GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine - December 2011

DECEMBER 2011 ISSUE 98 • FREE

magazine

The Voice of Alberta’s LGBT Community

Jann Arden Uncovered Again!

Four OH! Michael Lucas

Kaya Jones

Boyfriend has a Boyfriend

PLUS:

Kent Hehr Scott Thompson The Wizard of Oz ...and more!

Business Directory

Scan to Read on Mobile Devices http://gettag.mobi

Community Maps

Calgary • Edmonton • Alberta

Events Calendar

Tourist Information

With Bells On

Ringing in the Season STARTING ON PAGE 17

www.gaycalgary.com

2

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 5

Fishing Lessons

8

Pride Centre of Edmonton Recovers After Summer Fire

9

Attitudes at Work

Printers

Transcontinental Printing

Distribution

Calgary: Gallant Distribution, GayCalgary Staff Edmonton: Clark’s Distribution Other: Canada Post

Legal Council

Courtney Aarbo, Barristers and Solicitors

Sales & General Inquiries

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine 2136 17th Avenue SW Calgary, AB, Canada T2T 0G3

Office Hours: By appointment ONLY Phone: 403-543-6960 Toll Free: 1-888-543-6960 Fax: 403-703-0685 E-Mail: magazine@gaycalgary.com This Month's Cover Main: Jann Arden, courtesy of Universal Music, Top Right: Michael Lucas, Mid Right: Kaya Jones, Bottom Right: Paul Welch, photo by Ian Jackson

Proud Members of:

Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association

Kids in the Hall comedian on why straight white men have it hard and how bullied kids should ‘grow a pair’

13 J. Edgar: The (Gay?) Man Behind The Mask Out screenwriter talks Eastwood’s ‘loving’ take on J. Edgar and DiCaprio’s turn as a powerful closet case

15 Lesbians Have a New Place to Meet Up 17 Directory and Events 23 World AIDS Day: Remembering Those We Lost 23 Help Us Make It A Happy Hamper Holiday 25 Multi-Colour Fun

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat comes alive at Stage West

26 Why the Umbrella Failed Part 4: Conclusions

28 Ring in the Holidays With Bells On

Guys in Disguise offers theatre goers a refreshing Yuletide comedic treat

30 Deep Inside Hollywood 31 Cocktail Chatter

Drinking Alone with Friends: The Yankee Mint Julep

32 Kaya’s Boyfriend Has A Boyfriend The Canadian ex-Pussycat Doll’s mutual gay adoration

34 Our Friend Dorothy National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association

PAGE 13

Videography

Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino

10 Scott Thompson: Up Close & Personal

PAGE 25

Photography

Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino, B&J, BT McDonald

Working LGB experience tolerance, yet still some discrimination

PAGE 10

Writers and Contributors

Chris Azzopardi, Dallas Barnes, Dave Brousseau, Jason Clevett, Andrew Collins, Rob Diaz-Marino, Janine Eva Trotta, Jack Fertig, Glen Hanson, Robert Herman, Joan Hilty, Evan Kayne, Stephen Lock, Randy Myer, Allan Neuwirth, Steve Polyak, Carey Rutherford, Romeo San Vicente, Jamie Schneider, Ed Sikov and the LGBT Community of Calgary, Edmonton, and Alberta.

Publisher’s Column

ATP brings the Wonderful Wizard to life

PAGE 28

Publisher: Steve Polyak Editor: Rob Diaz-Marino Sales: Steve Polyak Design & Layout: Rob Diaz-Marino, Steve Polyak

Continued on Next Page  www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

3

Table of Contents  Continued From Previous Page

36 Out of Town

Texas Coast: Galveston, Corpus Christi, and South Padre Island Magazine Figures

38 Fundraising Photos

Monthly Print Quantity:

PAGE 32

40 MANLY MOSES 42 Hear Me Out… for the holidays Michael Bublé, Glee

44 Bitter Girl

Proof of monthly figures are available on request.

45 FOUR – OH!!

Michael Lucas Enters His Fourth Decade

PAGE 40

47 ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

48 Jann Arden

A conversation with Calgary’s favorite daughter

52 Chelsea Boys

53 Kent Hehr

MLA blazing the trail for the 99 percent

55 Queer Eye 60 Classified Ads

PAGE 45

Scan for Latest Issue

http://gettag.mobi http://www.gaycalgary.com/RSS

Articles • Recent News • Prize Draws • Events • Travel Info http://www.gaycalgary.com/Twitter

Follow us on Twitter for articles, weekly news and updates!

PAGE 48

Please call us if your establishment would like to become a distribution location.

History Originally established in January 1992 as Men for Men BBS by MFM Communications. Name changed to GayCalgary in 1998. Independent company as of January 2004. First edition of GayCalgary.com Magazine published November 2003. Name adjusted in November 2006 to GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine.

Disclaimer and Copyright

Think ahead, Sagittarius!

http://www.gaycalgary.com/Facebook http://www.gaycalgary.com/FacebookFan

Join us on Facebook for articles, weekly news and updates! http://www.gaycalgary.com/i98

More articles and exclusive content online!

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

Distribution Locations:

Calgary: 160, Edmonton: 120 Other Alberta Cities: 15 Other Provinces: 35 United States: 15

Opinions expressed in this magazine are specific to the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of GayCalgary staff and contributors.

62 Q Scopes

4

Readership

Readers Per Copy: 4.9 (PMB) Print Readership: >41,650 Avg. Online Circulation: 150,000 readers Estimated Total Readership: >191,650 readers Frequency: Monthly

43 A Couple of Guys

Scan for this Issue

9,000–11,000 copies Guaranteed Circulation: 8,500 copies Bonus Circulation: 500–2,500 copies

Those involved in the making of this publication, whether advertisers, contributors, or the subjects of articles or photographs, are not necessarily gay, lesbian, bisexual, or trans. This magazine also includes straight allies and those who are gay friendly.

No part of this publication may be reprinted or modified without the expressed written permission of the editor or publisher.

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

GayCalgary is a registered trademark.

JAN 2012 Print Deadlines Ad Booking: Thu, Dec 29th

Submission: Tue, Jan 3rd In Circulation: Thu, Jan 5th Please contact us immediately if you think you may have missed the booking or submission deadline. www.gaycalgary.com

Editorial

Fishing Lessons Publisher’s Column

By Rob Diaz-Marino, MSc. In my monthly columns, I’ve enjoyed writing about the many success stories within our community: non-profit groups and businesses that have proven a little effort applied smartly can overcome almost any obstacle. In fact, I have a few such stories to talk about later in this column, but first I want to share something different – a story of mostly failure.

I say “mostly” because there are still a few gems that deserve commendation for their efforts, who pulled something of a success from a losing situation. But I want this story to give the right people a good kick in the ass for their shortsightedness, poor planning, lame excuses, and self-defeating attitude. Yes this will be a rant…it’s been a while since the last time.

We at GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine work hard to create opportunities for local LGBT businesses and community groups to help themselves. It’s the nature of our line of business to create potential, and that means the benefit of the space we offer directly correlates to the amount of effort and thought that our customers and community partners put into developing it.

To borrow from the popular metaphor, we’re not giving anyone a “fish”, only a fishing rod.

The frustrating part is that when a poor effort is made by any one of these outside organizations and they don’t see the response or returns that they hoped for, we are often blamed. It doesn’t matter that we’re going above and beyond in our job to get them the exposure that we promise, and able to prove that we’re delivering on that promise. We’re giving them a perfectly good, tried and tested fishing rod, but we are blamed that it doesn’t catch enough “fish” when they’ve applied the wrong bait, or thrown in a bare hook.

It all boils down to one simple cosmic rule: when you put garbage in, you get garbage out. This month we witnessed a microcosm of this play out for our whole community, at our booth at the Taboo shows in Calgary and Edmonton.

Many months in advance (in some cases nearly a whole year), we put out invitations and had discussions with the major nonprofit groups that we deal with in both cities. We were asking them to send representatives to spend some time over the 3-4 days of the show to fundraise or otherwise promote their organizations. We stepped up our game at the show with an additional two booths opposite our usual double-booth space, where we had our own mini-stage and spotlight (courtesy of Club Sapien) for performances, and additional tables for groups to sell product and put out pamphlets. In addition to this all,

www.gaycalgary.com

we were still offering our services to help the ISCCA, ISCWR, and Misc Youth put on the picture booth fundraiser, and our hope was that seeing these performers doing their thing onstage would create further demand for photos with them.

The potential was awesome for our community to come together, engage the show’s audience, give an upbeat impression of what Alberta’s LGBT community is all about, and raise some good money.

But the term “shit show” doesn’t begin to describe the diverse assortment of dysfunctions, failings, and excuses that we saw come up to defeat this idea. Steve and I have never been so unimpressed with our community groups in general - it was a great opportunity mostly squandered. And it’s not like this opportunity just fell into our laps either; we put in our own time, effort, and resources to make it happen, and certainly Taboo also made some concessions for us to do all of this in the hopes that it would add to the unique experience of their show.

In retrospect, Calgary’s show was not so bad. According to Joey the ISCCA signed up nearly 20 individuals to volunteer at the booth, to raise funds by selling leis and to help push photos. To their own disappointment, most of those individuals didn’t show up. Instead of getting discouraged, those who did turn up worked a good deal harder.

Dale was a force to be reckoned with, tirelessly selling leis and helping to line up photos for all 4 days of the show. Never once did he complain or let on that he may have been feeling tired – he kept a good face forward at all times, and his energy got people excited about the fundraiser and wanting to participate.

The dynamic duo of Joey (aka. Lucy Fur) and Marina were with us all days but Sunday. While Marina managed cash, Joey was actively chatting up passersby to sell photos or performing songs on the stage to drum up interest. On Thursday, the first day of the show, he and Ruby had our photo printer backlogged by an hour compelling us to bring in a second printer to keep up with the volume.

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

5

Over the course of the weekend we saw Ruby Hart, current reigning Empress Makayla Quinn St. Asia, Dyna Myte, Dark Tear, April Showers, Electronica, Toby Continued, Bulldozer, and Kiwi show up and contribute to various degrees by performing on the stage and getting in on photos. We definitely cannot criticize the effort from the ISCCA this year – and it was well worth it because they raised just over $2500 from selling 308 photos, and we estimate 500 leis.

Misc Youth had planned to sell their swag at the booth but their show at the Junction in Edmonton the week prior had completely cleaned them out. Members from the group still showed up to get in on the action by doing some performances and photos, though they were fairly laid back. They took away just under $100 for the couple of hours they spent at the show on Friday and Saturday.

Justine B. showed up on Friday and Saturday, representing Pride Calgary, to sell rainbow-themed merchandise. Despite being somewhat shy, she was able to bring in around $600 for her efforts, and even performed a drag number or two for fun.

Those were the gems that made the Calgary show worth all the trouble. As great as that is, if everything had gone as we had hoped, imagine how much more they and other groups could have raised!

So immediately after Calgary’s show was over with, we redoubled our efforts trying to get Edmonton’s community organized for the Edmonton Taboo show two weeks later.

Despite this push, Edmonton’s show was just about a total write-off.

Running from Thursday to Saturday, there was no feasible way around me missing work and so I had to take two days off at a very inconvenient time. We had to make arrangements for our cats to get through three and a half days without us there to administer their daily medical treatments. We were late getting out the door because of incessant phone calls and although we arrived ahead of time in Edmonton, the rush hour traffic swallowed up that lead and then some. My head was about ready to explode from the stress by the time we arrived at the Northlands Agricom building. It was difficult to put on a smile for most of the day, but I began to mellow out again once our booth was set up.

The conditions were not ideal. Our area was pretty dark.

Our loudspeakers, which were perfectly sufficient for the show in Calgary, were entirely drowned out by the sound from the stage to one side, and the seminar area to the other. Only when cranked to full volume could one hear our music for drag numbers.

The ISCWR was the only community group that we were expecting to see that weekend. This still seemed promising because they had done a stellar job in past years selling photos, pom-poms and chocolates, and we were determined to see them do even better this year. But without drag queens for good chunks of the weekend, the photo idea was lost on many that came by our booth. With not a single extrovert amongst the

Online Last Month (1/2) Falling Backwards explores the life of Jann Arden

Often people look at the contrast with Jann Arden the person – upbeat, warm hearted, and hilarious – with her sad and... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2582

“A Behanding in Spokane” an Adrenaline Rush

A Behanding in Spokane is Ground Zero Theatre/Hit and Myth Productions third play

by Martin McDonagh after successful runs... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2583

The Tea Party Returns

Iconic Canadian band returns to Alberta this week The last time Calgary & Edmonton experienced the Tea Party live in concert was a summer tour opening for Def Leppard in 2005. Singer... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2584

Book Marks

Moffie Moffie, by Andre Carl van der Merwe. Europa Editions, 368 pages, $15 paper. Young Nicholas Van der Swart, already scorned by his strict ... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2585

Creep of the Week

Proposition 8 Legal Defense team Hey, did you hear the one about the judge who ruled against Prop 8 in California being a homo? And how his ruling shouldn’t... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2600

Deep Inside Hollywood

Jena Malone aims for “Lonely Hunter” Jena Malone aims for Lonely Hunter She was married to a man, but Southern literary icon Carson McCullers, the author of The Heart... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2590

Hear Me Out

Björk, Indigo Girls Björk, Biophilia Breaking down Björk isn’t easy.

The Icelandic dancer in the dark’s unpredictable output, ever since 1993’s electro-pop Debut... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2591

Creep of the Week

Keith Ablow Full disclosure: I do not watch “Dancing With the Stars.” In fact, I can’t even say I’ve ever intentionally viewed it unless you count... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2587

The OutField

Gay Sports’ Hot 100 To John Amaechi’s long list of achievements – former NBA basketball player, gay activist, human rights advocate – add another: Order... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2593

Thinking Out Loud: Am I post-gay yet?

Or am I just overcompensating for old gay stereotypes?

Have you become complacent about being gay? I have. As LGBT rights evolve, and LGBT life becomes more normalized to mainstream America, some of us... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2594

6

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Online Last Month (2/2) The Tea Party Steams Up Flames Central It was -30 degrees outside on Stephen Avenue on November 19th, but inside Flames Central The Tea Party had no issues heating up the packed room for... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2601 Rhythm Nation

STOMP makes music out of unlikely items

Music can come from the most surprising of places. STOMP markes two decades since it was first created in the UK with a tour that is running at the... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2602 Book Marks

The Art of Fielding

The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach.

Little, Brown, 524 pages, $25.99 hardcover. College baseball is merely the surface subject of Harbach’s ... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2586 Creep of the Week John Boehner

The Defense of Marriage Act makes John Boehner weep. Not because of how sadistically cruel it is to gays and lesbians, nor how unconstitutional. No, ... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2588 Thinking Outloud: Why My Marriage Matters

A marriage doubter changes her tune

It’s my wedding anniversary today and I’m 6000 miles away from my partner, sitting in an English café. Being all alone and so far away is making... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2595 Hear Me Out

Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert

Kelly Clarkson, Stronger If Kelly Clarkson wasn’t making music, you have to wonder: Where would she take out her wronged-woman rage? It’s a scary... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2592 Creep of the Week Linda Harvey

Your son just fell off the monkey bars, shattering a kneecap and busting out some teeth. Your kid is screaming in pain, blood all over his face, and... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2589 And more...

www.gaycalgary.com

volunteers that stayed with us loyally for most of the show, the leis did little more than decorate their arms as they stared off into space and people walked by.

At first we allowed them some time to warm up to it on their own, but as Steve and I watched them calcify into statues we began to get slightly annoyed. We didn’t go through all this trouble just to waste everyone’s time, so we started pushing them to get out there into the aisle and start talking to people.

When some of them made excuses that people looked like they wouldn’t be interested, Steve tried leading by example to prove them wrong. In fact, more often than not those people were indeed interested - all Steve had to do was talk to them to explain why we had leis and drag queens, explain that we were fundraising for particular charitable causes, and how much fun a photo would be.

In one hour, early on the Saturday afternoon when attendance was still low, Steve probably sold more photos and leis than the four ISCWR volunteers had done for the whole of Thursday and Friday combined. When Steve eventually stopped demonstrating, a few of them continued for a couple more sales, but eventually they went back to gathering moss and our own apathy grew.

The ISCWR just didn’t rally the right people to be there for this. Those who did turn up seemed like they were there more as a favor to us, or because they felt guilty that they themselves had tried and failed to get more people out to help.

We appreciated them being there so as to not leave us hanging, but still the whole lot of us looked pretty lame for the majority of the weekend. At several points I thought to myself, “I missed work for this? A weekend that we could have been working on the magazine, and this is how we spent it?”

On the brighter side, Carmelle (I hope I’m spelling her name right), a queen who is not even part of the ISCWR, was kind enough to come by the show on Friday night when not a single ISCWR member could pull themselves away from an engagement at Junction. She did a marvelous job of turning heads while she was performing on our stage, but pushing photos for the ISCWR and its charities wasn’t really her job or obligation. Regardless, we were very grateful that she came by because it meant we weren’t twiddling our thumbs, it drummed up some interest in our booth, and she and her boyfriend seemed to enjoy themselves.

Otherwise the only true momentum we saw during the weekend was when Vanity Fair stopped by Thursday evening, and again on Saturday evening with Kitty LeBehr. The ISCWR owes most of the estimated $700 to $800 they raised to these queens. Ladonna did her part for a few hours on Saturday night with stage performances to reel people in so that Vanity and Kitty could line them up for photos. As the token “leather boys” JJ Velour and I weren’t nearly as popular for the photos, but JJ still performed the occasional number to keep people interested.

By the end Saturday, the brutal 12 hour day of the show, we were exhausted and frustrated. Some ISCWR volunteers were angry at us for pushing them so hard and for harping on them about leaving us in a lurch on Friday. I don’t think Steve and I have ever felt so dissatisfied about doing something to benefit the community. It sucked out every last drop of good will from me.

A few groups who could not be there were kind enough to still drop off materials for us to give out on their behalf. But while these materials were great for the sporadic LGBT people that came by our booth, unfortunately they failed to provide something relatable for the majority of straight people at the show. There needed to be someone there to tie it in for them on an individual level, or at least to offer them something of a souvenir that benefits the organization.

As for the remaining groups that didn’t show up at all - some were paralyzed by indecision: poor internal communication or complete lack of community awareness outside of their own group meant that the Taboo show was a complete surprise to them and so they opted to do nothing; failure to properly

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

7

Community discuss ahead of time how they would participate in the show left them defaulting to do nothing; members in the know who had prior engagement and hadn’t thought to arrange for the remaining available members to do anything. Some even turned their nose up at the opportunity, having decided they and their group didn’t want to have anything to do with a sex show.

It was pathetic, even a bit insulting to see these reactions from so many groups that we regularly stick our necks out to support, and yet it was so totally typical. Garbage in, garbage out; we’ve seen it happen time and again in the past and somehow we kept forgiving them for it. It’s not like we can bend any of these people over our knee and spank them for not living up to our expectations, I mean who are we to tell them what to do and how to do it?

So what can we really do? Write a bitchy editorial that attempts to shame them into doing better? We’ve seen how well people in this community take criticism – like it’s a knife straight to their heart. Or perhaps we were expecting too much from people, and need to stop sticking our necks out so much.

November 2011 Well I can’t let my negativity drown out everything - there were still some great things that happened in the community this past month.

The Western Canada LeatherSIR, Leatherboy, and Community Bootblack competition took place at the Calgary Eagle on the weekend between the Taboo shows.

On the Friday there was a meet and greet, and leather swap auction to raise money for the travel fund for the winning competitors. On Saturday the competition ensued, and out of town dignitaries from the Leather and Fetish scene judged our local contestants. Amongst the interesting demonstrations I thought the acronym behind the name of one of the judges, Pup Nitro, was clever: Needs Intense Torture to Reach Orgasm. Also I reveled at the volley of impromptu Jesus jokes told by last year’s winners and hosts for the show, Sir Scott and boy René, while the judges conferred. Sir Marc and boy Daniel were selected as our region’s new LeatherSIR and Leatherboy.

On Sunday afternoon there was a Victory Brunch for the two winners, which was a great opportunity to hang out with them and the judges from the night prior.

Furthermore, while we were away at the Edmonton Taboo show, we were regrettably missing a phenomenal World AIDS Day fundraiser being put on at FAB bar by Dion Boink and Jason Wheeler, which according to organizers raised a whopping $6500! The event happened opposite Mz. Rhonda’s annual Crowns for Kids event at Twisted Element, which according to organizers collected an estimated $500 in toys, and $3000 in donations.

This Month It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner, and of course that means the usual set of community traditions: ARGRA’s Christmas Dinner and Dance on the 3rd at Club Sapien, and some good old Christmas drag shows in both Calgary and Edmonton. Of course don’t forget about the Living Christmas Tree fundraiser at the Calgary Eagle on the 10th, and their Christmas Dinner on the 18th. Then of course, check your local hangouts for info on New Years Eve parties.

We’d like to wish our readers a Merry Christmas, or simply Happy Holidays if you prefer. Stay warm, stay sane, and watch out for falling trees! See you in 2012.

8

Pride Centre of Edmonton Recovers After Summer Fire

By Dallas Barnes On August 10th of this year, the Pride Centre of Edmonton was devastated by a fire that destroyed its electrical panel, and electricity has yet to be restored to the building.

Fortunately, the fire happened after operating hours and no one was injured, and although it was determined to be arson, the Edmonton Police Hate Crimes Unit have not discerned it to be a hate crime. Determined to continue on with its important work, the Pride Centre of Edmonton is going full force with a new space and an expanding program.

