GayCalgary Magazine - April 2015

APRIL 2015

® ISSUE 137 • FREE The Voice of Alberta’s LGBT Community

Interview with

KELLY CLARKSON

Luke Perry

Calgary Expo 90210 Reunion

Kristy Swanson

Slaying at the Calgary Expo

PLUS:

Claudio Aprile • Graham McTavish Zaac Pick • Andrew Rannells Mimi Imfurst • Philip Sayce ...and more!

Business Directory

Olly Murs

Scan to Read on Mobile Devices

Community Map

Calgary • Alberta • Canada

Events Calendar

Pop star talks handsy fans

Tourist Information

STARTING ON PAGE 71

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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Table of Contents

APRIL 2015

®

Photography

Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino, Videography SteveB&J Polyak

Videography Sales

Steve Polyak, Diaz-Marino SteveRob Polyak sales@gaycalgary.com

Printers

Council Web NorthLegal Hill News/Central Courtney Aarbo, Barristers and Solicitors Distribution General Inquiries Calgary: Gallant Distribution ®

GayCalgary GayCalgaryMagazine Staff 2136 17th Avenue SW Edmonton: Clark’s Distribution Calgary, AB, Canada Post T2T 0G3 Other: magazine@gaycalgary.com

Legal Council Office Hours: appointment ONLY Courtney Aarbo, By Barristers and Solicitors Phone: 403-543-6960 Sales & General Inquiries Toll Free: 1-888-543-6960 GayCalgary Edmonton Magazine Fax:and 403-703-0685 2136 17th Avenue SW E-Mail: magazine@gaycalgary.com Calgary, AB, Canada This Month's T2T 0G3Cover

Main: Kelly Clarkson, photo by RCA Records.

Top Right: Luke Perry. Mid Kristy Swanson.ONLY Bottom Office Hours: ByRight: appointment Right: Olly Murs, photo by Columbia Records

Phone: 403-543-6960 Toll Free: 1-888-543-6960 Fax: 403-703-0685 E-Mail: magazine@gaycalgary.com This Month's Cover Cher and Christina Aguilera courtesy of Sony Pictures; Annie Lennox courtesy of Mike Owen; Rex Goudie.

Proud Members of:

Two-Spirit are Not Gay?

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Calgary Expo Turns 10!

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SHARP Foundation Fundrasier

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Good Vibrations

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Velvet Cinema

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Another Move Forward

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Discussing Community Safety

Part Two

Eat out for a great cause

Artists’ Collective Theatre takes on sexual frustration in the Victorian Era

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Western Canada’s Largest Pop Culture Convention Marks A Decade

More than just a movie night Gay-Straight Alliances To Be Allowed After All Keep your home safe while enjoying summer break

18 Claudio Aprile

MasterChef Canada’s judge on the sense and sensibilities that mean most in the kitchen

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Parenting Proud

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Open The Cabinet

Archetypes at the Community Playground Explore the Kurios new Cirque du Soleil show

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On coming out, Drag Race, and spinning at Western Cup

a g 26 Hooked On Olly Murs a m 24

Deep Inside Hollywood

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Writers and Contributors

Mercedes Chris Azzopardi, Allen, Chris DallasAzzopardi, Barns, Dave Dallas Brousseau, Barnes, Dave Constable Brousseau, AndySam Buck,Casselman, Jason Clevett, Jason Andrew Clevett, Collins, AndrewJanine Collins,Eva-Trotta, Emily Collins, SeanRob Larkin, Diaz-Marino, Stephen Lock, JanineLisa EvaLunney, Trotta, Steve Jack Fertig, Polyak,Glen Carey Hanson, Rutherford, Joan Hilty, Romeo Evan SanKayne, Vicente, Stephen Jim Scott, Lock,Krista Neil Sylvester, McMullen, and AllantheNeuwirth, LGBT Community Steve Polyak, of Calgary, Carey Rutherford, Edmonton, Romeo San Vicente, andEd Alberta.

Sikov, Nick Vivian and the GLBT Community of Calgary, Edmonton, and Alberta.

Photography Steve Polyak, Kurtis Allan, J&B

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Dancing with the Sam, Peter Dinklage, Thomas Roberts, Movie Update

Pop star talks handsy fans, gay-baiting and sharing a sweater with Sam Smith

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New sound, same spunk

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The Evolution of Jer’s Vision

Die Mannequin back on tour opening for Manson Talking about anti-bullying objectives

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Publisher Publisher: & Editor: SteveSteve Polyak Polyak Copy Editor: Editor: RobJanine Diaz-Marino Eva-Trotta Sales: Steve Polyak Design & Layout: Rob Diaz-Marino, Steve Polyak Ara Shimoon

32 The Unbreakable Mo’Nique

Oscar winner talks Lee Daniels drama, LGBT integration and an end to coming out

Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

34 Send In The Hobbits

Graham McTavish coming to the Calgary Expo

National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association

Andrew Rannells on ‘dangerous’ road to Girls, his hope for TV true love – and a Book of Mormon revival?!

Gay European Tourism Association

38 Zaac Pick

Canadian Artist Celebrates 2015 Album Release and Tour

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36 Ladies’ Man

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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Table of Contents  Continued From Previous Page

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Out of Town

®

Kauai Adventures

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42 Mo Town – Interview with Mary Wilson of the Supremes and Martha Reeves

Icons talk inclusive musical era, gay followings and, of course, a Supremes reunion

44 Calgary Expo Gets A New Zipcode Luke Perry joins Jason Priestley and Ian Ziering for a 90210 reunion

46 Philip Sayce

Canadian Guitarist Shares his Influence

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Total Readership of PDF/ISSUU/WEB

Readers Per Copy: 4.9 (PMB) Avg. Online Circulation: 310,000 readers Estimated Total Readership: >319,800 readers Frequency: Monthly

History

Might-y Tight-y

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. February 2012 returned to GayCalgary Magazine.

February 2013, GayCalgary® becomes a registered trademark. December 2014/ January 2015 is the last print edition.

