friendly Business Directory

45

Comics, Puzzles & Horoscopes

50

Sports

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Gulf South LGBTQ Entertainment & Travel Guide Since 1982 New Orleans, Louisiana | info@ambushpublishing.com | (504) 522-8049

year for the LGBTQ Archives Project of Louisiana.

The doors open at 7 pm and the revelation of the new Grand Reveler will take place around 7:30 pm. At that time there is a meeting of the courts between the Krewe de la Rue Royale Revelers and the Krewe of Queenateenas. This is a party you don’t want to miss! For more information please visit RueRoyaleRevelers.com.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR Winter Wonderland VIII, a benefit for PFLAG of New Orleans and St. Anna’s Episcopal Church of New Orleans, will be held at Capulet on Sunday, December 1, from 5 to 8pm.

Please join Winter Queen and King III, Andrea Halstead and Jeffrey Palmquist, in helping to raise money for these wonderful causes. The event features a silent auction and several drag performances for your entertainment. For tickets contact Misti Ates at mistimichelleates@gmail.com.

The Red Ribbon Gala will be held on Saturday, December 7, from 8 pm to 11pm at Club XLIV on Champions Square. This is a wonderful event and a great way to support those living in our community with HIV and AIDS. This has become a signature fundraising event for CrescentCare/NO AIDS Task Force. The event will have food, and open bar and well over 200 auction items to bid on. Auction items include art, trips, jewelry and more. There will also be a holiday boutique where you can pick up some last minute Christmas gifts. This is a ticketed event and the easiest way to purchase tickets is to search Art Against Aids - The Red Ribbon Gala on Facebook. Parking is free for the first 200 guests.

Always a highlight of the holiday season, the New Orleans Gay Men’s Chorus will hold their annual holiday concert “Sounds of the Season” on Sunday, December 15, from 7:30 to 9:30pm at the University of New Orleans. For more information please visit the New Orleans Gay Men’s Chorus website at nogmc.com.

Learn who will be crowned Grand Reveler VI at Mystik Krewe de la Rue Royale Revelers 12th Night Party hosted by Frank Perez on Monday January 6, 2020. Tickets to this relatively new Gay Mardi Gras event are $20 and available online at www. rueroyalerevelers.com.

Gulf South Entertainment/Travel Guide Since 1982 • Texas-Florida ANNUAL READERSHIP OVER 1M+ 260,000+ Print/780,000+ Online Official Gay Easter Parade Guide™ Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide™ Official Gay New Orleans Guide™ Official Pride Guide™ Official Southern Decadence Guide™

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR info@ambushpublishing.com CIRCULATION

Alabama - Birmingham, Mobile; Florida - Pensacola; Louisiana - Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Metairie, New Orleans, Monroe, Alexandria; Mississippi - Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Jackson; Texas Houston

PUBLISHER TJ Acosta EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Reed Wendorf SENIOR EDITOR Brian Sands DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & EVENTS Chris Leonard CONTRIBUTORS Adam Radd, Brian Sands, Catherine Roland, Charles Pizzo, Frank Perez, Jim Meadows, Kevin Assam, Rev. Bill Terry, Robert Fiesler, Ryan Rockford, Scot Billeaudeau, Tony Leggio & Crescent City Sports PHOTOGRAPHERS Andrew Hopkins, Charles Pizzo, Doug Adams, Dwain Hertz, Glenn Melancon, Persona Shoulders, TJ Boudreaux, Tony Leggio

LOCAL ADVERTISING sales@ambushpublishing.com Reed Wendorf NATIONAL ADVERTISING Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Ambush Magazine is published on alternate Tuesdays of each month by Ambush Publishing. Advertising, Copy & Photo DEADLINE is alternate Tuesdays, 5pm, prior to publication week, accepted via e-mail only: info@ambushpublishing.com. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for the claims of advertisers and has the right to reject any advertising. The inclusion of an individual’s name or photograph in this publication implies nothing about that individual’s sexual orientation. Letters, stories, etc. appearing herein are not necessarily the opinion of the Publisher or Staff of Ambush Magazine. ©1982-2019 AMBUSH PUBLISHING LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NOTHING HEREIN MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER INCLUDING AD LAYOUTS, MAPS & PHOTOS.

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NEWS & COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Bandit Hair Company is Cutting Off the Stigma Bandit Hair Company is a new shop in town that is working to break the traditional view of haircuts. For years, it has generally been thought that barber shops are for men and salons/beauty parlors are for women. Bandit Hair, a “Hair Collective” in the heart of New Orleans’ Marigny, offers an inclusive space for the LGBTQ community. Hannah and Felix work there and promote a gender neutral location where everyone feels welcome.

Hannah is a Seattle transplant who has called New Orleans home since 2012. Her local career kicked off at Factotum in the Bywater. In September, she branched out and opened Bandit Hair Company, named after the company’s mascot.

Felix is originally from Bunkie, Louisiana, and has resided in New Orleans for the past 18 years. They are excited to be a part of this team where they are completely free and comfortable to be

themselves.

Bandit Hair Company will be adding a stylist in January.

Bandit Hair Company is located at 517 Port Street, New Orleans, and is open Tuesday - Saturday from 11am6pm. Appointments are recommended, but walk-ins are available. To book an appointment or more information on their services, visit: bandithaircompany.com

Spotlight on Saints and Sinners LGBTQ Literary Festival Speakers The annual Saints and Sinners LGBTQ Literary Festival will take place in New Orleans March 27-29, 2020.

For registration information: Sasfest. org Ambush readers can register with a 20% discount by using the code Ambush20 when registering.

In this series, we introduce you to some of the writers in the all-star lineup for #SAS20 this March in the heart of the French Quarter.

Alex Myers is a novelist, teacher, and transgender rights advocate. Born and raised as a girl in Paris, Maine,

Alex came out as transgender when he was sixteen and started living as a boy. He was the first openly transgender student at both Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University.

At Harvard, he began his work as an activist and advocate for transgender rights, work that has led him to a career as a lecturer and educator, working with schools around the world to be more gender inclusive. After earning degrees in Near Eastern Languages and Religious Studies at Harvard and Brown, Alex went to Vermont College

of Fine Arts and studied Fiction Writing.

It was in this program that Alex crafted his debut novel, Revolutionary, which tells the story of his ancestor, Deborah Sampson, who disguised herself as a man and fought in the American Revolutionary War. His most recent book is Continental Divide from University of New Orleans Press. Alex teaches high school English in New Hampshire, where he lives with his wife and two cats.

Colm Tóibín is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright,

journalist, critic and poet. He is currently the Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University. Tóibín’s 1990 novel The South was followed by The Heather Blazing (1992), The Story of the Night (1996) and The Blackwater Lightship (1999). His fifth novel, The Master (2004), is a fictional account of portions in the life of author Henry James. Tóibín is the author of other non-fiction books: Bad Blood: A Walk Along the Irish Border (1994), (reprinted from the 1987 original edi-

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tion) and The Sign of the Cross: Travels in Catholic Europe (1994).

Tóibín has written two short story collections. His first, Mothers and Sons, which as the name suggests explores the relationship between mothers and their sons, was published in 2006, and was reviewed favourably (including by Pico Iyer in The New York Times).

His second, broader collection, The Empty Family, was published in 2010, and was shortlisted for the 2011 Frank O’Connor International Short Story

Award. His most recent book is Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know: The Fathers of Wilde, Joyce and Yeats (2018, Simon & Schuster.)

Irena Klepfisz was born in the Warsaw Ghetto on April 17, 1941, the daughter of Michał Klepfisz, a member of the Jewish Labour Bund. In late April 1943, when she had just turned two years old, her father, was killed, on the second day of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Earlier in 1943, Klepfisz’s father had smuggled Irena and her

mother out of the ghetto; Irena was placed in a Catholic orphanage, while her mother, using false papers, worked as a maid for a Polish family. Irena and her mother immigrated to the United States in 1949. Klepfisz has worked as an activist in feminist, lesbian, and secular Jewish communities. She began publishing her poems in 1971. She was a founding editor of Conditions, a feminist magazine emphasizing the writing of lesbians, and also was a co-editor of The Tribe of Dina: A Jew-

ish Women’s Anthology. Klepfisz has also been a contributor to the Jewish feminist magazine Bridges, and wrote the introduction to Found Treasures: Stories by Yiddish Women Writers.

She is the author of A Few Words in the Mother Tongue: Poems Selected and New (with an introduction by Adrienne Rich) published by The Eighth Mountain Press, which was nominated for a Lambda Prize in Poetry in 1990.

Pizzo Appointed Couchsurfing Ambassador for New Orleans Charles Pizzo has been appointed Couchsurfing Ambassador for New Orleans. Pizzo is a columnist for Ambush, and contributes photographs of the community’s social scene. In his day job, he handles PR and social media for hospitality businesses. Pizzo is a former chair of IABC, the International Association of Business Communicators.

Couchsurfing is a global community of 14 million people in more than 200,000 cities who share their life, their world, and their journey. Couchsurfing connects travelers with a global network of people willing to share in profound and meaningful ways, making travel a truly social experience.

Couchsurfing Ambassadors are a group who exemplify the core values of the group in the way they live and share their lives. They are spread all

over the world, from Canada to Ethiopia and many places in between. They are extremely active in their communities, hosting surfers, planning events and attending meet-ups. They understand and respect community guidelines and terms of use, are committed to keeping the local Couchsurfing community active and welcoming to all, and love sharing their culture with locals and travelers alike.

Pizzo has hosted over 250 travelers from all over the world at his home, and amassed over 300 positive references. He has organized over 50 events in New Orleans since joining Couchsurfing three and a half years ago.

For more info about the program, see Couchsurfing.com. To learn about its Ambassador program, see: http:// bit.ly/2Cmz5YR

Charles Pizzo, second from left, escorts a group of Couchsurfers from the Czech Republic and Russian Federation to the Barataria Preserve (swamp). Pizzo is the newly appointed Ambassador for Couchsurfing.com (Photo: Ivan K. / Moscow)

Obituaries Chad Schuyler LaClair Chad LaClair, 30, recently lost his battle with cancer. Born in Richmond, Virginia, on December 14, 1988, Chad, a tattoo enthusiast, lived in New York before moving to New Orleans, where he worked as a bartender at Rawhide.

Steve Robertson Steve Robertson, 64, of Heber Springs, formerly of Baton Rouge,

Louisiana, passed away November 1, 2019 at Unity Health in Searcy. He was born October 18, 1955 in Baton Rouge to the late George and Gloria Lambert Robertson Jr. Steve graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture and Landscape Design. He founded Audubon Landscaping in Baton Rouge, which he owned and operated for over 24 years, as well as Audubon Landscap-

ing of Arkansas for the last 16 years. In addition to his parents, Steve was preceded in death by a close friend, Daniel J. Comeaux. He is survived by his close friend, James Anding of Heber Springs; two sisters, Rebekah Robertson Cole of McKinney, Texas and Mary Beth Robertson Meldrum (George) of Heber Springs; brother, James G. Robertson (Connee) of Heber Springs; two nieces, Katie Craddock (Gerard)

of Berkeley, California and Jessica Drummond of McKinney, Texas; nephew, Spencer Craddock of Tampa, Florida; great nephews, Gavin, Gabe, and Jude; two close friends, Jeff Tate and Steven Green of Baton Rouge; his loving puppies, Double Stuff Oreo and Ms. Biddie; as well as other relatives and many friends.

The Lords of Leather present “Cunt-ry Music” Nov 30 The Lords of Leather will host their annual campy “American Bandstand” turnabout show on Saturday November 30 at OZ at 7:30 pm.

These manly men will perform some of your favorite country music numbers old and new by some of country music’s most prominent female entertainers while doing their best to dress the part!

Krewe member Countess C. Alice will be Mistress of Ceremonies. This spectacular show will feature Krewe

members and special guests as well as the current and past Mr. Louisiana Leather titleholders – Kurt Goodman and Eric Banville.

You won’t want to miss this hilarious and fun-filled evening that has become a Thanksgiving weekend tradition! Grab your jeans, boots & cowboy hats and join the fun!!

Tickets are just $20 at the door or from any Krewe member.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Lords!!

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ARTS & CULTURE

Trodding the Boards Brian Sands bsnola2@hotmail.com

Cabaret at The New Orleans Art Center through Nov. 24

If you haven’t seen Kander & Ebb’s Tony-winning musical Cabaret before (what, not even Liza’s Oscar-winning turn on celluloid?), get yourself over to the Bywater’s New Orleans Art Center on St. Claude for See ‘Em On Stage’s eminently watchable production, officially titled Cabaret (1998 Version), a nod to the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival that amped up the sexuality and became a long-running Broadway hit.

In its Kit Kat Klub song’n’dance scenes, Director Christopher Bentivegna evokes the sleaziness one can find in a Bourbon Street strip club or, perhaps, the more tourist-oriented tawdriness of, say, Chris Owens’ establishment.

But while you may think you’re in 2019 New Orleans, this is actually 1930 Berlin, teetering on the edge before the you-know-what really hit the fan.

Based on stories by Christopher Isherwood, Cabaret tells of bisexual, wannabe writer Clifford Bradshaw (Isherwood’s stand-in) and his experiences with guys, gals, Nazis and Jews during his stay in the German capital, most notably his involvement with English singer Sally Bowles, a party girl of the highest order whose meager purse can’t support her champagne tastes.

Swanning around the stage with legs that go on forever, Kali Russell perfectly captures Sally’s blithely amoral temperament. She exudes a quirky seductiveness, pushy yet needy. Sally is always a challenge for performers; she’s not supposed to be a top-tier

entertainer yet the actress playing her has to belt out some of Broadway’s most iconic numbers.

Russell, who has excelled in comedies, dramas and musicals, makes Sally a bit klutzy on stage, but expertly puts over the songs by locating just the right level of talent for Sally. She also brings out the casual charisma of a gal men find it hard to say “No” to. By the time she gets to the title number, her guts spilling out onto the stage, Russell is properly powerful and pitiable. It well might be the best version of the song Cabaret I’ve ever seen.

Clint Johnson partners Russell well as the Emcee, the role that vaunted Joel Grey and Alan Cumming to star status. A bit pudgy, with shaved head and a gleeful devilishness, Johnson combines a little sugar, a little spice and a little poison, to become a seeming avatar of Nazism. He doesn’t realize, however, that his saucy pansexuality makes him a perfect candidate for the death camps as the Nazis do away with all degenerates.

Margeaux Fanning, as Fräulein Schneider who runs the boardinghouse where Cliff winds up, and Ken Goode, as the Jewish grocer Herr Schultz in love with Schneider and not worried about the emergent Nazis because he was “born a German”, are both excellent and touching as Schneider’s survival instincts trumps and puts an end to their burgeoning romance.

In the rather thankless role of Clifford, Josiah Rogers, with his hangdog eyes, adopts a low key mien, an apt choice for this young man still discovering himself. He and Russell make Clifford and Sally’s final scene together heartbreaking.

Josiah Rogers and Kali Russell in Cabaret

The six Kit Kat girls seem genuinely not nice as though they might break into a brawl backstage any minute. Kudos to the actresses for creating such a nasty li’l ensemble and executing Bentivegna & Russell’s choreography, both its wonderful steps and intentional missteps, with aplomb.

Despite the copious amounts of flesh on display, this remains a fairly standard issue Cabaret. This is not necessarily a criticism as it’s entirely well done; maybe I’ve just seen too many productions of it. After all, this is the fourth local one since Katrina, not counting the one that played the Saenger.

Perhaps I just expected more from Bentivegna, a director I admire who gave us an electrifying local premiere of Lizzie and brought new life to The Wiz last year. Despite his best efforts, the first act seems to go on forever, as it always does (the second zips by in under 45 minutes), though its ending, when the Nazi menace first rears its ugly head, certainly gets under your skin. Bentivegna also makes the production’s finale quietly devastating.

The show’s two most memora-

ble moments, however, are unique to it. For the naughty number Two Ladies, Bentivegna has two chorus boys (Chad Gearig-Howe, who also does the fine musical direction, and Daniel Oakley) in semi-drag join the Emcee rather than the usual two gals or even a guy and a gal; it rightly pushes the envelope to show Weimar Berlin at its edgiest.

And having cast an African-American actor as Clifford, Bentivegna’s one acknowledgment of race is when a pregnant Sally questions the paternity of her baby and wonders what he’ll look like; Clifford/Rogers replies as per the script “We’ll know if it’s mine,” while holding up Sally’s hand in his. Point made, beautifully. I just wish there had been more such singular moments.

If you’re a Kit Kat Klub virgin, however, just go to this Cabaret. You’ll certainly feel willkommen.

New in New York

Should you be going to New York in the next few months and have some free time, well, a lot of free time, you may want to check out The Inheritance on Broadway (Ethel Barrymore

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Theatre thru March 1, 2020). It takes a while to get going but eventually pays off richly.

Inspired by E.M. Forster’s novel Howard’s End, Matthew Lopez’s nearly six-and-a-half hour, two part exploration and rumination on gay history of the last 35 years or so, well, at least that subsection occupied by middleand upper-class, mostly white men in NYC and its close environs, works in two modes: (a) preachy, we-have-tolearn-from-and-respect-the-past and (b) rigorous and involving storytelling.

The former is maddeningly pedantic; the latter is vibrant and ultimately quite moving.

Five actors play the seven main roles, including Foster himself. As couples break up and others come together, The Inheritance examines love, hope, family, yearnings, missed connections and other such big and vital themes, jumping back and forth between the recent past (2015-18) and the 1980s. Real estate, both urban and rural, plays a prominent role, but also Broadway openings and backstage intrigue, business dealings with Arabs, and sex, lots of sex, sometimes anchored by relationships, other times for pure hedonistic fun.

Each part has three acts. I could have done without the first two acts of Part One with their boatloads of exposition, rather cheap lecturing, and meta-theatrics about writing one’s story.

Once Lopez focuses on the drama, however, in Part I, Act 3, I became thoroughly invested with The Inheritance, and stayed that way until its end except for a talky patch in Part 2, Act 2.

The acting throughout is topnotch, particularly Andrew Burnap, Samuel H. Levine, and Kyle Soller as three 30somethings (and one 19-year-old; Levine doing double duty) entangled in messy personal and professional relationships, and John Benjamin Hickey as a Trump-supporting gay billionaire who’s more complex than he seems at first.

The Inheritance features trite cliches and gorgeous monologues, crackling scenes of passion and passages that sound like mere academic debates. I have nothing against marathonesque shows (The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (8 hours)! Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata (9 hours)!), but two hours less might have made Inheritance a stronger piece of theater.

If you only want to see one part, I’d go with the second. Yet the coup de théâtre that ends Part One (no spoilers here) achieves a transcendent moment of theater I’ll not soon forget. I know folks who have loved The Inheritance and others who hated it. If you see it, let me know what you think.

If there’s not a lot of must-see theater currently in NYC, a number of museum exhibitions are well worth vis-

iting.

If The Inheritance deals with the fallout from the AIDS holocaust, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. at the Museum of Jewish Heritage (36 Battery Place) focuses on one specific aspect of WWII’s Holocaust.

The exhibit begins with interesting background information about the Polish town which has become synonymous with the Nazis’ killing machine. Auschwitz, Oswiecim in Polish, was a crossroads bordering Germany, Austria and Russia. It had been affectionately regarded by Jews, even those not born there, because locals would give them a warm welcome when they were visiting or passing through.

You can see films of the city before the war. It looks like a nice place. Then the Nazis turned it into their largest concentration camp.

Somber from the start--an electrified fence is on view--as the exhibit sets the stage for what is to come, it can be a bit repetitious, especially if you have some familiarity with this subject; it’s also a bit dry what with architectural drawings of the camp. But this merely represents the quiet before the storm of details of how it operated and brutal images of death.

You go on to learn about the bizarre rivalry between concentration camp leaders and how Auschwitz evolved from a concentration camp to a vast death camp. Just when you

Ghanaian poster for Terminator 2 (1994) by Joe Mensah at Poster House

think it may be over, the story changes from one of gas chambers to one about those prisoners who were selected to work for their captors and how they survived. Fascinating sections follow on the Resistance, Death Marches, Liberation and the aftermath of it all.

Along the way drawings by Anne Frank bring her to youthful life. I learned of the first female Rabbi, Regina Jonas (1902–44), who was murdered at Auschwitz. Reproductions of paintings by the brilliant artist Felix Nussbaum remind you of the loss of this major talent. And when you read that Hugo

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Boss was “proud to be known as the ‘supplier for National Socialist uniforms since 1924,’” you’ll never want to wear one of their items again.

Needless to say, some of the similarities between our President and Hitler are shocking.

Among the more than 700 objects and 400 photographs that populate the exhibition, what may have the greatest impact are video interviews with survivors of the camp. That they went on to live and thrive and tell their story is an awe-inspiring testament to the human spirit.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was originally supposed to run through January but, due to an overwhelming response, it’s been extended through August 30, 2020. Don’t miss it.

On a much lighter note, Baptized

By Beefcake (through Jan. 5) is the second large show at the new Poster House museum (119 W. 23 St.); the first was a marvelous one of Alphonse Mucha posters. This wonderfully titled exhibition informs you how movies, economics and religion mixed in the 1980s and ’90s to inspire larger-thanlife posters in Ghana.

These posters, mostly for action and horror films, generated excitement in small towns where men showed movies using gas-run generators and TVs or VCRs. “The competition for artistic supremacy was intense between

the artists,” says one of the wall stencils of the nearly 20 painters represented in the show.

If the images on the posters don’t always reflect what actually happened in the movies, so what? The artists knew what images were most likely to sell tickets. This is an excellent opportunity to see these “miraculous survivors” (so many of the posters have been destroyed or lost) that are part of a captivating, little known episode of global pop culture and lots of campy fun.

Also on view through January 5 is 20/20 InSight: Posters from the 2017 Women’s March. The works in this one-room exhibit are all great (my favorite: “Not usually a sign person but Jeez”), but for me, it drove home how, more than marching, voting and even running for office is essential for change.

At the Museum of the City of New York (1220 5th Ave.), PRIDE--Photographs of Stonewall and Beyond

by Fred W. McDarrah (through Dec. 31) focuses on the esteemed Village Voice photographer’s images from the first 25 years post-Stonewall. These fabulous pics include ones of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) in the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day march, and of a young man wearing a t-shirt that says “Support Blind Gays.”

The Guggenheim Museum (1071 5th Ave.) has Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now (through Jan. 5) which, alongside a focused selection of Mapplethorpe’s images, showcases the work of six artists who offer expansive approaches to exploring identity through photographic portraiture, most notably Rotimi Fani-Kayode and Zanele Muholi.

Fans of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) must visit the Neue Galerie (1048 5th Ave.) before January 13 to see a superb show of the German artist who was part of the Expressionist movement. Wildly colorful and offering incisive social commentary, in 1933, his work was branded as “degenerate” by the Nazis and in 1937, over 600 of his creations were sold or destroyed.