Ashley Matchem, Executive Director of the Centre since February is excited about the positive turn of events. “We are still in negotiation with our new space at Grant MacEwan, but funny enough we just got word from the City of Edmonton (who controls its permitting) that we have been approved for the space.” The Centre is hoping to open by December 15th.

“The new space will more than meet our needs,” Matchem adds. “But it does require some renovations in order to make it move-in ready.

These renovations include making the space accessible and the creation of a dedicated space of our youth programming.”

The youth programming will potentially involve a mentoring program, trans program, and an anti-bullying program. They are also putting a call out for any youth from the ages of 25 and under to serve on the Youth Advisory Board.

On November 14th, the Centre launched a month long fundraising campaign to meet an external goal of $20,000. The Centre is in need of some upgrades to make the space suitable for its needs, and the conditional grants and small private donations will not cover it.

“Fortunately, the fundraising drive has exceeded expectations,” says Matchem, “but we are more than happy to accept donations from anyone.”

“Our goal is ambitious, but our need is critical, and the new space is an exciting opportunity for the Centre to renew and improve our services,” says Wade King, Board Past President.

Current programs the Centre offers are about as diverse as the community, and rightly so. These range from Womonspace, Umbrella Group (youth), Seniors Drop-In, an Art Group, an Alcohol Addictions Group, and even a Dinner and a Movie Night, to name a few. They also house one of the largest queer libraries in Canada.

At this current juncture, staff are working from home or working in a temporary space at HIV Edmonton – even a space at a coffee shop can make for a working space for the day. A familiar, consistent space is not surprisingly a welcome notion.

With this being said, you can also help by other means than donating.

The Centre wants and needs volunteers! “Volunteers are definitely needed! They are a huge part of what we do,” adds Matchem. “We are expanding on our counselling programs as 40% of our calls are counselling related.”

Successful community centres are crucial to our queer community.

Drawing near the end of a year filled with teen suicides and global human rights at the forefront, a safe space to foster creative ideas and to support those in need is exactly what our queer brothers and sisters need. Most admirable are the dedicated staff and volunteers that, regardless of these recent challenges, continue to make sure the Centre is running. But the Pride Centre of Edmonton and its programs cannot survive without the assistance of its community. Take a look at their website and see how you can help.

Pride Centre of Edmonton www.pridecentreofedmonton.org

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2603

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2604

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Editorial

Attitudes at Work

Working LGB experience tolerance, yet still some discrimination

By Evan Kayne

Most members of the LGBTQ community believe the workplace has become more tolerant over the past few years; however some discrimination persists, a recent Angus Reid public survey has disclosed.

The good news is that the survey results indicate overt discrimination is low. As Jaideep Murkerji, Vice President of Angus Reid Public Opinion told me, “...overall, I was surprised to see the extent to which the respondents in the survey felt their workplace was tolerant. It’s a very high number. But when you dig a little deeper, you realize that quite a few people – especially when you start looking back over the course of their career – have had incidences of discrimination.”

The actual numbers state 93% describe their employer’s overall attitude to be tolerant of LGBTQ people in the workplace. 72% feel attitudes towards our community have improved over the last five years.

However, 34% of gays and 40% of lesbians said they have experienced discrimination during their professional lives.

Additionally, over a quarter of the respondents who have not come out at their workplace said they fear negative consequences.

As well, the survey indicated something many of us have suspected over the years – overt, blatant discrimination has been replaced by a softer, more nebulous type of discrimination which is harder to prove: social exclusion and ridicule. You may think you’re being excluded when most of the department goes down to Starbucks on a coffee break, but you can’t prove it. Or, you might notice occasionally a colleague making a joking remark about your sexuality, but you’re not sure if he’s serious or just kidding around.

The other fascinating data arising from the survey are the bisexual panellists’ responses. When asked about co-workers’ overall attitude towards LGBT people in the workplace, over 50% of Gays, Lesbians and Bisexual women said attitudes were “very tolerant”. Bisexual men ranked that at 34%. Bisexual men and women tend not to be open with their sexuality at work. Bisexual men tend to maintain the “my private life is private” rationale more than the other 3 groups. Depressingly, in the few instances where a respondent admitted to having been gay bashed, 70% of Bisexual men would say nothing as their reaction.

The response from Bisexual panellists was something Angus Reid noticed, said Jaideep. “We had a lot of discussion about this internally. It is an interesting finding. At the end of all our surveys, we allow people to share their thoughts on the survey...anecdotally, we realized that there were quite a few of the bisexual men and women who filled out this survey who told us...they feel they would be ridiculed more being bisexual because people wouldn’t understand it or they would automatically assume they were just gay and not really fully out of the closet.” Consequently there’s a greater reluctance to come out at the office among bisexuals.

Also, for those who do study the survey closely, you might notice two obvious things missing. The first is how different age groups responded to the survey. While they didn’t www.gaycalgary.com

include the age breakdown, Jaideep told me respondents over the age of 55 were more likely to say attitudes in the workplace have improved over the past 5-10 years. As for younger respondents, they were more likely to be open with their peers than those over the age of 55.

The second omission from the survey were results from Transgender respondents. The survey only had 4 respondent groups (gay, lesbian, bi-male, bi-female). Unfortunately, as Jaideep informed me, there simply weren’t enough transgender folk in their panel to get a real accurate read, and they had to work with the information they had.

Angus Reid would like to revisit this survey again in the future, and they hope at that time they will have more transgender respondents. This is a rare study, and they are hoping it is a precursor to more studies and surveys in a similar vein. They are looking to run a similar survey in the USA, so it will be interesting to see how Canada compares with our neighbours to the south.

Survey Results and Angus Reid Review the survey findings here: http://www.gaycalgary.com/u317 Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF): http://www.gaycalgary.com/u324 Methodology: The Angus Reid Forum consists of 120,000 Canadians who’ve agreed to take part in surveys. These people are profiled over time, and at one point forum members were asked about their sexual orientation. From that information, they created a pool of 3-4 thousand LGTBQ respondents. For this survey they randomly selected 983 people distributed across the country. These are people who are selfidentified as LGBTQ. People who were in the closet or unwilling to share this information are of course not included (it’s one of the unavoidable limitations of such a survey).

Further Surveys: It is free to join the Angus Reid forum at www.angusreidforum.com. Forum members will get asked a range of different questions about different topics, but over time they will build a profile of you which will include your sexuality. With more respondents from the LGTBQ community, our opinions may be used to help shape public opinion and policy.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2605

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

9

Scott Thompson: Up Close & Personal

Kids in the Hall comedian on why straight white men have it hard and how bullied kids should ‘grow a pair’

 Scott Thompson (left) and Kevin McDonald (right) in a scene from Kids in the Hall.

By Chris Azzopardi Scott Thompson is still a kid in the hall, but his outlook on life – it doesn’t always get better, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy ruined our community and “the world isn’t kind to us” – is very much of a grown-up who’s been gay for a while. Thompson, 52, has been out publicly since his career launched in the ’80s with The Kids in the Hall, a sketch comedy show that helped push homosexuality into the mainstream with outrageously funny drag acts and monologues.

10

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

During our recent chat, Thompson looked back at The Kids in the Hall and how it wouldn’t have existed without AIDS; offered a solution to the bullying problem (“fight back”); and talked about the difference between him and Kathy Griffin – she makes you feel good about yourself, and he doesn’t.

Looking back, what do you think made The Kids in the Hall so successful?

We were lucky. Society was being forced to confront homosexuality because of AIDS, so we just came along at the right time. If AIDS hadn’t happened I don’t think we would have happened. At least Buddy Cole (a character of his on Kids in the Hall) wouldn’t have happened. AIDS in many ways pried open that door. We were discovered in a fairytale kind of way; those things don’t happen very often. They happen almost never.

GC: Was that show the high point of your career?

ST: So far. The funny thing is, I’m still a “Kid in the Hall.”

It was 22 years ago today that our special aired. How is that possible? We were just kids!

GC: Hard to believe it’s been that long?

ST: Yes, it is – because Kevin (McDonald, also of Kids in the Hall) and I are on stage, and we’ve known each other now for 25 years, and we’re still behaving like children. I mean, our show is so stupid! It’s weird, Kevin and I get off stage and we’re like, “What are we doing? We’re middle-aged men. We have no right to act this silly.” But it’s great! (Laughs) That’s what keeps you young. We’ll never get old at this rate.

www.gaycalgary.com

GC: If you didn’t have that attitude, you may have not overcome some of what you did in your life, like cancer a couple years back.

ST: I talk a lot about cancer in the show. What’s interesting is that I’ve discovered it’s a taboo. Now that homosexuality is completely boring I’ve been handed a new topic that people are uncomfortable with. I talk a lot about the side effects of chemo – like when I grew breasts! Suddenly I’m talking about cancer and hormones and transgenderism, and what could be more topical? I had bigger tits than Chastity... I mean, Chaz! (Laughs) I’ve been thinking a lot about this, the whole transgender thing. When I had cancer, the chemo converted my testosterone to estrogen, I grew little tits like Jodie Foster in “Taxi Driver,” I became very emotional, I became obsessed with “Twilight,” I lost my ambition and my sex drive. I’m thinking, “But that doesn’t make me a woman; I’m just a man with a hormonal imbalance.”

GC: You were halfway there.

ST: I was! And now I’m back, because I went through testosterone therapy. So I’m myself again and I can’t tell you what that was like. Well, I do – I tell it onstage.

GC: You say homosexuality is boring. Did you ever think you’d see the day when you’d be saying that?

ST: Never, no! You know, today I was sitting in Starbucks having my tea and I look at the story about what we were two years ago, what our targets were, and in many ways the targets were straight white men in suits – that was the enemy. Now I go, I feel bad for straight white men! (Laughs) I feel like they’re the new woman. Like, straight white guys can’t say shit.

There’s this huge national dialogue going on about bullying, and I had a terrible time as a child. But women are bullying now! Let’s be honest, look at the role of gay men on television – for a gay male to be on television he has to be neutered, and who’s doing the neutering? Women. Straight men don’t do it; they don’t give a shit. They are jealous of how much sex we have. It’s women who are neutering us. They want us to be their shopping companions, but they don’t want us to be doing spit roasts or sucking cock in back alleys.

GC: Which shows are you referring to?

ST: Every show. Point to a gay male on television who’s a man and who’s sexual. (Modern Family) is a hilarious show but there are two gay men who aren’t really allowed to be physical or touch each other; it’s implicit that they’re monogamous, which we know is nonsense. They have to raise a Chinese girl! How feminizing is that? And on every makeover show, everyone talks about gay men like they’re little poodles.

GC: We have Queer Eye for the Straight Guy to thank for that.

ST: Exactly. I remember when it first came out and I went, “Oh god, stop – you’re going to ruin everything.” And it absolutely did. Every fucking show is full of that.

I talk a lot in the show about my chemotherapy, about getting those tiny breasts and having to have a mammogram, and that’s when I was introduced into the world of breast cancer. Breast cancer is out of control. Not the actual disease but the program behind it. Seriously, the other day I saw a Pepsi truck that was painted pink and that had a ribbon on it and I’m thinking, “Pepsi, you fucking cause cancer!”

Continued on Next Page 

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

11

 Interview - From Previous Page It’s like a fist being the spokesperson for domestic violence.

GC: You’ve addressed bullying before, specifically how the It Gets Better campaign is basically a lie – it might not get better, you say. What would you tell bullied kids, then?

ST: Grow a pair. Here’s the thing: The world is not kind to us; it never really will be. The gay male is always going to be at the bottom. I believe the things that happened to me as a child scarred me terribly, and I wish somebody would have helped me with some of the things that happened. But you have to fight back. So much of these bullying campaigns are part of the trend that we were just talking about – the recasting of gay men as eternal victims. And it’s like, fight back! Fathers should start teaching the boys how to punch. He does that to you, here’s what you do: You fucking punch him in the face.

GC: I could never do it as a kid.

ST: I couldn’t either, but with standup comedy you have that microphone – wow, is that powerful.

GC: Did your scarred childhood lead you to comedy?

ST: Yeah, absolutely.

When I’m on that stage, and if you come at me, you’re going down. You feel like the lion tamer. It’s very powerful.

The vast majority of people are sheep, but when they get angry, they’re lions. They don’t think.

Mobs don’t think, so if one person does something you gotta slap them down because it will catch fire.

I think of a heckler as a cancer cell, so the moment I see it appear I have to destroy it immediately or that will spread.

GC: And then you’ll have man boobs.

(Laughs) That’s right! So if I don’t slap ’em down it will metastasize into a riot and they’ll attack me.

ST: I’ll probably never get over my childhood. And my heart breaks for these boys, and I know it’s so sad. I was reading the other day about these schools for gay kids and I just think that’s the wrong approach. They’ll never get the 12

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

skills they need. That’s segregation. That’s just racism. So I don’t like any of those trends. I think that’s absolutely wrong.

GC: Did you ever feel bullied as a professional comedian?

Is labeling a comic “gay” a form of bullying?

ST: Oh, constantly.

That’s total bullying. It’s putting you in a category that makes you lesser.

When you hyphenate anything, that’s basically lessening you. How about just “comedian”? I reject all those hyphenates.

That’s just – no. I don’t want any hyphenates. I don’t want any handicap.

It’s like affirmative action – that’s not good. I don’t need that. I can stand on my own two feet.

GC: Right. We don’t call Kathy Griffin or Sarah Silverman “straight comedians.”

ST: Exactly. And here’s the thing: Gay men almost never come to my shows.

GC: They don’t?

ST: Hardly at all, no.

That’s always been an issue. The shows with Kevin and I are packed with straight people and a sprinkling of gay men – and I mean a sprinkling.

Because I’m not a ghetto queen. I wish more gay men would come out. I think gay men are so used to being victimized that they think that a standup comedy club is a place where they’ll be attacked unless the standup comedian is a woman, like Margaret Cho or Kathy Griffin. Those women – and I love them both – make gay men feel good about themselves.

GC: And you don’t?

ST: (Laughs) No! You hit the nail on the head.

I never thought of it that way, but no, I guess not.

You got me.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2606

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

J. Edgar: The (Gay?) Man Behind The Mask Out screenwriter talks Eastwood’s ‘loving’ take on J. Edgar and DiCaprio’s turn as a powerful closet case

 Photos courtesy of Warner Bros

By Chris Azzopardi No milk for Dustin Lance Black – the 37-year-old filmmaker who says he feels 10 years older today – on this recent morning in a suite at a Beverly Hills hotel. Instead, the screenwriter is nursing a hangover after last night’s premiere of his latest film, J. Edgar, with a bottle of water, joking that “it just means more honest answers; the filter’s down.”

Even without the last drops of Jack and Cokes flushing from his system (proof: lots of bathroom breaks), Black’s always spoke his mind. It’s how the writer has become one of the most admired LGBT activists of our generation, passionately speaking out on hot topics like Prop 8, being a lapsed Mormon and curious dinners with Taylor Lautner (more on that later).

Today, however, all the talk, or most of it anyway, is around his big Clint Eastwood-directed, Leonardo DiCaprio-carried follow-up to Milk, Black’s biopic about Harvey Milk’s life and legacy that won the writer an Oscar. “It puts a lot of pressure on a lot of your work,” says Black, leaning forward on a sofa.

“It’s a dangerous thing to have around the house, so I wrapped him up and flew him to Virginia with my mother. I love him, but he’s not allowed in the house while I’m working. I don’t want to think I’m writing toward that. I want to keep taking risks, and this is a risky film.”

It’s risky not just because of the controversial career of its subject, J. Edgar Hoover, the notoriously snaky FBI director who dominated the bureau for nearly 50 years, carrying his tenure through eight presidencies and three wars. What’s attracting the most controversy is the attention the film gives the infamous G-Man’s mysterious private life: Was Hoover’s

closest colleague, Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer of The Social Network), more than just his right-hand man?

“Women were very interested in him and he didn’t respond, but he did like to show up to work every morning with Clyde Tolson and drive home with him each night.” Black laughs. “And this is well before it was fashionable to carpool! So it became incredibly apparent that he wasn’t straight and I started to wonder, ‘Well, what did gay look like? Why was he behaving like that?’”

By interviewing gay men of the time – before Stonewall and the sexual revolution, when homosexuality was so vague that gay people were called “daffodils” – Black was able to piece together Hoover, who was never married and lived with his mother (played by Judi Dench) until she died.

“This portrait of this man was a very complex one and a very interesting one,” says DiCaprio, in the titular role through a half-century stretch, seen in his later years with makeup that took up to seven hours to apply. “I just loved the research that (Black) did and the take that he had on J. Edgar Hoover’s life.

No matter what his sexual orientation was, he was devoted to his job and power was paramount to him. Holding onto that power at all costs was the most important thing in his life.”

Black’s screenplay, though, doesn’t slight the importance of Tolson in Hoover’s life. How gay does Black go with J. Edgar?

“It’s not Milk,” Black explains. “Milk was gay from head to toe.

This is not that.”

The men were nothing alike: “Milk came out and gave people great hope,” he says, “but this man was incredibly closeted and

www.gaycalgary.com

Continued on Next Page  GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

13

spread fear. I thought, ‘If I’m able to sell this thing, I might be able to finally examine why.’”

He looked into the hearsay regarding Hoover’s hankering for drag, but that turned out to be just what many thought – a rumor. But this is what Black knew: Hoover was an emotionally repressed mama’s boy who was smitten with Tolson; they had many meals together, up until their last moments alive, and they traveled to attend horse races, often sleeping in the same room to, you know, save pennies.

J. Edgar, then, doesn’t ignore the love story. It’s there in the flustered face of Hoover the first time Tolson interviews for associate director of the FBI, their affectionate handholding and a tussle-turned-makeout scene. The poignant ending, as the two are seen growing old together, is convincing on its own that the men were more than just colleagues. Eastwood had lots of inquiries regarding the script and the research behind it, but he let Black run with all of it.

“He never once asked about the love story or the gay relationship,” says Black. “I didn’t know what to think of that until it got to production and I saw how he was treating these scenes. He was doing it in not just an incredibly respectable but loving manner.”

Eastwood’s one suggestion came last-minute after Tolson professes his love to Hoover, who then reciprocates the sentiment – but only after Tolson’s walked out. “That’s not in my script,” Black says, “That was Clint on take two or three shouting out to Leo, ‘Tell him you love him.’”

“As this is happening,” he continues, “I was reading on the Internet that he was degaying the film. I don’t think so. People assume that because he’s Clint he might, but he treated it incredibly loving.”

Eastwood, a defender of marriage equality, says: “I had my own impressions growing up with Hoover as a heroic figure in the ‘30s and beyond. We never knew too much about Tolson or any of his close confidantes, but through researching this movie… we’re putting our stamp on history. Sure, a lot of things probably didn’t happen the way they happened in this film, but they’re pretty close. Lance has done a great job researching.”

The first time Hammer looked over the script, he wasn’t sure what to make of the men’s codependency. He couldn’t get how anybody would stay so dedicated to such a vile beast of a man like Hoover.

“With Clyde, I thought that in order for it to make sense for him to be there and to stick around and to almost take that hot-and-cold abuse, it had to be a love story,” Hammer says.

“I didn’t understand the love story; it didn’t make sense. After having conversations with Fiona Weir, who cast the project, and several friends of mine, the complexities of their relationship 14

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

was made more and more clear to me and I became obsessed with it.”

Black was also consumed by it, and his research caused him to get a “creepy feeling” for how much he started to empathize with the historical figure. “Hoover was this young man who was incredibly promising and brilliant,” he says. “Hoover is the ultimate cautionary tale of: Do not replace love and family and your fellow man with admiration and fame. Don’t let your kids grow up to be Hoovers, and the way you do that is to teach them the importance of love – and when they come to you and say that might be someone of the same sex, you have to encourage that and not discourage that.”

DiCaprio felt similarly. “Lance put it best when he said, ‘Look, if we can better understand these people and their motivations and how their ambition manifested itself into their politics, we can learn from them, we can learn from history.’”

History tells us that Hoover was driven, ruthless and manipulative in how he created a system of federal laws that transformed our country into what it is today. He founded the FBI in 1935 and remained director until his death in 1972, originating forensic laboratories and fingerprinting. Hoover was as remarkably heroic as he was feared.

“You look at the things he did in his teens and into his 20s and boy, what a mind and what potential,” says Black. “Can you imagine if this young man was allowed to love and love openly and have a family and foster things like empathy and maintain a moral compass?”

He may have turned out a lot like Black, the posterboy for LGBT activism. He speaks regularly on issues concerning the gay community and recently wrote 8, a play about the battle against Proposition 8. Up next? Under the Banner of Heaven, an adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s bestseller that riffs on Mormonism, and next year’s release of his directorial debut, What’s Wrong with Virginia, starring Jennifer Connelly. Black is not, however, linked to Twilight stud Taylor Lautner and filmmaker Gus Van Sant’s vague project, despite having a meal with both of them recently – food for too much thought that put Lautner’s sexuality in question.

About that brouhaha: “It wasn’t one,” Black says, laughing.

“It was a nice dinner!”

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2607

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

Community

Lesbians Have a New Place to Meet Up

By Dallas Barnes Can I get an Amen? Are you a woman trying to find something to do with other similar women, but find the queer social scene a little too bar-oriented for your liking? Have you logged onto Plenty of Fish lately and realized that you already know everyone on the site?