February 2015 is the first digital only edition.

Leaner Meaner Workout Gear

Kelly Clarkson talks new equality-inspired anthem, gay bars and her ‘Kezbo’ following

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Queer Eye

67

A Couple of Guys

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News Releases

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Mr. GayCalgary April 2015 - Blake Spence

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Directory and Events

76

Classified Ads

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

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.

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

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Combined total of PDF and ISSUU Downloads/Reads –100,000 copies

Slaying The Calgary Expo

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Monthly Online Magazine Readership:

Proof of monthly figures are available on request.

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Magazine Figures

Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.

GayCalgary® is a registered trademark.

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Online: Thurs, May 7th

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Community

Two-Spirit are Not Gay? Part Two

By Carey Rutherford The first article in this series started off by saying, “Well, this hasn’t gone so smoothly,” and the trip down the rabbit-hole continues. You think you understand what ‘two-spirit’ means now? I bet you don’t.

Admittedly the GC publishers, in their great wisdom, have let their token straight white writer tackle this topic about non-white, mixedgender oppression, but the confusion’s not simple naiveté. Check this out: “Two-spirit people were considered our genders. In my Cree ways, we had four genders, and they were all heterosexual-normative, being that it was a taboo to have sex with someone in your own gender.

Therefore I, as a male assigned 2S (two-spirit born with male body), could not take another male-assigned 2S person as a spouse or partner. I would take a heterosexual (straight) male as my husband (he being from another gender). My husband would do all that was socially expected, including having sex, but if our relationship would end, he would return to the pool of eligible (ST8, straight) bachelors.

The same held true for our female-assigned 2S people, and [her prohibition against] taking 2S woman as a wife.”

Are you still with us? Harlan Pruden, the Cree gentleman messing with your head above, is an activist, researcher, speaker and cofounder of the New York City based NorthEast Two-Spirit Society.

He is also on the Honourary Committee of The Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services at the U of A, serves on two different American substance-abuse prevention and treatment boards, and is the sole First Nations member of the U.S. Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. So he has got the cred to mess with your head.

He has been doing this work for over a decade, giving presentations to help educate Turtle Island (an Aboriginal term for North America) about the historical and contemporary life of the First Nations’ Two Spirit community: it is distinctly different from the non-Native concept of the Rainbow spectrum. And it’s made more challenging as a direct result of the colonization that has occurred.

As Harlan described, on the phone from an Edmonton two-spirit event, “I think there is a lot that is going on… There hasn’t been a seamless transfer of knowledge within First Nations populations on the two-spirit tradition, because it’s all very dependent upon who you’re asking, and how it’s asked. . . So if I go to a ‘colonized’ Indian, or a ‘Christian’ Indian, the same stigmatized, narrow-minded, ‘God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve’ commentary is what you’ll hear.”

“But, at the same time, if you were to go to one of our ‘traditional’ Elders, [they] still might not tell you. For myself, as a leader, and someone who is First Nations Canadian Cree, I have to work so hard to win their trust, and build that relationship with these gatekeepers of our indigenous knowledge. It is only after I have proven myself, that I’m not going to pervert or misuse this information, that they will choose what they want to impart onto me.”

In describing this cautious information sharing, only made more so by the colonizing reverberations, he points out the ‘information uploading’ that still occurs today. A Maskwacis (formerly Hobbema) Elder was chosen by a two-spirit predecessor to take that knowledge, even though it would normally have only gone to another 2S Elder.

So the ST8 Elder will hold the 2S histories until he finds someone suitable to take that information from him.

And then Harlan, the activist, academic, presidential advisor and, at the end of the day, full-time government employee, takes the reins of this narrative, as it were.

“I think about this way too much . . . There is a tension with the broader LGBT movement and us as two-spirit people, but also

Continued on Next Page  www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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 From Previous Page as indigenous people to this land: the broader LGBT community’s struggle for equality is done within a settler or colonialistic frame.

That fight and struggle is built upon other social movements; look at the civil rights movement . . . look at the feminist or women’s rights movement.”

“For the LGTB community, what they’re doing is drawing upon those experiences and building upon it. For us in the two-spirit community, we’re not trying to build something, we’re trying to restore and to reclaim that which was taken from us. That is a completely different conversation than the settler organized LGTB community.”

Oh, hang on; Harlan is just getting warmed up.

“As a two-spirit activist, what kind of ‘hurts my teeth’ is that the broader LGBT community is very comfortable to ignore the two-spirit experience . . . If you were trying to fight for equality and human rights, wouldn’t you want to go back and understand a time and a place in which there were people who were engaged in same-sex sexual relations, that had full citizenship, full equality, and were honoured and respected within their nations?”

At this point, GayCalgary readers may want some further clarification for such claims. During his third annual presentation at the Drexell University’s pride celebrations, Harlan describes how historically, in many nations, not only were the two-spirit people given positions of honour as healers or social counsellors, but also as military catalysts. It has been documented that when some nations went to war, the two-spirit approval was required regarding a battle’s possibility, and on the eve of battle the assembled warriors would dance to catch the two-spirit’s eye. Whichever warrior (who were all straight-identified) was chosen would get to have sex with the twospirit, acquiring the good fortune and prestige that goes with such an activity.

As Harlan quips during the Drexell presentation, “Of all the traditions I want to bring back, I want to bring back this one!”

But, most importantly, “the system allowed for people to honour, acknowledge and to express their full sexual identity.”

Online Last Month (1/2) Creep of the Week Sam Brownback

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Creep of the Week Dr. Vesna Roi

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Wax On, Wax Off

10 Disgusting Spots You Forgot During Spring Cleaning

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Now at Loose Moose

Rebecca Northan Makes Trouble With New Show

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Alan Doyle Concert One Great Big Show

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Nickelback Concert

Not the Calibre of Past Shows, Still a Night to Remember

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Online Last Month (2/2) Creep of the Week Linda Wall

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Hear Me Out

Kelly Clarkson, Brandi Carlile, Rumer, The Unthanks

Kelly Clarkson, Piece by Piece Kelly Clarkson’s seventh studio album finds the American Idol champ at a crossroads.