How fortunate to be able to see these magnificent canvases and prints that survived.

Opera buffs should head to The Morgan Library & Museum (225 Madison Ave.) for Verdi: Creating Otello and Falstaff (through Jan. 5) which presents rare documents and artifacts, including set designs, costumes from Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, autograph manuscripts, & contracts, and offers insights into the birth of these two operas.

While there, check out the beautiful works from the Italian Baroque era in Guercino: Virtuoso Draftsman

(through Feb. 2) and the spectacular drawings in John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal (through Jan. 12); a couple of hotties in it look like they could come to life.

There’s also Duane Michals at the Morgan (through Feb. 2) an interesting retrospective of this gay photographer that wasn’t quite my proverbial cup of tea.

And not sure what may be going on at Daniel Nardicio’s Bedlam (40 Avenue C) when you’re there (Bette, Bathhouse + Beyond, which kicked ass during Southern Decadence, will pop up on Nov. 27), but I caught Call Us Miss Ross, a Diana Ross tribute show, which featured former Village Voice columnist and man-about-town Michael Musto, Detroit drag queen extraordinaire Jacqueline Dupree, and a dinosaur playing an accordion. What more could you ask for?!

Please send press releases and notices of your upcoming shows to Brian Sands at bsnola2@hotmail.com.

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INTERVIEWS FROM KEY WEST Luke Willis Finds the Stage Again with His Directorial Debut of The Summer House Kevin Assam kevin-assam@hotmail.com Luke Willis, formerly of the San Francisco Ballet and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, makes his directorial debut with the LGBTQ+ short thriller, The Summer House. Earlier screenings this year included Outfest, The Woods Hole Film Festival with additional showings slated for the Key West Film Festival.

Luke discusses his early interactions with the church, excelling at ballet, and how exactly he crafted this haunting watch.

Where did you grow up and what was the attitude there toward men pursuing dance as a form of art?

Luke: I grew up in Jacksonville, which is a very different version of Florida from South Florida and especially Key West. The First Baptist and large non-denominational churches are the largest cultural institutions there. I was lucky to grow up with music and theater in my life, but ballet and dance was definitely a pastime for girls only. My understanding from the people around me was that dance was frivolously effeminate. Boy, was I wrong. It turns out that several studies conducted over the past forty years have consistently found ballet to be the most challenging and rigorous sport, second only to boxing. It also turns out that the world of ballet outside of the USA attracts many more straight males than gay or bisexual ones for the exact reason that it is the most challenging sport around.

Was ballet integral to your coming out to your family about your sexual orientation?

Luke: Not really. I first came out to my parents when I was 14, long before I started pursuing ballet. At 16, I found Jesus and was “healed” of my “sin” of homosexuality until my mid-twenties. If anything, my pursuit of ballet was an all-consuming distraction that allowed me to put off coming to terms with my sexuality.

What did finding Jesus involve?

Luke: Mostly a lot of bible study, Christian praise music, and talking about the meaning of life. It was actually an excellent study of music and good storytelling.

Did SNL’s Molly Shannon’s “Superstar” ever find its way into your path to Christ?

Luke: I love Molly Shannon! Great movie.

When did you start gaining traction with ballet? How soon were you hired into the company and landed positions?

Luke: I had to make a choice after my two years of training while on leave from Boston University. I went to audition for companies and I was offered four different jobs. I chose to join the

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, which was the greatest decision. It is a small company of 10 dancers that brings in some of the hottest contemporary ballet choreographers in the world. I got to work with some amazing people in that intimate setting. No large company offers that opportunity. Plus, I got to live in Aspen, which wasn’t too shabby. Three years into dancing with ASFB, I was invited to audition for the San Francisco Ballet, the oldest and arguably best ballet company in the world [NB: The Paris Opera Ballet (1669) is the oldest company in the world; along with the Mariinsky Ballet, Moscow Bolshoi Ballet & the London Royal Ballet it is regarded as one of the four most preeminent ballet companies in the world.--Ed.]. I wouldn’t really have considered dancing for any other large ballet company beside SFB except perhaps the Boston Ballet.

How smashed are your arches and toes from years of ballet?

Luke: Actually, not too bad. It is one of the rare occasions that I am grateful for the prominent gender roles in classical ballet, which dictate that only women wear pointe shoes. Although they are super fun! I may have a pair in my closet. My knees and lower back are another story, but I retired early at age 32, which was also a saving grace for my body. From what I saw, a lot of the more permanent damage to the body tends to happen as dancers get older and less physically resilient.

You were the Assistant Editor for the critically well received documentary Gay Chorus Deep South.

How did that come about?

Luke: That was one of the luckiest things. Right after school, one of my mentors, Jesse Moss, came to me about a project he was producing on the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, which he knew I had been a member of in 2013. He got me an interview with the director to come on board as the archival researcher. That quickly ballooned into several other roles including first assistant editor. The work I did on that film was inspirational. I delved deep into the history and the present state of LGBTQIA rights in the USA and learned so much about how to tell a beautifully pointed story from a true master, Jeff Gilbert. Not to mention getting to go deep into the story of Tim Seelig, the director of the SF Gay Men’s Chorus. He is a man, like many who have come before me, who I owe an incredible debt to for paving the way for my generation and the ones following me, to live our lives out and proud.

You’ll soon be showing your LGBTQ+ short thriller, The Sum-

mer House, at this year’s Key West Film Festival. How did you make the jump from Gay Chorus Deep South to a darker and supernatural theme?

Luke: I wrote the screenplay for the feature length version of The Summer House a year before I started working on Gay Chorus Deep South. My real passion is scripted fiction. I love movies that guide you on a cathartic journey through an alternate reality. The suspension of disbelief actually allows the artist to tackle topics and scenarios that are too difficult for audiences if they were non-fiction. I jumped into making this short version of the story immediately after my principle work on the documentary was completed.

What makes the plot a thriller?

Luke: It’s a haunting. The main character is on a romantic weekend with his partner. They go to visit a remote beach house owned by the family of the main character that he hasn’t visited in a decade. We can assume he has some bad memories of the place from growing up. The first night he says the “L” word to his boyfriend. Later that night, he is tormented by someone else in the house. Is someone really there or has the ghost of his homophobic father come back to punish him? You’ll have to come see the film to find out.

What was the casting process like and who did you ultimately decide on?

Luke: Casting was really fun. We worked with a great casting director,

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 11

Shyree Mezick. She brought a lot of great actors into the audition. In the end I picked Tim Torre to play the lead and Nick Zephyrin to play his boyfriend. It was funny because I originally saw them in the opposite roles. It was Shyree who suggested the final casting. I knew seconds after they started the first read that there was this perfect chemistry. I love when the unexpected happens. It adds layers you never even imagined.

How did you select and secure the specific sites featured through-

out the short?

Luke: The house is actually the guest home of a friend and longtime supporter of the San Francisco Ballet.

It’s located in a funky little oceanside community called the Sea Ranch. I have been going there for years for weekend escapes from the city. When I wrote the screenplay, I was able to write it for that specific house. The beach scene was more difficult because we wanted to have a beach campfire while a large devastating wildfire was ripping through the next valley over. We ended

AMERICAN THINGS November: Time for Football; Time for Elections Lynn Stevens Thanksgiving, among many traditions, is a time for football.

I don’t know if a game still comes on every year on that last Thursday of November, but it did when I was a kid and, sure enough, my family would have it on in the den. I would see my dad, my uncles and my grandparents cheer and jeer over something on the television, but I could never quite understand what on Earth they were fussing about.

For me, I guess elections have a similar effect. It’s football season for eggheads maybe. This next year will

be when the election cycle really kicks into gear, although in recent years it seems the cycle never ends. We will see the caucuses and the straw polls and the scandals. All the good stuff.

From this vantage, the general election looks good for Democrats but that might not mean much in the long run.

Earlier this month, Virginia Democrats won the state’s House of Delegates and Senate as well as the governorship. This turns the state solid blue for the first time in almost 30 years.

Kentucky ended with a tight margin

up finding one of the very few campgrounds in Northern California that allows beach fires.

What’s the next immediate project once you’re satisfied with the rollout and reception of The Summer House?

Luke: I’m laser focused on making the feature length version within the next year. I am also currently working on a series of several music videos for a new recording artist called Empress.

The first has already been released.

It’s called Lovely I am and features

several ballet dancers from San Francisco Ballet.

in its gubernatorial race in which Democrat, Andy Beshear, claimed victory but the incumbent, Republican Matt Bevin, refused to concede.

Bevin even received last minute help from the President who asked voters to vote red because, ““If you lose they [the media] are going to say, ‘Trump suffered the greatest loss in the history of the world.” Before bellowing, “You can’t let that happen to me!”

The New York Times reported that within hours of the polls closing a strange message appeared on Twitter.

A user claimed to have “just shredded a box of republican mail-in ballots.”

The tweet was re-posted by many other right-wingers without any shred of legitimacy attributed to it and it may have even led Bevin to make the choice not to concede.

Bevin, like Eddie Rispone, has cribbed much from Trump’s playbook.

Bevin specifically noted “inconsistencies” in the returns. For his part, Trump has gone so far as to claim that the popular vote, won by Hillary Clinton, was rigged which had no direct effect on the election he won.

Kentucky officials are recounting the votes at the behest of Bevin so we’ll have to wait and see how that washes out.

This trend led to the possibility of some kind of “blue wave” crashing over the country but on last week’s Meet the Press Senator Rand Paul shot that idea down by saying that five of the six statewide races in Kentucky had been won by Republicans.

A republican strategist, Alex Conant, told the Associated Press, “Republican support in the suburbs has basically collapsed under Trump.”

Conant went on to say that something has to be done to “regain our suburban support over the next year.”

Neither Virginia nor Kentucky, however, will be a battleground state in the presidential election and Democratic candidates in both states downplayed the more “radical” aspects of their presidential nominee hopefuls like healthcare-for-all.

In Mississippi, the governor’s seat remained red and we will see what happens in Louisiana’s runoff.

An internal poll by incumbent John Bel Edwards finds him leading his contender Eddie Rispone by 16 points; in

the primary, Edwards led by a similar margin. Regarding Edwards’ poll, it was done by his campaign so it should be read with a grain of salt.

Looking ahead to the presidential election next November, Politico (along with Morning Consult, a “non-partisan media and tech company”) reports that their survey of voters found that, “55% of voters expect the president to be re-elected next year.”

The same poll also found high motivation to vote in the next election.

However, a recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll shows the top three Democratic nominees leading Trump by at least 10 points.

Polling in 2016 showed Hillary Clinton leading by similar numbers.

So where does all this polling come from?

A Time magazine story recently covered the birth of polling and the man who started our modern version of it, George Gallup.

George Gallup was an eccentric man who had an interest in “measuring the world.” A friend said of Gallup, “He wished he’d invented the ruler.”

Up to 1932, polls done by the Literary Digest mailed out postcards to voters based on telephone & auto registrations and, because of that, a large amount of people received the mailers, but they tended toward demographics that left out poorer voters.

Gallup used a smaller portion of the population to reflect nationwide demographics, some 3,000 people leading to a more scientific approach.

The only thing Gallup couldn’t account for was voter turnout. Time said, “High voter turnout had helped Democratic tickets ever since the New Deal,” but since Gallup could never know how high voter turnout would be it made polling for elections more complicated than other polls Gallup conducted, generally for advertising.

This is evident in one of the most famous polling mishaps when pollsters incorrectly predicted Thomas Dewey’s victory over Harry Truman for President in 1948.

There’s a great picture of Truman triumphantly holding up a newspaper reading, “Dewey Beats Truman.”

If you’ve never seen it, look it up.

Kevin Assam is an average writer and hilarious interviewer originally from the Caribbean. He can be best described as a forty year old imaginative mind trapped in a pint sized twenty something year old body. His upcoming book is a collection of outrageous things overheard in Key West.

12 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

THE HERE AND THE NOW Survival of the Fittest: Staying Solid through the Holiday Season Catherine Roland catherineroland12@gmail.com Here we are, approaching the holidays. Do we ever actually ‘approach’ the holidays, or do the holidays kind of sneak up and take over? Although it’s not quite Thanksgiving, we’ve noticed the Christmas movies, the first Christmas trees in stores and malls, or perhaps heard questions like “What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

There are times when holidays bring up certain feelings that can run the gamut from looking forward in excitement, to tolerating spending time with people we don’t always like, to dreading the time of the year when it seems ‘everyone’ has someplace to go, but maybe not you.

Find yourself on that spectrum of feeling, and if you see yourself leaning toward the second or third, then read on for some hints and suggestions that may assist during this time of year.

And a note: Many people tend to feel less than happy, less steady, or even more sad or depressed during this time. You are not alone in those feelings, and there are ways to help others through, as well as yourself. If it’s survival of the fittest during this time of year, then let us get fit and healthy

and do much more than survive.

The greater New Orleans area affords many wonderful outlets for having a good time, connecting with friends, meeting new people, and participating in LGBTQ+ activities. Holiday time has a way of placing our perceptions in a somewhat vulnerable situation, where there is what I call ‘anticipatory stress and depression’ because we may have previously had less than happy holidays, so almost automatically those feels emerge.

Anticipating feeling sad, lonely or down is powerful for many, and can actually predict what the current holidays will bring. Part of feeling strong and steady consistently does require some effort and a focus on self, positivity and hope for YOU, as well as others.

Take a look at the suggestions below, and perhaps choose a few to try. If you already do some of these, consider how you might do different ones, or add to what you already do. Your ability to create a healthier plan in the coming season can only be a good thing, adding to your self-care regimen.

1. If you feel isolated, seek out community, social events, volunteer

events; even a long phone call with a friend/family member from out-of-town will help you feel connected.

2. If you’re planning to be with a larger group of friends/family, realize you may not be close to, or even know everyone. Work on accepting new people for themselves, especially during that event, and try to engage & learn about others.

3. Friends and colleagues will understand if you can’t participate in every project or activity. Pace yourself, only you can know when you’re stressed and anxious and need some alone or breathing time.

4. Overdoing it only adds to your stress and guilt. Ways to stay centered include getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, exercising in any form, even if it’s only taking a walk to your destination...or a longer more scenic one there.

5. Take time for yourself. Meditate, try intentional breathing, visualize something that pleases you. If you like to read, plan a trip to the library, or Amazon, or Barnes & Noble and find a few books you’d like to read.

6. Writing about your feelings can

help, especially at a time of anticipatory stress. If there are feelings of isolation and discomfort about sharing with people, then share with yourself – yes, it’s a thing. Self-sharing and self-expression is a powerful way in which to get those feelings out, to be acknowledged and seen by yourself. Get a journal, or a notebook, and use it to gain clarity.

7. It’s normal to feel sadness at times. If that’s around holidays, say it to yourself, to a close friend or partner.

Admit it and go from there.

8. Make use of any activities that you used in the past to assist in feeling more positive. The circumstances may have changed a bit, but the ideas remain the same, and it’s likely your reaction to them will remain positive as well.

9. Conversely, if there were activities through the years that did not work out for you, that hurt you in some way, or compromised you, do not engage in them now. Sounds so logical, but it’s difficult to change a pattern, even one that yields a negative result, time after time. There is always an alternative, even when it’s not immediately visible to you. Be patient and continue to look

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 13

at options for activities.

10. Create something. If you are an individual fortunate enough to have experience creating a painting, writing poetry, doing needlework or weaving, singing, playing music, dancing, creating a drag performance, designing clothing, decorating a home, or creating a new recipe & then cooking it -- use those skills. Many of us have a creative perspective, but we don’t of-

ten use it, or don’t trust it, so we don’t spend time on it. Anything in the creative arts, using a very broad view of that definition, has something to say.

Using your creativity on a consistent basis in times of loneliness or sadness is an extremely powerful antidote, and can help soothe you like no other.

I hope you’ll add to this list, ponder what’s best for you right now, especially during this next month or so. Know

your strength and use it to keep healthy, positive and open. The last suggestion for this week is to use humor when you can, laugh when it’s funny, smirk if it’s not, and just see the light. Invite the smile to come. There are many funny things that we see every day that we don’t often acknowledge. There are even things that we do that are humorous. Let the smiles prevail, and laugh at the funny when you can.

Dr. Catherine Roland, LPC, is a therapist in private practice, specializing in our LGBTQ+ community for 25 years. Catherine is a member of the Board of Directors of both CrescentCare-NO/AIDS Task Force, and NOAGE - New Orleans Advocates for LGBTQ+ Elders.

NEW TO NEW ORLEANS

Memoirs of an Authentic French Quarter Priestess Robert W Fieseler wordbobby@gmail.com “The gates are open,” the Priestess said in the din of the back room of her psychic shop on Decatur where, minutes before, she’d told me to scram and grab a drink while she finished her slice of pizza. It had looked like a decent slice.

Pepperoni, I think.

Because I’m from the Midwest, where pizza is king, and because I tend to be overpolite and presume fault in the face of discourtesy, I complied with her request, though I knew she was scarfing at the time of our scheduled appointment for a reading. (Eh, when have I ever failed to get a drink in this town when someone told me to get a drink?)

“I can see your timeline,” the Priestess continued as she tossed a paper plate and gestured for me to join her at a table draped in purple cloth. “Ordinarily, I give readings,” she said as she shuffled a tarot card deck, “but you have questions, words buzzing above your head. Ask them. 3 questions, of course, will be $80.”

She bid me cut the deck. I did.

Thus did we seal the contract.

I had hopes. The Priestess had given me a reading, years before, that accurately predicted four radical twists leading to the life I was now living, a life in which I was no longer an advertising creative collecting mid-century modern furniture for his Brooklyn loft, but an impoverished yet published author residing with his husband in New Orleans.

Yet, as she gazed at me awaiting my first question, it became obvious that the Priestess neither recognized my face nor sensed the energy, if such a

thing was possible, of our previous encounter.

Admittedly, I’d been tanked on absinthe when our paths crossed initially, but I’d thought of the magic of that first reading almost daily. Maybe it was the Green Fairy. Maybe it was chance subverting hackishness, but she’d pierced the veil of this world once.

Still, her lack of acknowledgment seemed to prove that either I’d been a fool all along or that this Priestess had changed in the intervening years.

Shrank, somehow, in her powers.

Still, I was lost, and so I asked, “Will my book be a success?”

“Oh, you wrote a book!?!” she responded, both as a question and a statement, and she turned over the first card. I have no memory of what it was. Cup of swords. Rack of lamb, hold the pentacles. I just remember her answer. “Not this one,” she said, “but your second one will be.”

Which, like a dupe, prompted my next $26.66 query: “What will my second book be?”

She turned over the second card, gasped, leapt up from her chair and went over to close the door to the back room.

When she returned, I have no other way to say this, but she was no longer the Priestess. She took her gypsy dorag off of her head, sat down slouching in her chair and lit up a cigarette.

“I’ve been wanting to retire for a while,” she confided, and I saw what was fucking coming, and I couldn’t even stop it in slow motion. The bitch knew magic, and I was paying her 80 dollars that I couldn’t just squander.

“I have so many stories,” she continued in monologue. “So many, many stories.

Where you’re sitting, an older man once came in and told me of an underage teenage girl who’d asked him to take her virginity.”

Oh stop.

“As a mother, I freaked.”

Oh please stop this train.

“I grabbed the hammer. I always keep a hammer, as defense, beneath this table.”

Oh please stop sharing.

“See, here it is.”

She produced the hammer and started wagging it in the air.

“I threatened to spill his essence all over the walls. As I chased him with this very hammer from the shop, I spit curses he will not be able to clean from his soul.”

I put my head in my hands, and she set down the hammer, perhaps believing me to be scared when I was in fact disappointed and humiliated.

“I could sense you came in her for a reason. And here’s your reason: Your second book is my story.”

She stretched out her ringed fingers and made jazz-hands in the air, as if beholding the words on a marquee. Memoirs of a French Quarter Priestess. Please, no more.

“No, hmm. Memoirs of an Authentic French Quarter Priestess, that is our title. I will tell you these stories, and you will write them down, and it will be a bestseller.” I gulped.

“We split the proceeds 50-50,” she finished, tapping her finger on the table twice, as if saying, “Don’t you dare screw me out of this fortune.”

I’d come to her with a genuine desire for spiritual answers, and here she was pitching me her ticket out of a career in the psychic industry, out of services I’d trusted and believed her capable of providing.

“Memoirs are first-person works of memory,” I tried to explain, hoping to back out of this easy. “I couldn’t narrate your memories.”

It took the next 30 minutes to get out of the smoky room, and I didn’t even bother with the third question. She only stopped pressing the book when I got

her to agree that we should “put a pin in” this fabulous brainstorm before someone overheard and stole the idea. This quelled her instantly because everyone, I find, hides some plan, some invisible symphony, some invention with a kind of paranoid grandeur, some cubic zirconia they mistake for an authentic gem because it serves as their proverbial un-torn ticket to Paris.

It’s the whispering lie that says, “Soon, I’ll start my real life with this down payment.”

I’ll leave that man. I’ll move to Arizona.

She was, and is, no different.

As I opened the door and moved to cross the threshold and breathe the free air, she cleared her throat. “Forget something?” she asked. I turned and saw that she’d stubbed her last cigarette and, thereby, re-became the Priestess.

“Oh,” I responded.

She held the credit card machine in one hand, bouncing and rolling it in her wrist like an athame or a wand. And because I’m from the Midwest and because I’m overpolite and because I feared her curses and because I’m a sucker who tears at the veil of this universe and because I knew I’d never be writing her book, I paid the Authentic Priestess of the French Quarter her $80.

Robert W. Fieseler is the author of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation, which won the 2019 Edgar Award in Best Fact Crime.

He lives with his husband and dog in New Orleans.

14 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

BOOK OF THE MONTH Walking the Dead Tony Leggio ledgemgp@gmail.com I am obviously still celebrating Halloween with my choice for the book of the month in November, In fact, it was a great book to be reading over the holiday. Waking the Dead by Samuel Bowling is a Shamanic Medium of Stories of life after death. It is quite a fascinating read and Bowling is an excellent storyteller. I met Samuel at a friend’s house over the summer and he passed the book along to me to read and I was

immediately enraptured by the subject matter.

The book is composed of a series of stories about his work as a medium and how he has helped some of his clients (and those who have passed) find closure and peace. In several of the stories, he talks about spirits that have attached themselves to individuals who are alive. Whether it is a family member, friend or a stranger, if you be-

lieve in spirits or not, Bowling weaves several compelling tales that will have you changing your mind.