Well, let me tell you, there is a group out there that may be your saving grace. Let me introduce you to Janine Cote, creator and organizer for the Lesbian Meet-Up Group, currently rounding off its first year of operation. She took some time to talk to GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine about this ambitious venture. ”I was born and raised in Calgary, and then when I went to live in Vancouver for a year, I was blown away by the active queer community and the resources available for Lesbians,” Cote explained, regarding her motivations for starting the group.

“When I moved back I sought out a community, first through sending an Email to Calgary Outlink, and then to the Calgary Sexual Health Center. Neither knew at the time of a group for woman, or any kind of support available aimed towards Lesbians.

I was leaving my husband, coming out to my family/friends and felt a bit like... it wasn’t acceptable in Calgary, or that I was the only one.

“When I started speaking to someone at the Calgary Sexual Health Center about doing a fundraiser for them, and as an aside explaining the situation, we started brainstorming. From that came the idea to just start something myself. I wanted anyone coming out to know that they weren’t alone, to have a place to go where others might understand, and for there to be an active social club for Queer women to participate in, and meet each other. I also needed reassurance that I wasn’t the only Lesbian in Calgary! I’m not! We will, at the end of January be celebrating our one year anniversary with an 80’s rollerskating party. I’m proud at the way the Community has jumped on board, and that there are 230 women on the site with more joining daily!”

Often, lesbian themed events involve alcohol and dj-related adventures, which is fine when you’re in the mood for a fun night out. But this is where Cote’s group is different. “(The events) are aimed to just be good old fun. We have a variety of events offered each month. Upcoming for the month of December we have a Death by Chocolate Buffet, Night at a Blues Bar, serving lunch at the Calgary Drop in Center, a community party, our Monthly movie night, pottery painting, a pizza dinner, and Zoo lights. We have a monthly book club starting up in January and a monthly games night hosted for us at Club Sapien.”

You may be asking yourself at this point, who are these 230 women that come to these events? Janine is quick to answer. “The people who come are varied as we have Lesbians who have been out for decades, bi-sexual woman, those who are questioning, and really anywhere on the spectrum. I love how every single person is welcome regardless of where they are in their journey or what they end up deciding is right for their life. The events are planned by multiple hosts, myself, as well as some of our regulars put events on the calendar - it is all volunteer run. We are also happy to post events from other groups in Calgary that might interest our members, such as events put on by GirlTalk, Calgary Outlink, or by other groups in the community such as the Bi-Sexual/Pansexual support group, The Smutty Writing Circle, GirlsGroove Dances etc. People are welcome to contact me through the meet up group - there is a contact us link - if they would like their related event posted on our calendar.”

Let me guess, you are at the point of decision. Maybe you are asking yourself, why should I join? Or you may be asking, is this group really right for me? Janine hears you, and answers,

www.gaycalgary.com

“People should join this group if they want to have fun. It can be scary coming out to something for the first time, especially if your Queer identity is just developing! I have however, never met a nicer and more accepting group of women than those that come to our events! We aren’t a hook up group but I am pleased to say that some of the women have met the love of their life through our events - sometimes when they weren’t looking at all - who were previously feeling very isolated and like me... didn’t know there were other Lesbians living in town! I’ve gotten a few wonderful notes about the love that has come to their life through the group, the friendships that have been made and it makes the time we put into the running of the group more than worth it. There are many couples who participate as well, like myself, and it seems to be a nice balance between the two.

“You can never have too many wonderful people in your life, and there are events for everyone!”

Calgary Lesbian Meet-Up Group http://www.meetup.com/CalgaryLesbian http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2608

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

15

16

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events 24

DOWNTOWN CALGARY

61 37

43 41 4

55 9

60

2

34 33

16

1

35

36

3

5 6

62

N

13

1 2 3 4 5 6

Calgary Outlink---------- Community Groups Aids Calgary------------- Community Groups Backlot------------------------ Bars and Clubs Calgary Eagle Inc.------------ Bars and Clubs Texas Lounge----------------- Bars and Clubs Goliath’s-------------------------- Bathhouses

9 FAB---------------------------- Bars and Clubs 13 Westways Guest House---- Accommodations 16 Priape Calgary------------------ Retail Stores 24 Courtney Aarbo----------------------- Services 33 Twisted Element-------------- Bars and Clubs 34 Vertigo Mystery Theatre------------- Theatre

FIND OUT!

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine is the go-to source for information about Alberta LGBT businesses and community groups—the most extensive and accurate resource of its kind! This print supplement contains a subset of active community groups and venues, with premium business listings of paid advertisers. ......... Wheelchair Accessible

Spot something inaccurate or outdated? Want your business or organization listed? We welcome you to contact us!

 403-543-6960  1-888-543-6960

 magazine@gaycalgary.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/CalgaryTravelRss http://www.gaycalgary.com/EdmontonTravelRss

Local Bars, Restaurants, and Accommodations info on the go! http://www.gaycalgary.com/Directory

Accommodations 13 Westways Guest House--------------------✰

 216 - 25th Avenue SW  403-229-1758  1-866-846-7038  westways@shaw.ca  www.gaywestways.com

Bars & Clubs 3 Backlot----------------------------------- ✰  403-265-5211  Open 7 days a week, 2pm-close

 209 - 10th Ave SW

4 Calgary Eagle Inc.----------------------- ✰  424a - 8th Ave SE  403-263-5847  http://www.calgaryeagle.com  Open Wed-Sun, 5pm-close Leather/Denim/Fetish bar.

Club Paradiso

 1413 - 9th Ave SE, 2nd Floor  403-265-5739  www.clubparadiso.ca  tracy@villagecantina.ca Fri: Garter Girls Burlesque. Sat: Carly’s Angels. Weekdays: Magic, Comedy & Music.

60 Club Sapien------------------------------ ✰  1140 10th Ave SW  403-457-4464  http://www.clubsapien.ca Dance Club and Restaurant/Lounge.

Browse our complete directory of over 600 gay-frieindly listings! www.gaycalgary.com

One Yellow Rabbit-------------------- Theatre ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects-------- Theatre Pumphouse Theatre----------------- Theatre La Fleur-------------------------- Retail Stores Lisa Heinricks----------Theatre and Fine Arts Marquee Room--------------- Bars and Clubs

CALGARY

LGBT Community Directory

✰....... Find our Magazine Here

35 36 37 41 43 55

58 60 61 62

Theatre Junction--------------------- Theatre Club Sapien------------------- Bars and Clubs Holidays on the Hill------------- Retail Stores Concept Bar & Lounge------- Bars and Clubs

60 Concept Bar & Lounge---------------------✰  908 17th Ave SW  403-228-1006  www.facebook.com/ConceptLounge Premiere crossover lounge. Entrance on 16th Ave. 55 Marquee Room-----------------------------✰

 612 - 8th Avenue SW  www.marqueeroom.com Alternative night every Wednesday.

9 FAB--------------------------------------- ✰

 1742 - 10th Ave SW  403-263-7411  www.fab-bar.com  Closed Mondays.

Bar and restaurant.

5 Texas Lounge-------------------------------✰

 308 - 17 Ave SW  403-229-0911  www.goliaths.ca  Open 7 days a week, 11am-close 33 Twisted Element----------------------------✰

 1006 - 11th Ave SW  403-802-0230

 www.twistedelement.ca Dance Club and Lounge.

Bathhouses/Saunas 6 Goliaths-------------------------------------✰

 308 - 17 Ave SW  403-229-0911  www.goliaths.ca  Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day

Community Groups 2 AIDS Calgary---------------------------- ✰

 110, 1603 10th Avenue SW  403-508-2500

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

17

Directory & Events Swimming-------------------------------  7-8pm

Calgary Events Mondays

By Different Strokes

 SAIT Pool (1301 - 16 Ave NW)

ASK Meet and Greet----------------  7-9:30pm

Lesbian Meetup Group-------------  7:30-9pm

 Bonasera (1204 Edmonton Tr. NE)

At 1 Calgary Outlink

Inside Out Youth Group----------------  7-9pm

Fake Mustache Show------------------  7:30pm

See 1 Calgary Outlink

Karaoke-------------------------------- Evening At 60 Club Sapien

By Miscellaneous Youth Network  Quincy’s (609 7th Ave SW)

 1st  1st

Fake Mustache Show---------------------- 9pm

Tuesdays

By Miscellaneous Youth Network At 60 Club Sapien

Calgary Networking Club--------------  5-7pm

Alcoholics Anonymous---------------------  8pm

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 1st

Between Men---------------------------  7-9pm

 3rd

 Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance) 1227 Kensington Close NW

Curling-------------------------  2:20 & 4:30pm See

Apollo Calgary

Alcoholics Anonymous---------------------  8pm

 Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance) 1227 Kensington Close NW

Tuned Out Music Trivia----------------  Evening At 9 FAB

 1st, 3rd

Go-Go Boy Competition--------------- Evening At 60 Club Sapien

Holiday Dinner---------------------------- 7pm

By Girlfriends  Old Spaghetti Factory (222 - 3rd Str SW) Sunday, December 11th

College Show--------------------  8:30pm-1am By

ISCCA at 60 Club Sapien

Saturday, December 17th

A Very Starlight Christmas---------------- 9pm By

ISCCA at 60 Club Sapien

Sundays

Sunday, December 18th

Worship Time----------------------------  10am

Christmas Dinner-------------------------- 5pm

See

Deer Park United Church

Worship------------------------------  10:30am

Friday, December 23rd

Fridays

See

Karaoke------------------------------  8pm-1am

Leather Night-------------------------- Evening

Sunday Services---------------------  10:45am

At 4 Calgary Eagle

See

Fetish Slosh----------------------------  Evening

Rec Volleyball------------------------------ 7pm

Worship Services-------------------------  11am

A Very Glee Christmas-------------  9pm-12am

Alcoholics Anonymous---------------------  8pm

Illusions--------------------------------  7-10pm

Int/Comp Volleyball-----------  12:15-1:45pm

Saturday, December 31st

Womynspace----------------------------  7-9pm

BBQ Social Sundays----------------------- 2pm At 4 Calgary Eagle

By Girlsgroove  Big Rock Brewery (5555 76 Ave SE)

New Directions--------------------------  7-9pm

Church Service----------------------------- 4pm

New Year’s Eve Party---------------------- 9pm

Heading Out-----------------------  8pm-10pm

Swimming-------------------------------  5-6pm

New Year’s Eve Party---------------------- 8pm

By Different Strokes

 SAIT Pool (1301 - 16 Ave NW)

By 3 Backlot

 Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance) 1227 Kensington Close NW

Women’s Volleyball----------------  7-8:30pm

Sleigh Ride--------------------------------- 3pm

Saturdays

Free Pool-------------------------------  All Day

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 2nd, 4th

At 5 Texas Lounge At 3 Backlot

 2nd

 Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance) 1227 Kensington Close NW Wednesdays Knox United Church AIDS Calgary

See 1 Calgary Outlink

Free Pool-------------------------------  All Day At 4 Calgary Eagle with

Prime Timers Calgary

LGBT Coffee Night---------------------------- 7pm See

See 1 Calgary Outlink

See 1 Calgary Outlink

Women’s Healing Circle---------------  1:30pm See

Apollo Calgary

See 1 Calgary Outlink

Communion Service------------------  12:10pm See

See

CAANS

 1st

 1st

 2nd  3rd  4th

Alcoholics Anonymous---------------------  8pm

Mosaic Youth Group--------------------  7-9pm

Running------------------------------------  9am

Thursdays

Coffee------------------------------------  10am

 Old Y Centre (223 12th Ave SW)

Lesbian Seniors---------------------------- 2pm

 Kerby Center, Sunshine Room 1133 7th Ave SW

 3rd

See

Apollo Calgary

By Prime Timers Calgary  Midtown Co-op (1130 - 11th Ave SW)

See See

See

See

Scarboro United Church

By 4 Calgary Eagle

Hillhurst United Church Knox United Church

Apollo Calgary

Rainbow Community Church

Apollo Calgary

Alberta Society for Kink

 403-398-9968  albetasocietyforkink@hotmail.com  http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/ group.albertasocietyforkink

Apollo Calgary - Friends in Sports

• Biking

 bike@apollocalgary.com

• Boot Camp

 Platoon FX, 1351 Aviation Park NE  bootcamp@apollocalgary.com

• Bowling (Rainbow Riders League)

 Let’s Bowl (2916 5th Avenue NE)  bowling@apollocalgary.com

 North Hill Curling Club (1201 - 2 Street NW)  curling@apollocalgary.com Will return in September 2010. Sign up at myapollo.org to receive updates.

• Western Cup 30

 golf@apollocalgary.com

• Badminton (Absolutely Smashing)

By

ISCCA at 5 Texas Lounge

New Year’s Eve Dinner & Dance---  7pm-1am

By 4 Calgary Eagle

Saturday, January 28th ARGRA at Griffin Valley Ranch

Saturday, February 4th

Chinese New Year Celebration--------  6:30pm

Saturday, December 10th

By

Living Xmas Tree-------------------------- 9pm By 4 Calgary Eagle

Girlfriends

Saturday, February 25th

White Party-------------------------------- 8pm By

ARGRA

Legend:  = Monthly Reoccurrance,  = Date (Range/Future),  = Sponsored Event

 www.apollocalgary.com  www.myapollo.com A volunteer operated, non-profit organization serving primarily members of the LGBT communities but open to all members of all communities. Primary focus is to provide members with well-organized and fun sporting events and other activities. 

www.westerncup.com Easter long weekend, 2012.

By 1 Calgary Outlink  Old Y (223 12th Ave SW)

By

At 4 Calgary Eagle

 Calgary Contd.  info@aidscalgary.org  www.aidscalgary.org

Holiday Party----------------------  9pm-12am

• Curling

• Outdoor Pursuits

 outdoorpursuits@apollocalgary.com If it’s done outdoors, we do it. Volunteer led events all summer and winter. Hiking, camping, biking, skiing, snow shoeing, etc. Sign up at myapollo.org to get updates on the sport you like. We’re always looking for people to lead events.

• Running (Calgary Frontrunners)

 YMCA Eau Claire (4th St, 1st Ave SW)  calgaryfrontrunners@shaw.ca East Doors (directly off the Bow river pathway). Distances vary from 8 km - 15 km. Runners from 6 minutes/mile to 9+ minute miles.

• Slow Pitch

• Volleyball (Recreational)

 235 - 18 Ave SW  recvb@apollocalgary.com

• Volleyball (Women’s)

 YWCA Calgary (320 - 5th Avenue SE)  vbwomen@apollocalgary.com

• Yoga

 World Tree Studio (812 Edmonton Trail NE)

 Robin: 403-618-9642  yoga@apollocalgary.com $120 (10 sessions); $14 Drop-ins open to all levels. Apollo membership is required.

Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association (ARGRA)

• Golf

 slow.pitch@apollocalgary.com

 www.argra.org

• Squash

• Monthly Dances------------------------------

• Lawn Bowling

 Mount Royal University Recreation  squash@apollocalgary.com All skill levels welcome.

 Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association 1320 - 5th Avenue NW

• Tennis

 403-346-8858 (Jenn/Jill)

• Volleyball (Beach)

 calgaryfathers@hotmail.com  http://www.calgarygayfathers.ca Peer support group for gay, bisexual and questioning fathers. Meeting twice a month.

 lawnbowling@apollocalgary.com

 6020 - 4 Avenue NE  badminton@apollocalgary.com

 tennis@apollocalgary.com

 beachvb@apollocalgary.com

• Volleyball (Int/Comp)

 West Hillhurst Community Center 1940 6th Avenue NW  vb@apollocalgary.com

CAANS LGBT Coffee Night Calgary Gay Fathers

Calgary Men’s Chorus

 http://www.calgarymenschorus.org

• Rehearsals

 Temple B’Nai Tikvah, 900 - 47 Avenue SW

18

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events  Calgary Contd.

Calgary Sexual Health Centre---------- ✰

 304, 301 14th Street NW  403-283-5580  http://www.calgarysexualhealth.ca A pro-choice organization that believes all people have the right and ability to make their own choices regarding their sexual and reproductive health.

1 Calgary Outlink-----------------------------✰

 B1, 1528 16th Avenue SW  403-234-8973  info@calgaryoutlink.ca  http://www.calgaryoutlink.com

• Peer Support and Crisis Line

 1-877-OUT-IS-OK (1-877-688-4765) Front-line help service for GLBT individuals and their family and friends, or anyone questioning their sexuality.

• Calgary Lesbian Ladies Meet up Group • Between Men and Between Men Online • Heading Out • Illusions Calgary • Inside Out • New Directions • Womynspace Calgary Queer Book Club

HIV Peer Support Group

 403-230-5832  hivpeergroup@yahoo.ca

ISCCA Social Association

 http://www.iscca.ca Imperial Sovereign Court of the Chinook Arch. Charity fundraising group..

Knox United Church

 506 - 4th Street SW  403-269-8382  http://www.knoxunited.ab.ca Knox United Church is an all-inclusive church located in downtown Calgary. A variety of facility rentals are also available for meetings, events and concerts.

• Worship Services

 10:30am in July and August.

Lesbian Meetup Group

 http://www.meetup.com/CalgaryLesbian Monthly events planned for Queer women over 18+ such as book clubs, games nights, movie nights, dinners out, and volunteering events.

Miscellaneous Youth Network

 Weeds Cafe (1903 20 Ave NW)

Deer Park United Church/Wholeness Centre

 77 Deerpoint Road SE  http://www.dpuc.ca

Hillhurst United Church

 1227 Kensington Close NW  (403) 283-1539  office@hillhurstunited.com  www.hillhurstunited.com

 403-278-8263

Different Strokes

 http://www.differentstrokescalgary.org

Don’t Buy In Project

 http://www.dontbuyin.ca This Calgary Police Service Initiative aims to encourage youth to working towards an inclusive environment in which diversity is embraced in their schools and community.

FairyTales Presentation Society

 403-244-1956

 http://www.fairytalesfilmfest.com Alberta Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

• DVD Resource Library

Over a hundred titles to choose from. Annual membership is $10.

Gay Friends in Calgary

 http://www.gayfriendsincalgary.ca Organizes and hosts social activities catered to the LGBT people and friends.

Girl Friends

 girlfriends@shaw.ca

 members.shaw.ca/girlfriends

Girlsgroove

 http://www.girlsgroove.ca

 http://www.miscyouth.com

• Fake Mustache

 Quincy’s (609 7th Ave SW)  Club Sapien (609 7th Ave SW) Calgary’s ONLY Drag King Show. Early show 7:30pm, late show 9pm.

• Mosaic Youth Group

 The Old Y Centre (223 12th Ave SW) For queer and trans youth and their allies.

Mystique

 mystiquesocialclub@yahoo.com Mystique is primarily a Lesbian group for women 30 and up but all are welcome.

• Coffee Night

 Good Earth Cafe (1502 - 11th Street SW)

NETWORKS

 networkscalgary@gmail.com A social, cultural, and service organization for the mature minded and “Plus 40” LGBT individuals seeking to meet others at age-appropriate activities within a positive, safe environment.

Parents for Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

 Sean: 403-695-5791  http://www.pflagcanada.ca A registered charitable organization that provides support, education and resources to parents, families and individuals who have questions or concerns about sexual orientation or gender identity.

Positive Space Committee

 4825 Mount Royal Gate SW  403-440-6383  http://www.mtroyal.ca/positivespace Works to raise awareness and challenge the patterns of silence that continue to marginalize LGBTTQ individuals.

Pride Calgary Planning Committee

 403-797-6564

 www.pridecalgary.ca

Pride Rainbow Project

 prp@planet-save.com  http://www.priderainbowproject.com Youth run project designed to show support for same-sex marriage in Canada and elsewhere. A fabric rainbow banner approximately 5 feet wide - goal is to make it 3.2km (2 miles) long, in order to break the world record.

Primetimers Calgary

 primetimerscalgary@gmail.com  http://www.primetimerscalgary.com Designed to foster social interaction for its members through a variety of social, educational and recreational activities. Open to all gay and bisexual men of any age, respects whatever degree of anonymity that each member desires.

Queers on Campus---------------------- ✰

 279R Student Union Club Spaces, U of C  403-220-6394  http://www.ucalgary.ca/~glass Formerly GLASS - Gay/Lesbian Association of Students and Staff.

• Coffee Night

 2nd Cup, Kensington

Safety Under the Rainbow

 http://www.safetyrainbow.ca Mission: To raise awareness and understanding of same-sex domestic violence and homophobic youth bullying.

Scarboro United Church

 134 Scarboro Avenue SW  403-244-1161  www.scarborounited.ab.ca An affirming congregation—the full inclusion of LGBT people is essential to our mission and purpose.

Sharp Foundation

 403-272-2912  sharpfoundation@nucleus.com  http://www.thesharpfoundation.com

Unity Bowling

 Let’s Bowl (2916 - 5th Ave NE)  sundayunity@live.com

Urban Sex Radio Show

 CJSW 90.9 FM

 http://www.cjsw.com Focus on sexuality; gay bisexual lesbian trans gendered and straight issues here in Calgary and around the web.

Vigor Calgary

 403-255-7004  www.vigorcalgary.ca Violence in Gay Male Relationships (VIGOR) is a committee of professionals dedicated to increasing the awareness of gay men’s domestic violence and the services available to them.

Wild Rose United Church

 1317-1st Street NW

“Yeah...What She Said!” Radio Show

 CJSW 90.9 FM

 yeahwhatshesaid@gmail.com

Restaurants 4 Calgary Eagle Inc.--------------------- See Calgary - Bars and Clubs.