Does she fix what’s not broken? And if not, how does a 32-year-old... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4584

Alberta Ballet Presents

The Union of Hattori’s Carmen and Kylián’s Forgotten Land

This Spring Albertan’s will be treated to an interpretation of the classic tale of Carmen. Alberta Ballet’s Yukichi Hattori brings his vision of the provocative gypsy to life in... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4571

Creep of the Week Ben Carson

Years ago, long before her role as Big Boo on “Orange is the New Black,” Lea Delaria had a bit in her stand-up act that went something like, “Say what you want about...

 Harlan Purden

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Deep Inside Hollywood

Laverne Cox, Phylicia Rashad and RavenSymone play lesbians, Madonna

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The Frivolist

10 Ways to Gayify Your Honey Bunny’s Easter Basket

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And Then, The Lights Went Out

Detective Story Comes to Life at Stage West

As Harlan reminds his listeners elsewhere in the academic environment, understanding the difference between ‘gender roles’ and ‘sex roles’ is vital. To paraphrase him, in the ’50s it was expected that US and Canadian women generally wore dresses, stayed home and raised children, and men were the pants-wearing breadwinners, generally working outside of the home in a ‘successful’ family dynamic.

Your GC author’s mother, as an unwitting feminist, worked full-time her entire adult life, performing the more transitional ‘supermom’ role of still caring for children (with babysitters) while working, while dad’s full-time job was never an option in his life path.

Now it is no longer considered unnatural for fathers to stay home with paternal leave – caring for infants is a regular occurrence – with pants-wearing women paying the mortgage.

All of the above are expected, however, to be intimate with the opposite sex. The gender roles have changed, but not the sex roles.

Like the Cree two-spirit, they are expected to engage in sex only with those in the other gender, just like mom and dad.

Ew. Sorry.

Except, the Cree had four genders, not two. Harlan also mentions that, in all of his research on this topic, he has not encountered a two-spirit community that was not ‘heterosexual’. It’s just a different kind of heterosexuality.

So, Billy, that’s why two-spirit are not gay!

And Then, The Lights Went Out is Stage West’s latest offering, running until April 12th, and is the most Canadian show the company has produced in quite awhile.

Written by Alberta-born...

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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Event

Calgary Expo Turns 10!

Western Canada’s Largest Pop Culture Convention Marks A Decade

By Jason Clevett On May 7th, 2006 the first Calgary Comic Expo took place. Over the next few years it slowly grew, drawing comic creators and artists as well as celebrities like George Takei, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, William Shatner and Kevin Sorbo. Over the past four years it has truly exploded, bringing in many major names in the comic, anime, animation, and voice world, in addition to major names like Sigourney Weaver, Bruce Campbell and cast members from popular current shows and movies like The Walking Dead, The Hobbit and Sons of Anarchy. It has been a roller coaster for the organizers as the event has grown to draw nearly 100,000 people to the Stampede Grounds each year.

“It is pretty fantastic – I am not going to lie. It is a really great feeling that so many people have pulled together for so many years to make this thing absolutely amazing. Of course it wouldn’t have been possible without Kandrix Fong. This was his brainchild and baby all the way,” Lindsay Thomas, known as Emily Expo, told GayCalgary.com. She volunteered shortly after the 2010 show and eventually became a full-time member of the staff. Seeing the show grow from one hall to the entire grounds, and expansion into Edmonton and Saskatoon, has been an amazing experience, but also had its growing pains, including 2012 when the convention was slammed with more people than expected.

“The 2012 year was a big eye opener for us in terms of seeing how big this thing could be. Obviously there were a lot of crowd control issues, and way more people than had been anticipated came down to the show, and we realized we needed to make some major changes. With that came the thought that maybe there was some potential in other areas like Edmonton and Saskatoon.

We had always worked quite closely with the fire department and Stampede and we increased those efforts the following year, as well as looking at what we could do in other cities as an expansion plan.”

There was a time in the 1980s to early 2000s when the concept of a ‘comic convention’ was relegated to stars who hadn’t been active in film or TV in awhile and were known more for their past glory. An actor the level of a Patrick Stewart or Sigourney Weaver would have been unheard of. The current incarnation of the entertainment cons around the world is a whole different story, with current actors meeting fans.

“Absolutely the whole culture has changed quite drastically.

A lot of that has to do with the way the attitude has changed towards our demographic. It’s not shameful to be a nerd or a geek; it is something to be celebrated and we are all very proud of it. All of us at the office are all nerds and geeks in our own respective ways, and interests, and passions. It is something we are very happy about. The general population no longer sees it as a bunch of anti-social people in their mom’s basement just kind of crawling out of the woodwork once a year – and that is not what it is. That is a terrible stereotype that I hope we have helped to kibosh in a way. So now we are seeing the general public going Oh wow this is really neat! I want to be a part of it. That goes not just for the attendees, but anybody who decides to give these shows a chance,” Emily said, adding that agents, artists and actors also have a different perspective. “When they see just how wonderful the fans are that makes a really big difference.

Calgary is notorious for having great fans that are welcoming and hospitable, and all these wonderful words have been used in terms of our show internally and externally.”

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

 Emiy Expo

Everyone has favourite guests, and working for the Expo doesn’t exclude you from that.

“Sigourney Weaver was a big one for me. She is somebody that I have looked up to growing up. I loved Ripley. I love what she has done with her career. To have the chance to tell her the impact – not only that she had on my life, but the lives of people around the world – I thought it was quite powerful for me. That is somebody that was a very good one. Over the years we have had some amazing guests, and have some incredible guests this year. It is going to be a great time,” she said, adding the top of her wish list is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Another favourite guest was Leonard Nimoy, who retired from appearances after the 2010 Calgary Expo. His passing in February added the sombre realization that events like the Calgary Expo are often fans’ one and only chance to meet influences.