We have all heard ghost stories and things that go bump in the night before, but sometimes these things may actually be real. The stories told

by Bowling is his first-hand account to something beyond our physical sight, lying somewhere between realms, worlds, life and death. I am now a

firm believer in “spiritual hitchhikers” picked up along the way in life. He makes a great argument that many of the mental and physical issues people have could be driven by spiritual attachments or “other things” influencing their behaviors. His stories paint a picture of hope that through awakening those energies, people can heal their lives and remove the obstacles holding them hostage mentally, physically and spiritually.

He sets a perfect atmosphere for each of his encounters from the ordinary home life to the eeriness of a building haunted by lost souls. The novel is a fast read. For more information about Samuel and his work, go to www.samuelbowling.com.

BARTENDER OF THE MONTH Princess Stephaney Tony Leggio ledgemgp@gmail.com My pick for bartender of the month for November is not only a great friend of mine, but a shining star in our LGBT community, an accomplished performer, and glorified local skank. I am talking about none other that Princess Stephaney. Princess has worked at Mags 940 for a little over six years.

Coming from Memphis many years

Our legacy is yours.

New Orleans Advocates for GLBT Elders (NOAGE) provides services and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older adults in the New orleans metro area.

We host regular social events for LGBT older adults and their allies, and we provide cultural competency trainings for healthcare and other service providers.

To learn more, visit www.noagenola.org, or call (504) 517-2345

ago, she arrived in NOLA and took the city by storm doing shows like Rusty Laroux’s New Zoo revue, which is where I first met her.

She started supplementing her income as an entertainer by working as a bartender and found herself a great career. In my opinion she is one of the best mixologists in the city and definitely in the LGBT community. She has honed her skills so well, she even makes her own mixes and garnishes from scratch.

One of the cocktails she is known for is her Bloody Marys.

Mags 940 boasts over 20 flavors of the libation all created by Princess such as Pizza and Barbecue. My favorite one is Southwest which has hints of jalapeño and cilantro.

One of her other favorites is the Lavender Lemonade for which she makes all her own ingredients. She recently went through five gallons of the mixture in less than two days. But she is more than just a bartender, she is a beacon of our community. She started the Local Skanks, a fabulous group of people who wear bright pink t-shirts with the moniker emblazoned on it and can be seen strutting their stuff every year in the Pride and Decadence parades.

Speaking of those two holidays, she was named Princess of New Orleans Pride in perpetuity as well as being the Pride Grand Marshal in 2007. She was also Southern Decadence Grand Marshal in 2017. Her other noteworthy titles include Lords of Leather Lord Consort 2007, Krewe of Queenateenas King Cake Queen, Princess of the Krewe of Petronius for life, The Camel Toe Steppers Queen of Denial, the Friday Night Before Mardi Gras’ Queen of Uranus and Easter Grand Marshal 5. She was also Miss Louisiana Leath-

erette and eight time winner of Bitch of the Year in the Gay Appreciation Awards, In addition to making her own ingredients, Princesse experiments with different flavors of cocktails creating delicious libations such as the Blood Orange Cosmopolitan which is her favorite cocktail to make and drink.

The Sunday I stopped in to see her she had created a delectable cocktail called Mango Nectar which of course had fresh mango juice, amaretto, club soda and jalapeño infused vodka. It was amazing! I asked her what she loves about working at Mags 940--it’s close to her home and it’s a neighborhood bar with a historic past. It used

to be the former Charlene’s, a very famous lesbian bar. She jokes the place is haunted by the ghost of a past bartender.

Princess is one of the very few bartenders in the United States (I believe less than a dozen) who tend bar in full drag. But her name title Princess suits her perfectly, because once you meet her you become one of her loyal subjects. All kidding aside, she is professional, witty, warm and makes a stellar cocktail!

So take a trip to Mags 940 and try one of Princess Stephaney’s royal libations, you will love it, I promise. Mags 940 is located at 940 Elysian Fields Avenue.

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 15

COMMUNITY VOICE

All About the Fifth Annual NOAGE Gala… Plus Thanksgiving Event Info Jim Meadows Executive Director, NOAGE info@noagenola.org The Fifth Annual NOAGE Gala, “NOAGE in the Enchanted Wood,” will be on Friday, November 22, 7:0010:00pm at Audubon Nature Institute’s Cajun Ballroom (6500 Magazine St.). Tickets are available now at www.noagenola.org. New Orleans Advocates for GLBT Elders is a local nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of LGBT older adults through services, education, and advocacy. All funds raised at the gala will benefit NOAGE. Dr. Jody Gates and Marilyn McConnell are the honorees of this year’s NOAGE Trailblazer Awards, which will be presented at the gala. Jody and Marilyn have been trailblazers for the LGBT community for decades, and they remain on the forefront of advancing civil rights for us through their activism and their support of various organizations on both the local and national levels. We are all deeply grateful to them for their work on behalf of our community, and this is an opportunity for all of us to show up for them as they have shown up for us time and time again over the years.

NOAGE will also honor Jason Tudor, who is the recipient of the Community Impact Award. Jason is a co-founder of NOAGE, and was the President of the Board of Directors from 2015 to 2018. He now lives in Miami, where he works for AARP, so we’re very excited to welcome him back to town for the NOAGE gala.

This year’s theme is “NOAGE in the Enchanted Wood,” and the suggested dress attire is fairy tale fabulous. Whether you’re coming as Prince Charming or Shrek, Cinderella or her stepmother, Dorothy or the Wicked Witch of the West, Beauty or the Beast, we welcome you to arrive dressed to enchant. (dressy casual is OK too!)

The event will begin with live entertainment by one of New Orleans’ best

local jazz trios, Ysrael. DJ Kerem will get us all out on the dance floor after the awards ceremony. There will be an open bar all evening, and amazing food. You can also pick up some great Christmas gifts at the silent auction.

Finally, your ticket to this event is an investment in your future. NOAGE is the only organization in Louisiana dedicated to providing services and advocacy for LGBT older adults, and we need your support to make sure that this organization continues to thrive for years to come. I look forward to seeing you there!

A very special shout-out to this year’s NOAGE gala sponsors: Gilead, Big Easy Sisters, Berkshire Hathaway, Home Instead, Avita Pharmacy, Southern Flex, Smirnoff, Stonewall Sports, CrescentCare, Galloway Law Firm, Peoples Health, Ochsner Pride, Louisiana Assistive Technology Access Network, Sir Speedy, John Groth, Catherine Roland, Ralph Bailey, David Green & Randy Trahan, and David Bernard & Charles Urstadt.

Thanksgiving Events Thanksgiving can be tough. Maybe everyone in your family has political views that clash with yours, and they don’t hesitate to bring them up.

Or maybe you live away from family, or have lost the family members you really wish you could be with, and so you’re facing the prospect of being alone on Thanksgiving. Have no fear.

I’ve got you covered!

Get an early start to Thanksgiving with friends and chosen family at NOAGE’s monthly potluck at St. Anna’s Parish House (1313 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans) on Wednesday, November 20, 6:30-8:30pm. Please bring a dish if you are able, and also consider donating a nonperishable food item for St. Anna’s food pantry. The potluck will be in the church’s parish house (the

Jason Tudor

Jody Gates & Marilyn McCon

building adjacent to the church, at the corner of Esplanade Ave. and Marais St.).

On Thursday, November 21, at 7:00pm, The Four Seasons Bar (3229 N. Causeway Blvd., Metairie, LA) will be hosting a Friendsgiving potluck.

Turkey will be provided, so just bring a side dish.

On Sunday, November 24, from 4:30-6:30pm, the Corner Pocket will be hosting a pre-Thanksgiving meal.

They will be providing food, but guests are welcome to bring a side dish.

On Wednesday, November 27, 7:00-9:00pm, there will be a Thanksgiving potluck for transgender and gender nonconforming people (and allies who are either personal friends, relatives, or significant others) at the LGBT Community Center of New Orleans (2727 S. Broad Ave.). Turkey will be provided, so just bring side dishes or vegan/vegetarian fare.

There are plenty of options on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 28). At 1:00pm, Café Lafitte in Exile (901 Bourbon St.) will be hosting a Thanksgiving meal; food will be pro-

vided by the bar. The Phoenix’s (941 Elysian Fields Ave.) annual Thanksgiving Day potluck will be at 2:00pm, and GrandPre’s (834 N. Rampart St.) will be hosting their potluck at 4:00pm. The potluck at Crossing (439 Dauphine St.) will also begin at 4:00pm. If you’re still hungry at 7:00pm, the Friendly Bar (2301 Chartres St., New Orleans) potluck will get going just in time for the Saints v. Falcons game.

Please note: Most of the bars I contacted do request that if you plan to bring a dish, please let them know in advance what you’ll be bringing. Either stop by before Thanksgiving Day, or contact them via Facebook Messenger.

If you know of any other LGBT-friendly Thanksgiving events that I haven’t included here, please shoot me an email at info@noagenola. org, and I’ll be sure to share it with the NOAGE mailing list and on social media.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

16 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

THE ROCKFORD FILES

Thank you, Rocketman!

Ryan Rockford RyanRockfordNYC@gmail.com (Before you invest three minutes of your life reading this article, you should know that it has nothing to do with Elton John, his movie biopic or his music. This article is about appreciating America’s space program. What??

Yep. Read on.)

I should start with a public apology to anyone who was a member of a high school computer or science club between the years of 1984 and 1987.

Dear Nerds: I’m sorry, and thank you.

Nowadays, NASA and the space program are all but defunct as our country’s focus shifts from making discoveries in space to utilizing and adapting what we’ve discovered to a global advantage. It’s been a rather lackluster ending for the space program, which only a few short years ago catapulted into the stratosphere, letting Russia know the U.S. had a dog in the fight.... and she’s a bitch.

I was born in 1969, the year that man first walked on the moon. For the next 40 years, that’s about as far as my interest in America’s space program went. In school, I gradually gained an understanding and respect for the Apollo 11 mission and Neil Armstrong’s “ ...giant leap for mankind.”

The feat of putting a man on the moon becomes even more impressive when you consider that the United States and NASA had only entered the space race ten years prior. In 1957 Russia threw down the gauntlet of space exploration by successfully launching Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. That woke the U.S. Congress to a potential threat to national security and technological leadership.

The space race was running full throttle and the Ruskies were in the lead.

If the United States wanted to remain a superpower, it needed some super power, pronto. And we got it.

Two years into the ‘Sputnik Crisis’, the U.S. introduced the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. NASA was to be a new agency with a distinctly civilian orientation, created to encourage peaceful applications in space science.

Yawn.

I didn’t always know what I wanted to ‘be’ while growing up but I did know it had nothing to do with rocket science.

High school made it very clear that rocket science was for nerds, those nasally-voiced loners with questionable hygiene and a complete absence of any athletic instinct or ability. In other words, anyone involved with the computer science club.

I was a junior before I knew my high school even had a computer sci-

ence club. I had my own challenges to deal with and didn’t give an X-wing fighting fck about Star Wars, robots, nebulas, aliens, or words like megabyte and RAM. Turns out the smelly bastards were onto something. Those geeks in the computer and science clubs of the 1980s were in on the ground floor.

Even they never could have predicted the technological sonic boom that was heading down the pike. Those geeks were yesterday’s minds of tomorrow and contributed greatly to the achievements of NASA and the U.S. space program. I owe those nerds an apology; chances are you do too. Especially these days when there’s a pretty good chance that you or your friends are now working for them and their friends.

On a rather cold and rainy day, during a family visit to New York, we opted to check out the NASA Space Museum currently installed on the battleship Intrepid which is permanently docked a few blocks from my apartment. Personally I would rather have stayed behind at the W Hotel and enjoyed room service on my mom’s tab while binge watching The Golden Girls, but I went. And I’m really glad I did.

Long story short, the space program is responsible for more than just rocket science. Prior to this exhibit, I never realized, or even considered, how much NASA and its development of space technology enriches our lives on a daily basis. Many of the luxuries we bougey queens take for granted are thanks to those geeks and their computer science.

I can see you, bitch, crossing your legs, rolling your eyes, with your pursed lips and thinking: “Like what?”

Starting with the most obvious, you can thank NASA and their satellites for giving you the ability to stream Britney from Vegas, check the weather for proper footwear, and use GPS maps on your phone so you don’t get lost on the way to your Scruff hookup.

But wait, there’s more. Here a few other day-to-day necessities we take for granted. Imagine having to live without some of these NASA-derived products.

Computer Mouse. Back in the 60’s computers were being used on a regular basis for space travel. In an effort to make the experience more interactive, NASA invented the computer mouse.

Your Nike kicks. Using the same technology that was responsible for molding rubber into astronaut helmets, NASA scientists figured the same principle could be applied to shoes and the

creation of sneaker shock absorbers.

You’re welcome.

Filtered water. Hardly anyone drinks from the tap anymore. Humans need to stay hydrated. That filtered water we all pay too much for here on earth is made possible thanks to the electrolytic silver ionizer invented in the 1960’s to provide clean, clear drinking water to those on that lengthy commute to the moon and back.

Memory foam. The foam was invented out of the NASA’s desire to create a seat cushion that would be able to contour to a passenger’s body and then restore itself to its original shape.

The result is the same material used in our memory foam mattresses that allow us to get our much-needed beauty rest. How many peas would you princesses be pulling out of your ass if it weren’t for the comfort of your memory foam mattress? After all, we’ve all woken up with a toad or two in our bed.

But toads AND peas? Unacceptable.

In addition, the foam material needed to be comfortable enough to survive the G forces of takeoff and landing.

Meaning, this stuff is dense, stable and can handle pressure. So, the next time your man is pounding his way home, tell him to dig deep. The mattress can take it. Can you?

Still not getting those feels of gratitude for science geeks? Consider this, because astronauts needed teeny tiny cameras to complete the interplane-

tary craft required by their missions, NASA scientists developed the technology that provides cameras in your cell phones. Now, every time you take a selfie, give a nod to the nerds.

Geeky, science-type people don’t have a reputation for being the tidiest, and they know it. Take a look at the apartment or desk of any scientist and chances are, it’s a study in organized chaos. So when the need arose to create a tool to cleanly and efficiently collect samples from the moon, NASA got someone else to do it. Black and Decker was given the task and the Dust Buster was born. Even if NASA didn’t technically design this invaluable household appliance, they had the sense and resources to have it done, so...Win, Win! While NASA is responsible for the life-saving technology behind CAT scans and safe land-mine removal, the innovation I am perhaps most grateful for are my wireless headphones. New York is a walking city. We walk everywhere. All day. Every day. To make sure I’m walking to the beat of my own drum, I’m never without my music and headphones. In navigating the hustle and bustle of the subway stations, Penn Station and the over- crowded sidewalks, wired headphones just don’t work here. They constantly get caught on bags, jackets, and umbrellas and get yanked from your ears way too often for a person to tolerate. Wire-

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 17

less headphones are God’s gift to NYC commuters.

Airline pilots were already using wireless headphones as far back as the 1960’s. But when NASA wanted a piece of the action, they needed to develop hardware that would hold up to the rigorous and sturdy requirements of working in space. The com-

pany Plantronics stepped up and in 11 days came up with the wireless headphone models used on all the Apollo missions--as well as football coaches and everyday citizens like you and me.

Thank you, Rocketmen!

When all is said and done, the truth of the matter is, I’m still not all that interested in space travel or aliens or

finding the end of a galactic black hole.

I’ve seen enough holes. But I do have a new appreciation for the men and women of NASA and those involved in what’s left of America’s space program.

Visiting the space museum with Mom and the family was a nice reminder not to brush off the subjects or people that we aren’t immediately

drawn to. It think it’s better to approach the unfamiliar with an open mind. A willingness to learn and the capacity to understand make way for new possibilities. And a possibility is a hint from God. NASA has proven that we have the ability to go where no man has gone before. Now it’s up to us to decide where do we want to go?

Perhaps most forgotten is the activists role they played in the Civil Rights Movement as early as 1862 and in the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896.

Le Musée, the Greek Revival residence at 2336 Esplanade Avenue, and its vicinity, centered in the area known as upper Treme, were originally part of the plantation of Domingo Fleitas.

Fleitas, a Spanish colonial who had fought with Galvez in the American Revolution, had grandchildren born free people of color.

This stretch of Esplanade Avenue, mid-way between the Mississippi River and Bayou St. John, was not developed until the 1850s when Benjamin Rodriguez, a Jewish speculator who also owned the Esplanade omnibus, began acquiring lots in the area. Rodriguez first built his home at 2306 Esplanade,

where the Musson family later lived for a period of time and their cousin Edgar Degas, the acclaimed French artist, visited. In 1859, Rodriguez contracted with Joseph Jouet, the same builder who constructed the famed French Hospital, to build the house at 2336.

Though this residence was never owned by persons of color until its present ones, because of their dominance in the building trades, it can be assumed that they participated in the construction.

Esplanade Avenue has always been noted for its gracious homes and abundant greenery. Little known is that free people of color owned numerous properties along the avenue and its intersecting streets in the antebellum period.

MUSEUM SPOTLIGHT Le Musée de F.P.C. Le Musée de f.p.c., a historic house museum, is one of the country’s few attractions dedicated exclusively to preserving the material culture of and telling the story of free people of color.

The founders of this repository strive through their collection of documents, paintings and decorative arts to present, interpret and preserve the history and culture shared by so many free people of African descent in New Orleans and throughout the country.

Free people of color, often abbreviated f.p.c., is the term used to refer to Blacks who were born free or manumitted prior to the Civil War. Also referred to as gens de couleur libres, their presence in New Orleans is recorded as early as 1722. Although there were

enclaves of free people of color who numbered well over a quarter million residing throughout the United States during the antebellum period, New Orleans and south Louisiana were home to one of the oldest and largest populations of such. On the eve of the Civil War, in New Orleans alone, there resided 18,000 who owned and paid taxes on $15 million of property.

This remarkable community of resilient, resourceful and enterprising people produced artists, artisans, entrepreneurs, educators, physicians, journalists, and countless business owners and professionals prior to the Civil War. And in the midst of Reconstruction, the former free people of color led the entry of Blacks into politics.

18 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

SNAP PAPARAZZI Out & About at Hooker’s Ball AT KREWE OF NARCISSUS 2019 HOOKER’S BALL AT CROSSING | PHOTOS BY CHARLES PIZZO

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 19

CHOP CHOP

The Sophisticated, Second Act at Longway Tavern Charles Pizzo pizzocharles@gmail.com Filling the large shoes of a predecessor is a daunting task. History is rife, however, with sequels that equalled or surpassed the original (The Godfather II, The Empire Strikes Back, and Aliens spring to mind).

Such is the case at Longway Tavern, where the chef who opened this newish spot to rave reviews was felled by personal issues. This had to be tragic not only for him, but for hospitality company LeBlanc + Smith which owns it along with others here (Sylvain, Meauxbar, Barrel Proof, Cavan, and Hotel Chloe).

Enter Chef Cesar Nunez, whose sophisticated, modern comfort food has created a successful second act at Longway Tavern.

A star is born.

The dishes are composed like works of art.

My initial reaction was similar to the one I had at Red Medicine in Los Angeles many years ago (where the chef’s daring and creativity made me cry like a little bitch).

Here, the plates are precious, the

interpretations playful and unexpected. But, would it taste any good? I’ve been seated before beautiful plates on cruise lines that were devoid of flavor.

And diners routinely dis small plates that fail to deliver value.

Home fries with dill pickle salt, spring onions, and crème fraîche— perfumed with fresh-chopped dill— were a preview for what lay ahead.

Rough hewn hunks of potatoes lay in a pool of cool green sauce. They were crisp and generously seasoned. All of my protests about cutting carbs fell by the wayside as I ate one piece after another.

If you grew up in New Orleans, you were probably raised on some variation of crab claws. Here, they are prepared with the unlikely combination of grapefruit, cilantro, and green olives.

The crab has to be really fresh for it to work without much fat. And it was. My dining companions squeezed them between their teeth to gently scrape the meat off while nodding approvingly.

Buttermilk grits (from Bellegarde Bakery, no less) with pumpkin marma-

Luscious, creamy fried oyster lettuce wraps with fermented corn salad

lade and ricotta were a surprise hit, the pumpkin adding a savory and sweet note. Garnished with fresh chives, these were comfort food on another level, unlike anything your grandmother made.

The simply named cheese and “crackers” defied expectations. It didn’t look anything like what one might expect, more a mixture of soft cheese (or oatmeal!) with shavings of cheese curlicues atop. It’s aged cheddar with

20 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

banana pepper aioli. When a menu lists an ingredient in quotation marks (“crackers”), expect something different. Here the crackers are like Asianstyle flavored rice chips. Buttery toasted bread is also included. One guest furrowed her brow at the concoction, but the hearty flavor of the cheese and the whimsical “crackers” won me over.

If you have a playful palate and are open to new interpretations, try this.

In the same vein, in another dish, calamari replaced noodles in an XO sauce topped with crushed peanuts.

There’s an Asian influence across the menu. The calamari itself was extremely tender and the sauce pleasant though tame.

More full-flavored and simply stunning was the chicken liver mousse with fennel, apple, and hot sauce. Another unlikely combination and somewhat sweet, it won praise at the table. The silky mousse comes in a generous portion. Sister-restaurant Meauxbar has a similar dish on its menu that pairs chicken liver with apples.

Presumably, the hospitality company’s taste is reflected in the chef’s offerings. The squash pancake with radish, black cardamom, and cured egg yolk truly soars. The texture reminded me of banana pancakes but it had the earthiness of zucchini bread. Whatever it was, we ordered a second helping.

It was the clear favorite among a half dozen foodies. Here’s a dish in which nothing is what you expect. Actually, it’s much better.

Lettuce wraps are a low-carb option that has gained widespread acceptance. But I’ve never encountered anything as as good as the pairing of butter lettuce with perfectly fried and seasoned oysters (still creamy on the inside) topped with fermented corn and cucumber salad with lardons. We ordered a second helping to share again.

The tavern’s interior is understated—chic and whimsical—like the food.

There are large images from the classic movie Easy Rider juxtaposed with subtle stenciled images of ‘gators. The overall impression has a gentle patina, despite it all being new.

Weather-permitting, there’s a gorgeous patio out back of the historical home (reportedly built around 1794).

On a sunny day, with a cocktail in hand, you would feel very happy here.

The menu at Longway Tavern offers a selection of small and large plates. The new chef has upheld the promise shown when the curtain went up and deserves to take a bow. Resist the temptation to dine conventionally.

Grab your closet pals, order a smorgasbord, and share. Have a craft cocktail and laugh away your cares.

Longway Tavern, 719 Toulouse

A surprisingly winner: squash pancakes that are unexpectedly soul satisfying

St. (btw. Bourbon & Royal). Bar and kitchen: Mon-Thu 4-11pm, Fri/Sat 10:30am-midnight, Sun 10:30am– 11pm, all major credit cards, (504) 9629696, www.longwaytavern.com Charles Pizzo is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. He writes recommendations, not reviews, to inform readers what to order.

Restaurateurs: Email the author to

set-up a tasting.