✰

60 Club Sapien------------------------------ ✰  1140 10th Ave SW  403-457-4464  http://www.clubsapien.ca 9 FAB------------------------------------- See Calgary - Bars and Clubs.

www.gaycalgary.com

✰

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

19

Directory & Events DOWNTOWN EDMONTON

3

1

5

N

7 11 6 12

4 14

1 Pride Centre------------- Community Groups 3 HIV Network------------- Community Groups 4 Edmonton STD---------- Community Groups

5 The Junction------------------ Bars and Clubs 6 Buddy’s Nite Club------------ Bars and Clubs 7 Down Under Baths--------------- Bathhouses

8 Prism Bar & Grill------------- Bars and Clubs 11 Steamworks---------------------- Bathhouses 12 Woody’s----------------------- Bars and Clubs

13 PLAY Nightclub--------------- Bars and Clubs 14 FLASH------------------------- Bars and Clubs

• Calgary Drop-in Centre

37 Pumphouse Theatre------------------  2140 Pumphouse Avenue SW  403-263-0079  http://www.pumphousetheatres.ca

✰

 Calgary Contd.

Halo Steak, Seafood & Wine Bar

24 Courtney Aarbo (Barristers & Solicitors)

 1138 Kensington Road NW  403-571-5120  http://www.courtneyaarbo.ca GLBT legal services.

 Canyon Meadows Plaza 13226 Macleod Trail SE  403-271-4111  www.halorestaurant.com

Cruiseline

Retail Stores Adult Depot-----------------------------

✰

 140, 58th Ave SW  403-258-2777 Gay, bi, straight video rentals and sex toys.

61 Holidays on the Hill-----------------------  210 - 7th Ave SW  403-263-3030 Christmas, Halloween, and much more.

41 La Fleur------------------------------------  103 - 100 7th Avenue SW  403-266-1707 Florist and Flower Shop.

The Naked Leaf----------------------------

 305 10th Street NW  http://www.thenakedleaf.ca Organic teas and tea ware.

 403-283-3555

16 Priape Calgary------------------------- ✰

 1322 - 17 Ave SW  403-215-1800  http://www.priape.com Clothing and accessories. Adult toys, leather wear, movies and magazines. Gifts.

Services & Products Calgary Civil Marriage Centre

 403-246-4134  ca.ca@shaw.ca Marriage Commissioner for Alberta (aka Justice of the Peace - JP), Marriage Officiant, Commissioner for Oaths.

20

 403-777-9494 trial code 3500  http://www.cruiseline.ca Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

DevaDave Salon & Boutique

 810 Edmonton Trail NE  403-290-1973 Cuts, Colour, Hilights.

Duncan’s Residential Cleaning

 Jim Duncan: 403-978-6600 Residential cleaning. Free estimates.

 Room 117, 423 - 4th Ave SE  403-699-8216  Mon-Fri: 9am-12pm, Sat: 12:15pm-3:15pm

• Centre of Hope

 Room 201, 420 - 9th Ave SE  403-410-1180  Mon-Fri: 1pm-5pm

 727 - 42 Avenue SE  403-243-6642  http://www.stagewestcalgary.com

Stagewest-------------------------------

✰

• Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre

58 Theatre Junction----------------------  Theatre Junction GRAND, 608 1st St. SW  403-205-2922  info@theatrejunction.com  http://www.theatrejunction.com

✰

 1213 - 4th Str SW  403-955-6014  Sat-Thu: 4:15pm-7:45pm, Fri: Closed

• Safeworks Van

 403-850-3755  Sat-Thu: 8pm-12am, Fri: 4pm-12am

Theatre & Fine Arts

Lorne Doucette (CIR Realtors)

36 ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects

 403-294-7402  http://www.ATPlive.com

Marnie Campbell (Maxwell Realtors)

 107, 100 - 7 Ave SW  rob@axisart.ca

 403-461-9195  http://www.lornedoucette.com

 403-479-8619  http://www.marniecampbell.ca

MFM Communications

 403-543-6970  1-877-543-6970  http://www.mfmcommunications.com Web site hosting and development. Computer hardware and software.

MPs Catering

 403-607-8215

SafeWorks

Free and confidential HIV/AIDS and STI testing.

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

AXIS Contemporary Art--------------------

 403-262-3356  www.axisart.ca

34 Vertigo Mystery Theatre------------------  161, 115 - 9 Ave SE  403-221-3708  http://www.vertigomysterytheatre.com

EDMONTON Bars & Clubs

Fairytales

6 Buddy’s Nite Club--------------------------✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  780-488-6636

Jubilations Dinner Theatre

14 FLASH---------------------------------------✰

 10018 105 Street  780-938-2941  flashnightclub@hotmail.com

See Calgary - Community Groups.  Bow Trail and 37th St. SW  403-249-7799  www.jubilations.ca

43 Lisa Heinricks (Artist)---------------------  Art Central, 100 7th Ave SW, lower level  http://www.creamydreamy.com 35 One Yellow Rabbit-------------------------  Big Secret Theatre - EPCOR CENTRE  403-299-8888  www.oyr.org

5 The Junction---------------------------- ✰

 10242 106th St  780-756-5667  http://www.junctionedmonton.com

PLAY Nightclub (closed)-------------------✰

 10220 103 Street  info@playnightclub.ca  http://www.playnightclub.ca

 780-497-7529

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events Edmonton Events Boot Camp------------------------------  7-8pm Team Edmonton

Martial Arts---------------------  7:30-8:30pm Team Edmonton

GLBTQ Bowling------------------  1:30-3:30pm GLBTQ Sage Bowling Club

Youth Sports/Recreation------------------ 4pm See

Youth Understanding Youth

Team Edmonton

See

Youth Understanding Youth

Book Club------------------------------  7:30pm BookWorm’s Book Club

See

Team Edmonton

See

Men’s Games Nights

 2nd, Last

Team Edmonton Team Edmonton

Ballroom Dancing--------------  7:30-8:30pm

Youth Sports/Recreation------------------ 4pm

Monthly Meetings----------------------  2:30pm

See

 2nd

Youth Understanding Youth

Saturdays

See

Team Edmonton

Buck Naked Boys Club

 2nd

By Edmonton Primetimers  Unitarian Church, 10804 - 119th Street

 2nd

 3rd

By

ISCWR at 5 The Junction

Homo for the Holidays-------------------- 6pm

 Unitarian Church (10804 119th Street) See Edmonton Primetimers

 2nd

Saturday, December 31st

Le Bal De Nouvel An---------------------- 8pm By 14 FLASH

Miss Mary Christmas Pageant---------  8-11pm By

ISCWR at 5 The Junction

Dinner and Dance---------------  6:30pm-1am

By Womonspace  Bellevue Community Hall (7308 - 112 Ave)

Legend:  = Monthly Reoccurrance,  = Date (Range),  = Sponsored Event

Prism Bar & Grill (closed)-------------

✰

 780-990-0038

12 Woody’s-------------------------------------✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  780-488-6557

Bathhouses/Saunas 7 Down Under Baths (temp. closed)

 *RELOCATING*  780-482-7960  http://www.gayedmonton.com 11 Steamworks--------------------------------✰

 11745 Jasper Ave  780-451-5554  http://www.steamworksedmonton.com

Community Groups Alberta Bears

 www.beefbearbash.com

AltView Foundation

 #44, 48 Brentwood Blvd, Sherwood Park, AB

 403-398-9968  info@altview.ca  www.altview.ca For gender variant and sexual minorities.

Book Worm’s Book Club

 Howard McBride Chapel of Chimes 10179 - 108 Street  bookworm@teamedmonton.ca

Buck Naked Boys Club

 780-471-6993  http://www.bucknakedboys.ca Naturism club for men—being social while everyone is naked, and it does not include sexual activity. Participants do not need to be gay, only male.

Camp fYrefly

 7-104 Dept. of Educational Policy Studies Faculty of Education, University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5  http://www.fyrefly.ualberta.ca

Edmonton Pride Festival Society (EPFS)

 http://www.edmontonpride.ca

Primary focus is the provision of networking opportunities for LGBT owned or operated and LGBT-friendly businesses in the Edmonton region.

Edmonton Illusions Social Club

 5 The Junction  780-387-3343

 groups.yahoo.com/group/edmonton_illusions 4 Edmonton STD

 11111 Jasper Ave

Edmonton Vocal Minority

 780-479-2038  www.evmchoir.com

 sing@evmchoir.com

Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose

 http://www.iscwr.ca

 780-474-8240

 SAGE building, Classroom B 15 Sir Winstone Churchill Square  tuff@shaw.ca A social and support group for seniors of all genders and sexualities to talk, have tea and offer each other support.

• Men Talking with Pride

 TBA

 robwells780@hotmail.com A social discussion group for gay, bisexual and transgendered men to discuss current issues and to offer support to each other.

• Men’s HIV Support Group

3 HIV Network Of Edmonton Society---- ✰  9702 111 Ave NW 780-488-5742  www.hivedmonton.com Provides healthy sexuality education for Edmonton’s LGBT community and support for those infected or affected

by HIV.

GLBTQ Sage Bowling Club

• GLBT Seniors Drop-In

 tuff@shaw.ca

Men’s Games Nights

 Unitarian Church (10804 119th Street)

 780-474-8240  tuff@shaw.ca

OUTreach

 University of Alberta, basement of SUB  outreach@ualberta.ca  http://www.ualberta.ca/~outreach Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender/transsexual, Queer, Questioning and Straight-but-not-Narrow student group.

1 Pride Centre of Edmonton-------------- ✰

 *RELOCATING*  780-488-3234  admin@pridecentreofedmonton.org

• Free School

 TBA  monika\penner@shaw.ca Free School provides workshops on a variety of topics related to local activism.

 TBA  huges@shaw.ca Support group for people living with HIV/AIDS.

• PFLAG

 TBA  780-436-1998  edmontonab@pflagcanada.ca Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays: A support group for family members and friends of GLBT people. An excellent resource for people whose family members and friends have just come out.

• Prime Timers

See Edmonton Primetimers.

• Suit Up and Show Up: AA Big Book Study

 TBA Discussion and support group for those struggling with an alcohol addiction or seeking support in staying sober.

• TTIQ

 edmontonpt@yahoo.ca  www.primetimersww.org/edmonton Group of older gay men and their admirers who come from diverse backgrounds but have common social interests.

Affiliated with Prime Timers World Wide.

Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

• Youth Movie

 TBA  brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org Movie chosen by youth (aged 14 – 25), usually with LGBT themes. Popcorn is served.

• YouthSpace

 brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org A safe and supportive space for GLBTQ youth aged 13–25.

Video games, computers with internet, clothing bank, and more.

Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton

 780-474-8240

 tuff@shaw.ca

Team Edmonton

 president@teamedmonton.ca  http://www.teamedmonton.ca Members are invited to attend and help determine the board for the next term. If you are interested in running for the board or getting involved in some of the committees, please contact us.

• Badminton (Mixed)

 St. Thomas Moore School, 9610 165 Street

 coedbadminton@teamedmonton.ca New group seeking male & female players.

• Badminton (Women’s)

 Oliver School, 10227 - 118 Street  780-465-3620

 badminton@teamedmonton.ca Women’s Drop-In Recreational Badminton. $40.00 season or $5.00 per drop in.

 TBA  admin@pridecentreofedmonton.org TTIQ is mixed gender open support group addressing the needs of transsexual and transgendered individuals.

•Ballroom Dancing

• Womonspace Board Meeting

 Garneau Elementary School 10925 - 87 Ave  bootcamp@teamedmonton.ca

 TBA  wspresident@hotmail.com Womonspace is a Social and Recreational Society in Edmonton run by volunteers. They provide opportunities for lesbians to interact and support each other in a safe environment, and to contribute to the broader community.

• Get Tested for STIs

Edmonton Prime Timers

 3379, 11215 Jasper Ave  http://www.edmontonrba.org

Christmas Dinner and Show-------------- 6pm

By 14 FLASH

Saturday, December 10th

Monthly Meeting-----------------------  2:30pm

ISCWR at 5 The Junction

Sunday, December 18th

Saturday, December 24th

Edmonton Illusions--------------------  8:30pm

 Edmonton Contd.

 10524 101st St  http://www.prismbar.ca

By

Yoga---------------------------------  2-3:30pm See

Sunday, December 11th

Community Children’s Party-----------  1-5pm

Running------------------------------  10-11am

Men’s Games Nights---------------  7-10:30pm

See

Thursdays

See

See

Naturalist Gettogether

Youth Sports/Recreation------------------ 4pm See

Sundays

At 5 The Junction

Wednesdays See

Intermediate Volleyball--------  7:30-9:30pm

Team Edmonton

Fridays

Tuesdays See

Bowling------------------------------------ 5pm

See

Mondays See

Martial Arts---------------------  7:30-8:30pm

 Foot Notes Dance Studio, 9708-45 Avenue NW  Cynthia: 780-469-3281

• Blazin’ Bootcamp

• Bowling (Northern Titans)

 Ed’s Rec Room (West Edmonton Mall)

 bowling@teamedmonton.ca $15.00 per person.

Free STD testing for anyone interested. For more information please contact the Pride Centre.

• GLBT African Group (Drop-In)

 fred@pridecentreofedmonton.org  jeff@pridecentreofedmonton.org Group for ALL gay refugees and their friends and families, from all around the world.

 780-429-5014

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

21

Directory & Events  Edmonton Contd.

• Cross Country Skiing

 crosscountry@teamedmonton.ca

• Curling with Pride

 Granite Curling Club, 8620 107 Street NW  curling@teamedmonton.ca

• Cycling (Edmonton Prideriders)

 Various locations in Edmonton  cycling@teamedmonton.ca

• Dragon Boat (Flaming Dragons)

 dragonboat@teamedmonton.ca

• Golf

 golf@teamedmonton.ca

• Gymnastics, Drop-in

 Ortona Gymnastics Club, 8755 - 50 Avenue  gymnastics@teamedmonton.ca Have the whole gym to yourselves and an instructor to help you achieve your individual goals. Cost is $5.00 per session.

• Hockey

 hockey@teamedmonton.ca

• Martial Arts

 15450 - 105 Ave (daycare entrance)  780-328-6414  kungfu@teamedmonton.ca  kickboxing@teamedmonton.ca Drop-ins welcome.

• Outdoor Pursuits

 outdoorpursuits@teamedmonton.ca

• Running (Arctic Frontrunners)

 Emily Murphy Park, west end  running@teamedmonton.ca All genders and levels of runners and walkers are invited to join this free activity.

• Slo Pitch

 Parkallen Field, 111 st and 68 ave  slo-pitch@teamedmonton.ca Season fee is $30.00 per person. $10 discount for players from the 2008 season.

• Snowballs V

 January 27-29, 2012  snowballs@teamedmonton.ca Skiing and Snowboarding Weekend.

• Soccer

 soccer@teamedmonton.ca

• Spin

 MacEwan Centre for Sport and Wellness 109 St. and 104 Ave  Wednesdays, 5:45-6:45pm Season has ended.  spin@teamedmonton.ca 7 classes, $28.00 per registrant.

• Swimming (Making Waves)

 NAIT Pool (11762 - 106 Street)  swimming@teamedmonton.ca  www.makingwavesswimclub.ca

• Tennis

 Kinsmen Sports Centre  Sundays, 12pm-3pm

 tennis@teamedmonton.ca

• Ultimate Frisbee

 Sundays Summer Season starts July 12th  ultimatefrisbee@teamedmonton.ca E-mail if interested.

• Volleyball, Intermediate

 Amiskiwacy Academy (101 Airport Road)  volleyball@teamedmonton.ca

• Volleyball, Recreational

 Mother Teresa School (9008 - 105 Ave)  recvolleyball@teamedmonton.ca

22

• Women’s Lacrosse

 Sharon: 780-461-0017  Pam: 780-436-7374 Open to women 21+, experienced or not, all are welcome.

Call for info.

• Yoga

 Lion's Breath Yoga Studio (10350-124 Street)  yoga@teamedmonton.ca

Womonspace

 780-482-1794  womonspace@gmail.com  www.womonspace.ca Women’s social group, but all welcome at events.

Youth Understanding Youth

 780-248-1971  www.yuyedm.ca A support and social group for queer youth 12-25.

• Sports and Recreation

 Brendan: 780-488-3234  brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org

Restaurants 5 The Junction-------------------------------  10242 106th St  780-756-5667 12 Woody’s-------------------------------------✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  780-488-6557

Retail Stores Rodéo Drive

 11528 - 89th Street  780-474-0413  brendalee@rodeodrive.ca  http://www.rodeodrive.ca His and hers fetish wear, toys, jewelry, etc.

Products & Services Cruiseline

 780-413-7122 trial code 3500  http://www.cruiseline.ca Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

Robertson-Wesley United Church

 10209 - 123 St. NW  780-482-1587  jravenscroft@rwuc.org  www.rwuc.org  Worship: Sunday mornings at 10:30am People of all sexual orientations welcome. Other LGBT events include a monthly book club and a bi-monthly film night. As a caring spiritual community, we’d love to have you join us!

 members@gaybanff.com  www.gaybanff.com Serving the GLBTQS community in Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise and Area.

GRANDE PRAIRIE Community Groups GALAP

 10113 - 103 Ave, T8V 1C2

 780-512-1990 Gay and Lesbian Association of the Peace.

• Wednesday Coffee Nights

LETHBRIDGE Community Groups GALA/LA

 403-308-2893  http://www.galalethbridge.ca Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Lethbridge and Area.

• Monthly Dances

 Henotic (402 - 2 Ave S) Bring your membership card and photo ID.

• Monthly Potluck Dinners

 McKillop United Church, 2329 - 15 Ave S GALA/LA will provide the turkey...you bring the rest. Please bring a dish to share that will serve 4-6 people, and your own beverage.

• Support Line

 403-308-2893  Monday OR Wednesday, 7pm-11pm Leave a message any other time.

• Friday Mixer

Gay & Lesbian Integrity Assoc. (GALIA)

 galia@uleth.ca

• Movie Night

 Room C610, University of Lethbridge

Gay Youth Alliance Group

• Soul OUTing

 Betty, 403-381-5260  bneil@chr.ab.ca  Every second Wednesday, 3:30pm-5pm

• Film Night

 1206 - 6 Ave S

• Book Club

 1-888-530-6777

 lethbridgeab@pflagcanada.ca  www.pflagcanada.ca

 Second Sunday every month, 7pm An LGBT-focused alternative worship.

 Bi-monthly, contact us for exact dates.

 Monthly, contact us for exact dates.

Theatre & Fine Arts Exposure Festival

 http://www.exposurefestival.ca Edmonton’s Queer Arts and Culture Festival.

The Roxy Theatre

 10708 124th Street, Edmonton AB  780-453-2440  www.theatrenetwork.ca

BANFF/CANMORE Community Groups Mountain Pride

 BOX 4892, BANFF, AB, T1L 1G1

 Brian, 403-431-2569  1-800-958-9632

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

Community Groups Central Alberta AIDS Network Society

 4611-50 Avenue, Red Deer, AB  http://www.caans.org The Central Alberta AIDS Network Society is the local charity responsible for HIV prevention and support in Central Alberta.

Western Canadian Pride Campout

 www.eventmasterinc.net

YouthSafe

 http://www.youthsafe.net Alberta’s website for youth with sex-and-gender differences.

Youthsafe.net lists the resources, information and services to help youth find safe and caring spaces in Alberta.

Theatre & Fine Arts Alberta Ballet

 http://www.albertaballet.com Frequent productions in Calgary and Edmonton.

CANADA Community Groups Alberta Trans Support/Activities Group

 http://www.albertatrans.org A nexus for transgendered persons, regardless of where they may be on the continuum.

Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition

 P..O. Box 3043, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 3S9  (306) 955-5135  1-800-955-5129  http://www.rainbowhealth.ca

Egale Canada

 The Mix (green water tower) 103 Mayor Magrath Dr S  Every Friday at 10pm

 University of Lethbridge GBLTTQQ club on campus.

ALBERTA

Lethbridge HIV Connection PFLAG Canada

Pride Lethbridge

 8 Wellington St E, Third Floor Toronto, Ontario, M5E 1C5  1-888-204-7777  www.egale.ca Egale Canada is the national advocacy and lobby organization for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transidentified people and our families.

Products & Services Squirt

 http://www.squirt.org Website for dating and hook-ups. 18+ ONLY!

Theatre & Fine Arts Broadway Across Canada

 http://www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca

OUTtv

 http://www.outtv.ca GLBT Television Station.

 lethbridgepridefest@gmail.com

RED DEER Community Groups Affirm

 Sunnybrook United Church  403-347-6073  2nd Tuesday of the month, 7pm Composed of LGBTQ people, their friends, family and allies. No religious affiliation necessary. Activities include support, faith and social justice discussions, film nights, and potlucks!

www.gaycalgary.com

Politics

World AIDS Day: Remembering Those We Lost

By Stephen Lock December 1st was World AIDS Day, certainly a day dedicated to AIDS Awareness, but also a day dedicated to remembering those we have lost and who continue to live on in our hearts and memories.

UNAIDS, the United Nations’ committee dealing with the world-wide fight against HIV and AIDS, recently stated in a report that “the unpararalleled global response of the past decade has already forced the AIDS epidemic into decline.”

It went on to state the total number of new infections in sub-Saharan Africa, still the world’s most severely affected region, has dropped more than 26 percent from the height of the epidemic in 1997. South Africa has had its numbers drop by one third.

In the Caribbean, one of the first regions to be identified as dealing with AIDS (specifically at the time in Haiti), new infections have also dropped by one third since 2001. In South and Southeast Asia, there has been a 40 percent drop between 1996 and 2010 with India seeing a 56 percent decline.