“It definitely made the entire thing a little more... I don’t want to say sombre, but you certainly give it a little bit more consideration and thought. Life is short… Leonard is someone that I am very honoured to have met and I am very happy that we had him here.

That is what initially drew me to the show, was Leonard Nimoy and Malcolm McDowell. These shows really do provide a great outlet for fans to be able to meet their heroes – even if only once.”

The Expo has had many one of a kind events over the last few years: 2012’s full cast reunion of Star Trek: The Next Generation, 2013’s “Weird Al” Yankovic concert and signing and appearance

by Nathan Fillion, and 2014’s Aliens full cast reunion are just some of the major events that have happened. The Calgary Expo has lucked out into landing guests that have not appeared elsewhere on the circuit such as Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage.

Because of those opportunities, the Expo has in some ways set the bar so high that some people will not be satisfied with anything short of a full Avengers’ cast attending the event. Despite a stellar line up that features actors from current shows like Arrow, The Flash, and The Walking Dead; top name wrestling stars like Mick Foley, Trish Stratus and Lita; the first ever appearance together of Ian Ziering and Tara Reid (Sharknado); and the queens from Once Upon A Time, there have been several vocal fans complaining.

“It is very hard not to take it personally actually. We put 150 per cent into every year –whether it is the sixth year, eighth year, tenth year or twentieth year. We always put all of our effort into creating an amazing line up each year. What I have been telling the fans is we have these amazing opportunities like TNG, Aliens, Torchwood, Peter Dinklage. We would be very wrong not to take those opportunities and I think fans would be very upset if they thought we were turning away those opportunities just because we didn’t think we would be able to match it the following year.

It is very important to remember that things like TNG and Aliens.

Yes, they are awesome, but they are not the norm. If you look at other shows and their line ups you will realize that it is a very rare www.gaycalgary.com

thing that you will get these things happening. Peter Dinklage has yet to appear at another convention in North America. There has yet to be another TNG event that has everybody, including Wil Wheaton. Sigourney has appeared at New York and us; that’s it. There are things that we have done that have been absolutely amazing, but are not the norm. They are the exception. That said, we keep trying right up until the show to do our best to make the fans happy, and we never stop.”

Often it is simply a case of the stars aligning that everyone is available or a name is free. As working actors, the priority becomes projects they are filming and, as such, availability is key. An example is Bruce Campbell, who was on the request list every year but the Expo coincided with the filming of the TV show Burn Notice. When the show ended, Campbell was available and appeared at the 2014 Expo.

“Availability is number one; are they available? Unfortunately when the expectation is something like The Avengers cast or Harrison Ford, or whomever, you are dealing with some mega availability issues. Avengers 2 opens a few weeks after our show so that means press tours. A lot of the people that fans are demanding or asking for are people that are extremely busy with their careers, not only in filming, but with promotional tours. It is not a matter of just picking up the phone and saying Hey. I know you are not doing anything this weekend, do you want to come up to Calgary? It doesn’t work that way unfortunately. Believe me, if fans are thinking we haven’t tried for Tom Hiddleston, Robert Downey Jr. or Gary Oldman, and these types of people, they would be sorely mistaken. That is what I spend a large chunk of my time doing, is contacting these people and trying to get them to come. Rarely has it been they don’t want to do it; it’s been they are filming, busy, ‘really sorry can’t do it’.”

One of the biggest challenges with any convention is cancellation. In recent weeks both The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus and Arrow’s Brandon Routh cancelled their appearances, disappointing fans who were excited to meet them.

“Definitely we have to stay positive. The second you get into an atmosphere where you are whining and complaining to each other, then everything goes downhill and you don’t have the positive energy to be able to manage these situations. We knew when we heard that Norman was no longer able to come to the show that people would be unhappy. We knew that going into it, but we also know that is part of the convention business and it happens to every show everywhere. There will be cancellations; it is convention life. We bite the bullet and are honest with the fans, and do our best to bring people in right up to the show. We also try and highlight other parts of the show that are really cool to see, like the Artists’ Alley and the vendors. If you go with an open mind you will have a really good time. People who are there solely for the celebrities, it can be a gamble because their schedules can change at the last minute. We’ve got that right on the website that cancellations and changes do happen and we can’t guarantee 100 per cent that any guest will ever make it.”

Until she walked on stage at Aliens: EXPOsed there was the possibility and fear that Sigourney Weaver wouldn’t make it.

When they do arrive it is a sigh of relief for organizers.

“That is part of the stress of a job like this; you can book somebody amazing and once they are booked and it’s official it is exciting. There is that fear of Oh my god, what if they have to cancel? What do we do? These are all risky things that we have to take into consideration as promoters, but we don’t let fear stop us from trying to do our best. We are fortunate to have had these great line ups. Believe me, Norman was not happy he had to cancel. It wasn’t a flippant Oh, I am not going to go now. That is never how it has worked for any cancellation.”

Pricing for autographs and photos is also often out of their control.

“It is dictated to us so we don’t have a ton of pull in that regard.”

One of the things that the Expo staff strives for is to give fans an experience that they cannot have anywhere else. Past years have included a Princess Bride themed photo op with Cary Elwes and Chris Sarandon, a Terminator cast photo op with Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Robert Patrick and Kristanna Loken, and the

large cast photos with casts from Lord of the Rings, Aliens and Star Trek: TNG. This year is no exception, offering photo ops with 90210’s Luke Perry, Jason Priestly and Ian Ziering; Ziering and Tara Reid; and Perry and Kristy Swanson of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Fans of TV shows will get the opportunity for photos with cast members of Arrow, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D., Once Upon a Time and The Walking Dead.

“I always try and look for different opportunities that the fans would enjoy, and [that] hasn’t happened anywhere else. Luke and Kristy, and Ian and Tara, haven’t appeared at a show together.

Not everybody is a fan of Sharknado but those that are will find that really cool to get a picture with them. That is why the line up is so diverse, because we know not everyone is a Buffy fan or Game of Thrones fan. We want to bring in people from all different corners of pop culture. If everybody has at least one or two people they are interested in seeing then I am happy and we have done a good job.”