Charles Pizzo is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and former chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). He does PR & social media marketing for foodservice clients, including Mother’s Restaurant (an LGBTQ+ friendly sponsor of Southern Decadence 2019).

SNAP PAPARAZZI Out & About at Stonewall AT THE STONEWALL DODGEBALL TUESDAY NIGHTS | PHOTOS BY DOUG ADAMS

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BOOK REVIEW

How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don’t Frank Perez frankearlperez@gmail.com How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don’t. Lane Moore.

Atria Paperback, 2018. 215 pages.

Good books make you think or feel. Great books do both. How to Be Alone is a great book.

Moore has transcended an abysmal childhood marked by neglect and abuse. Nothing unique about that, but what makes Moore’s story so distinctive is that she has not only survived a youth devoid of any and all meaningful connections (familial and otherwise), she has done it with a scrappy grace accentuated by a dark, yet paradoxically light-hearted, sense of humor.

One thinks of the old phrase “you have to laugh because if you don’t you’ll cry.”

And while this book is a deeply personal story, it is also a commentary on the need for real face to face connections in a social media world.

We’re all connected on the internet, yet more people have never felt more isolated and alone.

How to Be Alone is both an inspiring story of resilience as well as a sobering social commentary.

Moore is a rare performer who is as impressive onstage—whether hosting her iconic show Tinder Live or being the enigmatic front woman

of It Was Romance—as she is on the page, as both a former writer for The Onion and an award-winning sex and relationships editor for Cosmopolitan.

But her story has had its obstacles, including being her own parent, living in her car as a teenager, and moving to New York City to pursue her dreams.

Through it all, she looked to movies, TV, and music as the family and support systems she never had.

From spending the holidays alone to having better “stranger luck” than with those closest to her to feeling like the last hopeless romantic on earth, Lane reveals her powerful and enter-

taining journey in all its candor, anxiety, and ultimate acceptance—with humor always her bolstering force and greatest gift.

How to Be Alone is a must-read for anyone whose childhood still feels unresolved, who spends more time pretending to have friends online than feeling close to anyone in real life, who tries to have genuine, deep conversations in a roomful of people who would rather you not. Above all, it’s a book for anyone who desperately wants to feel less alone and a little more connected through reading her words.

MOMENTS IN GAY NEW ORLEANS HISTORY The Rose Room, the Goldenrod Inn, and Police Raids Frank Perez frankearlperez@gmail.com There have always been queer people in New Orleans, and while the city currently looks favorably upon us, it wasn’t always so. It wasn’t too long ago that rainbow flags on Rampart

Our legacy is yours.

New Orleans Advocates for GLBT Elders (NOAGE) provides services and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender older adults in the New orleans metro area.

We host regular social events for LGBT older adults and their allies, and we provide cultural competency trainings for healthcare and other service providers.

To learn more, visit www.noagenola.org, or call (504) 517-2345

Street and Mayoral proclamations for Pride and Southern Decadence would have been inconceivable. The New Orleans Police Department was still raiding gay bars as recently as the 1980s.

It was really bad in the 1950s. Just as the tourism industry began to blossom in the years after WW II, many business leaders and politicians at City Hall felt that gay visibility would frighten away straight tourist dollars. Back then, the tourist market was primarily white, straight male conventioneers.

The queer tourist market was still in the closet. So the attitude among the powers-that-be toward our community was to encourage them to “tone it down.”

And just how did they do that? With the big stick of the law. In 1958, Mayor Chep Morrison established a special “Committee on the Problem of Sex Deviates.” The committee harassed gay bars in the French Quarter. For example, it revoked the Starlet Lounge’s liquor license and it arrested the staff of Tony Bacino’s multiple times. The Committee suggested the city adopt a “Climate of Hostility” toward homosexuals.

The climate was already pretty frigid. As early as 1951, this sensational headline graced the pages of the Times-Picayune: “Curb Advocated on Homosexuals: Crackdown to Save Young Persons Demanded.”

The article stated: “A warning that homosexuals in the French Quarter are at work corrupting high school boys and girls was made Friday by Richard R. Foster, chairman of the Mayor’s Committee on the Vieux Carre, in an address before the Civic

Council of New Orleans. For that reason, he said, the homosexual problem is one of the city’s most serious. ‘In several instances, parents have come to police begging them to save their children,’ he asserted. ‘High school boys and girls enticed into places habituated by homosexuals often see an obscene show or something of that nature as a starter,’ he added. The homosexuals are, he said, ‘continuously recruiting’ and there at least four ‘places’ in the Quarter which cater to almost no one but homosexuals. ‘It almost seems as if youngsters who develop homosexual tendencies in other Southern cities are put on a train and sent to New Orleans,’ he said.”

And in 1955, Police Superintendent Provosty A. Dayrides publicly proclaimed that homosexuals were the city’s “Number One vice problem,” adding “They are the ones we want to get rid of most.”

One of the most sweeping police raids occurred in 1953 when officers descended upon several gay and lesbian bars throughout the French Quarter and Marigny. 43 women were arrested at the Goldenrod Inn on Frenchmen Street alone. Historian James Sears notes, “Then there was also the Goldenrod—whose front area for straight men served as a cover for a back-room lesbian bar—where one Saturday night in 1953 forty-three women were booked for disturbing the peace and being ‘loud and boisterous’.”

John D’Emilio, who made passing reference to this particular raid in Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, writes, “In New Orleans in 1953, vice officers packed Doris Lunden and sixty-three other women into vans after

clearing them from a lesbian bar in the French Quarter. The next day, Lunden found the court overflowing with men and women brought in from other bars in the city.”

Chris Strayer in Deviant Eyes, Deviant Bodies quotes Lunden’s reaction to being arrested, “That night we had to go to court and I discovered then that they had raided every gay bar in New Orleans. It was like a big cleanup. I had never seen so many gay people in my life. It was really exciting. I almost forgot to be scared about whether I would be convicted or not. My case was dismissed, but I think that set me free in some way.”

Police raids of gay and lesbian bars continued for decades. Consider this headline in the Times-Picayune on September 9, 1962: “18 Arrested on Morals Charge.”

The article stated: “Eleven women and seven men were arrested late Saturday night in an uptown cocktail lounge and booked in the Second District station with vagrancy by loitering in a place where homosexuals congregate. The place was identified by Sgt. Frederick Soule, commander of the special headquarters (vice) squad as the Rose Room, 4520 Magazine.”

The article then lists the names, ages, and addresses of those arrested.

The Rose Room eventually became the iconic Brothers Three Lounge, which closed earlier this year when the last of the three brothers, 86-year-old Mr. Johnny, died.

Thankfully, the days of police raids are gone now. Sadly, so are the days of lesbian bars. The last lesbian bar in New Orleans, Rubyfruit Jungle, closed in 2012.

22 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

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A COMMUNITY WITHIN COMMUNITIES

Thanksgiving in this age of thanklessness.

The Very Rev. Bill Terry+ Rector St Anna’s Episcopal Church fr.bill@stannanola.org It would seem that in so many ways this day and age is thankless. This day and age seems so filled with greed and avarice. People too often seem to have lost any sense of civility. Our government is in turmoil and that in turn leads to a deep sense of disorientation. What is up is down and what was down is up. Perhaps we have found ourselves in Wonderland.

But there is always reason for reflection and when we reflect hopefully some of that reflection is about what we have, not about what we do not have or have lost. What we have is an important feature in our lives. We too often measure ourselves by what we do not have or what we lack. Yet, as we said in a recent worship service: You stand on the shoulders of your ancestors.

Age to age your ancestors lived just for you.

Upon their shoulders you stand and you are greater than they could possibly dream.

You are stronger than they could imagine.

You are the fulfillment of all of

those that have gone their ways so that you might Be. Yes, you, who are broken or well; whole or in parts; seekers, sinners, devout, agnostic, atheist, or mystic. You are more than the previous generations, your ancestors, could possibly imagine. If you carry shame, let it go.

If you carry guilt, let it go. If you carry “baggage”, let it go. You are the sum and substance going back eons; further back than memory can conjure.

You are a legacy of survival against all odds. You are the progeny of the universe and her wisdom.

The Universe conspires to create mystical unions unimagined and yet spoken into existence. Think of a traditional church in union with Winter Wonderland, The Bourbon Pub, The Golden Lantern, and The Phoenix.

Yes, it is mystical and holy because each of these businesses are people and they each represent a cohort and each cohort is working to help children not of their ken and not of their sort but rather so often very different than they/ we are.

Yet, these children, or perhaps these hungry people, are all seen as

deserving of our attention and reflection. Parties for donations of Christmas presents along with fundraisers to help keep the community outreach going.

Mystical, that is the word or perhaps holy. In those singular acts of cocktails and characters, love seeps out of the space we occupy into the spaces that others dwell in.

Yes, this world can seem thankless in all of its fear, self-centeredness and apathy. Yet, here we are providing spaces and our commitment in this time to simply give. So, perhaps we can be thankful for a community that gathers on a winter’s day or night and brings a toy or donation that will leave the room and enter a heart. We stand as a family called humanity. Sometimes that family may be in drag or show flash or simply stand quietly in a corner waiting for someone to notice. But we stand on a firm foundation.

That foundation, in our faith tradition, is sometimes called “a great cloud of witnesses” and sometimes “the communion of saints.” Whatever we call our ancestors, we are now more than could have been imagined. Biologically what I say is truth. According to the

best science, all of our species comes from a single woman, likely living in Africa, and scientists have named her Eve. We stand on her shoulders.

Soon, so many households will join and eat and drink and spend time together. Sometimes some folks will force themselves to join with family that they do not care for. Sometimes, some will be alone and feel left out of the communal gathering. Some will rejoice and feel warm and eat good things. Yet, for all of you/us, we are more than our ancestors could have imagined and for that we should be thankful.

There is a small lovely church in Chattanooga, TN. It sits at the base of “Lookout Mountain” on “the backside of town.” That part of town used to be the black part of town. Not so much anymore, but it once was.

That little church found a fellowship of those who carried the weight of Jim Crow and yet prayed and sang. That little piece of ground was an outreach and reached out to a community beset by the worst of what we can be. Yet, they prayed and they sang. In a long list of pastors whose photos are in the small Parish Hall, there is Black priest after priest each gathering and praying and singing.

Yet despite the challenges of the Jim Crow South, they named their church “Thankful.” What a delightful name for a place to gather and to pray, to visit and to sing--Thankful. It stands

24 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

today with priests who, despite the misogyny of the church, are women of elegance, of good craft, who, with their fellow seekers pray, sing, and share the day together.

Cosmically therefore, there is hope and that hope is found in you and you and you. That hope is a mystical con-

spiracy that joins the oddest of us together. Together we become a whole.

Not a perfect union of humanity by any means, but a humanity that struggles to survive and here we are.

Yup, perched on a bar stool, sipping a cocktail or swilling a beer. Yup, here we are sometimes ignoring the

ugly and embracing the love.

Here we stand in awe, in distress, in peace, and in turmoil. Here we stand in lust and love, in hope and despair, in need and almost complete. Here we stand as a fractured piece of creation, yet here we stand as the crown in the jewel of creation; the apple of God’s

eye; the hope and legacy of Eve. For all of this, at some point give thanks in a thankless world. When you do, thanklessness shrinks away and the universe is filled with the possibilities of you.

SNAP PAPARAZZI Out & About at Stonewall AT STONEWALL NEW ORLEANS SUNDAY KICKBALL | PHOTOS BY BUN CEE / WONTONYA DUMPLING

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HEALTH & WELLNESS HEALTH & WELLNESS Second Generation HIV Doctor Leads Louisiana Fight Against HIV Chenier Reynolds-Montz Director of Outreach & Development for Access Health Louisiana CReynolds@accesshealthla.org “San Francisco has been incredibly successful in the fight for decreasing the transmission of HIV. In fact, they were able to decrease the rate of HIV transmission by 50% in three years” says Dr. MarkAlain Déry, DO, MPH, FACOI. “There is no doubt in my mind that New Orleans will do the same thing! Using simple public health interventions such as increasing the availability of PrEP and HIV testing, as well as test-and-treat strategies, we will replicate the success enjoyed by San Francisco.”

Dr. Déry is the Chief Innovation Officer for Access Health Louisiana, Medical Director of the Southeast Regional AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC) and founder of 102.3FM WHIVLP, a radio station dedicated to raising awareness about HIV and other infectious diseases through music.

With World AIDS Day on December 1st, Dr. Déry reflects on his career and how much progress has been made in the fight against HIV. As a

second-generation HIV clinician, Déry says he didn’t set out to treat people living with HIV. “My father was an optometrist who found himself in the middle of the HIV epidemic in Los Angeles. He quickly learned how to diagnose and manage ocular complications associated with HIV and AIDS. I saw what people living with HIV had to go through back in those days. Treatment wasn’t as easy.

Now, it’s just one pill once a day to bring down the HIV viral load and life expectancies are increasing! I never saw myself following in my father’s footsteps, but I too found myself in a historic epidemic, the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic of West Africa. I worked for 4 months for the World Health Organization (WHO) as a clinical epidemiologist tracking down people with Ebola virus disease and their immediate contacts.

When UNAIDS (the HIV subsidiary of the WHO) found out that I was an HIV specialist, they pulled me to help people living with HIV in Sierra Leone.

Dr. Dery

Doctors fled the country while the nurses stayed to help. I wanted to make a difference in their lives. So, I guess I essentially did follow in my father’s footsteps after all.”

Dr. Déry has made it his mission to make 100% of people living with HIV in Louisiana get to undetectable HIV viral loads. When someone is diagnosed with HIV, their viral load is elevated. Infectious disease physicians work to get that viral load down so that the patient is in an undetectable state. This means that the viral load of HIV is so low that it is not detected on standard laboratory blood test. Furthermore, when HIV is undetectable , it cannot be passed onto their sexual partner. Hence, U=U: Undetectable equals Untransmittable.

In Louisiana, one in five people living with HIV do not know that they have HIV. The way to reduce that number is through testing. HIV INSTI tests are free and confidential at any Access Health Louisiana community health center location. You don’t even need an appointment to be tested. “Everyone 18 and older should be tested,” says Dr. Déry. “Teens 13-years-old and up don’t need parental permission in Louisiana to be tested.”

“There are four things that I do when testing a patient for HIV. First, I test them. If the result is positive, I assure them that life expectancy for a person who is HIV positive is the same as one who is negative if they maintain their daily medications. I then tell them that once they reach undetect-

able status (U=U) they will not transmit HIV to their intimate partner. Then, I do a same-day start and give them their first dose of medicine right there in the exam room. I hand them a bottle of water and a pill. The patient takes a sip of water and swallows the pill.

Then, I ask them to hand me the bottle of water and I drink the rest of their water. The look on their face is like Wow! You just drank after me and I’m HIV positive. However, I want to impress upon my patients that you don’t get HIV just by drinking after someone and that despite their new “status” they are still the same person. Your quality of life doesn’t have to change, or the way people treat you. You are the same person only your status is different. I also tell them that no one should treat you any differently. Relatives shouldn’t serve you off a special set of plates or have you drink out of a designated cup or ostracize you.”

Knowing your status means that you can be proactive and stop the transmission of HIV. “We’ve come a long way in treating HIV since the 1980s.”

According to the website AIDSvu. org, there are an estimated 20,085 people living with HIV in Louisiana.

Nearly 7,000 of those people (6,981) live in Orleans and Jefferson parishes. 75% of those are male. 25% are female. 65.4% are African-American, 26.4% Caucasian and 7% Hispanic/ Latin.

When it comes to rates of HIV, New

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NEED A BREAK FROM THE WORK WEEK...

HUMP DAY HAPPY HOUR

WEDNESDAYS 4PM - 9PM

2-FOR-1

WELL DRINKS DOMESTIC BEERS DRAFT BEERS

Orleans and Baton Rouge regularly rank in the top three cities nationwide.

Louisiana is currently in the top five among the states. While tremendous strides have been made in detecting, diagnosing and treating HIV, there is still a lot of work to be done.

“I joined Access Health Louisiana because of the large reach they have throughout the state due to the num-

ber of clinics they operate,” says Dr. Déry. “We are fortunate to be Ryan White grant recipients which provides funding for us to help care for and treat people living with HIV. We’re able to offer case management services to help patients find housing, pay bills and buy medication. Unfortunately, a great number of patients diagnosed with HIV have social determinants

WELLNESS

Seasonal SADness Dr. Andrew Watley Professional Counselor in the State of Louisiana It happens around the same time every year for me. Shortly after Halloween ends, stores replace their spooky decorations with cornucopias and turkeys in anticipation of Thanksgiving.

Some people completely bypass Turkey Day and have already put up their Christmas trees and decorations for what we call “the most wonderful time of the year”. For some, the holiday season may be filled with joy and excitement, but for others, including myself, it can be filled with anxiety and depression. What is it about this time of year that makes us so down?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is classified in the Diagnostic and Sta-

tistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as a type of depression that exists during certain times of the year and is completely absent during others. It’s presence is between 1% to 10% of the population and is typically more present in women. I’m one of the lucky guys who wrestles with this monster. I can’t speak for everyone who experiences SAD but I can give you a little insight into what goes on in my mind during these “trying times”.

Let’s start with the obvious, IT’S COLD! It seems like just yesterday I was wearing shorts and a tank top. With the

which makes getting help challenging.

Through Ryan White funding, provided by the Office of Health Policy, we are able to improve the quality of life for our clients.” Dr. Déry sees patients out of Access Health Louisiana’s Pythian Building location at 234 Loyola Avenue (near New Orleans City Hall). For appointments, call (504) 226-2976.

Chenier Reynolds-Montz is Director of Outreach & Development for Access Health Louisiana, a registered 501(c)3 organization. She can be reached at creynolds@accesshealthla.org. For information about our services, log onto our website at accesshealthla.org

way the temperature changes in New Orleans, it’s quite possible that I was.

I was never one to enjoy the colder months. I would almost describe the cold as both physically and emotionally painful.

I first noticed my disdain for the cold when I went to college in Ohio.

The winter was excruciatingly cold and filled with snow! As a native New Orleanian, I thought it would be fun to experience snow in the northern part of the country. I was sadly mistaken.

It snowed for months. Not only was I dealing with the cold, but also the lack of sun. There were grey skies day after day. It had gotten to the point that I would look out of my window in the morning, and if didn’t see the sun or if I saw snow, I would stay in bed and miss class. My GPA suffered tremendously my first year of college.

Secondly, it’s the holidays. As mentioned, it all goes downhill for me after Halloween. The upcoming holidays--Thanksgiving, Christmas, New

Year’s, & Valentine’s Day--can all be summed up by one word to me, “sappy”. They are not what they used to be for me.

Thanksgiving becomes a burden.

Anxiety fills my head every year knowing that I will have to be around my family as “the gay one”. I have to sit and pretend to be thankful for some of them that I don’t particularly care for.

Right after that is Christmas, which is expensive! New Year’s pushes me to look at how I didn’t complete my previous year’s resolutions and I lie to myself by believing that I’m going to complete them for the next year, and Valentine’s Day is just the epitome of “sappy”.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good things about these holidays, but in a state of depression, they’re overshadowed by the bad. Even Mardi Gras, my favorite holiday, is less exciting if it falls in a cold February.

So how do we handle it? Do we just wait around in misery until the spring

30 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

equinox? According to therapists, there are several small things that we can do to battle these seasonal blues.

Changing the lighting in your house is a great start. Brighter bulbs can help us to fight through these dark times.

Adding additional plants to a room can also bring a sense of springtime joy in the middle of fall and winter.

Getting a calendar can also be of some use. Mark some important things

in the upcoming year, including the first day of spring. This will give you something to look forward to through the months. Meditation also helps. Challenging your mind to find peace can be a great source of strength during these months.

Remember that this is temporary.

We have survived many cold months and we can do it again. If you try some of these things and are still struggling,

look into making an appointment with your therapist. Some cognitive behavioral therapy might be just the boost you need to hang in there.

In the words of John Steinbeck, “What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” I may be in a coat and scarf now, but the sweetness of spring is only four months away.

Dr. Andrew Watley is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Louisiana. His practice is geared toward helping adolescents, members of the LGBTQ+ community and men who experience concerns with their masculinity and body image. More information about Dr. Watley and his practice can be found on his website, www. drandrewwatley.com.

SNAP PAPARAZZI Out & About at Stonewall AT STONEWALL NEW ORLEANS SUNDAY KICKBALL | PHOTOS BY BUN CEE / WONTONYA DUMPLING

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HOT HAPPENINGS UNDER THE GAYDAR New Orleans Hot Happenings Tony Leggio ledgemgp@gmail.com NOLA is one of the most unique places during the holiday season. No one dons our best gay apparel better than our city. As we approach Thanksgiving, there are so many reasons to give thanks. The fact that we have so many incredible festivals and events are just one of the many reasons. If you cannot find something to do in this city, than you are just not trying. Here are just a few of the things to keep your days (and nights) busy. (If you have a fundraiser, party, show or event coming up and would like to be listed in the calendar, please email me at ledgemgp@ gmail.com.

WEEKLY EVENTS EVERYDAY

Happy Hour: The Crossing; 439 Dauphine St.; 7 days a week from open until 9pm (7AM to 9PM). It’s $3 domestic beer and well drinks. $1 off

everything else.

777 Happy Hour: Kajun’s Pub; 2556 St. Claude Ave.; 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Happy Hour: Golden Lantern; 1239 Royal St.; 7 days a week from 8 a.m - 8 p.m.

Happy Hour: The Bourbon Pub; 801 Bourbon St.; 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (except Monday) Happy Hour: GrandPre’s; 834 N Rampart St.; 12 p.m. - 9 p.m. $3 Well/ domestics Happy Hour: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Kajun’s Karaoke: Kajun’s Pub; 2556 St. Claude Ave.; Karaoke from 5 p.m. until.

Happy Hour: The Bourbon Pub; 801 Bourbon St.; 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. (except Sunday) Happy Hour: The Corner Pocket; 940 St. Louis St.; bargain prices starting with draft beer or Schnapps for only $1.50—plus six more specials. Weekdays: Noon - 7 p.m., Weekends: 10

a.m, - 6 p.m. | Boys dancin’ on the bar nightly 9 p.m. till close.

WEEKDAYS

Happy Hour: Good Friends Bar; 740 Dauphine St.; 5 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Happy Hour: The Phoenix Bar; 941 Elysian Fields Ave.; 6 a.m. - 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

MONDAY Martini Mondays: Crossing; 439 Dauphine St.; (all day) Tito’s and Deep Eddy martinis will be $3.

Service Industry Night: Four Seasons Bar; 3229 N. Causeway Blvd.; Open to close. $2.50 domestic beers; $3 well cocktails; $3.50 imported beer; $5.50 Tito’s; $6 Jameson.