However, the epidemic has recently taken a stronger hold in Oceania (Polynesia and Australia), Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

The report attributes these significant declines to what it calls “historic political agreements” such as the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. Both of them endorsed universal access to HIV prevention, treatment of the disease, and the care and support of those with HIV and AIDS. When world leaders met in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly’s Special Session on AIDS in 2000, only three countries - Senegal, Thailand, and Uganda - had any sort of national plan in place to respond to AIDS. Not even First World nations such as the USA or Canada, Great Britain or the countries of Western Europe had any sort of coordinated plan in place, leaving it up to AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) and various other community organizations to formulate local or regional plans and engage in education and awareness, often with limited funds.

In North America, it was the gay men’s community which spearheaded a response to HIV/AIDS and continued to do so for at least the first decade of the epidemic. The first cases of what became known as AIDS started to appear in North America primarily within the gay men’s communities,

www.gaycalgary.com

especially in New York City and San Francisco, decimating those communities in a matter of months.

Even in Calgary, it was for many years not unusual for those of us in the community to attend at least one funeral a month, often more. We all lost friends, lovers, and exlovers. Many of us were involved in the care of these men and watched them become sicker and sicker, fading away before our eyes, seeing once vibrant and vital young men shrivel and grow old before their time; their faces sunken in and their bodies emaciated and wracked with pain and scarred with lesions, suffering the indignity of being diapered and soiling themselves, then holding them when they died. Others died, frightened and alone, in cold sterile hospital rooms, estranged from those who mattered most to them.

It was individuals within the gay men’s communities who launched education programs, safer sex programs, and made a point of educating health care professionals, many of whom did not understand how AIDS was spread and through that fear and ignorance too often treated our people poorly, refusing to enter the hospital room of an “AIDS patient” unless decked out in some bizarre hazmat-like suit, covered from head to toe in protective shielding and gloved. Food trays would be left outside the room because housekeeping refused to enter. It was a devastating and horrible period and it continued that way for over a decade, even as the medical establishment formed a better understanding of the transmission of the HIV retrovirus and began to understand it could not be transmitted “casually”.

The transmission of HIV requires very specific environments in order to infect. The normal course of events that cause its transmission during sex was of little or no consequence until the Age of AIDS, when it suddenly became a concern. This is why condom use is so heavily promoted by those involved in safer sex education work.

We are now over 20 years into the epidemic and while the news coming out of the UNAIDS report is good news... great news, actually....there is still no end in sight. Safer sex education is now, at best, taken for granted and has lost much of its impetus and “edge” and is too easily dismissed by the very people it seeks to inform. At worst, it has ceased, having come under considerable attack by the social conservatives and right wing for being ‘too graphic’, ‘pornographic’, and ‘obscene.’ Some of the early, gaycreated, safer sex initiatives were very creative, and yes, graphic. They had to be. We were trying to save lives and ‘get through’ to people on how to protect themselves and

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

23

 From Previous Page when dealing with a population within which the primary mode of transmission was certain sexual behaviours, clearly the message needed to be sexual as well. As ASOs evolved into health service providers, heavily dependent on government funding, a definite conservatism crept into the delivery and bit by bit, the voices of gay men were lost.

Part of this, of course, was the reality that HIV/AIDS was no longer a “gay men’s disease” - a message many of us fought hard to dismantle - and that many of the new infections were to be found amongst those who shared needles and other drug paraphernalia in which the virus could incubate, or those infected via transfusions, or other nonsexual means. New messages needed to be developed to reach these populations. And funds were limited. Something had to ‘give’ and, predictably, it was our concerns that took a back seat.

This is not to minimize the work agencies such as AIDS Calgary or certainly The SHARP Foundation, both of which I was heavily involved with at one time, have done and are doing. But between serving on the first Board of Directors of AIDS Calgary and working as the Coordinator of Volunteer Services a couple of years or so later, I could see a definite swinging away from the grassroots, one might even say radical, messaging those of us who got the organization up and running had put out and what was then being promoted. The process of playing it safe in order to not alienate funders had begun and continued despite the resistance of some of us.

HIV/AIDS no longer carries the same stigma it once did. Those who are HIV-positive live with a chronic health disorder, not the death sentence being sero-positive once heralded. People living with HIV/AIDS are living for years, even decades, whereas in the early years it was a matter of months between diagnosis and dying. HIV/AIDS is simply a part of modern living, like cancer or diabetes. That is not necessarily a bad thing, if it has to be in our lives at all. However, we now have a whole generation, even two generations, who have been born into and grew up with the reality of HIV/AIDS and who tend to be complacent about it as a result. We can never afford to be complacent.

For those of us who came of age in the early years, lost entire friendship circles and chosen family members to this disease, World AIDS Day is a time to remember, to bring back the faces of those we will not see again in this life, and to once again feel them touching our lives, if only by a shadow.

I will always love you guys.

24

Community

Help Us Make It A Happy Hamper Holiday

By Jamie Schneider, AIDS Calgary Awareness Association Now that it is coming closer to the holiday season, AIDS Calgary Awareness Association (ACAA) is preparing for its Hamper program.

On December 16th the Hampers will be distributed to ACAA clients in Calgary, Medicine Hat and Bow Valley.

“The Holiday Hamper program provides clients with a grocery card and a gift. The gift card allows clients to choose grocery items that fit their cultural, religious and dietary needs. Around the holidays, there are often extra expenses such as gifts, insulated winter items, higher utility bills, transportation costs, etc,” said Capri Rasmussen, Team Leader of HIV Support Services at ACAA. “The Holiday Hamper program provides additional support to many of the individuals and families we serve who are living on low incomes.”

According to Rasmussen, about 140 Hampers are expected to be given out this year.

To collect donations for this program, ACAA is asking the community to make a difference in the lives of people they serve by donating to this program.

One ACAA client remarked, “Holiday Hampers help me tremendously! What I get, I use to a great extent and [it] lasts me a long time! Keep up the great work [in] helping a lot of others during the joyous Christmas season.”

Those wishing to make a difference are asked to visit ACAA’s website at to donate online. Directions on how to mail donations are also available online.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to make a donation during the holiday season.

AIDS Calgary Awareness Association info@aidscalgary.org • www.aidscalgary.org

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2610

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2611

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Multi-Colour Fun Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat comes alive at Stage West

 Photos courtesy of Stagewest

By Jason Clevett For forty years, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been one of the most popular shows created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Based on the “coat of many colors” story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Genesis, this was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly.

Having had a wildly popular run at Stage West in the past, the show returns for the holidays, running until January 22nd.

Theatre fans have a love-hate relationship with Webber, but Joseph is arguably one of his best shows. The story - of a young man favored by his father, cast aside by his brothers and sold into slavery, and his journey in Egypt - is easy to understand and the music is catchy.

David Cotton has a fantastic voice, and he portrays a very likeable Joseph. The fun thing about the show is that virtually every cast member gets a chance to shine, and Joseph boasts an incredibly talented ensemble. It includes a variety of musical styles, so just when you think they have done it all they throw in a new twist. The show is funny as well, a nice blend of humor and song. An amusing moment was watching dancers in black spandex shorts gyrating almost in the faces of the people at the front row tables – not quite what they were expecting I am sure.

www.gaycalgary.com

The show also includes a children’s choir courtesy Storybook Theatre, a nice touch to see another local theatre group included. The kids play their roles well as part of the show. If there is one flaw to the production, I would say it is the “megamix” at the end which basically recaps the entire show with snippets of song. Added to the book in the 1990’s it is repetitive, and drags down an otherwise great production.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a story of redemption and forgiveness, to a fun soundtrack. It isn’t going to change the world (although none of Webber’s shows would), but it is an enjoyable night out that will leave you humming to yourself for days after.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Until January 22nd Stage West Calgary • www.stagewestcalgary.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2612

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

25

Trans-Identity

Why the Umbrella Failed Part 4: Conclusions

By Mercedes Allen I’ve written previously about the need for clarity between the terms “transsexual” and “transgender,” but also why it makes sense to seek rights and inclusion as allies.

This is similar to how trans* differs from lesbian / gay, but shared discrimination and characteristics make it sensible to empathize and ally. I want to conclude that thought with ideas on how to ally while respecting those differences.

How: Listen The mistake that some often make is in thinking that in order for their narrative to be heard, another’s must be silenced. We do not each have to trump “The Other”, in order to be heard. By separating characteristics in naming, we make clear that we’re defining multiple identities, and that is enough.

This will mean reassessing our own views to see that others’ experiences can be different from our own, and equally valid.

This means being conscious of language that is often used to judge or invalidate others. This means listening to how others describe themselves. We can communicate without generalizing about a person based on their membership in a perceived group. Keep personal issues separate from the dialogue on characteristics. We cannot define for someone else who they are, what they need and what their life experiences mean.

Invalidation is not simply limited to words. The opinions that “you can never become completely male or female” or conversely that “anything short of this form of transition means a person isn’t real” are equally invalidating of different trans* people. That’s why it makes sense to clearly delineate the difference in the first place. Invalidation is triggering, and why the arguments can get so heated. It doesn’t always excuse the ferocity of a response, but it is a large part of why it happens.

How: Respect Which leads to a related principle: according respect. Every functioning relationship must have that, and alliance is no different. The idea that “respect must be earned” harkens to the idea that someone needs to meet your prerequisites. Instead, each individual needs to start out being respected, unless their individual deeds warrant a change to that. And if / when someone does something that merits disrespect, it should not then be extended to everyone else who shares a characteristic with that person.

Respect needs to be a part of the equation, but it has to be a kind of respect that doesn’t imply a need for conformity and conversion.

How: Realize That Nothing Happens in a Vacuum By defining ourselves narrowly, we are turning away more than we realize. Our “communities” are often fissured by ability or disability, family circumstances, age, economic status and employment. The differences are profound, and the consequences of not seeing and not listening to them are that our communities are defined by narrower visions than we realize. But recognizing these fissures and reaching out with many of these same principles help to bridge divides with allies we never knew we had -- and understand the universal struggle against oppression more clearly.

How: Revisit How We Frame Our Struggles “Transgender” as an umbrella implies that we are one issue, with one solution. We’ve seen now that that isn’t the case.

26

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

Clarity on what gender identity and gender expression are and why two terms are needed makes it easier to clarify that there were two sets of needs, and why.

Having an umbrella made it easier for medical professionals, legislators, media, employers and the public at large to engage with transsexual and other trans people, and find reasons to care about the issues faced by them. Some fear that by changing how we frame things, we’ll be destroying everything we might have accomplished and need to start over. This is not the case. But we need to reassess and refine our message to make it clearer and more comprehensive. “Gay” doesn’t adequately cover lesbians and bisexuals — we can’t expect any one word to adequately do the same for all trans people.

This does affect how we approach questions affecting overlapping communities. This comes up when we say things like “intersex is a trans issue.” That implies ownership, and is obviously wrong. There are certainly areas of overlap and reasons to empathize and ally. In the case of intersex, there may even be forthcoming science to bolster that. But alliance is the better solution, done by empowering intersex people to speak to what they’ve experienced, and also educating ourselves by listening so that in those moments that intersex perspectives are not available, then (and only then) we can fill the void (with caveats that make clear that we’re not the final authority). It also means being conscious of those areas where transsexual and / or gender diverse activism can actually harm intersex people.

Are Transsexual and Gender Diverse Issues LGB(T) Issues?

As within, so without. Lesbian and gay advocacy functions as alliance, and periodically, it happens that gay men speak for lesbians and get called on it, and vice versa. But because bisexual, transsexual and gender diverse groups don’t have the same visible numbers and the same number of overlaps, they’ve often been likewise victim to umbrella thinking, and it has caused deep rifts and bitterness. Which is a road I hope transsexual and gender diverse activists can commit themselves to avoiding. Are trans issues LGB issues or aren’t they? Neither answer is correct: we should be thinking in terms of alliance, rather than ownership.

How: Mutually Empower Which leads to the next logical step: if disempowerment is the problem, then empower. This means providing opportunities for diverse voices to speak, acknowledging clear distinctions and recognizing that there isn’t a single solution to trans struggles.

There are in fact more than simply two voices (“transsexual” and “gender diverse”) that need to be represented, too — for example, I as a transsexual woman cannot claim to speak for transsexual men. As capable people become active and available, invite them into the levels of advocacy that shape the movement. This is both true without and within our own movements.

Any organization aiming to undertake transsexual and gender diverse advocacy does need to invite available, capable and willing trans people to be at the forefront of that, and understand that they need to have a place in shaping the script.

How: Preemptive Resolution We can’t simply attempt to make the gains that are within our reach now and let the conflicts that later arise sort themselves out. We need to consciously drill down to find where our conflicts are, and shape what we’re asking accordingly, to

www.gaycalgary.com

ensure that the gains we attain now will not harm others later.

Some of those conflicts we’ll need to examine include: • Clarity on when accommodations in gendered spaces is needed and when third-gender accommodation is appropriate, • Clarity on the existence of two or more narratives when lobbying legislators or addressing the public, • Clarity on when identification as men and women is needed and when third-gender identification is appropriate Can we advocate for transsexuals’ integration into a binary world and for non-binary spaces at the same time? I’d think it should be easier and make more sense to the public from an allied “transsexual and gender non-conforming” position and language than otherwise. This is where an alliance makes far greater sense than an umbrella.

Envisioning Alliance In envisioning an alliance, I’m not picturing simply changing terminology, although the clarity of giving name to multiple communities is a part of that improvement. But there also needs to be a wholesale rethinking of how we take ownership — often without realizing it — and voice one narrative without making it clear that one narrative does not represent the whole. Anything less than a commitment to clarity is half-hearted at best.

Words are absolutely important. When “transgender” was used as an umbrella term, it was meant to be a union of purpose, not a union of narratives or an intent to erase. The trouble is, the latter still happened regardless of what we intended, by the faulty language we’d adopted. That language has to evolve in a meaningful way.

At the same time though,”The Community™” needs to be seen as communities, neighbourhoods of people who don’t always need exactly the same things that we do, and to whom we should do no harm — or better, when there is the opportunity, with whom we should work together. And if we do choose to build those alliances, then it will sometimes mean standing up for things that don’t directly affect us sometimes. Because that’s what alliance is.

An alliance is a compromise, but a compromise on an equal footing, entered into with conscience.

Thank you to everyone who read through these long and sometimes pontificating columns. In the end, this series needs to be a conversation starter, and not an ender.

I’d like to challenge readers now: • What would you envision an alliance or alliances to look like?

• Should there even be an alliance?

• If so, what are you prepared to do to forge those alliances?

• How do you feel about doing so, without the sameness that an umbrella implied?

• What do you require from others to be able to ally with them?

There is a reason that the last question was placed last. In alliances, that question can’t be your first and only concern.

This is why they can be difficult. Better isn’t always easier.

But I believe it’s where we need to go, in order to avert growing stalemate and division.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2613

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

27

Ring in the Holidays With Bells On

Guys in Disguise offers theatre goers a refreshing Yuletide comedic treat

 Photos by Ian Jackson / Epic

By Janine Eva Trotta Marking their 25th Anniversary Season, celebrated drag troupe Guys in Disguise brings to Edmonton’s Roxy Theatre a refreshing take on an old genre, all in good Christmas cheer.

Written and directed by Darrin Hagen, author of Queering the Way, his production With Bells On takes audiences into a stalled elevator ride not soon forgotten. James Hamilton and Paul Welch play an unlikely duo: a mild mannered 28

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

accountant en route to blur his divorce sorrows and a 7-foot glamazon decked out to reclaim her Christmas pageant crown. The two become trapped in their apartment building’s elevator, and so the hilarious tale to get the belle to her ball by midnight begins.

“I knew I wanted to put a huge drag queen and a smaller straight guy on stage, but didn’t know much more,” says Hagen. “Then my friend Neon (stage manager) was visiting my apartment and as we left the elevator landing was rough, as it usually is.” www.gaycalgary.com

“Neon said, you should write a play about the scary elevators in this building. Having been in many an elevator in drag, I knew immediately that it would be instant comedy.”

And an instant success. With Bells On was nominated for two Betty Mitchell awards including ‘Best New Play’ in Calgary where it was performed to sold out houses last winter season. The show’s Christmas theme wasn’t planned, but manifested when Hagen was work-shopping the script at Lunchbox Theatre and ironically quipped of the lead femme’s ensemble, “She is dressed like a giant sparkly Christmas tree”.

“I had never considered writing a Christmas play before, but as soon as it was said out loud, it was almost inevitable,” Hagen recalls.

This year the show will bundle audiences with the warm spirit of togetherness at the Theatre Network’s Roxy from November 29th to December 11th, with Tuesday through Saturday shows starting at 8pm and a Sunday matinee at 2pm.

While Welch will be reprising the role of the towering glitzy “She” Edmonton’s Hamilton has taken on the more demure role of “He”.

“James is the actor who originally inspired me to write this two hander – I saw him onstage in a staged reading a few years ago and thought Oh my god – he would look hilarious standing next to a giant Queen,” Hagen says.

The director promises that this is the Christmas show for all of those whom usually loathe the cheery season’s program list, stating himself a usual Grinch.

“The show made Calgary audiences grin from ear-to-ear, and I predict the same fun reaction in Edmonton,” he says.

“Plus it’s one of my most family-friendly plays – seriously.

I’m talking g-rated.”

Hagen wrote the script aiming to make the amusing plot and drag character appealing to a wide range of audience.

Attendees of all ages are sure to be dazzled by the ‘out of this world’ costume (designed by Norman J. MacDonald) donned by the equally zany She. “The audiences love seeing a tired genre like a Christmas play revisited with a fresh and new point of view,” he says.

“With Bells On embraces all who watch it, and breaks down a few stereotypes as well.”

Hagen says of all of his theatre experiences this is the one he’s enjoyed most.

“Creating this play has been an amazing gift…– start to finish, it has been a real joy to see it come together,” he says. “At last night’s preview I got to see the audience leave after the show, and every one of them had a huge smile on their face.”

“And when a full audience laughs out loud at something I have created – well, that’s the best gift of all.”

www.gaycalgary.com

With Bells On Roxy Theatre, Edmonton • Nov 29th to Dec 11th Tickets can be purchased at the Roxy Box Office by calling (780) 453-2440 or at TixOnTheSquare.ca. Tuesday, December 6 offers a two for one admission deal. http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2614

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

29

Gossip Queen Latifah needs to talk to you about…

Back in 1999, Queen Latifah was still transitioning from a hip-hop career, where she was known primarily as a rapper, to a film and singing career. And around that time she got her own talk show, The Queen Latifah Show. It didn’t last long, but that was before Oprah left the field wide open for a successor and the last 11 years saw Latifah’s career skyrocket to the A-list (even though her sexual orientation remains the subject of public speculation, prompts discussions of “glass closets,” and, to this moment, isn’t quite 100-percent confirmed). So now a new show is in the works, produced by Latifah’s Hollywood pals Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, and their business plan is a shrewd one: it’s not hitting airwaves until the fall of 2013, which ought to give the current crop –Anderson Cooper, Bethenny Frankel, Steve Harvey, Ricki Lake and Jeff Probst – time to thin their own ranks via cancellations.

Watch out, the Original Dragon Tattoo Girl is coming back Rooney Mara may be the woman American audiences eventually recognize most in the role of Lisbeth Salander after the English-language version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo hits theaters in December, but it was Noomi Rapace, the star of the original trilogy of Swedish films, who carried those movies to this side of the world in the first place. As the hard-bitten, crime-busting lesbian computer genius, Rapace shocked audiences with her character’s capacity for violence and her charismatic chilly presence left an indelible mark on every minute of the series. Now Rapace is re-teaming with Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev for an English language film co-starring Colin Farrell. In Dead Man Down, she’ll play a woman who seduces a gangster just so she can blackmail him afterward. The film starts shooting in early 2012, with a probable 2013 release date to follow. Sounds like another role that calls for a strong woman, and Rapace is more than capable of it. Just don’t call it typecasting; think of it as building a brand.

Cheyenne Jackson and Nathan Lane, playing it straight?

What kind of sitcom would you expect to see from two gay actors like Nathan Lane and Cheyenne Jackson? How about one where there’s no mention of any overly gay plot? No? Well here goes: USA has greenlit an untitled comedy pilot from Oscar nominee Douglas McGrath (Bullets Over Broadway) that will star Lane, Jackson and Scrubs vet Ken Jenkins. Centered on an unlucky actor (Lane) whose fledgling Broadway career is derailed when his elderly father becomes ill, he’ll return fishout-of-water-style to his Texas hometown, befriending his father’s doctor (Jackson) in the process. Obviously, one or both of the characters could turn out to be gay, but right now that’s not information anyone’s been given. Frankly, it would be an interesting development if neither character were written gay. Jackson already plays a heterosexual character on 30 Rock, and it would provide further proof that openly gay actors can take on any role they’re asked. Neil Patrick Harris and Zachary Quinto can’t be expected to carry that burden alone, right?

Romeo San Vicente has role-played convincingly in a variety of scenes.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2615  Lady Gaga. photo by Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

Deep Inside Hollywood A Very Gaga Thanksgiving

By Romeo San Vicente Leave it to Lady Gaga to avoid the typical when it comes to holiday specials. Instead of joining the Christmas onslaught and risking getting lost in the shuffle of one-off TV events, Gaga’s A Very Gaga Thanksgiving will not only allow her to get the jump on every other entry but put her in the more rarefied atmosphere occupied by very few other Thanksgiving-themed holiday specials. In other words, she’s chosen the esteemed company of Charlie Brown over Kathie Lee Gifford. The ABC special will feature Gaga performing her new single “Marry The Night” as well as her recent duet with Tony Bennett, “The Lady Is A Tramp.” She’ll be interviewed by Katie Couric, perform her version of “White Christmas” (it never hurts to hedge your bets) and help chef Art Smith make deep-fried turkey with waffles – presumably, while dressed as a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup. Set your DVR for Thursday, Nov. 24, Thanksgiving night.