At times it can be too much of a good thing, with so many options and limited budgets, choosing your photos or autographs can be difficult.

“It is definitely a pick your poison type of thing. Right now the demand is for more and more and more, but there is something to be said for having it be more in line with what standard conventions would offer, because it is more sensible for everybody.

Either way, there will be people who are unhappy no matter what we do, so we just keep doing our absolute best.”

It is clear when speaking to Thomas that she is very excited for this year.

“I am really excited for Lana Parrilla, the evil queen from Once Upon a Time. It is a wonderful character. I love the show and character and she hasn’t appeared at a show in Canada before, so that is another unique guest. Skeet Ulrich: I love the Scream movies; they are some of my favourites and he was a big deal for me growing up, so it is pretty cool having him at the show. There are a lot of great guests this year and I think if people would kind of forget about the Avengers thing for a moment, and focus on the fact that these are people that I will be able to meet and it’s a once in a lifetime thing, I can go and have fun anyway, then they will realize they can go and have fun anyway! It doesn’t have to be all about the star power.”

With ten years of amazing memories, incredible guests, and its share of challenges and successes, the Comic Expo is something special – but they are not resting on their laurels. There are lots of opportunities to continue to grow in Edmonton and Saskatoon and perfect the Expo experience for everyone.

“I am more interested in making the show better, not necessarily bigger. I want us to perfect things like line control, prop policies – I want us to be the very best in what we do. We are really maxed out for space in Calgary. Now that we have hit that ceiling, as it were, there are a lot of things internally that we can improve on to make the Expo experience better for fans, which is important. We definitely expanded on a lot of areas. Our outdoor areas, kid zone, and Thursday night preview night is going to be pretty rockin’. There are different ways we have tried to make it more spectacular. Come down and have an amazing time; it is going to be an awesome show.”

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The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo http://www.CalgaryExpo.com Calgary - April 16th to 19th Stampede Park http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4602 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

11

Event

SHARP Foundation Fundrasier Eat out for a great cause

By Krista Sylvester Is there anything better than eating delicious food guilt free because it’s for a good cause?

It’s that time of year again where you can eat the best of the best while raising money for the SHARP Foundation with April’s A Taste for Life fundraiser, according to executive director Floyd Visser who says this year’s restaurant selection is juicier than ever. You could literally eat all three meals out that day while making a difference. The restaurants donate a portion of their gross earnings for the day – at least 25 per cent, but sometimes up to 30 per cent – to the foundation.

“The idea behind it is to have restaurants take part by donating portions of their food earnings for the day towards our cause, so the more people that eat that day the better,” he says. “We have a variety of restaurants participating and there’s literally something for everyone – from Italian to burgers to fine dining.”

Visser recommends making reservations in advance, as the event is popular and this year’s choices include Avec Bistro, The Blind Monk Pub, Blue Vinny Diner, Escoba Bistro & Wine Bar, Fiore Cantina Italiana, Gypsy Bistro, Il Sogno and Open Range.

“We’re hoping we can raise $30,000 this year and it should be a good one,” he says, adding last year the event raised $23,000.

A Taste for Life is, as Floyd says, “a wonderful way of building awareness, as well as the fact we provide care and support to people living with HIV here in the community.”

The international fundraiser is in its 6th year in Calgary and Visser says the quality and assortment of restaurants is better than ever, much to the delight of foodies. The SHARP Foundation is committed to providing a continuum of care including housing, healthcare, and support to individuals infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. The SHARP Foundation operates five facilities in the city where they offer services to their clients.

Visser says an important part of the event’s success is its sponsors – including GayCalgary – and he points out that TD Bank has been a flagship sponsor from the very start.

A Taste for Life takes place across the world simultaneously on Wednesday, April 22nd and, besides the delicious food offerings, there will also be prizes and lots of other fun.

A Taste for Life Calgary and worldwide – April 22nd http://www.atasteforlife.org Sharp Foundation or http://www.thesharpfoundation.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4603 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments 12

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

13

Theatre

Good Vibrations

Artists’ Collective Theatre takes on sexual frustration in the Victorian Era

By Dallas Barnes Back in the day, vibrators were considered a medical ‘cure-all’ for female hysteria, believed to be brought on by the retention of female semen trapped inside of her body. To cure this female malady, doctors simply did the pre, post, and everything in between coital work, and voila, hysteria cured. Unbeknownst to the male medical marvels at the time, females did not – in fact – produce semen, nor was it hysteria that they cured. The problem was female sexual frustration, and a vibrator did what their male counterparts could not – yield an orgasm.

Sarah Ruhl, award winning playwright, disseminated this cacophony of thought between pleasure and pain in her Tony nominated play In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) and, lucky for us Calgarians, Artists’ Collective Theatre (ACT) is wrapping their 2014/2015 season with this comedy set in the Victorian Era. Amanda Liz Cutting, Artistic Director for ACT, is delighted to be bringing this Pulitzer-finalist play to Calgary from April 9th to 18th. The audience can expect “a lot of laughter, risqué moments, heart warming and some heart break. The

 Left to right Megan Baldrey (Annie) and Samantha Braitenback (Mrs. Daldry) Photo Credit: Jodi O Photography jophoto.info

audience will thoroughly enjoy the journey they are taken on.”

The plot explores themes of that particular era, but also touches on themes of sexuality, motherhood, and relationships that are still relevant. The story follows Sabrina and Catherine as they contend with their mutual sexual frustration with their husbands that favour the exclusivity of the missionary position, and the anticipation they feel at achieving orgasms from the almighty vibrator. What follows are escapades only two women searching for a cure for vexation can get into, including visits from all-knowing artists, to wet nurses, and jealous rages from desirous husbands. This play is nothing short of a genius portrayal of the virtual boredom and repression women faced during the Victorian era.

“When I first read [the play] I was so moved by the writing [and what] all of the characters go through. One of the characters is such a great character, and I feel that many women can relate to her. She has a busy partner who is work-focused and a newborn she cannot feed as she is not producing enough milk. The feeling of inadequacy is something that many women suffer from,” says Cutting.