Happy Hour All Night: The Page Bar; 542 N Rampart St.; Open to close.

Well, domestic, and wine.

Mexican Monday: The 700 Club; 700 Burgundy St.; Open to close. $3 Coronas, $3 Cuervo Shots, 2 for 1 Margaritas Primal Nights: Bacchanal Wine; 600 Poland Ave.; 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. $20 donation. Guest Chefs grill a personalized menu and the plate donations go to the charity of their choosing.

NOAGE & Stonewall Sports Walk/ Run Club: Lafitte Greenway; 6:15 p.m. Join Stonewall Sports New Orle-

ans and NOAGE starting at 6:30 p.m..

Meet for the walk/run at Bayou Beer Garden. The Stonewall Run Club joins every 3 weeks. This group is for ALL fitness levels, and you can go at your own pace. Whether that’s running, jogging, leisurely walking, or using a wheelchair or walker, this group is for you. If you are worried that you’ll be left behind, don’t worry; someone will walk with you. If you are the fastest person there, we’ll see you at the finish line.

If you need assistance or have questions, call Jim at (504) 228-6778.

Karaoke Monday: The Bourbon Pub; 801 Bourbon St.; 7 - 9 p.m. Enjoy happy hour prices all night long. Hosted by Denny with VJ Dollabill.

Lazy Susan Karaoke: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. Join bartender Mark and a revolving cast of drag queen hostesses for Lazy Susan Karaoke with music by DJ Lucius Riley. Mondays are a drag, so make them fabulous and sing the night away.

Underwear Night: The Eagle at the Phoenix; 941 Elysian Fields Ave.; starting at 9 p.m. The Eagle now is open EVERY Monday night. Happy Hour prices if you’re in your underwear.

Doors open at 9 p.m. and No Cover.

Night of S.I.N.: The Corner Pock-

32 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

SNAP PAPARAZZI The Corner Pocket MEET ME ON ST. LOUIS—WHERE THE BOYS ARE DANCIN’ NIGHTLY ON THE BAR | PHOTOS BY CHARLES PIZZO

THE CORNER POCKET Where the Boys are dancing nightly on the bar starting at 9PM!

OPENING HOURS Everyday Noon - TILL ADDRESS 940 St Louis Street, New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 568-9829 www.cornerpocket.net

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et; 940 St. Louis St.; from 9 p.m. till close. Get your S.I.N. (Service Industry Night) card from Ashlee to unlock Happy Hour prices every Monday night. | Boys dancin’ on the bar 9 p.m. till close.

Pool Tournament: Rawhide 2010; 740 Burgundy St.; 9:45 p.m. $2 PBR and $50 gift certificate for Rawhide S.I.N.: Kajun’s Pub; 2256 St. Claude Ave.; 1 a.m - 4 a.m. 2 for 1 drinks.

TUESDAY

Tequila Tuesdays: Crossing; 439 Dauphine St.; (all day) Tequila drinks $5.

Tunes Tuesday: Four Seasons Bar; 3229 N. Causeway Blvd.; Open to close. Free Jukebox credits with a $4 drink purchase.

Happy Hour: The Page Bar; 542 N Rampart St.; 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Burlesque Bingo with Lefty Lucy: The AllWays Lounge; 2240 St. Claude Ave.; 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m There’s no cover for this grown-up game show where everyone’s a winner! Just buy a drink from the bar & Tsarina Hellfire will give you a Bingo card. Each round winner gets a bucket of prizes including exclusive prints & a grand finale prize from Abita Brewing Company! Just for showing up you get to enjoy the free burlesque side of this unique game.

Between every round, Lefty Lucy performs an improvised striptease to a

song the crowd selects, removing only one item per round—don’t miss your chance to win the finale prize, and to see the tassels twirl!

Trivia: Cutter’s; 706 Franklin Ave.; 7:30 p.m. Join your host, bartender and local music legend Johnny Sketch.

Join a trivia team or bring your own and test your knowledge across multiple categories to win an often odd and useful assortment of prizes!

Queens Against RuManity: Kajun’s Pub; 2256 St. Claude Ave.; 7:30 - 9 p.m. Welcome to Queens Against Rumanity, a new game night at Kajun’s Pub with Laveau Contraire and some of her fabulous friends for a RuPaul’s Drag Race themed game of Cards Against Humanity! If you’ve never played, it’s a fill in the blank game where each player tries to come up with answers using cards with iconic drag race quotes on them. Join them for Queens Against Rumanity featuring live drag performances, fun prizes and drink specials.

Tito’s Tuesday: The Bourbon Pub; 801 St Ann St.; 8 p.m. - close. $5 Tito’s cocktails Country Dance Lessons: GrandPre’s; 834 N. Rampart St.; 8 p.m.

Tuesdays are Country Dance lessons with the Big Easy Stompers from 8 - 11 p.m.

Bourbon Boylesque: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 8:00 p.m. See the Men of Oz like you have never seen

them before. The show stars Atomyc Adonis, Bobby B, Franky, Phathoms Deep and other special guests. Hosted

by Trixie Minx.

Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras: Buffa’s Bar and Restaurant; 1001 Esplanade Ave.; 8 p.m. Tacos, Tequila, and Tiaras is one of New Orleans’ only family friendly drag shows! Join hostess Vanessa Carr Kennedy every Tuesday, have a taco or two, and learn a little bit about the art of drag.

Trivia Night: MRB; 515 St. Philip St.; Starts at 8 p.m. Every Tuesday at 8 you can join us for Who Wants A Dollar? Trivia! Free to Play. Plenty of Prizes. Tons of Fun. Teams of 1-6 welcome. Enjoy some killer drinks, amazing food from Woodies @ MRB, and out of this world trivia.

Kocktail Karaoke: Good Friends Bar;740 Dauphine St.; 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Join us at Good Friends Bar for Kocktail Karaoke. The winner gets a $25.00 bar tab. $5 Fireball.

Happy Hour All day and Night: 700 Club; 700 Burgundy St.; 9 p.m. - 2 a.m.

Every week on Tuesday from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am the next day.

WEDNESDAY

Hump Day: Rawhide 2010; 740 Burgundy St.; 4 - 9 p.m. 2 for $4 wells, draft, and domestic beers.

Wine Night: Four Seasons Bar; 3229 N. Causeway Blvd.; 5 p.m. -

close. $15 bottles of wine.

WednesGays at LPK Uptown: Louisiana Pizza Kitchen; 615 South Carrollton Ave.; 5 p.m. Join us every Wednesday to celebrate diversity. See old friends or make some new ones and find out what’s happening in the Nola community. All this while enjoying 1/2 price drinks from the bar. Invite your friends.

Happy Hour: The Page Bar; 542 N Rampart St.; 5 p.m. - 8 p.m..

Honey Bee Trivia: GrandPre’s; 834 N. Rampart St.; 7 p.m. Wednesdays are Trivia with Honey Bee at 7 p.m. with free jello shots and Bar Tabs.

Show Tunes Night: The Bourbon Pub; 801 St Ann St.; 8 p.m.- Midnight Wednesday Night Karaoke: Cru; 535 Franklin Ave.; 8 - 10 p.m. Join Vanessa Carr Kennedy and the krewe at Cru NOLA - Raw & Bubble Bar for Wednesday night karaoke in the treehouse. Sing your heart out, enjoy some amazing cocktails, and get some food from the kitchen.

Video Game Night: GrandPre’s; 834 N. Rampart Street; 8:30 p.m. midnight; The bar is doing Video Game Night starting at 9 p.m. Come and compete for prizes and Grab some Drinks.

Kafe Karaoke: Cafe Lafitte in Exile; 901 Bourbon St.; 9 p.m. – midnight. $25.00 Bar tab and Free Shots & Givea-ways with Happy Hour All Day. Oz Show Night: Oz New Orleans;

34 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

SNAP PAPARAZZI Crossing PEOPLE ARE CROSSING NOLA TO SEE AND BE SEEN AT CROSSING NOLA | PHOTOS BY CHARLES PIZZO

CROSSING

Neighborhood video bar with a steampunk theme in the historic Vieux Carré.

HAPPY HOUR DAILY 7 AM – 9 PM OPENING HOURS 7 AM – 1:30 AM ADDRESS 439 Dauphine Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 523-4517 www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 35

ALL THAT DRAG Weekly Drag Shows in New Orleans

TUESDAY

Tacos, Tequila, & Tiaras - 8PM - Buffa’s Bar & Restaurant Hosted by Vanessa Carr Kennedy

WEDNESDAY

Show Night - 10:30PM - Oz New Orleans Persana Shoulders presents this production featuring the fabulous ladies of Oz and music by DJ Tim Pflueger.

Hello Gorgeous - Every third Wednesday - Southern Rep Theater DeDe Onassis hosts this circus cabaret alongside aerialist Liza Rose that includes contortion, music, drag, and more.

THURSDAY

Turnin’ Da Page - Every other Thursday - 9PM - The Page Serenity L. Lord emcees this bi-weekly marvel

FRIDAY FRID

Misc4Misc - 9PM - Oz New Orleans A weird and wonderful show presented by Apostrophe & Slenderella and featuring a new cast every week.

Play Girlz - 10PM - Golden Lantern Hosted by Gia Giavanni Illusions - 10:30PM - The Bourbon Pub The Queens of Illuisons offer up superstar female impersonation

SATURDAY

Drag Brunch - 11AM & 1PM - The Country Club Enjoy bottomless mimosas at one of the most popular drag events in the city. Reservations are recommended.

Drag Brunch - 11AM & 1PM - Trinity Swing by Trinity in the French Quarter for a Saturday morning show starring the Ladies of Trinity.

Divas R Us - 10PM - Golden Lantern Hosted by Monica Synclaire Kennedy Illusions - 10:30PM - The Bourbon Pub The Queens of Illuisons offer up superstar female impersonation

SUNDAY

Mama Honey’s Drag Brunch - 11AM & 1PM - Cru Bottomless beverages, a decadent brunch prepared by Chef Marlon Alexander, and the talents of Vanessa Carr.

Diva Drag Brunch at the Fillmore - 11:30 AM Weekly drag brunch featuring some of New Orleans best drag queens and fun themed shows.

The Reba Douglas Jubilee - 5PM - Golden Lantern Hosted by Reba Douglas Divas at the Dive - 5PM - Kajun’s Kajun Pub Hosted by Vanessa Carr Lipstixx - 8PM - The Bourbon Pub Oz Show Night - 9:30PM - Oz New Orleans Hosted by Persana Shoulders Are we missing your show? Email us at info@ambushpublishing.com

800 Bourbon St.; 10:30 p.m. This popular drag show is hosted by Persana Shoulders and features Connie Hung, Anastascia Davenport; ChiChi Rodriquez and Dominique DeLorean.

THURSDAY

Happy Hour: The Page Bar; 542 N Rampart St.; 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Honey Bee Trivia: GrandPre’s; 834 N. Rampart St.; 7 p.m. Thursday is Honey Bee Trivia at 7 p.m. Four rounds with jello shots to the winner of each round and a Bar Tab to top person/team of the night.

Drag Race UK Viewing Party: Kajun’s Pub; 2256 St. Claude Ave.; 7 p.m. Mama Ru’s in search of the UK’s very first drag race superstar.

Prepare for the ride of your life! Join us every Thursday for Rupaul’s Drag Race UK Season 1 Viewing Party at Kajun’s Pub! Laveau Contraire has invited some of her best squirrel friends to come give insightful commentary, sickening drag numbers, and a healthy dose of SHADE. Don’t get left at the starting line! See you every Thursday at Kajun’s Pub for Rupaul’s Drag Race viewing on all 5 TV screens at 7pm!

Prime Time Trivia: Four Seasons Bar; 3229 N. Causeway Blvd.; starts at 9 p.m. Come out and enjoy trivia with great prizes with your host Honey Bee. Retro Night: The Corner Pocket; 940 St. Louis St.; from 9 p.m. till close.

The Hits of the 80’s and 90’s. $3 well vodka drinks and $4 Long Island iced teas. | Boys dancin’ on the bar 9 p.m. till close.

The Jeff D Comedy Cabaret: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 10 p.m. The Comedy Cabaret stars Jeff D. featuring Gia GiaVanni. Enjoy hilarious comedians, amazing talent and the Ladies of Oz. Strip Off: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; Midnight. Persana Shoulders hosts the Strip Off every Thursday night. Sign up begins at 11 p.m. and the show features a spotlight performance by Miss Gay Louisiana America 2013 Mercedes Ellis Loreal. Winners receive 1st Place - $100 Cash • 2nd Place - $50 Bar tab

FRIDAY

Fireball Fridays: Four Seasons Bar; 3229 N. Causeway Blvd.; Open to close. $4 Fireball Shots.

Happy Hour: The Page Bar; 542 N Rampart St.; 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Beat The Clock; 700 Club; 700 Burgundy St.; 5 - 9 p.m. Well Drinks: 5 PM - 6 PM $1.50, 6 PM - 7 PM $2.00, 7 PM - 8 PM $2.50, 8 PM - 9 PM $3.00 Take It Off Fridays: Four Seasons Bar; 3229 N. Causeway Blvd.; 5 p.m.

- 12:30 a.m. Includes $2.50 domestic beers and $3 well drinks from 5 - 9 p.m.; $15 drink and drown from 9 - 11 p.m. all well cocktails; and Underwear Party with free well. Cocktails for those who strip down to their underwear from

midnight to 12:30 a.m.

New Meat Dance Contest: The Corner Pocket; 940 St. Louis St.; 10 p.m. Amateurs and pros compete to win cash prizes ($100 winner, $200 if on the first attempt). Open call; guys register with ID (21+) by 9 p.m. | Boys dancin’ on the bar 9 p.m. till close.

Music of Senator Ken: Golden Lantern; 1239 Royal St.; 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Enjoy live music with Senator Ken playing all your favorites.

Bayou Blues Burlesque: The Allways Lounge and Cabaret; 2240 St. Claude Ave.; 8-10 p.m. An intimate night of live blues music accompanied by burlesque and variety acts. Drink specials and comfy seating to enjoy the art of the striptease. Music by The Delta Revues; burlesque by Andrea Louise Duhe´ (Ooops C.) Cherry Brown and special guests. Doors: 7:00pm; Show: 8:00pm; Cover: $10.

Jock Night: The Eagle at the Phoenix; 941 Elysian Fields Ave; 9 p.m. Happy hour prices for wearing a jock or singlet.

Misc4Misc: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 9 p.m. Enjoy this wonderfully weird drag show hosted every week by Apostrophe. Cover is $5.

Play Girlz: Golden Lantern; 1239 Royal St.; 10 - 11:30 p.m. Drag show featuring Gia GiaVanni and special guests.

Late Night Happy Hour: Cru NOLA; 535 Franklin Ave.; 10:30 p.m.

- 2 a.m. Executive Chef Marlon Alexander and sushi & vegan Chef Kelseay Dukae serve delicious drink specials and amazing food during late night happy hours. Come chill out in the iconic courtyard.

SATURDAY

Queer Meditation: Mid City Zen; 3248 Castiglione St.; 10:30 a.m. A queer and trans centered meditation group meeting regularly on Saturday mornings. Open to all LGBTIQ+ people, and all folks interested in holding and sharing an intentionally queer-centering mindful space. Join for a sit, breathe, notice, rest; to cultivate presence and kindness together. Free/by donation.

Burlesque Brunch: Cru NOLA; 535 Franklin Ave.; Join the incomparable Angie Z and friends for a boozy, burlesque brunch every Saturday from 11-3pm. For reservations, go to www. opentable.com.

Happy Hour: The Page Bar; 542 N Rampart St.; 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Beer Bash: The Bourbon Pub; 801 Bourbon St.; 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. $10 pitchers of beer, $9 pitchers of Miller Light draft (upstairs only) Piano Bar with Trey Ming; Good Friends Bar; 740 Dauphine St.; 4-7 p.m. Sing along with your favorite songs with talented piano player Trey Ming.

36 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

SNAP PAPARAZZI Oz New Orleans PHOTOS BY DWAIN HERTZ AND ANDREW HOPKINS #OZNEWORLEANS & SUBMITTED BY PERSANA SHOULDERS

OZ New Orleans 2-story, 24/7 gay dance club with DJs, drag shows, go-go dancers & a balcony for people-watching.

OPENING HOURS

FRI, SAT & SUN: 24/7 MON–THURS: Opens at 1PM

ADDRESS 800 Bourbon Street New Orleans, LA Phone: (504) 593-9491

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 37

Drag Dingo: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 6 - 8 p.m. Catch ChiChi Rodriquez, Persana Shoulders for Drag Bingo! 11 games of Bingo, 11 chances to win prizes! All the fun starts at 6 pm and goes till 8 pm in the upstairs bar with your favorite bottom, Jake, slinging drinks for you all night long!

Music of Vanessa Carr Kennedy; Golden Lantern; 1239 Royal St.; 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Enjoy songstress Vanessa as she sings some of the top hits of yesterday and today.

Divas R Us; Golden Lantern; 1239 Royal St.; 10 - 11:30 p.m. This wonderful drag show directed by Monica Sinclaire Kennedy includes special guest stars.

Late Night Happy Hour: Cru NOLA; 535 Franklin Ave.; 10:30 p.m.

- 2 a.m. Executive Chef Marlon Alexander and sushi & vegan Chef Kelseay Dukae serve delicious drink specials and amazing food during late night happy hours. Come chill out in the iconic courtyard.

SUNDAY

Mama Honey’s Drag Brunch: Cru NOLA; 535 Franklin St.; 11 a.m. Vanessa Carr presents Mama Honey’s Drag Brunch featuring Chef Marlon Alexander’s amazing menu and the phenomenal talents of Vanessa Carr Kennedy and Friends! For tickets, go to www.crunola.com Bottomless Mimosas: Cafe Lafitte

in Exile; 901 Bourbon St.; 1 - 4 p.m.

Bottomless Mimosas are offered upstairs from 1 - 4 p.m. for $12.

Happy Hour: Good Friends Bar; 740 Dauphine St.; 1 p.m. - 11 p.m. $3.75 well drinks and domestic beer.

The Half Assed-Straight Boys: Golden Lantern; 1239 Royal St.; 3 - 5 p.m.

Beer Bash: The Bourbon Pub; 801 Bourbon St.; 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. $10 pitchers of beer, $9 pitchers of Miller Light draft (upstairs only) Happy Hour/ Drink Til You Drop: The Page Bar; 542 N Rampart St.; Happy Hour 3 p.m. - 8 p.m. and Drink Til You Drop $12 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

The Original Trash Disco: Cafe Lafitte in Exile; 901 Bourbon St.; 4-10 p.m. Includes the original napkin toss and the best music videos to sing along with.

Jubilee: Golden Lantern; 1239 Royal St.; 5 p.m. This Sunday Funday show stars Reba Douglas and special guests.

Divas at the Dive: Kajun’s Pub; 2256 St. Claude Ave; 5 p.m. Vanessa Carr LIve. 6:30 p.m. Drag Karaoke. 8 p.m. Audience Karaoke Drink and Drown: 700 Club; 700 Burgundy St.; 5 - 8 p.m. Unlimited well drinks, Bud Light and Miller Lite draft $10 Sinful Sunday: Crossing; 439 Dauphine St.; 5 - 8 p.m. Drink & Drown, $15 well drinks or top shelf & bottled

beer $25 - includes free burger cookout.

Drag Dingo: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 6 - 8 p.m. Catch ChiChi Rodriquez, Persana Shoulders for Drag Bingo! 11 games of Bingo, 11 chances to win prizes! All the fun starts at 6 pm till 8 pm in the upstairs bar with your favorite bottom, Jake, slinging drinks for you all night long.

Drink Drown and Drag: The Bourbon Pub; 801 Bourbon St.; 6 - 9 p.m.

Sunday Funday upstairs at The Parade. $15 Drink and Drown from 6 – 9 p.m. with a star studded drag show starting at 8 p.m.

Zingo!: The Corner Pocket; 940 St. Louis St.; 6 p.m. Play for free to win prizes or bar tabs. Late night: The Barry Bareass Booty Contest, $50 cash prize. | Boys dancin’ on the bar 9 p.m. till close.

You Better Sing Karaoke: GrandPre’s; 834 North Rampart St.; 7 p.m.

Join DJ Dereesha as he plays Karaoke.

Sunday Swing: The Allways Lounge and Cabaret; 2240 St. Claude Ave.; starts at 8 p.m. Every Sunday, local swing dance instructors offer a community class from 8-9pm. From 9 till midnight there is live, local music and social dancing! There is NO cover, but a one drink minimum is required per set.

Jock Night: The Eagle at the Phoenix; 941 Elysian Fields Ave; 9 p.m. Happy hour prices for wearing a jock or singlet.

Oz Show Night: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 9:30 p.m. This popular drag show is hosted by Persana Shoulders and features Connie Hung, Anastascia Davenport; ChiChi Rodriquez and Dominique DeLorean.

SPECIAL EVENTS TUESDAY 11/19

PFLAG and St. Anna’s Painting with A Purpose: Painting with A Twist: 4931 W. Esplanade Ave. Suite D; 7 10 p.m. Paint. Sip. Support. Repeat!

That’s what you will be doing at this Painting with a Purpose fundraiser!

The artists will help you create a New Orleans “Glowing Shotgun”! It’s BYOB and snacks are definitely welcomed!

Winter Queen III of New Orleans Andrea Sabillon Halstead hosts this fundraiser as part of her reign for Winter Wonderland 8. To register and for more information, go to https://www. paintingwithatwist.com/studio/metairie/ event/2173339/.

Trixxie Carr Presents: herself! In New Orleans: The Allways Lounge and Cabaret; 2240 St. Claude Ave.; 8:30 - 10:30pm. trixxie carr is a musician, drag queen and multimedia artist who plays with iconography and myth.

Her politically subversive drag created a shockwave in San Francisco. trixxie carr presents: herSELF is an explo-

ration of issues happening within our subculture scenes as well as the mainstream. For tickets go to www.neworleans.boldtypetickets.com.

WEDNESDAY 11/20

2nd Annual Trans March of Resilience: St. Philip St. and Claiborne Ave.; 1-5pm. NOLA Trans March of Resilience is not only a rally and demonstration, but also a revolutionary movement. NOLA Trans March of Resilience welcomes everyone to join us in this march for Justice, Equity and Liberation. Join us as we REMEMBER our loved ones and community members who have transitioned to ancestor; stand in solidarity and RESISTANCE against the hate, social injustice and inequality faced by Trans, Non-binary and Gender Non-conforming individuals; and honor our RESILIENCE as commUnity. Issues such as the unsolved cases in our own city; hate violence, specifically against Trans Women and People of Color, and the lack of official concern; oppressive healthcare policies, media misgendering, financial and housing insecurity; police brutality, workplace policies and employment discrimination, and the lack of resources for Trans, Non-binary and Gender Non-conforming Youth and Elders, are just some of the concerns being voiced upon in this year’s March. nvironment for everyone.