30

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Lifestyle

Cocktail Chatter

Drinking Alone with Friends: The Yankee Mint Julep

by Ed Sikov Oh, Lord – give me the strength to change that which I cannot accept.

Like closing the beach house while my hottest housemates screw their brains out upstairs.

Dan was in St. Bart’s on a junket, bought by a big pharma behemoth and paid for by you and me. I couldn’t go because I found it morally objectionable, I had to close the beach house, and I wasn’t invited.

So while Dan sunned at some gorgeous resort, I washed out bottles of chutneys from the refrigerator and felt sorry for myself.

Then the “Porn’s Greatest Hits” playlist started blasting on the audio system. Kyle and Robbie spent the weekend with me, in a manner of speaking. Until they showed up groping each other I had no idea that they’d changed the middle word in BFFs. It was excruciating. And hot, in a tragic, out-in-the-cold kind of way. They were trying out new material while I emptied out the refrigerator.

Me (in the kitchen, thinking): “Nam pla sauce – out.”

Robbie (in an upstairs bedroom, shouting): “Yeah, man, there!”

Me (heading for the liquor cabinet, thinking): “It’s 5 o’clock in Greenland.”

Kyle (from his core): “Oh God give it to me baby unh unh unh unh yeah yeah unh unh unh….”

Life Lesson #26: swigging straight from the bottle never affirms one’s self-image. I held a magnum of Jack Daniels high and started gulping.

Robbie: “Aaaaaaahhhhhhhnnnnnnnnn! Aaahhnnn! Ahn!” Kyle: “Here it comes! Unnnhhhhhhhh! Yeah!”

This was more than a man should be asked to hear unless also he’s in the cast. I stomped out of the house and around the deck, but as I passed under the guest bathroom windows I heard running water, slapping noises and giggles. “So soon?” Kyle said with surprise. “Unh! Hey, you’re getting shampoo all over my… Oh? Yeah, sure, why not?

Unh!” Was there no sanctuary?

A straggly patch of mint inspired me to make myself a vast mint julep to get me through this ordeal. The traditional mint julep consists of a small handful of mint leaves and a little sugar or syrup, which somebody (see below) bruises with crushed ice and a fork to release the mint oil before adding bourbon. This is just plain dumb – another Southern discomfort masquerading as antebellum swank. Traditional mint juleps are easy to make if you have slaves. Bruising mint leaves with a fork to make six separate drinks? Hello, carpal tunnel syndrome. And it’s a dental comedy, since everybody ends up with bits of green leaves stuck to their teeth.

My version is cleaner, easier and tastes just as good; you get the mint flavor without the interdental leaves or the arm brace. I drank them to the rank, arousing sounds of puppy love – puppies in heat. They came down for dinner at some point, but by then I was shut tight in my bedroom with headphones on, the iPod bringing Jay Brannan’s beautiful voice directly into my brain. “F*** this, this can’t be my life….”

The Yankee Mint Julep Put fresh, washed mint leaves into a shaker with ice. Add a few drops of simple syrup, then dump in as much bourbon or Jack Daniels as possible. If anybody complains that Jack is sour mash, not bourbon, tell him to shove his snob traditions where the sun don’t shine, then shake, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve. Or throw it in his face.

Chablis, a healthy tea, a drink that’s free, a tonic for thee… you get the drift.

Before you stop reading, I assure you that this column’s featured cocktail is not urine based, nor does it contain half a teaspoon of urine-infused syrup, nor does urine float on top like a yellow Tequila Sunrise. This column is actually about water, which those of us who drink alcohol regularly should consume in large quantities.

Hydration! Hangovers are less severe if you drink water while tying one on. Water flushes out those nasty toxins they’re always mentioning – those vaguely criminal substances we’re said to be full of in our natural state and must rid our systems of daily. (Silly me. I thought urine contained the toxins, and getting rid of them involved peeing them into the toilet and not a tumbler. Boy, am I dumb!)

I’ve been drinking a lot lately: friends have been taking us out to celebrate our marriage; I spent some boozy days drowning my sorrows at closing the beach house; it’s getting colder and darker by the day, which led to sneaky passes by the liquor cabinet on my way anywhere in the apartment. So, I decided to take a week off and drink water. No flavored stuff. Just plain water.

I regret to say that I felt better immediately. No, I’m not staying “on the wagon,” an expression that comes from horse-drawn water wagons at the turn of the 20th century. I felt good but bored. Oh, sweet Sauterne, sobriety is dreary! Your mind improves – never a good idea. Reality comes into sharper focus – big mistake in these wretched times. You gain clarity, both mental and spiritual.

Dullsville. But for this brief period it was worth the painful monotony of better health. I kept imagining those nasty toxins exiting my body through my favorite organ, my overworked kidneys bathing in a clear wash of something other than vodka – something cleansing and healthy and tedious as hell.

The Best Plain Water: Ignore the know-it-alls who insist that tap water is as good as bottled water. It isn’t. It may start out dandy in the hills upstate or the underground springs that serve your community, but after it passes through all those corroded pipes and lands in your glass, it’s acquired a distinct tang. So drink Deer Park or Evian. (Did you know that Dasani comes from municipal water supplies?) My vote goes to Poland Springs.

The Best Sparkling Water: My vote once again goes to Poland Springs, but only the plain, unflavored kind. Pellegrino and Perrier are too flat; Canada Dry is manufactured. Poland Springs is naturally and generously carbonated.

And if you’re bored by a refreshing glass of chilled Poland Springs Sparkling? You can always pee into it, add some ice and call it an all-natural cocktail.

If you’re not able to try these recipes at home, then ask your favorite bartender to make them for you!

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2616

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

Water of Life I once found myself at a meeting of urine drinkers. No, under no circumstances – including Chinese water torture and being strapped to a chair and forced to listen to Ke$ha – would I ever in a trillion years drink my own piss. But I was accompanying someone who was HIV-positive, and I swore there would be no outbursts, groans, or wretching noises. We both were willing to try anything to keep him healthy. The group called itself “Water of Life.” They believed, like the late Prime Minister of India Morarji Desai (he lived to be 100; something must have worked), that a glass of pee was like a good

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

31

Interview

Kaya’s Boyfriend Has A Boyfriend The Canadian ex-Pussycat Doll’s mutual gay adoration

By Jason Clevett The world can seem a small place sometimes. Kaya Jones is on the line from her home in LA, and immediately gets excited to learn she is speaking to a Calgary based publication.

“My mom actually created a logo for the Calgary Stampede in the 1970’s! My Mom did graphic design for years, a lot of the reason why my family is based out of Canada is because my mother migrated from Jamaica. My Dad is American but I was born in Canada. She also did a Petro Canada logo; she lived in Calgary for a little while before I was born.”

The blonde beauty is a former member of the Pussycat Dolls from 2003 to 2006, which was the jumping point for her solo career.

“It was really a good learning experience professionally and personally. I wouldn’t be here on the phone with you if I hadn’t had that path and opportunity. Leaving was about me wanting to really express myself more as an artist and really be a part of everything in my art. It probably comes from being around my Mom as an artist my whole life. I have the opportunity now to really be involved and write my songs, approve my songs, be part of that process of working hand in hand with the writers and producers.”

One of her first brushes with mega-fame was alongside Katy Perry as background vocalists for Mick Jagger on the song Old Habits Die Hard from the film Alphie. The song won a Golden Globe in 2005.

“When I was writing with (Eurythmics’) Dave Stewart for the Pussycat Dolls in London, we were having dinner and he asked what my musical dreams were. I said I had two: to sing the national anthem at the Superbowl and to sing with Mick Jagger.

At the time those were it, it has changed since then. He said, you have really good tone, I think Mick would love your voice. That was the end of the conversation. Six months later I was in Los Angeles and he called me and told me to come down to the studio and pop my head in. I walked into the studio not expecting anything, he gave me no hint, and there is Mick Jagger in the recording booth. It was very surreal and insane, more than a dream come true. I was able to meet him and the musicians that evening. The following day Dave brought me in with Katy Perry who was doing a different style of music in 2004, pre I Kissed a Girl and we worked as backup singers for Mr. Jagger. So (it was cool) working

32

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

with Katy who is an awesome human being but, to work with a legend was very cool.”

Jones released an EP, Release on November 8th in advance of a full length album in 2012.

“Release is a teaser. The full length album is called Electrified which is a lot of dutch house electro music and dance, it is about having a good time. Release is about letting out your inner light, being who you are and letting people shine and not being scared of your gift and uniqueness.”

The current single Boyfriend is about being dumped for a man, and that is ok. The song was shopped around for five years without a taker, until the opportunity to record it landed in her lap.

“I love going away from the grain and doing something different.

Travis Huff, the producer and co-writer of the song, and I were recording another song and talking about doing something different and he said

. It is a song about a girl whose boyfriend dumps her for another man and it was passed by major artists and companies, no one wanted to attack it. He played it for me and it spoke to me in so many ways. My cousin is openly gay now but I have watched his struggle to come out to friends and family, and seen some of my friends dealing with it. I have an opportunity to shed light on things that others don’t have a voice for. I loved the idea that Trevor thought I was good for the song, it made sense for me to tackle it. A good song is a good song regardless of its message, if you like the message you should share it with the world as much as you can. I am really happy I did that.”

It is a subject that happens a lot in real life but is rarely dealt with in pop culture. For that reason, the subject has resonated with fans who have heard it.

“Every girl needs a gay! It is definitely something that

www.gaycalgary.com

happens; a lot of my male gay friends have said that before they came out they lied. Everyone in our family thought my cousin was a major player with girls but it was a facade. Finally when he came out and was able to be who he is and open it was wonderful and beautiful. But he had a lot of pain and struggled with that. It is a message that it is not taboo, it happens, and everyone needs to relate to things. That is what art is about, finding that relationship with your audience. It is something I dealt with when I was 12 years old in school, and I didn’t realize it. My best friend was gay and we would hold hands but he had a boyfriend, we were all best friends and there was no judgment because we were so young and hadn’t heard people make fun of us. It is definitely something girls can relate to and I have had fans say thanks, I went through this.”

Kaya Jones is on the Equality Tour promoting equal marriage in the USA. “A few years ago I wanted to do something with the armed forces. I went over to Iraq and performed for the troops which was amazing. I realized when I went over there how many men and women were closeted because they kind of had to be. I had a lot of fans reach out to me and make me understand these issues in America a little bit more. Canada is so forward in this aspect, in America we are still struggling. If you can fight for your country and die for your country, you deserve as a human being to have rights in your country. They are putting limitations on what love is about. It is not about gender or being gay or straight, love is a gift and everybody deserves to give and receive love. The Equality Tour is not a party thing, and the gay community has been poorly represented in a lot of ways. It is about performing in the communities and getting the message out there standing up for my gay friends and fans, that I support marriage equality and who you are. Of course Lady Gaga is on the forefront of that and I have to take my hat off to her because she is doing something, actually standing up for what you believe in and these rights and issues.”

It is her way of giving back to the community that has supported her, she said. “(My gay fans) have been really, really helpful. Coming from a girl group we had a lot of male fans and it was wonderful to see the gay fans move with me on this journey of being a solo artist. I feel really blessed that I have had such wonderful fans, gay and straight, that have been really welcoming. The gay fans were the first to book me for things like LA Pride and give me the opportunity I didn’t have off the bat. I do have to say that my gay audience means a lot to me, which is why it isn’t just about being an audience but being there for them as much as they have been for me.”

Although the battle for gay marriage ended 6 years ago in Canada, Jones is making plans to return to her country of birth as well.

“We are in discussions right now about a New Years Eve show and multiple dates within Canada. I was born and grew up in Toronto and I feel I am a mix of both – my mother was born in Jamaica, moved to Canada at a young age and I was born there - my father is American. I really do feel that I am American and Canadian and I am very proud to be both. I miss things like ketchup chips and poutine, the mixtures of cultures and foods, so I am excited to come up and tour Canada.”

Kaya Jones Boyfriend and other tracks available on iTunes www.kayajones.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2617

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

33

Our Friend Dorothy

ATP brings the Wonderful Wizard to life

 Photos courtesy of ATP

By Jason Clevett You may have wondered what that scream echoing through Calgary earlier this year was about. The mystery is solved, it was local actor Ksenia Thurgood, screaming with joy at being offered the role of Dorothy in Alberta Theatre Project’s holiday show The Wizard of Oz. “For this show I didn’t audition, I got the phone call. I was elated, I screamed, muffled of course but I did scream. I was honestly just really honored and excited, I couldn’t believe they were offering me the role without auditioning, I had submitted to be seen for it but that they wanted me was pretty humbling.”

Once the initial joy subsided, the pressure was on. One difficulty in playing as iconic a character as Dorothy Gale is that people expect a replica of Judy Garland on stage. To her credit, Thurgood doesn’t try to be Garland. She makes the character her own and does so fantastically (your heart will break when Ms. Gulch takes Toto).

“Whenever I get freaked out about having to be her I think about one of her most famous quotes - You have to be a first rate version of yourself, you can’t be a second rate version of anyone else. From day one I had to take Dorothy and not think of it as Judy Garland and try to mimic her, I had to make her my Dorothy. Some people might be coming with that expectation, but I am not Judy Garland…to try and be her wouldn’t do justice to her or myself. It is rare that you work on a show that is brand spanking new - it is a given on any production that you don’t try to be anyone else and don’t watch their work so you don’t unintentionally make their choices. It’s just innate to do the best job you can in telling that story and hope the audience 34

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

likes it. They may hate it – you’re no Garland, shut your face Thurgood! Worst Dorothy ever, I am becoming straight because of you!”

Of course the rest of the cast is also fantastic. Bruce Horak (Scarecrow), David Leyshon (Tinman), and Kevin Corey (Cowardly Lion) infuse aspects of the film versions into their characters but stand on their own merits as well. Anyone familiar with the skill and style of Elinor Holt would believe she is the perfect Wicked Witch, and she more than meets expectations. From top to bottom The Wizard of Oz is superbly cast.

“Everyone is double cast except for Dorothy and the Toto’s.

One of the great things about this show is aspects are straight from the movie. It has been fun, throw stuff at the wall and see what happens. There have been parts specifically in choreography where we watch the film to capture some iconic moments lifted from the film. …There are a ton of theatre tricks in this show which is pretty cool, I am a nerd that way.”

This is Thurgood’s third consecutive year in the ATP holiday show, also appearing in 2010’s Seussical: The Musical and 2009’s Toad of Toad Hall. It means a lot to be part of the annual tradition, she said.

“I am simply honored and grateful to have the work and they are trusting me with this big part. There are times when I get freaked out about it. Singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow?!

That freaks me out and I have to talk myself down from the ledge, you just have to be yourself and do your best job Ksenia.

That they want to keep me around to tell these stories, that they trust my work enough for a high energy show over Christmas means a lot.” www.gaycalgary.com

Also meaningful is the chance to meet the kids from the audience after the show.

“I had one little girl during Toad of Toad Hall who was so charming. I was Ratty, so kind of asexual. She wanted to talk to me. When I went to my dressing room another actor came back and told me that the little girl really wanted my phone number.

I went out and had to explain that Ratty doesn’t have a phone he lives by a river. She just wanted to call Ratty and hang out and wanted to know if he would be into that. She was like 7.

That will always stay with me.

“Other little kids are super shy, little girls like to get really close and touch you, they like pretty costumes. There are others that literally launch themselves off the ground to get a hug, it makes you feel pretty special. To affect little people’s lives touches my heart in a way you wouldn’t believe. I think of it as, what is the best way for me to do my job in telling the story of The Wizard of Oz? and if the kids get taken away on a journey that is fantastic. Those little kids get sooo excited, they don’t care about Ksenia they just want to be near you and touch you and talk to you. That is part of what is special about the Christmas show, making a little person feel important.

The Wizard of Oz has been done a million times from school productions to massive touring shows. Yet no matter how many times you’ve seen it, there is something special about it. Such is the case with ATP’s production.

“It is a story that is well loved and known, and a story about what’s important in life and how all you truly need is people you love - that is your home no matter where you are in the world. You can expect to see some surprises and an amazing world that has been created. I am really hoping audiences will be taken away to Oz, literally,” Ksenia said, adding, “Also as someone with so many gay friends, playing a gay icon like Dorothy is pretty cool.”

Understatement?

The Wizard of Oz Alberta Theatre Projects • Until December 31st www.atplive.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2618

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

35

Out of Town

Texas Coast: Galveston, Corpus Christi, and South Padre Island

 Downtown Galveston’s historic Strand District. Photo by Andrew Collins

By Andrew Collins Although America’s Gulf Coast doesn’t have any major gay beach resorts, the Texas barrier island of Galveston has steadily become a popular destination with GLBT travelers. About 220 miles south, the coast’s largest city, Corpus Christi, contains a number of notable attractions as well as the coast’s only gay bar south of Galveston.

And at the southern tip of the Texas coast, scenic South Padre Island has developed increased cachet as a getaway, thanks in part to biannual Splash South Padre Island gay parties.

Here’s a look at these three classic coastal getaways in Texas.

Galveston The historic and charming city of Galveston (www.galveston. com) is a haven of sandy beaches, opulent Victorian houses, and touristy but engaging seafood restaurants and souvenir shops. Gays and lesbians – many from Houston, 50 miles inland – regularly visit here. With colorful architecture, a small but discernible arts scene, and a laid-back demeanor reminiscent of Key West and New Orleans, this city of 48,000 is a bit more openminded and offbeat than any other on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Galveston occupies a narrow, 32-mile-long, windswept coastal island. Several historic neighborhoods abound with stately old mansions and cheerful clapboard cottages, and the main drag along the shoreline, Seawall Boulevard, bustles with seafood restaurants, chain hotels, and shops selling postcards, seashells, swimsuits, and sunglasses.

If you’re a beach lover, you’ll want to hang out around the shorefront neighborhoods, but the city’s vibrant and quirky personality reveals itself most strongly a couple of miles north, in the downtown Strand Historic District, which overlooks 36

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

Galveston Bay. This warren of palm-shaded cobblestone lanes is punctuated by a few tall buildings.

There are numerous attractions to keep you busy around Galveston, the most famous being the Moody Gardens, a dazzling nature-oriented complex consisting of three huge pyramidal buildings housing a vast tropical rain forest, an aquarium, and a science museum. Other points of interest include downtown’s Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum, in which you can explore an actual retired oil rig; the dramatic 1894 Grand Opera House, which now presents theater and music events; and the Texas Seaport Museum, which is home to 1877 Tall Ship Elissa.

If you start to feel a little peckish, downtown’s festive Yaga’s Cafe (www.yagaspresents.com) is a longtime favorite for casual Caribbean-inspired fare. For extremely tasty Latin American and Mexican fare, including delicious Gulf snapper ceviche, head to Rudy & Paco (www.rudyandpaco.com). A spacious, elegant restaurant overlooking Galveston Bay, Willie G’s (www.williegs. com) serves huge and rich portions of seafood, including lump crab au gratin and snapper Kathleen (blackened with shrimp, crab, mushrooms, and lemon butter). Gay-popular Mosquito Cafe (www.mosquitocafe.com), despite its pesty name, might just serve the most sophisticated and polished contemporary cuisine in town. This charming space with tall windows exudes understated elegance. Gay-friendly MOD Coffeehouse (www. modcoffeehouse.com) is one of the best places in town for espresso and tea drinks, plus decadent desserts.

The city has a few gay bars. The friendly and festive 3rd Coast Bar (www.3rdcoastdowntown.com) overlooks the Gulf and has a small deck outside. Robert’s Lafitte is another neighborhood bar with an easy-going personality. A relative newcomer that’s quickly become popular, Stars Beach Club (starsbeachclub. com) is a great spot for dancing. And the Pink Dolphin (pinkdolphingalveston.com) is a low-key neighborhood gay bar www.gaycalgary.com

that’s a favorite with locals. The dapper Bacchus Wine Bar (www. bacchus-wine-bar.com) serves a nice range of wines (and beers) by the glass - this mixed hangout is a fun place for drinks before or after dinner along the Strand.

Galveston claims a pair of Texas’s most renowned historic hotels, and both of them are quite gay-friendly. Anchoring the heart of downtown’s Strand Historic District, the Tremont House (www.wyndham.com) captures the elegance and warmth of a European boutique hotel. The hotel’s 119 rooms have marble baths and fluffy pillow-top bedding. A 10-minute drive south, the imposing Hotel Galvez (www.wyndham.co) offers a more peaceful setting overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Although rooms have every amenity, the period decor thoroughly recalls the city’s gilded era. You can sip cocktails at the pool’s swim-up bar or relax to piano music over the Sunday champagne brunch.

Among mainstream B&Bs, the gay-friendly Avenue O B&B (www. avenueo.com) is a romantic, imaginatively decorated inn set in the city’s historic Silk Stocking District. The 1923 Mediterranean Revival house overlooks beautifully landscaped grounds.

Corpus Christi With a population of just over 300,000, Corpus Christi (www. visitcorpuschristitx.org) is the largest community along the Texas coast - it’s about a 4.5-hour drive south of Galveston, and it’s just a 2.5-hour drive down I-37 from San Antonio. The city enjoys a sheltered setting on Corpus Christi Bay, which separates it from Padre Island. From downtown Corpus Christi, it’s an easy drive to the island, which is home to popular seaside attractions like Mustang Island State Park and the scenic town of Port Aransas.