“We have an amazing crew. Paul Welch is a fantastic director, and was listed last year as one of the top 40 under 40 to watch for in Avenue magazine. He is also a founding member of Third Street Theatre, Calgary’s queer theatre company.”

As famous second wave feminist Betty Friedan stated, “no woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor.”

Regardless the era, women are still eternally seeking the equality of mutual consummation. In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) exposes and revels in the discomfiture and melancholy of nonsensical morality and human nature, and Calgarians are fortunate to be able to experience it firsthand.

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Community

 photos by Madelaine Brown Photography

Velvet Cinema

More than just a movie night

By Krista Sylvester The idea began on a warm summer’s day with two friends eating tacos and talking about inspiring to create bigger and better things for the gay community in Calgary.

That warm, summer day idea cultivated into a popular event known in the queer community as Velvet Cinema, a mix of movies and entertainment meant to help fill a void, according to the co-creators.

Dave Cutting and Garrett McCoy have been running Velvet Cinema since last year, which brings the community together for a once-a-month queer movie night at The Plaza theatre in Kensington. Cult classic movies such as Mean Girls, Birdcage and 13 Going on 30, as well as other entertainment, greet patrons who are out for a good time with their peers.

The duo say people are still surprised to hear about the event, but show excitement once they discover it.

“It has been a mixed bag so to speak; the people who come love it, and the people [who] don’t come we hope someday will,” Cutting says.

Cutting and McCoy noticed a shift in the gay scene that was centred around night clubs and dance nights like Hot Mess which, they say, are important to the scene – but they thought there was a void that could be further filled.

“We saw a gap in community gatherings and wanted to fill that void with something we visualized as authentic,” McCoy says. “With that said, there is always room for new establishments. Collaboration is the new competition. Try us, we are ready for you.”

The group further explains this motion on their webpage under their mission: We understand that there’s more to us than nightclubs and cabarets, and we are here to fill the gap.

We hope that Velvet Cinema creates a space for people to gather, build relationships, express themselves, and let go.

Cutting says that the Calgary gay community “is looking for something outside of the oil and gas world that has cradled it for so long”, which is why an event like Velvet Cinema has become so popular, so quickly. And the sky is the limit.

“The gay community has always and will always add colour and fun to society; this is showing through right now in all www.gaycalgary.com

aspects. Gay bars or not, we will gather and create fun. This is only the beginning.”

The gay community has also given something back to the duo, who say they are surprised by the amount of imagination the community has.

“I adore how we – as a community – can come together, have fun and continue to grow towards a more accepting and loving group,” Cutting says.

While Velvet Cinema won’t be holding an April showing, they are very busy in the coming months. First up, they will be spending April focusing on community outreach and creating deeper roots with other groups.

May will see them in cahoots with Fairy Tales Film Festival, putting on a retro Saturday night offering of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Also in May, they will be teaming up with Third Street Theatre and the Hot Mess Djs – a monthly dance night for the gay community in traditionally straight bars – for the “Stars of the Stage and Screen Gala” at the Arrata Opera House on May 30th. Tickets are on sale now.

And Velvet Cinema is always looking for movie suggestions and feedback from the community.

“We are active on all means of social media and we would love to hear from you: movie suggestions, collaborative events, and even performers – if you want to perform before an event,” Cutting says.

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15

Politics

Another Move Forward

Gay-Straight Alliances To Be Allowed After All

By Stephen Lock So the Progressive Conservatives, under Jim Prentice, finally saw the light when it came to Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in schools?

This whole controversy was about as manufactured a controversy as one could contrive. When Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman first introduced her private members bill (Bill 202) mandating the establishment of GSAs in schools, if students requested them, the PCs immediately threw a hissy fit over how ‘divisive’ the bill was, how it contravened school board autonomy and infringed on parental rights regarding what their children could be taught in Alberta schools. They immediately tabled their own GSA bill (Bill 10) as a way of running a tight end around Blakeman’s Bill 202, thereby setting off a major brouhaha over supposedly conflicting rights.

Of course, the Separate School Board, and Catholic Bishop Fred Henry, waded into the fray, adding even more fuel to the fire. Bishop Henry has opposed every single advancement of LGBTQ rights that have come along in recent years, citing how such new laws go against Catholic teachings, and insisting that the government should not be engaging in social engineering.

The term ‘social engineering’ is code for covering up homophobic reactions, and is almost always only applied to progressive, liberal and, I believe, reasonable accommodation of diversity, be it political, social or sexual orientation related.

Now that the provincial government, after a series of consultations with Albertans, apparently, has come to the conclusion that having GSAs will not herald the Reign of Satan on Earth, everyone seems to be falling in line.

Back in December, Calgary Catholic School District board chair, Linda Wellman, was quoted as saying they were happy with provincial legislation (i.e. the government’s Bill 10) giving them the ability to reject GSAs. She was quoted as saying the clubs were exclusionary and would not find advocates within the Calgary Catholic School District.

“We don’t have the clubs because we have felt they can be very divisive and lead to segregation,” she said at the time. She went on to say Bill 10, which would have given boards the right to block such groups being formed, but allow students to make an appeal through the courts, conformed well with the board’s practices.

Before, the President of the Alberta Catholic School Trustee’s Association and chairperson of Elk Island Catholic Schools, Tony Sykora, viewed GSAs as “invok[ing] something that is exclusive rather than inclusive” (a total misunderstanding of the whole dynamic behind them), stating Catholic school board

policies did not “segregate different traits”, and was on record as being directly opposed to GSAs. We now hear him saying Catholic schools will be able to work with the new law, that they anticipated this would happen, and the various superintendents are developing their own guidelines for forming student groups.

However, from the wording of the statement, it does rather appear they are hedging their bets.