PFLAG and St. Anna’s Painting with A Purpose: Painting with A Twist: 4931 W. Esplanade Ave. Suite D; 7 - 10pm. Paint. Sip. Support. Repeat! That’s what you will be doing at this Painting with a Purpose fundraiser!

The artists will help you create a New Orleans “Glowing Shotgun”! It’s BYOB and snacks are definitely welcomed!

Winter Queen III of New Orleans Andrea Sabillon Halstead hosts this fundraiser as part of her reign for Winter Wonderland 8. To register and for more information, go to https://www. paintingwithatwist.com/studio/metairie/ event/2173339/.

NOAGE Potluck: St. Anna’s Episcopal Church; 1313 Esplanade Ave.; 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. An early Thanksgiving meal with our “chosen family!” Come to eat, network, and make new friends!

Adults of all ages welcome. If you are able, please bring a dish (main dishes, meats, sides, soups, salads or vegan/ vegetarian dishes, desserts, and beverages). Please also consider bringing non-perishable food items for St. Anna’s Food Pantry. The potluck is in the back of the Parish House (the building to the right of the church itself, located at the corner of Esplanade Ave. and Marais St.) PLEASE ENTER FROM THE BACK DOOR; the front door remains locked at all times.

THURSDAY 11/21 – FRIDAY 11/22

Dede Onassis is Patti Lupone at

38 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

SNAP PAPARAZZI Sipps Bar Gulfport, MS PHOTOS BY DWAIN HERTZ

SIPPS BAR GULFPORT Our beer is cold, patio is shaded, and pool tables and nightlife dance floor are waiting for your moves at Sipps bar Downtown Gulfport.

OPENING HOURS Everyday 5pm - TILL ADDRESS 2218 25th Ave, Gulfport, MS Phone: (228) 206-7717 Email: sipps25th@gmail.com

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 39

Les Mouches: The Allways Lounge & Cabaret; 2240 St. Claude Ave.; 11 p.m. both days. Drag Queen Chanteuse, Dede Onassis, recreates the iconic cabaret act - Patti LuPone at Les Mouches.

Catch this exciting show in its World Premier before the show goes on the road! In 1979, Evita was the hit of Broadway. For 27 weeks, its 30-year-old star, Patti LuPone had another project in the works. After the Saturday night show, she would don a white tuxedo and run across town to the nightclub Les Mouches. There, she would work a 70-minute cabaret act starting around 12:30 am, featuring Broadway belting, original compositions, and covers of Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Dusty Springfield, and more.

Fans of the show included Andy Warhol and Stephen Sondheim, and Les Mouches’ showroom was consistently packed. Directed by Kate Kuen. For tickets, go to www.neworleans.boldtypetickets.com.

THURSDAY 11/21

Talk To The Hand! 3rd Thursdays Totally ‘90s/00’s: GrandPre’s 834 N. Rampart St.; 10 p.m. Join the fun at GrandPre’s for their monthly Third Thursday Totally ‘90s (and early ‘00s) Dance Party! It’s gonna be a retrolicious rewind. No cover!

FRIDAY 11/22

Petronius at Chef Ron’s Gumbo Shop: Chef Ron’s Gumbo Shop; 2309 N. Causeway Blvd.; 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Come to Chef Ron’s and have a delicious meal all while supporting the Krewe of Petronius! Chef Ron has won many awards for his delicious delicacies all while supporting the LGBT community as much as he can. On November 22, he is graciously donating a portion of profits to the Krewe of Petronius! Make it to the restaurant, dine in or take out and support the community!

French Market Tree Lighting Ceremony: French Market; 6 - 7 p.m. Ring in the holidays with the French Market’s annual Tree Lighting Ceremony!

Enjoy a performance by the Heritage School of Music and the Tree Lighting Ceremony immediately followed by a fireworks display presented by Holiday New Orleans Style and New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. This event is free and open to the public.

NOAGE Gala - NOAGE in the Enchanted Wood: Cajun Ballroom at the Audubon Zoo; 6500 Magazine Street; 6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Join NOAGE for an evening of beauties, beasts, and enchantment at Audubon Nature Institute’s Cajun Ballroom! The theme of the Fifth Annual NOAGE Gala will be “NOAGE in the Enchanted Wood.” The event will feature live entertainment, an open bar, delicious food, a silent auction, and the presentation of the 2019 NOAGE Trailblazer Awards. Suggested attire is fairy tale fabulous! SPE-

CIAL PRIZE FOR BEST COSTUME!!!

(Dressy casual is OK too!) NOAGE is committed to providing excellent services and advocacy for LGBT older adults in the New Orleans Metro Area, ensuring that they can live their best lives possible, with the dignity, respect, and good health that they deserve.

NOAGE is also seeking sponsors for the event, and items for the silent auction. To become a sponsor, or if you would like to donate to the silent auction, please email us at info@noagenola.org. To purchase tickets, go to www.eventbrite.com.

SATURDAY 11/23

Gobble Til Ya Wobble Friendsgiving Drag Brunch: Nole Restaurant; 2001 St. Charles Ave.; 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. $55 ALL INCLUSIVE - Bottomless Mimosas and House Margaritas as well as Brunch Buffet full of delicious selections - FREE Valet Parking. Limited Seating. Prepare yourself to dance and sing along with the most Fabulous NOLA Drag Queens.

BES Bingo: The Phoenix; 941 Elysian Fields Ave.; 6 - 9 p.m. This is the final Big Easy Sisters bingo of the year. Come win stuff. The proceeds benefit local charities.

Poppy’s Drag Queen Brunch: Southern Rep Theatre; 2541 Bayou Rd.; 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Join Poppy Tooker for brunch and beverages and learn a bit about the history of Drag Queen Brunch in New Orleans as glamorous drag queens Starr Alexander, Laveau Contraire, Gayle King Kong, and Lana O’Day grace the Sanctuary Stage.

Dine on a delicious brunch buffet including fried green tomatoes, eggs, grits and BBQ shrimp or cochon de lait, french toast, and more from The Ruby Slipper Cafe. Tickets include brunch, performances, coffee and two drinks. A cash bar and drink specials will also be available. All ages are welcome. All proceeds support Southern Rep Theatre. For tickets, go to www. eventbrite.com.

Breakout Presents 5th Annual Trans Day of Remembrance Resistance and Resilience: Parish Hall; 2533 Columbus St.: 12 - 5 p.m. Performers, vendors, food and much more.

New Orleans Pride Pub Crawl: French Quarter starting location TBD; starts at 7 p.m. New Orleans Pride hosts its 9th Annual Pub Crawl.

The crawl is open to the first 100 participants. $20 includes a limited edition 2019 New Orleans Pride bandana, free shots/ drinks and give-a-ways at up to 8 bars*. COSTUMES ARE ENCOURAGED! Come decked out in your favorite color (or the whole rainbow) and you can win extras! Starting location is TBD. Please arrive before 7:00PM to find out the official route.

Glamarama with Lenny Zenith & Pop Combo: Cafe Istanbul; 2372 St. Claude Ave.; 7:30 - 10 p.m. Break out

40 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

your bell-bottoms and platform shoes once again on November 23! Seventies tribute band Glamarama takes you back in time to the early, influential glam rock era with the music of David Bowie, T-Rex, Roxy Music, Alice Cooper, Sweet, and more. Lenny Zenith & Pop Combo, a classic power-pop band with a tough indie edge, opens. General admission $15 at the door; reserved Seating $25 call (504) 416-4251.

SUNDAY 11/24

Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner: The Corner Pocket; 940 St. Louis St.; 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Pre-Thanksgiving meal from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Holiday foods and fun for the community. The Corner Pocket will supply food. Guests are welcome to bring a dish too. Afterwards, stick around for Zingo!, boys dancin’ on the bar, and The Barry Bareass Booty Show.

TUESDAY 11/26

Holiday Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: The Ritz Carlton; 921 Canal St.; 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Hotel guests and locals are invited to a complimentary ribbon cutting reception in our festive lobby.

Join the hotel as they unveil the hotel’s ornate holiday decorations, including the centerpiece: a larger-than-life replica of the Canal Street streetcar covered entirely in gingerbread and other confections. A new cast of notable

New Orleans personalities will be depicted as passengers! Enjoy holiday refreshments as well as appearances from Papa Noel and the Victory Belles.

Riverwalk’s Tree Lighting Ceremony: The Outlet Collection at the Riverwalk; 500 Port of New Orleans Pl.; 5 - 6:30 p.m. Take in the lights and seasonal splendor as we light up downtown New Orleans with a beautifully decorated 50-foot tree standing tall on the corner of Julia Street and Convention Center Boulevard. Guests can enjoy live music from the Riverwalk Jazz Band, complimentary popcorn, kid-friendly beverage samples from Nola Christmas Fest, face painting and more!

Canal Street Lighting Ceremony: The Astor Crown Plaza; 739 Canal St.; 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. The Downtown Development District & the Astor Crowne Plaza would like to welcome everyone to join us as we “flip the switch” at 5:30pm, turning on more than 1 million twinkling lights on historic Canal Street. The Voices of Peter Claver and a special visit from Santa Claus will accentuate this year’s event!

Kids who bring an unwrapped toy can join Santa and decorate holiday cookies.

THURSDAY 11/28

112th NOAC Turkey Day Race: City Park; 5 Victory Avenue; 7 - 11

a.m. Proceeds benefit Spina Bifida Louisiana. The course starts at Tad Gormley Stadium and follows a 5 Mile path that winds through City Park, finishing on the stadium’s track. Register online in advance to save $$$, guarantee your participant shirt, and avoid race day lines. Runners and walkers of all speeds and abilities are welcome to participate. Further event details are available at runNOTC.org.

Thanksgiving Potluck, Happy Hour and Saints: Crossing NOLA; 439 Dauphine St.; starting at 4 p.m. Thanksgiving Day potluck November 28, 2019, from 4-6PM (while supplies last). Bar foods and snacks, plus holiday surprises. The community is welcome to bring a dish too. Happy Hour from til 9PM. Stay late and watch the Saints. Kickoff 7:20 p.m. Free shots when the Saints score a TD!

FRIDAY 11/29 – SATURDAY 12/28

Miracle on Fulton Street; Harrah’s New Orleans; 228 Poydras St. Starts at 5:30 p.m each evening. Guests will enter through an exciting new illuminated entryway into a beautiful canopy of holiday lights and trees. Experience a winter wonderland with daily “snow” fall every hour. Bring the whole family and dance to live music and purchase your photo with Santa on Friday and Saturday nights.

FRIDAY 11/29 – MONDAY 12/30

Audubon Zoo Lights: Audubon Zoo; 6500 Magazine St.; For the second year, Audubon Nature Institute and Children’s Hospital New Orleans have partnered to create a holiday tradition that transforms Audubon Zoo into a WILD, glowing wonderland! The whole family will enjoy an exciting array of animal-themed light displays, and nightly live entertainment. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased on Audubon’s website or at the Zoo Front Gate. For more information, please visit https://www.audubonzoolights. org/ Dates and Time: November 29-30; December 1, 6-8, 12-15, 19-23, 26-30 - 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

FRIDAY 11/29

Black Friday Dark Christmas Market Art Sale: Bratz Y’all; 617 Piety St.; 11:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Join Bratz Y’all for a German Style Christmas Market that has a unique twist. There will be artists and craftspeople selling amazing one of a kind pieces and wares, which make perfect gifts. The Krewe will also have lots of Krampus items you can purchase before the big December parade. Stop by, say hi to the Krewe, and get a start on your holiday shopping.

5th Friday Beer Bust: The Phoe-

6th Annual

Week of HIV Awareness December 1 - 7

December 1: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

The New Orleans Museum of Art is proud to partner with Visual AIDS for the thirtieth annual Day With(out) Art by presenting STILL BEGINNING, a program of seven newly commissioned videos responding to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic.

December 5: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

St. George Episcopal Church’s Prayer Breakfast is open to all faith leaders in the New Orleans Area.

December 5: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

AIDS Memorial Quilt Reception at The Contemporary Art Museum

December 6: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Washington Square Park AIDS Memorial December 7: 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM Art Against AIDS at Club XLIV

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 41

nix; 941 Elysian Fields Ave.; 9 p.ml - 12 a.m. This used to be the Lords of Leather’s filth Friday Beer Bust but they are “well behaved” now. A $5 buy-in gets all-you-can-drink from 9 10 pm, then $1 refills from 10 - midnight. And your donation goes to their Bal Masque XXXVII to be held Sunday February 23, 2020.

SATURDAY 11/30

Onesie Bar Crawl: B.B. King’s Blues Club; 1104 Decatur St.; starts at 6 p.m. Early bird tickets are $19.99 or just $17.99 each for groups of 4! Sign up at: welovepubcrawls.com/.

21+ Event, Rain or Shine. This is a ticketed event, and tickets are required to enjoy the benefits of the crawl. Wristbands will be checked at all venues. Follow the Facebook event page for updates on venues as they are announced!

Questions: welovepubcrawls.com/contactus. Registration Venue: BB Kings Blues Club. Venues: Minimum of 5, all a short walk - no transport needed!

Horsefeathers!

By Precious Ephemera: Cafe Istanbul; 2372 St. Claude Ave.; 7 - 10 p.m. Avant-garde performances from Cabaret and Circus All-Stars who have been making waves in the Crescent City and beyond, Puppeteering Pandora Gastelum (Mudlark Theater), Quadripara-Legal Ladee Lucerne (Smash/Catharsis), Adventuring Alexander the Great (Boiz of Austin),

High Priestess Rev. Mother Flash (NYC), Judy Reagan - She’s Good!, Up and Coming Showponies: The Darling & Wontonya Dumpling and a never-before seen finale that’s sure to capsize your vessel from Louisiana’s own breakdancing showstopper; He’s 10,000 Leagues of one Extraordinary Gentleman Phathoms Deep. Tickets are $18 ($15 Advance Online) A portion of proceeds supports The Inherently Valid Fund. For tickets to this event visit www.bestofneworleans. com/horsefeathers.

Lords of Leather American Bandstand - C_untry!: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. It’s the Lords of Leather annual Drag Show!

Enjoy a mix of songs by big women with big hair!

It’s Showtime on Rampart Street; GrandPre’s; 834 North Rampart St.; 10 p.m. Come out and catch this exciting drag show starring Moanalot Fontaine and special guests.

Hit It - Dad: Cutters; 706 Franklin Ave,; 10 p.m. - 3 a.m. One last chance to get STUFFED as this edition of HIT IT celebrates all things Daddy! that seductive confidence, silver foxiness, and those over 40 skillz that keep us hungry for more. Hosted by: FatsyCline Drag - GAA Kinkster of the Year, Ross Ransom - Mr. Nude Orleans , Elyse DaBeast - Mx. Phoenix 2019 with special guest Meester Alvarez (SD). Advanced tickets encouraged

https://hit-it.ticketleap.com/dad/. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to NOAGE (New Orleans Advocates for GLBT Elders).

SUNDAY 12/1

Drag Brunch: Pythian Market; 234 Loyola Ave.; 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Join the Pythian for their Monthly Drag Brunch.

Performers include: TAZE-YA BALLZ, and the ladies of Va Va Voom.

Winter Wonderland VIII for Pflag and St. Anna’s: Capulet; 3014 Dauphine St.; 5 - 8 p.m. Winter Queen III Andrea Sabillon Halstead and Winter King III Jeffrey Palmquist, along with Misti and Catherine Gaither, invite you to Winter Wonderland VIII. VIP tickets are on sale Now and Sponsorship Levels are available. Contact Misti 504292-3983 or at mistimichelleates@ gmail.com for info.

WEDNESDAY 12/4

2020 Miss Gay New Orleans USofA: Oz New Orleans; 800 Bourbon St.; 7 - 11:30 p.m. Miss Gay New Orleans USofA an official preliminary pageant to Miss Gay Louisiana USofA. Louisiana USofA preliminary pageants are open to all. This means anyone that does not live in Louisiana may enter as long as they meet the requirements of USofA regulations. When they qualify at a city/area preliminary they must attend and compete at Miss Gay Louisiana USofA. Hosted by Persana Shoulders. For more information, go to www. persanashoulders.com.

Crescent City Leathermen Board Meeting: The Phoenix; 941 Elysian Fields Ave.; 7:30 - 9 p.m. Meeting is open to the Public.

THURSDAY 12/5

Fashion Battle Royale The Sequel: The Goat; 1301 St. Bernard Ave.; 9 p.m. - midnight. Fashion Battle Royale THE SEQUEL! Is hosted by Eureeka Starfish and Olive It and DJ Faeriegothmother. Come EARLY to sign up for the Fashion Battle Competition. and Dance the Night away and show off your looks. Categories: Spirit of The Forest: GIve us Fae Faries Tree Ent, Forrest Fantasy Earthly spirit. Drark Crystal .Green Green Greeeens Cyber Punk: Futuristic, Hologram, Electric, Neon Lights, Borg, Blade Runner Death Horror Master: Blood , Gore, Zombie, Guts, Hell Raiser. Cover $10.

FRIDAY 12/6

Stonewall Sports First Friday Happy Hour: Phillip’s Bar and Restaurant; 733 Cherokee St.; 5 - 8 p.m.

Join fellow Stonewallers for a monthly happy hour on the first Friday of every month at Phillip’s Bar, one of our Stonewall Sports New Orleans Sponsors.

SATURDAY 12/7

Running of the Santas: Apres and Generations Hall; 3 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Running of the Santas returns to the Warehouse District for an unbelievable day of events! VIP gets Open Bar at Generations Hall/The Metropolitan! A HUGE outdoor party with drink specials and GREAT Music! Doors open at 3PM at Apres Lounge at 7:00PM , the Santas will “RUN”(stumble) a few short blocks down Fulton from the “South Pole” (Apres) to the “North Pole” (Generations Hall) costume contest at 8:00pm! You can avoid ticketing fees. Purchase your tickets (cash only) at The Corporation. 931 S. Peters Street. Tickets are available on www.eventbrite.com.

Art Against Aids - The Red Ribbon Gala: Club 44; 101 Lasalle St.: 7-11pm. Come to Art Against AIDS, now known as The Ribbon Gala and a chance for you to come decked out to support those living with HIV and AIDS. Come enjoy festive entertainment and more than 200 auction items. Shop in the holiday boutique named in honor of Larry Mercier. An open bar and food is included in the price. Parking is free for the first 200 people. For tickets, go to www.eventbrite.com.

Queer bar Shopping Network: Grandpre’s; 834 N. Rampart St.; 7 - 9:30 p.m. The Krewe of Amon-Ra hosts their holiday show.

Beer and Gear Night: The Phoenix; 941 Elysian Fields Ave.; 9 p.m.

- midnight. Hosted by Crescent City Leathermen on the patio. Keg Beer $5 buy in, $1 refills; Jell-o Shots - $1 ea/6 for $5. Gear themed nights – appropriate gear encouraged. Second cup or jello shot free if wearing the gear theme. December’s gear theme is a HATS & GLOVES. Wear your best hat & glove outfit and come have a drink!

It’s Showtime on Rampart Street; GrandPre’s; 834 North Rampart St.; 10 p.m. Come out and catch this exciting drag show starring Moanalot Fontaine and special guests.

ARE WE MISSING YOUR EVENTS? Email Us at info@ambushpublishing.com

42 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

Mobile Hot Happenings WEEKLY AT B-BOB’S 213 Conti St., Mobile, AL (251) 433-2262

TUESDAY

Gay Bar BINGO 9:30 & 11PM

THURSDAY

MONDAY

Service Industry Night

TUESDAY Karaoke

p.m. No Cover. Ladies drink half off

Ladies Night w/ Piano 6pm

THURSDAY

Movie Night with Chris 8pm

Drag Bingo & Show

Drink & Drown Karaoke; $10 selective alcohol with $1 refill

PENSACOLA THE ROUNDUP

Amateur Drag Night 11PM

WEDNESDAY Rock n Roll Bingo 8PM

FRIDAY & SATURDAY

THURSDAY

Karaoke; 9 p.m. - 2 a.m.

SATURDAY

Speed Quizzing Trivia; 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Midnight Drag Show

WEEKLY AT FLIP SIDE 54 S. Conception St., Mobile, AL (251) 431-8819

Karaoke

SEC Football

SUNDAY

Along the Gulf South BATON ROUGE MON-FRI

Happy Hour: The Park Pub & Patio; 4619 Bennington Avenue; 3-7p.m.

Upstairs Karaoke: Splash Nightclub; 2183 Highland Rd; 9pm $1 Martinis 9-10pm

SATURDAY

MONDAY

Non-stop Dance Music: Splash Nightclub; 2183 Highland Rd Dancing in the Park: The Park Pub & Patio; 4619 Bennington Avenue;

TUESDAY

Sunday Social Brunch: The Park Pub & Patio; 4619 Bennington Avenue; Noon-3:00p.m. $20 Buffet with Bottomless Mimosas, Bloody Mary’s and Draft Beer

WEDNESDAY

LAFAYETTE BOLT BAR & PATIO

Game Night: George’s Place; 860 St. Louis St; 10p.m. Hosted by Chance SIN Night: The Park Pub & Patio; 4619 Bennington Avenue; 30% Off

Fat Tuesdays & Billiards & Darts Tournaments: The Park Pub & Patio; 4619 Bennington Avenue

Queens Karaoke: George’s Place; 860 St Louis St; 10p.m. Hosted by Alvin McGee Free Cover Wednesdays: Splash Nightclub; 2183 Highland Rd; 9pm Open Mic w/ Ryan Jenkins: The Park Pub & Patio; 4619 Bennington Avenue; 9p.m.

THURSDAY

Double Trouble Thursday: George’s Place; 860 St Louis St; 7pm. $6 Double Wells and $10 Double Calls Show Night: Splash Nightclub; 2183 Highland Rd; 11:30pm. Featuring the Bombshells of Baton Rouge Think and Drink Trivia: The Park Pub & Patio; 4619 Bennington Avenue;

FRIDAY

560 E Heinberg St

TUESDAY

THURSDAY FRIDAY

Drag Bingo with Monica Heart; 6 p.m.

- 8 p.m. Win cash and prizes

Funday with Karaoke

WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY

GALVESTON 23RD ST. STATION

1706 23rd Street Happy Hour every day until 7 p.m.

MONDAY

Texas Hold ‘Em 7pm

TUESDAY

THURSDAY FRIDAY

Live Entertainment 6pm

SATURDAY

Live Entertainment 9pm

SUNDAY

Sing Along Sundays w/ Piano 4pm7pm

RUMORS

3102 Seawall Blvd.

Happy Hour every day until 7 p.m.

FRIDAY & SATURDAY Show Nights 11 p.m. & 12:30 a.m.

SUNDAY THRU THURSDAY Karaoke 8 p.m.