A fairly conservative city with a strong military presence, Corpus Christi has a limited gay scene but is home to several noteworthy attractions. At the north end of downtown, the outstanding Art Museum of South Texas and Museum of Science & History anchor a waterfront cultural district that also includes the first-rate Harbor Playhouse Theatre as well as a complex of restored historic houses known collectively as Heritage Park.

Just a bit north, the Harbor Bridge leads to the North Beach neighborhood, which is home to the world’s oldest surviving aircraft carrier, the World War II-era USS Lexington, which is now an impressive floating museum. Next door, you can tour the excellent Texas State Aquarium, home to sea turtles, river otters, piranhas, and three graceful bottlenose dolphins.

Downtown’s upscale Omni Corpus Christi Hotel Bayfront Tower (www.omnihotels.com) as well as the stylish and more intimate V Boutique Hotel (www.vhotelcc.com) are reliable, gayfriendly lodging options close to local attractions - they’re both a short walk from Water Street Market (www.waterstreetmarketcc. com), a lively hub of restaurants, shops, bars, and a cool little museum dedicated to Texas surf culture. Here you’ll find an excellent coffeehouse, Agua Java, as well as the Water Street Seafood Co. and Oyster Bar and the Executive Surf Club - all good places for drinking and dining. The main gay club in town, the Hidden Door (thehiddendoorcc.com), is on the south side of downtown and has good drink specials, a cheery patio, and a side bar called the Loft with piano cabaret.

If you’d rather stay outside of the bustle of downtown and near the beach, Anthony’s by the Sea (www.anthonysbythesea.com) is a terrific, lesbian-owned B&B in Rockport, just 30 miles up the coast from Corpus Christi. This comfy six-room property is just a few blocks from Aransas Bay, and rates include a hearty breakfast, which you can enjoy on the shaded patio.

South Padre Island The southernmost Gulf Coast town in the United States, bustling South Padre Island (www.sopadre.com/island) has long been famous as a family vacation spot, more recently as a Spring Break destination flooded with college students, and in just the past few years as the site of two raucous and fun gay circuit parties, known as Splash South Padre Island (splashsouthpadre. com) - it’s held twice a year, once in late April and then again in the fall (usually late October or early November). Check the www.gaycalgary.com

website for dates, as they’re usually announced a few months in advance of these parties.

A word about the geography of the area, which can be confusing for outsiders. Padre Island is the world’s longest barrier island and the second-largest island in the Lower 48 (after Long Island).

It extends for some 130 miles from just east of Corpus Christi, where it’s generally called North Padre Island, all the way down to the tip. Because the central section of the island is preserved wilderness, you can’t drive from the northern to southern parts. The town of South Padre Island is the only substantially developed part of the island, and from Corpus Christi you get here by taking U.S. 77 south to Highway 100 east - it’s about a 3.5-hour drive.

Splash South Padre Island is a fun time to visit, drawing revelers from throughout the South and increasingly from all over the country. With a mild climate, a couple of miles of beautiful beachfront, and a restaurant scene that’s become steadily more sophisticated, this narrow island community is a terrific destination year-round, especially from fall to spring, when the weather is mild (it can be a little toasty in summer, although Gulf breezes moderate the temperatures).

The preferred activity in these parts is relaxing: you can laze on the beach, ride horseback at Padre Island National Seashore, and enjoy the usual sorts of recreational activities you’d find at the seashore: fishing, boating, kite-boarding, surfing, snorkeling, and even dolphin-watching cruises. Fans of nature should check out the fascinating South Padre Island Birding Center, which comprises both a nature center and a network of boardwalks that lead out along the bayfront (and from which you can spot everything from alligators to least sandpipers). Just across the Queen Isabella Causeway on the mainland, the historic village of Port Isabel contains shops, restaurants, a marina (with boat tours), a historic lighthouse, and other amusements.

Seafood is a highlight in the area, with the Dirty Al’s/ Daddy’s (dirtyals-daddys.com) restaurant group among the top contenders - they have locations both on the island and across the bay in Port Isabel, and fried shrimp, oysters on the half shell, and blackened fish are all outstanding. The low-frills Manuel’s in Port Isabel is a good bet for outstanding Tex-Mex fare, including enormous breakfasts. More upscale, urbane options include stylish Cafe Kranzler (www.cafekranzler.com), where specialties include lobster omelets at breakfast and marinated sesame-crusted ahi at dinner; and Zeste, a gourmet market and restaurant known for creatively prepared tapas, salads, sandwiches, and other healthy fare.

There are no gay bars on South Padre Island, but establishments like Mooncussers (www.mooncusserspi.com) and Louie’s Backyard (www.lbyspi.com) are always welcoming and often host GLBT parties during Splash weekend. And inland, you’ll find gay bars in some of the border cities, like Studio 69 in Brownsville (30 miles southwest) and PBD’s in McAllen (75 miles west).

South Padre is lined with beach resorts and condos, many of them facing the Gulf and others set along the bay (it’s just a few blocks from one side to the other). Most properties are moderately priced, with one of the nicest being a relatively new Hilton Garden Inn (www.hiltongardeninn.com) across from the Birding and Nature Center. A small, friendly spot on the beach with spacious, nicely updated suites, Palms Resort (palmsresortcafe.com) is one of the best values on the island - rooms have kitchenettes and nice-size sitting areas, and the on-site cafe overlooking the water serves tasty, casual food. There are also a few value-priced properties that offer special rates during Splash and are always very gay-welcoming: Comfort Suites, La Copa Inn, and Suites at Sunchase.

Andrew Collins covers gay travel for the New York Times-owned website GayTravel.About.com and is the author of Fodor’s Gay Guide to the USA.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2619

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

37

Photography Crowns for Kids at the Junction - Edmonton

38

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

Crowns for Kids at Twisted Element - Calgary

www.gaycalgary.com

Photography World Aids Day Show at Fab Bar - Calgary (photos by B&J)

The Gong Show II at the Texas Lounge - Calgary

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

39

MANLY MOSES

By Randy Myer Moses is not afraid to turn conventional on its ear. In his new album, Predictions, he sets his sights on pushing buttons and changing minds. The first single off the record, “I’m Your Man”, features pop sensation XELLE. Driven by a dirty synth sound, a heavy beat, and Moses’ unique voice and harmonies, it’s destined to become a dance floor staple.

The album features ten songs that whisk listeners on a journey through the inner world of Moses and his multiple layers of personality. It draws inspiration from 80’s bands like Depeche Mode, The Cure, and Erasure, however its message is completely Moses’ own with much of it stemming from his arrival in New York. “It was tough starting over in a new city with no money and no friends,” recounts Moses.

“But what’s great about New York is it’s a city of artists facing similar struggles and so we were able to build our own community.”

Moses’ big break came when he met record producer Zach Adam who helped him create the ambitious album. Says

40

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

Adam of Moses, “When I first met him, I was impressed by his talent and charisma. His artistry is unconventional yet his look is commercial.”

Together, they are hoping that rare combination – along with Moses’ pop oriented sounds, driving beat and strong message - will propel the out artist into mainstream. And why not? Moses is one superstud who deserves to be a superstar.

GC: The idea of freedom seems to be an underlying theme in much of your music.

M: I grew up in Israel in a strict family with stringent expectations. My dream was to be an entertainer but when I told my parents, they literally laughed at me and said “No, really. What do you want to do for a living?” They hoped I would become a lawyer or a doctor.

GC: How did you break free from their demands?

M: It wasn’t until I moved to NYC that I was finally able to break the chains and become my own person, creatively and sexually. The wheels of freedom were set in motion as soon as I took the first step to explore, discover and define myself as a man on my own terms.

GC: That’s what your new song, “I’m Your Man”, is all about.

M: Yes, it’s about playing with standard conceptions of what a real man should be.

GC: Is it correct to assume the music video was inspired

by George Michael’s, “Freedom”?

www.gaycalgary.com

M: The video is being compared to the ‘Freedom’ video, which is humbling and flattering, but in all honesty, it was not something we ever discussed or planned to do. It just sort of happened that way. George Michael is an amazing artist with an equally amazing career, so I’m fine with people making that comparison.

GC: But is George Michael a role model for gay men?

M: I can’t really say. He is definitely a role model for me as a performer.

GC: The ladies in your video aren’t ladies at all… some are actually the gender-bending girl group XElle.

M: We have a wide variety of personalities from the NYC nightlife world represented in the video. Our aim was to present something less to do with gender bending, more to do with bending the definition of gender.

GC: Does “I’m Your Man” follow the same path as Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Ke$ha’s “We R Who We R”?

M: I can definitely see the parallels with other outspoken artists, but my sound is a bit darker than that of the pop princesses. Message wise, I think we share some common elements.

GC: Is the world ready to accept Moses as their man?

M:L Pop culture is always on the look out for something new. I believe the world is ready to accept me as their man.

I’m definitely ready to be their man.

GC: What is your main message to fans?

M: Be true to thyself. It is the only way to achieve ultimate happiness and success.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2621

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

41

Music Review

Hear Me Out… for the holidays Michael Bublé, Glee

By Chris Azzopardi

Christmas

By: Michael Bublé My Rating:  The crooner’s sex appeal isn’t just surface hotness, though no one’s going to fault his boyish features.

It’s all over “Santa Baby,” taking the typically-forchicks tune and adding some machismo to it – baby becomes “bubby.” And instead of a sable, he wants a manly watch. With his deep drawl, and his tongue firmly placed in his cheek (don’t get any ideas about getting your bells jingled), the time-traveling troubadour pulls off the Eartha Kitt classic most charmingly. Then again, he does justice to most of the classics – 14 of them, and a new one called “Cold December Night” – on his first full-length Christmas album, a project the Frank Sinatrameets-Dean Martin singer was made for. It’s why songs like “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” both beautifully orchestrated by schmaltz master David Foster, fit his classic-sounding voice like hand and glove.

To play up his old-soul appeal, he invites the Puppini Sisters for a very merry ’60s-styled swing on “Jingle Bells.” He stretches his chords on a divine “Ave Maria,” has a “White Christmas” with Shania Twain and does a lovely, for-the-fireside version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Most surprising is his poignant change-up of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” pulling back on the pep and zeroing in on the lonely lyrics of desperation for a lover who’s away during the holidays. But not Bublé. He sounds right at home for Christmas.

Glee: The Christmas Album, Volume 2 My Rating:  

Not to be a Grinch, but is more Glee music really at the top of anyone’s Christmas list? But here you have it anyway: 12 tracks from a TV show so in love with itself that every few months we must be reminded of how awesome they think they are. The McKinley High kids are best when they’re not being themselves – you know, gleeful. A standout on the second disc of Christmas songs from the glee club is, predictably, Rachel’s (aka Lea Michele) appropriately gloomy reading of Joni Mitchell’s “River,” just her peerless voice and a piano. Moments of minimalism trump all else: “Let It Snow” is a charming duet between Chris Colfer’s Kurt and Darren Criss’ Blaine, with ad-libs, finger snaps and a similar whimsy to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” from the first set. But the strongest of all the songs doesn’t even belong to a New Directions gleek. Instead, that honor goes to Glee Project runners-up Lindsay Pearce and Alex Newell, who sing “Do You Hear What I Hear?” like they’re trying to win their way in (this stirring tour de force should do it). The rest? As tacky as those Christmas sweaters grandma knits.

42

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

“Extraordinary Merry Christmas” isn’t extra ordinary; it’s Christmas-through-Katy Perry trash. Same goes for “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” originally a 1984 charity song that just sounds hokier in their hands, and the ’80s romp “Christmas Wrapping” is completely lacking in melody. And they wonder why Sue Sylvester hates them.

Also Out Ultimate Christmas By: Dave Koz ‘Tis the season for the saxophone. Dave Koz’s fourth Christmas album is essentially a cash-grab compilation gleaning tracks from his three previous holiday albums – December Makes Me Feel This Way, A Smooth Jazz Christmas and Memories of a Winter’s Night – that tacks on two newbies: an intro and an outro (woopty doo!). Definitely not for people who get enough of this on the elevator, this smooth-jazz collection still offers some nice twists in composition, taking “Please Come Home For Christmas” into a bluesy direction with Idol finalist Kimberly Locke’s singing. But it’s a package that, despite tradition, needs some shaking up.

A Very She & Him Christmas By: She & Him She & Him make this Christmas their own with carols that aren’t cookie-cutter, taking gentler approaches to the sameold. Part of why it works without sounding monotonous is Zooey Deschanel’s darling, no-frills voice, a force that pulls you in with just the first few notes of “The Christmas Waltz,” tiptoeing in softly with guitar and a beautiful lilt that’s delicately matched. More standard fare is just as solid: the intimacy on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” captures the song’s nostalgia and “Silver Bells” is performed prettily just with a ukulele. A Very She & Him Christmas is a very nice surprise – even for the hipsters who hate Christmas music.

A Holiday Carole By: Carole King The legend shows her age on her first studio album in 10 years, disappointedly without a single new tune from the songwriting prodigy. Even her voice, ironed flat throughout, is a let down. “My Favorite Things” tries to recapture King’s piano-pop work but comes off as a note-flubbed hack job.

The over-enunciated ding-dongs on “Carol of the Bells” do it a disservice, though the choir helps conceal King’s weathered voice. Laughably awful, “Sleigh Ride” sounds more suited for an episode of Mister Rogers. Not until the coda, “New Year’s Day,” is there a truly memorable song that isn’t upset by a completely off-key vocal. A Holiday Carole, unfortunately, is the coal of Christmas.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2622

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

43

44

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

FOUR – OH!!

Michael Lucas Enters His Fourth Decade

By Robert Herman Hitting the two-score mark is a biggie and something most gay men are not eager to rush into.

Psychologists say we face two life-changing events that chart the course of our lives. The first is adolescence, that time when hormones run wild and life enchants and evades us, all at the same time.

The second is the moment most of us dread. That singular life changing moment: turning 40.

Just as when we crossed the 18-year milestone (that gave the right to vote and the ability to drive a car) so goes forty in the diary of our lives. But think back to when you were eighteen. What did you think of forty then? If you were like most, you thought one word: old.

Youth – and gay men under thirty - believe forty is the end of life. The good news, though, is that when most reach it, they realize forty is just the beginning. Michael Lucas has made his fortune from his youthful looks and body, yet he still says he is embracing the big four-oh.

GC: It’s hard enough for most gay men to turn forty, but you’re in an industry that thrives on youthful male beauty.

ML: For me, it isn’t hard at all to turn forty. Age is just a number and I never think about it. Also, millions of other gay men have done it before me and if you look at Hollywood today, most men we consider ideal are well into their prime: Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, Brad Pitt…

GC: Do you feel pressure to stay in shape?

www.gaycalgary.com

ML: Through every stage in life there is pressure to stay in shape. In my teens, I felt too skinny. In my twenties, I wasn’t built enough. Then I became busy running a company, so there was less time to go to the gym. The pressure is to find time.

GC: What do you do to stay looking good?

ML: I lead a very healthy lifestyle. I never touch alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. I also don’t spend my life in clubs. I eat right and I try to get at least seven hours of sleep every night.

GC: Does lots of sex keep you youthful?

ML: I think a healthy sex life is important to feel good mentally, but not physically. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality of sex for me.

GC: Is forty really fabulous? Or is it just something old people say to make themselves feel better about being old?

ML: It depends. Your twenties can be tragic and your forties can be fabulous. I was happier in my thirties than in my twenties and I look forward to being even happier in my forties and beyond.

GC: What is the best thing about turning forty?

ML: You are still very young, but you are experienced and you know exactly what you want and hopefully how to achieve it.

GC: What is the worst thing about turning forty?

ML: You are obligated to throw a spectacular birthday party.

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

45

GC: Why do most gay men struggle with getting older?

ML: I don’t think that’s true. If there are those that do, they shouldn’t.

GC: You haven’t noticed the swarms of gay men over thirty-five shopping in Hollister and American Eagle?

ML: I think it’s not only wrong but quite funny.

There are certain brands like A&F that are represented by 17-year-old models. If men think that by wearing these clothes, they will look like a youngster, they are very much mistaken. In my opinion, they should only be worn by teenagers and college kids.

GC: What do you miss most about your twenties?

ML: I miss the adventure.

I miss the journey. I miss making mistakes that helped me to find out who I am.

GC: What do you know now that you wish you knew then?

ML: The difference between love and lust. Also, the difference between being vulnerable with someone and simple sexual desire.

GC: How has your definition of success changed from when you were twenty?

ML: When I was twenty, I measured success by my bank account. Now that I’m older, I see success as being happy, being surrounded by people I love and knowing how to enjoy what I have and how to enjoy the moment.

GC: Would twenty-yearold Michael Lucas be proud of where forty-year-old Michael is today?

ML: Absolutely. I always expected that I would be successful and have money.

I worked very hard for it. I am very proud of where I am.

GC: Did you expect to still be in the adult industry?

ML: Yes. I always expected to be in the industry. It was never in doubt that I would be a director and producer and I worked very hard in order to make that my full-time career. I didn’t really think about whether I would be in front of the camera or not. It was about the success of my company.

46

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

GC: What’s your advice to the new crop of young men pursuing careers in adult films?

ML: Be disciplined and take it as a real job.

GC: Can they expect to last as long as you have?

ML: They can last as long or longer as long as they use their heads.

GC: Where do you hope to be in twenty years?

ML: Where I am right now, in New York City.

Being as happy as I am today with the friends I have made and hopefully many more. I would also love to have children.

GC: Michael Lucas wants to be a daddy?

ML: It has always been a dream of mine.

GC: If you could re-live your twenties, would you?

ML: Definitely. I was born in Russia and left when I was 23. I would have left much earlier.

GC: Would you do anything differently?

ML: I would skip a boyfriend or two. I would spend more time with my family.

GC: What is your biggest accomplishment of your life?

ML: That I made it in New York. This is a tough city and I made it! Also, I was able to bring my whole family to the USA from Russia and give them a good life.

GC: What’s your birthday wish?

ML: An end to all wars, but that’s impossible to accomplish. Plato said two thousand years ago that wars will never cease to exist because they come from human passions.

GC: Is youth wasted on the young?

ML: That’s what the old say. They young don’t feel that way at all.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2625

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

By Randy Myers Jackson and Coleman Vrana - of the angst-ridden, twin gay brother hip hoppers known as Elephant – return to the airwaves this month with the release of their new single, “Queer Nation”.

A call-to-arms for gay youth to claim their rightful place in pop culture, the song is the band’s first track from their new record label, Scruffy Records.

“Queer Nation takes aim against the rampant homophobia that remains prevalent in hip hop today,” explained Coleman Vrana, from the band’s recording studio in Los Angeles.

“Jackson and I decided it was time we emasculate those antigay rappers spouting their lazy stereotypical hate rhymes.

We’re calling it a sonic castration.”

Better known for their tales of rowdy bathroom stalls, heroin binges, and month-long hunger strikes, “Queer Nation” is Elephant’s most confrontational track to date. Some say it borders on activism. Elephant calls it their most honest work.

“Homophobia plays a huge role in keeping anger alive in an Elephant song,” continues Coleman. “But we’re careful not to take ourselves too seriously. Poking fun at our lifestyle is important to make our point as impactful as possible.”

Still, the twins acknowledge the pain of discrimination is real. Originally from Oklahoma, they came out when they were 14 and recall getting beaten up every day. They were called the openly “hedonistic faggots.” Both of them left home when they were 18. Coleman went to New York and Jackson went to London. They lived separate lives until about four years ago when Coleman paid a visit to Jackson, who had moved to Los

Angeles. While they were together in L.A. they discovered that they shared a similar perspective on life.

They say years of feeling like they couldn’t survive sober – or high, for that matter - opened their eyes to a mindset of “not giving a f*ck” about other’s opinions or judgments. Forming Elephant was their way of embracing their true identity.

“Gay people have every right to be madder than hell about the unfair treatment we still receive from a society full of bigots,” they say. “For the most part, gay men are still the butts of jokes. We aim to be authentic artists that break the mold on what the world sees as cool. We call ourselves ‘queer’ before we call ourselves ‘gay.’”

“In our minds, and the minds of many people we love, a Queer Nation is already emerging,” continues Jackson, pointing to the growing number of teenagers taking a stand against the views of their parents and popular artists like Miley Cyrus speaking out publicly in support of queer issues. “Teen fists are getting tighter. A backlash is on the way. We can feel it.”

“A Queer Nation would be a nation of equality,” adds Coleman. “We’re sure it would look lovely.”

Of course the twins recognize the irony of recording songs in a genre of music that has historically fueled the fire of homophobia. They take a fight fire with fire mentality.

“Hip hop is arguably the most popular influence on music today,” says Jackson. “But apart from a few bands, there is no great gay hip hop artist out there representing the community.”

Though disco – or club music, as it is more commonly known - is the genre of music most often associated with the gay

www.gaycalgary.com

Continued on Page 51  GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

47

Jann Arden A conversation with Calgary’s favorite daughter

 Photos courtesy of Universal Music

By Jason Clevett “Toronto is good but I was just here 8 days ago and here I am again. This is insanity!’

To say Jann Arden is busy would be an understatement. On the phone from her Toronto hotel, she laments the fact that a week previous she had wrapped up an extensive book and album signing tour, had a brief return home, then made her way back to Toronto. Then after a private corporate gig it was back to Alberta for signings in Edmonton and Calgary, followed by a stop off at BC Place to sing the national anthem at the Grey Cup, and on to a signing in Vancouver.