“We will be able to help all students who are struggling,” it states, going on to say all groups will “support the mission, vision, and core values of the school” with the name of any group having to be approved by the superintendent of schools and the principal of the particular school in which the group is being set up. Any such group, by whatever name the principal and superintendent allow, “will incorporate language in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

Now, to me, that suggests that having the word ‘gay’ in the name just might not fly. After all, gay/homosexual/bisexual or even trans are not in keeping with Catholic teachings.

When this all started, and what Bill 202 sought to accomplish, was that if students – be they LGBTQ or not – indicated a desire to establish a GSA in their school, the school was to comply and offer the support of faculty and other resources towards that end. Seems pretty reasonable.

Now, however, we have folks such as Sykora saying such a request would “trigger a discussion” and that “the discussion [would] determine what the support group [would] look like.”

Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall during that discussion?

Frightened and already stigmatized teenagers ‘having a discussion’ with the authority figures of their school over what a simple support group would be called and what it would look like? It makes my chest tighten up. Especially when those same authority figures were already opposed to the whole idea to begin with and, at the very least, have little to no understanding of what it means to be a queer kid in school.

If these adults are of the mindset that A) such groups are divisive anyway and B) if the student didn’t make such an issue of being gay/bi/trans there wouldn’t be a problem, how does a naïve teenager even begin to deal with that? I suspect their concerns will be dismissed and overridden and the poor kids browbeaten into accepting something less than what they need.

Bishop Henry issued a letter to the faithful last year stating how the mandating of GSAs was “problematic”. He was of the view such a mandate infringed on the authority of parents over their children, infringed on the freedom of parents to teach their children in keeping with their faith, and infringed on the freedom of individuals to practice their faith free of government coercion, interference, or constraints.

This from a bishop who, a few years ago, during the debates around equal marriage, wrote in a pastoral letter, “Since homosexuality, adultery, prostitution and pornography undermine the foundations of the family, the basis of society, then the State must use its coercive power to proscribe or curtail them in the interests of the common good.” (Emphasis added).

He then wrote in a follow-up letter that “[t]he time has come for the government of Canada to use its coercive powers to legislate that a couple being married must be one man and one woman.”

(Emphasis added).

Apparently, it was fine to demand State coercion on those seeking equality rights, or to “proscribe/curtail” homosexuality in the name of ‘the common good’, (let alone again lumping it in with adultery, prostitution and pornography), but it is not okay when it’s his church that is at odds with the State and undermining inclusivity.

Continued on Next Page  16

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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Community

Discussing Community Safety Keep your home safe while enjoying summer break

By Constable Andy Buck

• Look at any trees growing near your home. Could they be climbed to gain entry to any upstairs windows?

• Keep your yard maintained to give the home a ‘lived-in’ look.

• Install outside lights to brighten dark areas around doors and windows.

• Make sure that your address is visible to emergency personnel, even at night.

Hello again everyone. I hope that you are well and looking forward to spring and summer, and all the events that come with that. I know that I am, although it is starting to get extremely busy as we look to get our CPS entry coordinated for Pride Parade. It is still five months away, but that time will pass very quickly, and I want to ensure that our entry is our biggest and best yet!

With the better weather and longer days I appreciate that people may want to be out and about, away from their homes for extended periods of time. That, in turn, could leave a homeowner vulnerable to burglary, so this month I wanted to give some advice accordingly.

Most burglaries (also called breaking and entering or B&Es) can be prevented with good locks, a few tools and some simple precautions. While no home can ever be made completely burglar-proof, people do not need to live with undue fear. Everyone can take practical and effective steps to make their homes more secure.

If your home is broken into: • Do not enter the house in case the burglar is still there.

Use a telephone to call 911 and watch your home until the police arrive.

• Do not touch anything until the police have finished checking your home.

• Provide police with a list of serial numbers of missing items so that they can return your property when it is located.

Home safety tips: • Outside doors and frames should be made of solid wood or steel, which are harder to force open than hollow-core doors.

• Frames in outside doors should fit snugly (within a ¼ inch) against the door.

• Secure all outside doors with deadbolt locks.

• Install a peephole viewer on the entrance door.

Incidents of burglary are invariably crimes of opportunity.

By following these simple tips you can dramatically reduce the risk of becoming a victim of this crime.

As always, stay safe and look out for each other. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns. I will talk to you again next month.

Constable Andy Buck 403-428-8154 • pol4792@calgarypolice.ca

Neighbourhood safety tips: Your neighbourhood is your first line of defence; burglars don’t like watchful neighbours who are collectively interested in the security of their neighbourhoods. Look at your yard and neighbourhood from a burglar’s point of view – these tips may help.

• Trim trees and bushes that could hide burglars.

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 Another Move Forward - From Page 16 In contrast, the Calgary Public Board of Education already supported the establishment of GSAs in 20 of the 218 Calgary public schools, along with 208 anti-bullying and/or diversity clubs.

I’m not sure what Prentice, his cabinet, or his party were thinking back in November and December. Prentice is not antigay. I remember him speaking out in favour of equal marriage as an MLA, for instance. He struck me then as a reasonable, informed and, dare I say, liberal-minded individual. I think he probably still is, but he got caught up in power politics and trying to show Albertans just how strong a leader he was after the whole Alison Redford debacle.

Bill 10 was an ill thought out piece of legislation which, if implemented, would have allowed school administration to outright reject an application for a GSA. The students could then appeal to the school board. If that failed, the students – teenagers, remember – could take it to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. Ridiculous.

First off, what 14 to17-year old do you know who has the wherewithal to launch a civil action suit? I know adults who are intimidated by the court system. If the students lost at Queen’s Bench level, what then? The next level is to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals. Teenaged students don’t have the

resources, financial or otherwise, to do that. And if the decision at Queen’s Bench was in their favour, do you for one minute think a school board would not move to appeal?

Such litigations can drag on for years. This is the same process a quiet, unassuming lab tech from the evangelical King’s College in Edmonton, named Delwin Vriend, went through in the 1980s to get fair treatment under provincial human rights legislation after being fired for being gay (which was legal to do back then). That case dragged on for a decade, all the way to the Supreme Court. Can you, even remotely, see a young high school student, perhaps one who is not yet out to his/her family, embarking on that process?