SUNDAY

The Sunday T with Carly & Kymber 4:30 p.m.

Tube-ular Tuesday with Jim 8pm

SUNDAY

114 McKinley St

THURSDAY

Thirsty Thursday; No Cover. $4 Double Wells and $2 wine

FRIDAY

The Ladies of Bolt; 11:30pm. $5 cover

SATURDAY

Dance Night; No Cover. Happy Hour 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.

LAKE CHARLES CRYSTAL’S DOWNTOWN 720 Ryan Street

$5 Fridays: The Park Pub & Patio; 4619 Bennington Avenue;

TUESDAY

Anything But Techno Tuesdays; 10

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 43

Party Down Tony Leggio ledgemgp@gmail.com

The holiday season is going full steam ahead in New Orleans.

Beginning with Labor Day/Southern Decadence, our city’s holiday season goes all the way through New Year’s Day or 12th Night.

Many argue, however, that our holiday season is all year long, especially in the LGBT Community. We have our holiday beacons that move us through the year -- Gay Carnival season in January, February (and sometimes March), Gay Easter (March or April), Gay Pride in June, Southern Decadence in September and Gay Halloween in October.

Add to those, the festively gay way we celebrate New Year’s, St. Patrick’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas and you have a “Year of Living Fabulously!” Which by the way, shameful plug, buy your Armeinius Drag Calendar on Amazon.

But I digress, let’s discuss my two weeks of adventures which actually incorporate Halloween night. It was days filled with merriment, costumes, riverboats, drag queens, birthdays, boys and ending with a clown. And no I did not take a trip to the White House!

I had some friends fly in from New York for the Halloween New Orleans weekend, so on Tuesday after all the festivities, I took them for a dinner cruise on the Riverboat Natchez. I love being a tourist in my own city and enjoying activities that make people fall in love with New Orleans; a cruise on the Steamboat Natchez is one of those things.

The dinner cruise combines the history of the city, the awesome power of the mighty Mississippi River, a delicious meal, great cocktails and soulful live jazz music all rolled up into one excursion. The boat itself is lovely and seeing the city at night illuminated from the river is magical (and romantic).

Besides enjoying a fabulous dinner, guests are able to tour the engine room

and see how the riverboat is powered.

We were lucky to have our own personal tour guide Matt Dow show us around. So whether you have outof-town guests or just want to have a unique dinner in an ultra cool setting, an evening cruise on the Natchez is the perfect night out.

Even though the big gay Halloween celebration was over, I still managed to enjoy some gay fun on the 31st which fell on Thursday this year.

Some friends and I went to the home of Don Schwenn and Michael Shlenker for their annual Halloween party. Their neighborhood is transformed into a spooky wonderland and their house is situated right in the middle of all the action. They give out lots of candy to all the children, and their parents, neighbors, & friends enjoy all the adult libations they can handle.

Champagne Merlot made a special appearance that night to frolic among all the partygoers.

The event had specialty cocktails in addition to a free-flowing open bar, great bites, full-size candy bars (love that) and lots of eye candy. After the kids go to bed, the PG version of the night turns to an R rating. We saw so many great friends and met some new people as well. In fact after Don and Michael’s party, my friends and I were invited to another house in the neighborhood which had been transformed into a disco nightclub. Ms, Kerri Frey Becker knows how to decorate a house like Studio 54! We danced the night away and had a few more cocktails before calling it a night. Now this was a Halloween to remember.

On Friday, I headed down to the AllWays Lounge for Johnny Passion’s Risque Show. Misti (Johnny’s alter ego) is one of the best entertainers in the city and has a knack for assembling incredibly talented cast members for her shows. This month’s show

H N S A R C A E RA T X E

starred Ava Gina, Ginger Longbottom and Trixie Lacroche. This group of performers gave the audience quite a show from the sassiness of Ava’s numbers to the deep soulful songs done by Johnny and the hysterical theatrics by Ginger. Keep an eye out each month for Risque, it’s well worth the price of admission.

I love a good drag brunch and on Sunday, my friends and I went to Cru to enjoy a delicious meal, bottomless mimosas and an exquisite drag show.

The show was led by Vanessa Carr Kennedy and had a lively cast. Chef Marlon’s food is delectable and everyone loves bottomless mimosas.

Definitely you need to check out this brunch.

I was out and about early the follow-

Seeking Self-Starters with Reliable Transportation for Magazine Distribution and Ad Sales

If you are looking for additional income, Apply Now! Send your CV to info@ambushpublishing.com

ing week. On Tuesday, some friends and I had dinner at one of my favorite places in the Marigny, Arabella. Everything at this restaurant is amazing from the service and drink specials to the homemade pastas and their prices.

When people ask me what is one of my favorite local dining spots, this is in my top ten.

Afterwards we stumbled upon a brand new weekly event at Kajun’s Pub called Queens Against Rumanity. Think cards against humanity and then flip the switch and add a drag component to it. Players are given cards and then they have to fill in the blanks from statements made during RuPaul’s Drag Race. The evening is hosted by the lovely Laveau Contraire and mixes in drag performances in between games. This is a very interesting, unique and fun way to spend a Tuesday night.

Wednesday I was back at a friend’s house to see the second to last episode of American Horror Story. Watch parties are my new favorite things to do, especially AHS. It helps break up the week and gives me something to look forward to on Humpday. And this season of AHS is gory, campy fun! I cannot wait to see the final episode.

The following day, I got my theatre fix when I went to see the play November at Rivertown Theatre. Written by David Mamet in 2008, it is uncanny how it speaks volumes about our current political situation. November cen-

44 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

ters on President Charles Smith several days before his second election. He is a racist pig of a human being that does some incredibly unlikable things and does not care about anyone or anything. Sound familiar?

What was so interesting was that before the play, Gary Rucker came out to let people know about the excessive use of the F bomb in the show in a very hysterical way. But he also had to explain that this play was written well before President Trump and nothing in the script was changed. He actually had had people approach him upset about the show and its content.

His speech about the show and how it is a comedy and should be viewed as that, was moving and spot on. The fact that the President of the United States acts like this character (a buffoon) is just happenstance. Great show and Bob Edes stole the entire show as the president.

On Friday, it was birthday wishes for Cody Devin McClain who had a bar crawl celebration that started at Crossing. I love a good drinking crawl with friends. Cody had food and cake at the first stop before we sashayed to The Corner Pocket and then 700 Club

which after numerous cocktails was my last stop of the evening.

I ended my two weeks on a funny note with none other than local-boymade-good, Bianca Del Rio. I went to see her show It’s Jester Joke at the Orpheum Theatre. It seemed that most of the LGBT community came out to support the Season 6 winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, who is from Gretna. Bianca’s show was a comic tour de force. She kept the audience in stitches from the moment she stepped on stage. Her opening act was Wendy Ho, a very funny comedienne whose reworded versions of popular songs have become drag queen hit numbers.

The night belonged to Bianca who wore a fabulous clown frock and wasted no time in letting loose with a string of hysterically funny, politically incorrect jokes. For the more cringe-worthy jokes, she tempered them with a “Fun Fact.” I have not seen a comic who delivered such biting humor with such finesse since the legendary Joan Rivers; Bianca was actually the penultimate guest star on her show In Bed with Joan.

Jester Joke was a great way to cap off the week. Every Sunday should

be spent laughing. I truly believe that we need to laugh more in this world.

And just an FYI, Bianca’s merchandise is on point. I practically bought one of everything she was selling from totes and tee shirts to pins and signed photos. How she has not gotten a cable special yet is beyond me. If you missed her in NOLA, check out the remainder

of her tour dates and make a trip to see her in another city. It is well worth it.

That ends my two weeks of fun.

Until next issue, stay warm and enjoy November!

Do you want your party or event covered? Invite me! ledgemgp@gmail.com

BUSINESS FINANCIAL & BUSINESS Answers to Common Questions About Insurance Scot I. Billeaudeau, JD, LL.M. ADPA® s.billeaudeau@ampf.com Insurance is one of the fundamental financial tools for any household.

Most people recognize the important role of insurance, but many are unsure about how it works. If you have questions about insurance, you aren’t alone. As a financial advisor, I get a variety of questions about insurance.

Here are some of the most common: Q: I usually just renew my policies every year. Is there any need to worry about making changes?

A: Just as your life can evolve over time, your insurance needs may change as well. Consider reviewing your insurance coverage at least annually. This can help you determine if policies you currently own are cost effective and still a good fit for you. It also may help you evaluate if there are policies you no longer need and identify any gaps in coverage.

Q: I have life insurance through my employee benefits program at work. Do I need additional coverage?

A: It’s worth comparing the cost of that coverage with other types of options available to you. Life insurance

as an employee benefit isn’t always less expensive or sufficient to cover your entire financial situation. Also, if you should leave that employer, your coverage will ultimately be lost. You’ll want enough protection in place to meet your family’s needs, particularly if your work circumstances change.

Q: How does variable universal life differ from traditional universal life policies?

A: Universal life policies are permanent policies that have a savings component. In a variable policy, savings can be put to work in investments such as stocks and bonds. That creates potential to accumulate more savings, but also adds a degree of risk if your investment choices perform poorly. This may impact the premiums due or your death benefit. Some policies offer ways to lock in a guaranteed minimum death benefit.

Q: What are riders and how do I know if I should choose any?

A: Riders are benefits you can add to your policy, usually for an extra cost. With life insurance, they can range from having the option to have

premiums waived in certain circumstances (such as being unable to work due to a disability), the right to claim an accelerated death benefit if you should become terminally ill, a return of premium if you don’t die within the term of the policy, and even coverage for long-term care needs. Your unique circumstances and priorities can help you determine if any riders are right for you.

Q: What is disability income insurance and how does it work?

A: This is an important form of coverage that provides a stream of income if you are unable to work for an extended period of time due to injury or illness. It is designed to replace a portion of your income to help meet your living expenses while you are unable to work. This can be vital not only to pay bills, but also to keep your longterm financial goals on track. Policies typically include a waiting period of 90 days between the time you stop working and when income payments begin.

Q: How might my insurance requirements change later in life?

A: You’ll want to consider differ-

ent strategies as you grow older. Longterm care insurance may be worth considering when you are in your 40s or 50s to help deal with the rising costs of extended care as you age. When you retire, you’ll likely no longer need to maintain disability income coverage.

And, depending on your level of wealth, you may want to consider incorporating life insurance into your estate plan.

Insurance is a critical component in your overall financial plan. Talk to your financial advisor and insurance specialist to review your current coverage and determine how you might be able to upgrade it or incorporate more cost-effective solutions.

Scot I. Billeaudeau, JD, LL.M. ADPA®, is a Financial Advisor with Waterfront Wealth Management, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. He specializes in addressing the unique needs of the diverse LGBTQ community, fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies, and has been in practice for 11 years.

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 45

LGBTQ Owned & Friendly Business Directory NEW ORLEANS

ACCOMMODATIONS

The Burgundy Bed and Breakfast, 2513 Burgundy St, (504) 261-9477, theburgundy.com Aaron Ingram Haus, 1012 Elysian Fields Ave, (504) 949-3110, ingramhaus.com Blues60 Guest House, 1008 Elysian Fields Ave, (504) 324-4311, blues60guesthouse.com The BEARigny Suites, 2226 N Rampart St, (504) 309-0062, thebearignysuite.com

BARS & CLUBS

Four Seasons & Patio Stage Bar, 3229 N. Causeway Blvd, (504) 8320659

Bourbon St, (504) 593-9761

(504) 523-4517 Friendly Bar, 2301 Chartres St, (504) 943-8929

700 Club, 700 Burgundy St, (504) 5611095, 700nola.com

Golden Lantern, 1239 Royal St, (504) 529-2860

Black Penny, 700 N Rampart St, (504) 304-4779, facebook.com/ blackpennynola

GrandPre’s, 834 N Rampart St, (504) 267-3615 Kajun’s Pub, 2256 St Claude Ave, (504) 947-3735 Mags 940, 940 Elysian Fields Ave, (504) 948-1888 Oz New Orleans, 800 Bourbon St, (504) 593-9491, ozneworleans.com Phoenix Bar, 941 Elysian Fields Ave, (504) 945-9264, phoenixbarnola.com Rawhide 2010, 740 Burgundy St, (504) 525-8106, rawhide2010.com

Bourbon Pub/Parade, 801 Bourbon St, (504) 529-2107, bourbonpub.com

The Page Bar, 542 N Rampart St, (504) 875-4976

Café Lafitte in Exile, 901 Bourbon St, (504) 522-8397, www.lafittes.com

VooDoo Lounge, 718 N Rampart St, (504) 265-0953

Corner Pocket, 940 St Louis St, (504) 568-9829, www.cornerpocket.net

The Country Club, 634 Louisa St, (504) 945-0742, thecountryclubneworleans. com

Cutter’s Bar, 706 Franklin Ave, (504) 948-4200 Crossing NOLA, 439 Dauphine St,

Phillips Bar, 733 phillipsbar.com Lafitte’s

Blacksmith

Cherokee

St,

Shop,

941

Big Daddy’s, 2513 Royal street, (504) 948-6288 Big Easy Daiquiris, Several locations throughout the French Quarter Good Friends Bar, 740 Dauphine Street, (504) 566-7191, goodfriendsbar.com Napoleon’s Itch, 734 Bourbon St, (504) 237-4144 Tropical Isle, 721 Bourbon St, (504) 529-4109, tropicalisle.com Allways Lounge and Cabaret, 2240 St. Claude Ave

BOOKSTORES

Faubourg Marigny Art and Books, 600 Frenchmen St

CIRCUIT / EVENT

Gay Easter Parade, Easter Sunday, gayeasterparade.com Gay Mardi Gras, gaymardigras.com

New Orleans Pride, June 7-9, 2019, NewOrleansPrideFestival.com Southern Decadence, Labor Day Weekend, SouthernDecadence.com Halloween New Orleans, October 25-27, 2019, HalloweenNewOrleans. com Gay Appreciation ambushpublishing.com

Awards,

GALLERIES

Casell Bergen Gallery, 1305 Decatur St, (504) 478-6744, casellbergengallery.com

GROCERIES

Matassa’s Market, 1001 Dauphine St, (504) 412-8700, https://www. matassas.com Quartermaster Deli, 1100 Bourbon St, www.quartermasterdeli.net Robert’s Fresh Market, 2222 St. Claude Ave, (504) 207-0162, robertfreshmarket.com

GUIDES

Official Gay Easter Parade Guide, gayeasterparade.com Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide, gaymardigras.com

46 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

LGBTQ Owned & Friendly Business Directory Official Gay New Orleans Guide, gayneworleans.com Official Pride Guide, neworleanspridefestival.com Official Southern Decadence Guide, southerndecadence.com

HAIR SALONS

FiFi Mahony’s, 934 Royal St, (504) 525-4343, fifimahonys.com Head Quarters Hair Salon, 906 Bourbon St, (504) 522-2666 Micky Nolan Salon, 717 Toulouse St, (504) 587-7782, mickeynolansalon. com Two Guys Cutting Hair, 2372 St Claude Ave #125, 215.519.5030, (504) 239-2397

HARDWARE

Mary’s Ace Hardware, 732 N Rampart St, (504) 529-4465, acehardware.com

HEALTHCARE

Odyssey House, 1125 North Tonti Street, ohlinc.org Access Health Louisiana, 3300 South Broad Street, 234 Loyola Ave. Ste 300B, accesshealthla.org UMC - HIV Outpatient Program, 2000 Canal Street, 4th Floor, 4C Clinic, (504) 702-4344, umcno.org/ infectiousdisease CrescentCare, 1631 Elysian FIelds Ave, (504) 821-2601, crescentcare. org

MUSEUMS

Mardi Gras Museum, 813 Bienville St, (504) 523-5433

ORGANIZATIONS

Louisiana Trans Advocates, (877) 565-8860, latransadvocates.org NOLA Softball League, nolasoftball. org Crescent City rougarouxrugby.org

Rougaroux,

Stonewall Sports, facebook.com/ groups/stonewallneworleans Krewe of Petronius, PO Box 1102, kreweofpetronius.net The Mystic Krewe of Amon-Ra, PO Box 57783, kreweofamonra.com Krewe of Apollo de New Orleans, P. O. Box 770973, www.mkaneworleans. com Krewe of Armenius, 433 N. Broad St,

armenius.org Krewe of Mwindo, PO Box 51031, (504) 913-5791 Krewe of Stars, 1010 Conti St, kreweofstars.com Krewe of Narcissus, PO Box 3832, (504) 228-9441

The Chamber is a network of LGBT and ally business owners, corporate partners, and community leaders that support business development and equality.

Mystic Krewe of Lords of Leater, 1000 Bourbon Street #B415, lordsofleather.org Renegade Bears of Louisiana, PO Box 3083, renegadebearsoflouisiana@ gmail.com Crescent City Leathermen, 941 Elysian Fields Ave, crescentcityleathermen.org NOAGE, noagenola.org The Krewe of King kreweofkingarthur.com

Mission To promote an inclusive business environment by connecting LGBT-owned/operated and allied businesses in the Gulf South.

Arthur,

LGBT Community Center, 2727 S Broad Ave, (504) 333-5412 Gulf South Chamber of Commerce, (504) 754-5279, gulfsouthchamber. com Friday Night Before Mardi Gras, fridaynightbeforemardigras.com Krewe of Queenateenas/ King Cake Queen Royalty Club, gaymardigras. com

Vision A society where individuals and businesses have equal rights, equal representation, and equal opportunities.

P-Flag New Orleans, (504) 617-5987, alberto.oliver@cox.com Mystic Krewe of Apollo de New Orleans, mkaneworleans.com

PHARMACY

Mumfrey’s Pharmacy, 1021 W. Judge Perez Dr., (504) 279-6312, mumfreyspharmacy.com Avita Pharmacy, 2601 Tulane Ave Ste 445, (504) 822-8013

PHOTOGRAPHY

G Douglas Photography, LLC, Wedding and Portriat Photography, By Appointment Only, gdouglasadamsphotography.com

Values Respect Diversity Inclusivity

Equality Knowledge Community

Craig Fremin Photography, By Appointment Only, craigfremin.com Graham/ Studio One, By Appointment Only, grahamstudioone.com Parker Studios, By Appointment Only, halle.parker15@outlook.com

REAL ESTATE

Steve Richards Properties Latter & Blum, 712 Orleans Ave, (504) 258-

gslgbtchamber.org

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 47

LGBTQ Owned & Friendly Business Directory 1800 Michael Styles Realtor,Engel & Volkers, (504) 777-1773, nolastyles. com, Michael specializes in helping first-time homebuyers and real estate investors find the perfect New Orleans properties.

RELIGION

St. Anna’s Espicopal Church, 1313 Esplanade Ave, (504) 947-2121, stannanola.org Metropolitan Community Church New Orleans, 5401 S Claiborne Ave, mccneworleans.com

Louisa Street, (504) 945-0742, thecountryclubnreorleans.com Cru, 535 Franklin Ave, (504) 446-0040, crunola.com

The Bombay Club, 830 Rue Conti, (504) 577-2237, bombayclubneworleans. com

Dat Dog on Frenchmen, 601 Frenchmen St, (504) 309-3362, datdog.com

The Ruby Slipper Café, 2001 Burgundy St, (504) 525-9355, therubyslippercafe.net

EAT, 900 Dumaine St, (504) 522-7222, eatnola.com

Who Dat Coffee Cafe, 2401 Burgundy St, (504) 872-0360, whodatcoffee. com

Envie Espresso Bar & Cafe, 1241 Decatur St, (504) 524-3689, cafeenvie.com

RESTAURANTS

Kingfish Kitchen & Cocktails, 337 Chartres Street, (504) 598-5005, kingfishneworleans.com

Broussard’s Restaurant & Courtyard,

Lousiana Pizza Kitchen, 615 S. Carrollton Ave, (504) 237-0050, louisianapizzakitchenuptown.com

801 Royal, 801 Royal Street, (504) 581-0801, 801royal.com 819 Rue Conti, (504) 581-3866, broussards.com

Cafe Sbisa, 1011 Decatur Street, (504) 522-5565, cafesbisanola.com Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop , 2309 N. Causeway Blvd, (504) 835-2022, gumbostop.com Clover Grill, 900 Bourbon St, (504) 598-1010, www.clovergrill.com Country

Club

Restaurant,

634

(504) 948-0077, santafenola.com

Mona Lisa, 1212 Royal St, (504) 5226746, monalisaneworleans.com, NOLA Poboys, 908 Bourbon, (504) 655-3312, nolapoboys.com Orleans Grapevine Wine Bar & Bistro, 720 Orleans Ave, (504) 5231930, Orleansgrapevine.com Royal House Oyster Bar, 441 Royal Street, royalhouserestaurant.com Santa Fe Restaurant, 3201 Esplanade,

Who Dat Coffee Cafe, 9207 W. St. Bernard Hwy, (504) 354-8452

RETAIL

Mr. Binky’s Boutique, 107 Chartres St, (504) 302-2095 QT Pie Boutique, 241 Dauphine St, (504) 581-6633 Skully’z Recordz, 907 Bourbon St, (504) 592-4666 Bourbon Pride, 909 Bourbon Street, (504) 566-1570 COK (Clothing or Kink), 941 Elysian FIelds, Located inside the Phoenix Bar XXX Shop, 1835 N. Rampart St, (504) 232-3063

SERVICES

Formal Connection, 299 Belle Terre Blvd, 985.652-1195 Washing Well Laundryteria, 841 Bourbon St, (504) 523-9955 Bear Hebert Yoga and Life Coach, bearteachesyoga.com NOLA Healer: Lawrence Gobble, nolahealer.com , Massage Therapy A&B Errand Services, (504) 3197227, aandberrandservices.com Flambeaux CrossFit, 505 N Causeway Blvd, Metairie, flambeauxcrossfit.com

THEATERS

Cafe Istanbul, 2372 St. Claude Ave #140, (504) 974-0786, cafeistanbulnola.com Southern Rep Theater, 2541 Bayou Road, (504) 522-6545, southernrep. com

TOURS

Crescent City Tours, 638 St. Ann, (504) 568-0717, Gay New Orleans Walking Tours

HOUSTON

BARS & CLUBS

Rich’s, 2401 San Jacinto Street, www. facebook.com/richshouston

48 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

LGBTQ Owned & Friendly Business Directory JR’s, 808 Pacific Street, (713) 5212519, jrsbarandgrill.com

Acadiana Pride, acadianapride.org

Eagle Houston, 611 Hyde Park Blvd, (713) 523-2473, houstoneagle.com

Pride of SWLA, Date TBA, prideofswla. org, info@prideofswla.org

Guava Lamp, 570 Waugh Drive, (713) 524-3359, guavalamphouston.com

Date

TBA,

HEALTHCARE

Pearl Houston, 4216 Washington Ave281.757-3229, facebook.com/ pearlbarhouston/

HAART (HIV AIDS Alliance Region Two, Inc), 4550 North Blvd. Ste 250, Baton Rouge, (225) 927-1269, haartinc.org

Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon, 11410 Hempstead Rd, (713) 6770828, neonbootsclub.com

Krewe of Apollo de Baton Rouge, apollobatonrouge.com

Ripcord, 715 Fairview St, (713) 5212792, theripcord.com

Krewe of Apollo kreweofapollo.com

The Ranch Hill Saloon, 24704 Interstate 45 Ste 103, (281) 298-9035, ranchhill.com Axelrad, 1517 Alabama St, (713) 5978800, alexradbeergarden.com Poison Girl Cocktail Lounge, 1641 Westheimer Rd. Ste B, (713) 5279929, poisongirlbar.com

CIRCUIT / EVENT

Houston Pride, June 22, pridehouston. org The Woodlands Pride, September, thewoodlandstxpride.wordpress.com QFEST, Houston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, q-fest.com

ORGANIZATIONS

UH LGBTQ Resource Center, 4465 University Drive, (832) 842-6191, www.uh.edu/lgbtq The Montrose Center, 401 Branard Street, (713) 529-0037, montrosecenter.org AIDS Foundation of Houston, 6260 Westpark Dr. Suite 100, (713) 6236796, aidshelp.org

PHARMACY

Avita Pharmacy, 6800 West Loop South Ste 225, (713) 592-0211, avitapharmacy.com

SOUTH LOUISIANA BARS & CLUBS

Splash, 2183 Highland Rd, Baton Rouge, (225) 242-949, splashbr.com

ORGANIZATIONS de

Lafayette,

PHARMACY

Avita Pharmacy, 5551 Corporate Blvd, Baton Rouge, avitapharmacy. com

NORTHERN LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI & ALABAMA BARS & CLUBS

Club Pink, 1914 Roselawn Avenue, Monroe, myclubpink.com Central Station, 1025 Marshall St, Shreveport, (318) 222-2216 The Korner Lounge, 800 Louisiana Ave, Shreveport, thekornerlounge. com Wonderlust, 3911 Drive, Jackson, (337) wonderlustjackson.com

Northview 378-9003,

Our Place, 2115 7th Ave Birmingham, (205) 715-0077

S,

Club 322, 322 N Lawrence Street, Montgomery, club322.business.site Icon, 516 Greensboro Ave, Tuscaloosa

CAMPING

CIRCUIT / EVENT

CIRCUIT / EVENT

Gulf Coast Pride, June 29, 2019, Biloxi, MA, gcpride.org

Birminham,

RELIGION

Safe Harbor Family Church, safeharborfamilychurch.org Joshua Generation joshuageneration.rocks

MCC,

GULF COAST BARS & CLUBS

Sexacola, May 23, Pensacola, FL, sexacolabeach.com Memorial Weekend Pensacola, Pensacola, FL, johnnychisholm.com Pensacola Pride, June 15-16, facebook.com/pensacolapride

HEALTHCARE

The Midtown Pub, 153 Foorida Street, Mobile, (251) 450-1555

Oasis Florida, 25 E Wright Street, (850) 429-7551, oasisflorida.org

Gabriel’s Downtown, 55 South Joachmin Street, Mobile, (251) 4324900

Coastal Family Health Care, 1046 Division St, Biloxi, coastalfamilyhealth. org

B-Bob’s, 213 Conti Street, Mobile (251) 433-2262, b-bobs.com Flip Side Bar & Patio, 545 S. Conception Street, Mobile, (251) 4318819, flipsidebarpatio.com

HIV CARE AND SERVICES

My Brothers Keeper, 407 Orchard Park, Ridgeland, MS, (769) 257-7721, mbkinc.org

ORGANIZATIONS

The Roundup 560 East Heinberg Street, Pensacola, (850) 433-8482

Order of Osiris, PO Box 1991, Mobile, AL, orderofosiris.com

Cabaret, 101 S Jefferson Street E, Pensacola, (850) 607-2020

Order of Dinoysus D’Iberville, MS, https://www.facebook.com/Order-OfDionysus

Rumors Biloxi, 3540 Bienville Blvd, Biloxi, (228) 875-4131 Just Us Lounge, 906 Division Street, Biloxi, (228) 374-1007 Sipps Bar Gulfport, 2218 25th Ave, Gulfport, (228) 206-7717, sippsgulfport.com

Gulf Coast Transgender Alliance, (850) 332-8416, gulfcoasttransgenderalliance.com, gctransgenderalliance@gmail.com Gay Grassroots, 6847 N. 9th Avenue, Ste A, Box 317, Pensacola, ggnwfl. com

Chapel Bar, 620 27th Street S, Brirmingham, (205) 703-9778, chapelbarinfo@gmail.com

The Park Pub & Bar, 4619 Benningotn Ave, Baton Rouge, Facebook @ theparkbr

Baton Rouge Pride, June 15, brpride. org

Krewe of Apollo mkabirmingham.com

Quest Bar, 416 24th Street S, Birmingham, (205) 251-4313, info@ quest-club.com

George’s Place, 860 St. Louis St, Baton Rouge, (225) 387-9798, georgesplacebr.com

Crystals, 112 W. Broad St, Lake Charles, (337) 433-5457

CIRCUIT / EVENT

Mobile Pride, October 5, 2019, Mobile, AL, mobpride.org

Al’s on 7th Street, 2627 7th Ave S, Birmingham, (205) 422-4218

Wildwoods Hideaway, Eutaw, AL, (205) 860-0836, wildwoodshideaway. com

Bolt, 114 McKinley St, Lafayette, (337) 534-4913, facebook.com/boltlaffy

ORGANIZATIONS

The Spectrum Center, 210 S 25th Ave, Hattiesburg, (601) 909-5338

CENLA Pride, May 31 - June 2, Alexandria, LA, facebook.com/ cenlaclasspride

Get Listed for $10 per Issue Want to see your business, organization, or event in our next issue?

Email Ambush sales@ambushpublishing.com

Oxford Pride, April 28-May 5, Oxford MS, oxfordmspride.rocks Central Alabama Pride, June 1-10, 2019, Birmingham, AL, facebook. com/centralalabamaprideinc Druid City Pride, October 2019, Tuscaloosa, AL, druidcitypride.org

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 49

COMICS, PUZZLES & HOROSCOPES CROSSWORD ACROSS 4) Known for his sexually charged, and often graphic, photos, he used his camera to document how AIDS affected him personally.

8) The Indiana teen that got the virus from a blood transfusion as a treatment for hemophilia. After his death in 1990, President Bush signed the ______ CARE Act. 9) Best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in the 1960’s classic Psycho.

10) He won an Oscar for his role in the 1956 film Giant, starring along size Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.

11) In November 2015, this actor revealed that he’d been living with HIV for at least four years. He is a spokesman for a Swedish brand of condoms and a public advocate for safe sex.

12) Gold medal Olympic diver.

DOWN 1) Mike Brady, the father of three sons in a blended family known as The Brady Bunch. _____, who was gay, hid

his sexuality during his decades in Hollywood. His death, originally attributed to colon cancer, was later found to have been hastened by AIDS. 2) 1994 star of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco was the first openly gay man with HIV to appear on TV. 3) He got HIV wile using the powerful street drug crystal meth, but is known for starring in the ‘80s sitcom Who’s the Boss?.

5) Famous Frontman for the band Queen 6) Also known as, Eva Destruction, she comes from an acting family that includes David, Rosanna, and Patricia.

7) Famous pianist known for his overthe top performances, costumes, and piano-top candelabra.

9) Known to TV fans as Miss Kitty on the 1960’s show Gunsmoke, she became the first well-known actress to die from AIDS.

Ideals for a crossword? Email us at info@ambushpublishing.com!

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50 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

HOROSCOPES

Messages from the Oracle in New Orleans Dan Beck, #1 Astrologer in New Orleans dan@innermakeup.net Astrology was originally understood as omens, prophecies, and oracles. Whenever you go to a psychic, tarot reader, or an astrologer like me, you’re engaging with the possibilities of the future. But modern astrology is also the alignment of the heavens at your moment of birth that serves as the signature of your personality. This combination of your star chart and sun sign—Aries, Taurus, etc.—and the usage of that tool to divine the future is here for your taking. Astrology offers the LGBTQ community a chance to reclaim a space lost to modern science and religion. Ancient pagan cultures venerated divination and celebrated what we now recognize as modern gay elements. These horoscopes are for your entertainment, so let’s start the party that will take us to the stars!

The infamous Mercury Retrograde has come to a close. During the last few weeks there was tremendous opportunity to gain insights into all the areas in life that go unseen. Hopefully this went reasonably well for you. Or if it was a disaster, hey, you still learned something. But the knowledge you acquired translates into true, penetrating power. The question is, how will you use this newfound wisdom? Will you continue to go deeper, probing the depths of your psyche and use what you’ve gained towards creative ends? Or will you use this new power to manipulate, coerce, or control? Regardless, these are the materials with which you have been endowed.

There is an opening here for you to seriously engage with the occult, and if you do, proceed with caution.

Going into the darkness is necessary, but make sure you have some sort of guiding light. Fresh as your newly transfigured self may be, armed and ready, don’t take unnecessary risks.

Getting spiritual can nourish the soul but it can also deplete it and take it out of the material realm which we inhabit.

You feel lonely in this process which is a sojourn, but striking out by yourself will ironically bring you new friends. Be careful, though, as there are people on the road who have less than good intentions.

ARIES

March 21 - April 19 Now is the time to act on a financial matter you’ve been mulling over.

This has to do with joint finances, taxes, wills, or inheritances. You have the chance to get to the bottom of things

over the next couple of months. You might have to learn a thing or two about forensic finance but once you do, you’re flying high.

TAURUS

April 20 - May 20 There is some hidden money related to your father that is yet undiscovered. You might have to be crafty to get to it, but you’ll enjoy the journey of unearthing what will be your treasure.

This will also take you on a spiritual journey that connects you more deeply to your father’s history, so this search will be valuable for the money you’ll find but invaluable for the experience.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 20 In the last couple weeks of November, you find yourself benefiting from a great relationship. Make sure you plan for the future with this partnership because in the coming year it will become more about building long term structures than enjoying fun and games.

Real partnership is not about the good times but making sure you have the shelter to weather the bad times.

CANCER

June 21 - July 22 You might have had your eyes on a coworker. The romantic attraction is reaching its climax right now. You have a choice to make—observe your own behavior from a detached, analytical vantage point or dive headfirst into a steamy affair. Unrequited love can be masochistically satisfying and love that can lead to one’s undoing is sometimes worth the price if it can help you transcend the often mundane nature of existence.

Whether you’ve lost touch or been estranged there is a real chance to connect deeply with them. This might not necessarily be easy but you can act on some issues that have been blocking a more fruitful relationship. The key is to listen to one another and even hold hands and hug as Mars’ location is in “the hand.”

LIBRA

September 23 - October 22 This is a great time to make a move with regard to your finances. What is a big change you could make with your money that could result in considerable gains? I’m thinking that some of your money that has been tied up with institutions related to real estate might need restructuring. As long as you know the motivations of those with whom you’re dealing, you’re in the driver’s seat.

SCORPIO

October 23 - November 21 For the next couple of months you’ll be focused on yourself in a very active way. A partner, however, could be disruptive. Don’t let this bother you.

You do have a tendency to get in deep with others, but if you continue to focus on yourself, this relationship will not trip you up.

SAGITTARIUS

November 22 - December 21 You have a deep, pressing need to transform spiritually. This type of spirituality takes on a darker more occult tone and is a contrast to traditional forms of spirituality. You find solace in visiting a cemetery and paying your respects to a loved one or at least meditating on the impermanence of life.

This will allow you to appreciate what you have all the more.

CAPRICORN

December 22 - January 19 By the beginning of December you’ll get a much needed boost to your general sense of self. This will last for the next year. Physically you’ll be doing well but don’t press your luck. Get into the headspace of envisioning what’s possible and using your good fortune to that end.

AQUARIUS

January 20 - February 18 This is a great time to make some moves in your career. Whether you change careers or change the way your career is functioning, for the next couple of months, you make a transformation. This might not be easy, but it is right. You’ll thank yourself that you made these moves when you did.

PISCES

February 19 - March 20 You have a great window through the end of November to enjoy the fruits of your career. Enjoy these last couple of weeks through Thanksgiving because the next few weeks will see social networks taking precedent. Make sure those outings don’t deplete you, and make the most practical use of your contacts. Like Joan Rivers said, at the end of the day, it’s all business.

I’m Dan Beck, #1 Astrologer in New Orleans. Contact me for readings, parties, events, corporate trainings, and more at dan@innermakeup.net or by calling 504-313-8706. Visit http:// www.innermakeup.net

LEO

July 23 - August 22 The next couple of weeks you feel that your expressive, performative powers are at their highest. This is an area where you excel. But out of all the signs, you might have the greatest chance to use this power for creative purposes or towards manipulative ends. The choice is yours but remember that the coercion of others actually leads one to loneliness.

VIRGO

August 23 - September 22 It would be a good idea to reinitiate communication with your siblings.

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 51

SPORTS No. 1 LSU gets job done at Ole Miss despite huge cracks in defensive armor Ken Trahan, Crescent City Sports You can analyze it any way you would like.

LSU looked like a tired, somewhat flat and banged-up football team in Oxford Saturday night.

Call it the Alabama effect.

Joe Burrow had 17 straight completions at one point, which is a new school record. The LSU offense amassed 714 yards in a 58-37 victory.

LSU started the night giving up just 100.7 yards rushing per game, 13th in the nation. On this night, the Tigers were a sieve, allowing 402 yards on the ground. Overall, the Tigers gave up an astonishing 614 yards to a losing team.

John Rhys Plumlee had 21 carries for 212 yards and four touchdowns.

For good measure, the Rebels, who do not throw the ball well, passed for 212 yards and a score.

That does not speak to a team that is a true contender to be a national champion.

You can only hope it was an aberration.

It is the SEC. You most certainly cannot take anything or anyone for granted, including an arch-rival that would love to do nothing more than wreck your season (see Atlanta Falcons).

Still, the matador style LSU defense against the run cannot be ignored or passed along as a letdown or “not ready to play” narrative.

It is a real concern.

Linebackers failed to make plays.

Safeties took bad angles. Defensive linemen did not get off blocks. The secondary, said to be loaded with NFL players, was poor on this night.

Dave Aranda looked perplexed.

He certainly had no answers in terms of adjustments, what to do.

Burrow had his second 400 yard passing game of the season.

Burrow had four interceptions all

season entering the game. He exited the game with six total.

Tell the truth Monday will result in a harsh reality.

This LSU defense has a long way to go if the Tigers are going to be a national champion.

You cannot expect Burrow to play at an elite level every time out. He did pass for 489 yards and five touchdowns, despite throwing a pair of interceptions, finishing 32-of-42 for 489 yards and five touchdowns. He added nine carries for 26 yards.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire finished with a career-high 172 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown.

Ja’Marr Chase continued his brilliant season with eight catches for 227 yards and three touchdowns while Justin Jefferson had nine catches for 112 yards and two scores.

The good news is that LSU won the game, surviving.

The bad news is that there is an awful lot to fix.

The Tigers are 10-0 and host a terrible Arkansas team that fired its head coach in-season. It should be a layup before LSU should be suitably motivated to avenge last year’s brutal loss at Texas A&M. LSU is still on track for a very special season. Ed Orgeron has done a masterful job.

Still, when you watched the Georgia defense play at Auburn, that is what a national championship contending defense looks like. Fortunately, Georgia does not have LSU’s offense. Ohio State is capable of playing championship defense. The same is true of Clemson. LSU has a lot of work to do.

This article was originally published

by Crescent City Sports. For the most comprehensive sports coverage in the Big Easy, visit crescentcitysports.com.

Tulane competes at Temple but falls on road again Ken Trahan, Crescent City Sports Tulane competes, falls short on road again (Ken Trahan) The effort was good. The opportunity was there. In the end, the better team won. It is a familiar theme on the road for Tulane football.

Favored Temple passed it well, forced turnovers and kicked it well in a 29-21 win at Lincoln Financial Field Saturday.

It was an uphill battle from the start as Temple scored off of an early Green Wave turnover and never trailed.

The Owls built leads of 13-0 and 22-7 and held off the Green Wave.

Tulane did have a shot late in the game, with the ball and a chance to tie, but could not get the job done.

The Green Wave rely on shortening the game with their excellent running game and limiting snaps for the opposition but in this game, Tulane barely won time of possession with 30:41 to just 29:19 for Temple. Each team had 22 first downs.

The conditions made it tough to throw the football and when going into the wind, it was extremely difficult.

Justin McMillan struggled throughout, though he did suffer a couple of drops. McMillan completed just 11-of27 passes for 103 yards with an interception. He did rush 17 times for 64 yards but also lost a fumble. He was involved in jawing with Temple defenders all afternoon.

In fact, Tulane committed three

turnovers and that is hard to overcome on the road as an underdog against a good team. The Green Wave could not do so. The turnover issue has really become a problem for McMillan and Tulane over the past several weeks now.

Tulane did rush for 203 yards but little or no passing game to compliment the run.

While conditions were tough to throw in, Anthony Russo and Todd Centeio calmed the winds, combining to complete 26-of-44 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. Tulane had no answer for Jadan Blue, who caught 12 passes for 131 yards and a score.

Will Mobley kicked three field goals for the Owls while Merek Glover had a field goal attempt missed when he kicked it very low, into his blockers.

Glover did make all of his extra points to remain perfect on the season.

The Green Wave also had no answer for defensive end Quincy Roche, who had 12 tackles, including six tackles for loss and three sacks and lived in the backfield the entire game. It certainly would have been nice to see some double-team help on Roche, who had his way all day.

Jaylon Monroe had the interception for Tulane.

Temple overcame nine penalties for 106 yards.

Now 6-4 and 3-3 in the American

52 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

ter Hardware n & Bath

2019 Saints Season Schedule W

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L 34-25

Friday August 09

Minnesota Vikings

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Sunday August 18

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3:00 PM

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Saturday August 24

at New York Jets

6:30 PM

L 16-13

Thursday August 29

Miami Dolphins

7:00 PM

Regular Season

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Monday September 09

Houston Texans

6:10 PM

L 27-09

Sunday September 15

at Los Angeles Rams

3:25 PM

W 33-27

Sunday September 22

at Seattle Seahawks

3:25 PM

W 12-10

Sunday September 29

Dallas Cowboys

7:20 PM

W 31-24

Sunday October 06

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

12:00 PM

W 13-06

Sunday October 13

at Jacksonville Jaguars

12:00 PM

W 36-25

Sunday October 20

at Chicago Bears

3:25 PM

W 31-09

Sunday October 27

Arizona Cardinals

12:00 PM

Sunday November 03

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Sunday November 10

Atlanta Falcons

12:00 PM

Sunday November 17

at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

12:00 PM

Sunday November 24

Carolina Panters

12:00 PM

Thursday November 28

at Atlanta Falcons

7:20 PM

Sunday December 08

San Francisco 49ers

12:00 PM

Monday December 16

Indianapolis Colts

7:15 PM

Sunday December 22

at Tennessee Titans

12:00 PM

Sunday December 29

at Carolina Panters

12:00 PM

www.GayMardiGras.com · www.GayEasterParade.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · 53

Conference, Tulane will likely have to beat Central Florida next Saturday to secure a winning season as the final game of the regular season has Tulane at SMU, a superb team that will be solidly favored.

Tulane has proven that it can win at home and while UCF is a good team, the Green Wave have a shot to get the job done. What Tulane has not proven is that it can win on the road in conference play. That is the next step that must be taken in the progression of the program that Willie Fritz is building.

TEMPLE 29, TULANE 21 – POSTGAME NOTES (27,850 – Attendance) TEAM NOTES • With the loss to Temple, the Green Wave moved to 6-4 on the year.

• Tulane dropped to 11-5 in its last 16 games dating back to last season.

• Tulane fell to 1-4 all-time against Temple.

• The Green Wave have dropped the last four meetings to Temple.

• The Green Wave were outgained

by Temple 402-333.

• Team captains for today’s game were QB Justin McMillan, WR Darnell Mooney, LB Lawrence Graham, S PJ Hall, and DL De’Andre Williams.

• Junior DL Cameron Sample carried the New Orleans flag. Senior Geron Eatherly carried the American Athletic Conference Power 6 flag.

• Freshman OL Sincere Haynesworth carried the No. 18 flag in honor of Devon Walker.

• With the loss, head coach Willie Fritz fell to 215-99-1 all-time. Fritz owns a 41-25 mark in the month of November.

OFFENSIVE NOTES • The Green Wave offensive starters were QB Justin McMillan, RB Stephon Huderson, RB Amare Jones, TE Tyrick James, WR Darnell Mooney, WR Jalen McCleskey, OL Sincere Haynesworth, OL Keyshawn McLeod, OL Corey Dublin, OL Christian Montano and OL Joey Claybrook.

• Mooney made his 38th consecutive start, while Dublin made his 35th straight start.

• With its three rushing scores, Tulane now has 29 touchdowns on the ground this year, which is tied for third all-time in a single season.

• Tulane has now scored points in 32 of 39 quarters this season.

• Tulane finished the game with 203 rushing yards. The Green Wave have now surpassed 200 yards rushing in eight of their 10 games this season.

• The Green Wave have now surpassed 100 yards rushing in 50 straight games.

• McMillan dropped to 11-5 all-time as a starter.

• McMillan finished with a teamhigh 64 yards rushing.

• Redshirt freshman Cameron Carroll rushed for a single-game career high two touchdowns.

• Sophomore Tyrick James tied a

career high with four receptions. His four receptions led the team.

• Mooney extended his consecutive catch streak to 29 games, as he hauled in three receptions for 38 yards.

DEFENSIVE NOTES • The Green Wave defensive starters were DL Patrick Johnson, DL De’Andre Williams, DL Cameron Sample, DL Michael Hinton, LB Lawrence Graham, LB Marvin Moody, CB Jaylon Monroe, S P.J. Hall, S Chase Kuerschen, and CB Thakarius Keyes.

• Junior cornerback Jaylon Monroe hauled in his second interception of the year.

• Tulane now has 13 turnovers gained this year (nine interceptions and four fumble recoveries).

• Senior PJ Hall led the Green Wave with nine tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES • Sophomore Amare Jones finished the game with 119 kickoff return yards. Jones finished the game with 156 all-purpose yards.

• Redshirt junior K Merek Glover connected on all three of his extra point tries. Glover is a perfect 42-of-42 in extra points this season.

This article was originally published

by Crescent City Sports. For the most comprehensive sports coverage in the Big Easy, visit crescentcitysports.com.

54 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · Nov 19 - Dec 2, 2019 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com