This is just a week in the life of Jann, who has become Canada’s multi-media queen. This summer she hosted a popular CBC radio program Being Jann, she judged on the Global TV show Canada Sings, she dangled off the CN Tower with Rick Mercer, she completed her autobiography Falling Backwards, and she released her latest album Uncover Me 2.

“Bruce Allen, Bruce Allen, Bruce Allen. I have been with him as my manager for four years, he looks after Michael Bublé, Anne Murray, Bob Rock, and has looked after Bryan Adams for thirty years,” she explained, as the reason for her being so busy.

“He is a genius and knows what precarious times we live in. You can’t just sing anymore; downloads have changed the recording industry and very few people are making money. Labels are collapsing, they are firing hundreds of people. Everyone has been trying to do triage with it but it is an unstoppable force. I am going to be 50 years old, the clock is running down. I don’t want to be teetering around on stage reading a teleprompter, I

48

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

want to bow out like a lady. So I am doing all these really fun things and having a blast.”

Fans lined up for hours in Costcos and Indigos across the country for a few moments of her time. With her faithful dog Midi by her side, she was gracious and warm to everyone who saw her. “(People coming to the signings) means everything. Every author’s greatest fear is to do a signing and no one shows up.

It is very humbling when someone waits two or three hours in a lineup. I don’t have a lot of time to hear their stories because things move along pretty quickly but, the stories are the same.

They have this string through them which is really quite wonderful, a commonality.”

Arden has always been true to her humble Alberta roots, and it shows in her interactions with her fans. Her tweets and Facebook posts are often hilarious, and also honest; her online journal entries have always been heartfelt, and she takes advantage of the benefits of social media that were not there when she signed her first record deal 20 years ago.

“The tendrils of any kind of social media are very far reaching. Like anything in a public forum it can be a very good and useful thing or negative thing. A lot of people get hurt with cyberbullying and people ganging up on other people and leaving horrible messages. Because it is such a new technology to human beings we are learning the parameters. There have been serious assaults and murders from being taken off of a friends list! Crazy people are crazy fucking people.

www.gaycalgary.com

They don’t want to be stars, they are groups of baggage handlers and doctors and teachers that are scared out of their wits, who are not performers and wanted to help their charities.

For us it really tugged at our heart-strings, we wanted them to all be tied but that doesn’t make for good TV. So it had to be a democratic vote, we talked it out – the costumes and choreography and how they were singing and the mash-up choice, all that stuff factored into it. I am really looking forward to taping the next season.”

Jann’s 9th studio album, and second cover album was released in November. When iconic producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi, Michael Bublé and many others) was announced as working with Arden, many were curious if we would be hearing Arden covering Metallica’s Master of Puppets.

“Bob has a ton of pop sensibilities, Rock and Hyde and The Payolas in the 1970’s had some massive hits, the work he has done with Michael Bublé was extremely poppy. He is not a one trick pony, he can do it all. Everyone came to the table with songs. The Smiths tune Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me, I had never heard in my life - I love The Smiths but had never heard that song. He had me try a Stones tune and a Mark Cohen tune and some

“I think it can be very funny, I just say ridiculous things on Twitter. With Facebook there is something very voyeuristic about looking at pictures of someone you knew 30 years ago and they … don’t look anything like they did in High School. I call it the keyhole prophecies because you don’t know what you are going to see when you look in there, so you have to be careful when you look, and understand when you look at that keyhole there will be another eye staring back at you which is really creepy. I don’t read 99% of the responses, I just don’t. When you see me respond to something it is really random.

I try to be really careful.”

There is such a wide range of subjects to talk about with her.

We started with her time on Canada Sings, judging alongside Simple Plan’s Pierre Bouvier and rapper Vanilla Ice as groups of employees performed mashups to win money for charity. If you sensed a simmering sexual tension between Arden and Ice, you weren’t alone.

“Oh my god! Could you see it too? That is so funny Jason,” she said to me. “He was the one fellow I was worried about when I went in there. Pierre Bouvier is not this commanding physical presence, he is a nice looking young man. Vanilla Ice is this giant person of gristle and muscle, plus I had seen him on reality TV shows crashing things and throwing bodies around so I was a little nervous to meet them, but he is such a nice man.”

What appealed to Arden about the show was its difference from other music competition reality shows. It made it difficult to decide the winners.

“It was nice because it was philanthropic, they were fighting for their charities.

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

49

 From Previous Page of it didn’t work but, the stuff that did… I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac and listening to Doris Day singing Que Sera Sera with my folks. There are five decades of music on there and probably an equal amount of songs from Bruce, Bob and myself. That is why you end up with Peggy Lee and The Beach Boys and The Motels. It was very interesting working with Bob and he pushed me to really sing.”

Doing another cover album allowed her to release new music, as she hasn’t written for quite awhile. This is something she plans to remedy in 2012.

“I haven’t written one note, one song. I have to get through the tour which takes me to the end of March and I am dedicating three quarters of next year to writing and recording my next record. As soon as I get through the tour and Canada Sings taping I am going to sequester myself in my house, drag out my tambourine and notebook and see what I have to say.”

In Windsor, Ontario Arden signed for my friend Deborah.

After mentioning me, she bemoaned wasting 30 seconds of precious time talking about me. Arden inscribed her book, “Jason – you owe Deb 30 sec!!”

Deb asked me to use her owed 30 seconds to thank Arden for the book, stating, “it is good to know our heroes are as fucked up as the rest of us.” It is an apt description, as Falling Backwards is an honest look at her growing up in Springbank.

“I liken it a little bit to songwriting in that you are honest in it. In pop music you basically have three and a half minutes to tell your tale. When I was writing it there are lots of things I decided not to write about because I would never want to do anything to hurt my family any more then I already did. I just wanted to paint an accurate,

50

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

really fair picture of life in the 1970’s on the prairies – crock pots and wagon wheels and huffing gas and shooting shit and not understanding my parents relationship and how I fit in anywhere. To me it felt like really status quo stuff and after getting a chance to talk to people across the country that is indeed the case. My childhood was like that, I did that, that is the kind of meals we had.

We are not so different from each other.”

The reader may find themselves in the book for any number of reasons, whether it is dealing with an alcoholic parent, having crazy friends, or something as simple as buying soda from an old pop machine. My mom, also an Arden fan, found a lot of herself in the book as well.

“I am glad to hear that because your Mom is probably a few years older than I am, not much though. She and I are closer in age than you and I are. There is so much common ground. What I really wanted to be aware of was to make it funny, you have to laugh through some of this stuff and have to see the humor in it, my Mom taught me that. She laughs in the face of sheer and total disaster and I just love that about her.

She is so kind and funny and never feels victimized or that the world owes her anything. They worked hard all their lives and built their house. My parents aren’t famous, they haven’t written a book on physics or saved a baby out of a fire, they have never done any grand gesture; they are just these really hard working, humble soldiers, the ones who

www.gaycalgary.com

 Interview - From Page 49 are not noted. I guess this is my way of making sure they were noted.”

The book ends with Arden signing her first record deal, at the same time that her brother Duray is charged with murder.

It leaves the reader wanting more, and her life from that point forward undoubtedly would make another amazing book. It’s not going to happen anytime soon, Arden said.

“I can’t even think about that right now, that scares the hell out of me. Who knows what I will be doing 10 years from now? If someone had told me I would be writing a book and doing a radio show and narrating an ER Vet show for CMT and judging Canada Sings and all this stuff that I am doing now I would have just said are you nuts?! I don’t know what’s ahead.

I think I have a good decade left in order to not look like a fool, and continue working and being creative and entertaining the masses so to speak, and enjoy myself and then it will be time to tip my hat and move on. I trust Bruce will be looking at retirement for himself sometime along the line and I really think when he packs it in I will too. We will see how it goes. I am really enjoying myself. Family and friends are everything to me and depending on how my parents’ health goes that will negotiate my path as well - I may just need to be at home. I don’t have anything definite, no, I couldn’t give you any clue. I am hoping I survive to the end of March.”

The Uncover Me Canada tour kicks off in Victoria in February and wraps up in Montreal in March. Alberta dates include Calgary on February 23rd, Red Deer on February 24th, Medicine Hat on February 25th and Edmonton on February 26th. Her 2009 Free tour saw a bigger band and a video screen for the first time. Planning is underway for the 2012 tour now.

“I am not sure what to expect. We have yet to sit down with the lighting and stage directors to talk about the set. I don’t go to lengths where I am being lowered on a plastic horse in the middle of the arena or anything like that. I think our shows always look nice and the band looks and sounds great. There will be some surprises, Bruce and I have been talking about trying different things. It makes me laugh even thinking about it. It gets harder and harder each time I do a record to fit things into a two hour context. People do need to pee at some point, you can’t be having them sit there for three and a half hours.

I think we will have a lot of that sorted out in December with lots of phone calls back and forth and we will sketch it out. We have a week of rehearsals before we hit the road so we will sort it out then.”

One of the biggest challenges is narrowing down a set list.

Balancing popular songs like , Insensitive, and I Would Die For You with some rarities and songs off the new album becomes harder and harder.

“I don’t know how I am going to do it. I have started making lists and sort through a master list of about 50 songs and work down from there. You are asking me all the questions that I lay awake about at night and think about, thank you.”

community, the twins say more young gay men are embracing hip hop. “Most all of my queer friends listen to hip hop or at least some bubblegum variation,” says Jackson. He foresees hip hop overpowering club music in the gay scene in the very near future.

However, when listening to bands like Elephant, it’s easy to notice certain elements common in traditional hip hop missing in their music. The twins don’t make any mention of money, bling, or guns. Their war is not with the police but rather, intolerance.

Even the sound is different. In place of record scratching and hard pounding bass, the twins present an electro-based hip hop, incorporating penetrating synthetic beats with punkladen melodies created from guitars and keyboards.

“The name ‘Elephant’ really is about being that proverbial one in the room,” explains Jackson. “Our music tackles issues and releases statements that people are still too afraid to touch, but they’re issues that can no longer be ignored.”

Their message may appear scary to some, but they hold firm to the belief that once fans understand the message, they’ll realize there is nothing to fear.

The same is true with the twins, themselves. “We may look like hedonistic faggots,” laughs Coleman, “but inside we’re intelligent, friendly guys, and easier to approach than you might imagine.”

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2626

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

Jann Arden Uncover Me 2 and Falling Backwards available now. www.JannArden.com 2012 tour Calgary – February 23 Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Red Deer – February 24 – Red Deer Memorial Centre Medicine Hat – February 24 – Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre Edmonton – Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2627

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

51

52

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

People

 Kent Hehr (centre) at the 2010 ARGRA Rodeo

Kent Hehr

MLA blazing the trail for the 99 percent

By Dallas Barnes Chances are you have met Kent Hehr. As MLA of Calgary-Buffalo, Hehr has been as much a companion to community functions as dip is to chips. In a time when the 99 percent are fighting for a piece of the remaining one percent, an MLA like Mr. Hehr may be just the companion Alberta needs. With election time happening again next year, Hehr puts it that he would like to ‘toot his own horn’, and with a track record like his, I would too.

If you haven’t met him already, let me introduce you to this local MLA. He has been awarded the honour of Calgary Herald’s 20 Most Compelling Calgarians To Watch in 2008, and one of the Top 40 Under 40 by Calgary Inc. Magazine in 2006.

He studied law at The University of Calgary, and followed after graduation as a lawyer at Fraser Milner Casgrain. During this time he was well known for his community leadership with a large number of public service organizations such as the Downtown West Community Association, the United Way of Calgary, the Canadian Paraplegic Association, and the City of Calgary’s Advisory Committee on Accessibility.

Continued on Next Page  www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

53

Kent’s political and personal platform is as diverse as he is. He states that he understands Alberta’s financial prosperity lies in the energy sector and fosters that with plans for the future. He takes a firm stance on an adequate police presence in the Downtown core, and has proven successful in attaining this. Believing the root of much crime in the city is a lack of Family and Community Support Services, he advocates for more government spending on these programs.

He works tirelessly to combat homelessness and supports the City’s “Calgary’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness” as well as “A Place to Call Home: Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness” by keeping up with the Provincial Government’s plans, and ensuring they remains true to their word.

Above all else, and perhaps most beneficial to the LGBTQ community is Kent’s assiduous plight for universal human rights for all Albertan’s. It is not a secret that Mr. Hehr has attended every Pride celebration for as many years as we can remember, gone to AGM’s, attended Dyke Marches, advocated for gender reassignment surgery, attended Trans-Day of Remembrance events, ARGRA events, and other queer events throughout the year. It is what we don’t see that is so intriguing about this political friend of the underdog.

“One of the reasons that I got into politics was to fight the fact that personal characteristics determine who you are and where you stand,” he explained when he talked with GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine. “There is no place for this attitude in Alberta. I speak as a disabled person in saying that if you allow discrimination against one person, you can do it for everyone that is atypically discriminated against.”  Kent Hehr at the 2011 Pride Parade

In his first term in office, Kent called on the Alberta Government to amend the Alberta Human Rights code to explicitly protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation. In the spring of 2009 that happened, but alas, at the same time, the Alberta Government set the queer communities rights back a few decades with the introduction of Bill 44 which is now law (giving parents the right to remove their children from classes that deal with sexual orientation or religion). Hehr understands that parents do reserve the right to determine what their children are being taught, however, he believes that making this a government decision reveals the Conservative government’s true colours. “(GBLT) Albertans deserve the equal protection under Alberta law. When considering the effectiveness of our human rights legislation, how does this minister explain to gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgendered, or transsexual individuals the current decision of this government?” he stated in the Legislature.

“Bill 44 is a slap in the face for the LGBTQ community.

We need to bring Alberta into the 21st Century and make all of Alberta conclusive,” he added while chatting with us.

So, the next time you are at a major queer community event, keep an eye out for Kent Hehr as he most likely will be there. Take a minute to chat with him about what concerns you, and I’m certain he will be glad to lend an ear.

Kent Hehr www.kenthehr.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a2629

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments 54

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Photography BearBash at the Junction - Edmonton (BT McDonald)

www.gaycalgary.com

Fake Moustache at the Junction - Edmonton

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

55

Photography Goiliath’s and the Texas Lounge 24th Anniversary - Calgary

56

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Photography Western Canada LeatherSIR & Leatherboy Contest 2012

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

57

Photography Taboo Show - Calgary

58

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

Photography Taboo Show - Edmonton

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

59

Classifieds Audition

215

Gay Talent Wanted Beauty & Mayhem Production Agency is are looking for Gay Talent to perform in Adult entertainment Productions. Call Pj @ 403 826 2670 E-mail: pj@beautymayhem.ca www.xxxbmpa.com

Help Wanted

240

Personals

400

Labourer 50, searching for relationship in area. Ranch hand heritage. Don’t smoke. Healthy boundaries. Handwritten reply welcomed to Box 1, Kinsella AB, T0B-2N0.

Models/Escorts

460

Products/Services 500

Calgarys Newest & Hottest Companions

Same-sex marriages. McDougall United Church. 101 Street & McDonald Drive, Edmonton. We are accept into fellowship and, according to their gifts, in leadership, persons of any race, gender, age, sexual orientation or ability. http://www.mcdougallunited.com

Nude Housecleaning

Adult Depot

Freelance Writers Wanted GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine is seeking additional freelance writers from Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, and Medicine Hat to accept monthly assignments. Must be willing and able to conduct interviews in person or by phone. Please have a writing sample ready. Contact Steve at 403-543-6960, or toll free 1-888543-6960.

Adult Oriented

210

Interested in a satisfying and visually stimulating way to keep your house clean? Then look no further! I will come to you house, clean in the nude, give you something to look at, and leave your house smelling pine fresh all at the same time! Please contact nakedcleaningservices@gmail.com for rates and scheduling information.

Erotic Massage

420

UltimateMaleMassage.com

CALGARYS RED LIGHT is proud to present PALMER. “I offer sensual therapeutic massages, prostate massage and true versatile BFE full service. Allow my strong hands to caress your body, my sweet voice to sooth your ears, and my personality charm your heart.” Licensed and Legal. Out Call (travel) only. Bisexual women and transgender available.

(403) 475-0597 www.calgarysredlight.com BL13268263

Alberta Escort Listings

Large selection of gay DVDs from $9.95, aromas and toys. Open Mon-Fri 12-8pm, Sat 12-6pm, closed Sundays and holidays.

(403) 258 2777

Getting Married?

CIVIL MARRIAGES immediately or by appointment. All vows and paperwork included. Witness available.

Religion Free, Standard & Specialized Ceremonies, Cross Cultural, Same Sex LGBT. Rork Hilford, MC Alberta Marriage Commissioner, Commissioner for Oaths hilford@shaw.ca • 403-246-4134

Massage View profiles, watch greetings and share chest rashes and genital sores!

PlentyofSyph.com, the hottest place to meet local singles infected with syphilis.

560

Massage in Edmonton

Best Erotic Male Massage In Calgary Studio with free parking Deep Tissue and Relaxation Licensed, Professional Video on website 403-680-0533 mike@ultimatemalemassage.com

Check out www.Squirt.org for the Hot Escorts in Calgary, Edmonton, and the rest of Alberta.

New Improved Features. Free to Post and Browse. Videos, Pics, and Reviews. Join Now! Code: GCEE

Registered Massage Therapist in downtown Edmonton. Relaxation and therapeutic massage. For appointment phone Dwayne at 780483-3190 or 780-918-5856

Ads starting at $10/mo. for the first 20 words. Submit yours at http://www.gaycalgary.com/classifieds 60

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

 Classifieds Contd.

Cleaning

517

GET A LIFE...STOP CLEANING!

Real Estate/Mortgage 517

PENTHOUSE LIVING CITY VIEWS!

Get a life and STOP Cleaning your place. Let Steve do the dirty work for you. Cleaning your home or business.

Prefer regular cleaning schedule.

Flexable rates. getalifecleaner.com | 403-200-7384

Agador’s Cleaning Services Young, local Edmonton man looking to kick off his cleaning business. Whether you’re looking for a one-time clean, or a regular cleaning service, I’m sure to be able to accomodate your needs.

Please contact 780-298-2626 or agadorecleaningservices@gmail.com for rates and scheduling information.

www.gaycalgary.com

It’s loaded with upgrades for $479,000! Downtown 1367 sq. ft. custom designed unit in the “Galleria” a stroll from all amenities & Edmonton’s River Valley. Go to www.liviniuk.com for full details! Remax Real Estate 780-488-4000

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

61

Q Scopes

Think ahead, Sagittarius!

This week’s lunar eclipse will be partially visible in New Zealand, but felt everywhere as brainstorms lead too easily to arguments.

Rather than inadvertently showing off what you don’t know, think about what you need to learn.



ARIES (March 20–April 19): Turn on the charm at work! Just be careful not to be too pushy about it. Jealous colleagues may accuse you of brown nosing. Be considerate of them, but don’t worry too much about it. If you can’t win, don’t play the game.



TAURUS (April 20–May 20): Playful teasing can easily get out of hand. That could goad you into adventures that will test your limits. Be careful what you talk yourself into. You’re likely to discover things about yourself that you’ve tried not to admit.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20): Conversations with friends can



easily degenerate into arguments. What do you need to prove?

In the larger sense, aren’t you on the same side? Sexual tension may be feeding into the stress. Keep your home neat and ready for company.

CANCER (June 21–July 22): Pay attention to anxieties,



especially those that may seem trivial or exaggerated. They can teach you a lot about yourself. New info from a distant relative or a spiritual teacher can help you better to understand family problems.



LEO (July 23–August 22): Some playfulness is good for

the soul. Worrying too much about the outcome inhibits your creativity and your growth. Get wild! What you release can offer insight into your work and your health.



VIRGO (August 23–September 22): Burying problems at

home will only make them worse. Go ahead, have the arguments and get them out of the way. Just remember that one of you is wrong and will realize it soon. Even odds on who that is!

LIBRA (September 23–October 22): Work out any



domestic problems with your domestic partner, especially where money’s involved. No partner? Down-home charm and fashions can help you find one. Some witty flirtation will help get things started.



SCORPIO (October 23–November 21): As Shakespeare

said, “Neither a lender nor a borrower be.” Arguments with friends over money can lead to betrayal, hurting you a lot more than you would expect. Don’t worry about the future. You’ll figure it out as it comes present.



SAGITTARIUS (November 22–December 20): Standing up to authority will only get you smacked down. Friends you expect to be on your side won’t be. It’s possible you could be wrong. Think ahead! Be very pragmatic about your goals and how you intend to make them.



CAPRICORN (December 21–January 19): Working hard is necessary. Working too hard is dangerous. Proper breaks and rest help you work smarter, not harder. If you must tear apart authority figures, make sure they’re far away. Politicians are always fair game.

AQUARIUS (January 20–February 18): Listen to that deep



inner voice as you consider sexual adventures. Just trying to prove yourself can lead to injuries. Be especially careful of your mid and lower backside. Talking with a sibling about family history can be amazingly healing.

PISCES (February 19–March 19): Turn lazy moods into



times for creative reverie. Tough, honest introspection yields powerful insights. You may not like what you see, but remember you often go hard on yourself. Guard against crankiness with your partner. You may need to face some hard truths there, too!

Jack Fertig, a professional astrologer since 1977 teaches at the Online College of Astrology. He can be reached for personal or business consultations at 415-864-8302 or through his website at http://www. starjack.com 62

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

www.gaycalgary.com

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary & Edmonton Magazine #98, December 2011

63