This was, and is, such a clear-cut case of ‘just-get-on-withit-already’. I am amazed that it has taken this long to do exactly that. Never has the phrase ‘it’s about bloody time’ been more appropriate.

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17

Interview

 photos by CTV

Claudio Aprile

MasterChef Canada’s judge on the sense and sensibilities that mean most in the kitchen

By Janine Eva Trotta Claudio Aprile was only 5 when he took interest in cooking, and 14 when he started to make it a vocation.

The Uruguay-born and Canada-raised MasterChef judge says he has spent more of his life in the kitchen than anywhere else.

“Cooking is really something that’s been an integral part of my creative process,” he says. “I wouldn’t say it’s a hobby – but it’s definitely something I get a lot of pleasure from doing.”

Touted ‘one of Canada’s most celebrated and visionary chefs’, Aprile has built a solid name for himself in Toronto, where his restaurants Colborne Lane and Origin have received countless awards and accolades, the latter being named the #1 restaurant in the city by Toronto Life and NOW magazines. What stands out to him, or appeals most, about a good dish is really quite simple, and some might say even carnal.

“Aroma really tells me everything,” he explains. “How a dish smells is really the first impression for me. A dish has to be visually appealing as well.”

Aprile is all for the classics.

“Risk taking – that concept kind of frightens me sometimes,” he says. “Again aroma is such an important factor for me, not only when I am judging a dish on MasterChef, but even when I am in a restaurant … I always smell the dish first.”

“Animals do that too. It’s a survival technique.”

It’s also a means for staying alive on the show; creating pleasant, well-executed dishes that follow the instructions outlined in the judge’s challenges.

“We give away all the secrets if you listen,” he tips. “So many of the lessons are laid out in the presenting monologue, or whatever you want to call it. It’s all there.”

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

He offers the outcome of last Sunday’s episode as example.

The Elimination Challenge ingredient was selected, by contestant Cody Karey, as truffles.

“One cook, ‘Concrete’ Dave, he listened; he made the truffle the star of that dish and he completely slayed everyone in that competition,” Aprile says. Contestant Kevin Gregory, presenting a “Decadent Eggs” dish that confused the judges with its lack of truffles, was sent home.

“I always gravitate towards a chef who is quiet but, you know… they are a good listener,” he explains. “I tend to gravitate towards people that have a bit of an underdog character to them.”

Humility and generosity are two additional traits Aprile says he looks for in a winning chef.

“Always remain a student,” he says. “Accept the fact you picked a career where no one ever becomes a master.”

This timeless logic stands true for even Aprile himself. With over 30 years in the industry, he admits he is still learning. MasterChef was his first experience appearing on a televised cooking show as a judge.

“I’ve done a few things here and there… but never pursued television,” he says. “I was very cautious of merging those two worlds.”

In MasterChef, however, he found a unique way to do that.

“The show… has been a very steep learning curve,” he says. “I find a lot of the cooks very inspiring in how so many of them have taken a leap of faith… [and] given up their family lives and work lives to be on the show.”

“The show has really taught me… the importance of … empathy, and also it has taught me how to be live.”

Appearing in front of a barrage of cameras and crew is something quite different from heading a kitchen.

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“There is an incredible team behind us, guiding us through the process,” he says. “I definitely feel like I’ve been thrown in the deep end… [but] it’s great to try something new.”

With filming having wrapped last fall, Aprile admits critiquing never became natural.

“It is challenging to tell someone – a home cook – that their dish isn’t good enough. I always find that a bit difficult, because it’s someone that put a lot of time and effort into that dish.”

When Aprile comes home from a day of work he is sure to hang his chef hat at the door and let his wife, Heather, take the helm.

“Home food, for me, is very different than restaurant food.

Restaurant food is very precise, time sensitive and, in many ways, it is very standardized. Recipes have to be the same every time you prepare them,” he explains. “Home food, for me, is more relaxed…

At home I tend to check the chef at the door and my wife is really in charge of the home kitchen.”

He says her soups are some of his favourite dishes to come home to, naming, specifically, Heather’s lemongrass, chicken and corn summer soup as a top notcher.

“I’ll pretty much eat anything my kids make me,” he adds, proudly noting that both his son, 13, and daughter, 7, love to cook too.

As for future stints on television, Aprile is doubtful. He is very content with his experience on MasterChef.

“The show is such a special show; it’s such a special program.

We celebrate home cooking, which is really the place where most of the chefs on the planet started – cooking at home.”

“It would be difficult to find something as unique as MasterChef.”

We can, however, keep on the lookout for a cookbook that may come out in the future.

“I have a secret stash of recipes and a few books that have never been published,” he says. “Binder after binder full of recipes.”

“You never know what’s around the corner,” he furthers. “It doesn’t get much bigger than MasterChef.”

MasterChef Canada airs Sundays at 7 p.m. MT on CTV, returning on March 22. The season finale is set to air sometime in May, the date TBD.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

19

Editorial

Parenting Proud

Archetypes at the Community Playground

By Jim Scott This year, as winter’s chilly days fade into spring’s promise of warmth and renewal, we’re spending a lot more time playing outside. Given the opportunity, our son will play almost anywhere and anytime if we stop for five minutes and let him loose. Thanks to my husband’s own perpetual adolescence our boy has lots to keep him busy in our own backyard, which is great, but there’s something about our community playground that he loves the most. So a couple weeks back, as the time sprang forward, the snow and ice melted away, and zero degree temperatures shot up to double digits. I decided that I would start taking my little monkey to the playground in the evenings after I got home from work. Well let me tell you, now that I have been spending time there, I have made some interesting observations I would like to share about the fascinating world of the community playground.

We have lived in our suburban middle-class neighbourhood for nearly a decade now. Until we had our son two years ago, the playground at the elementary school across the street from our home wasn’t even close to being on my radar. It has just been the past couple months that he is getting big enough to safely play on the equipment and with the other kids so, for me, the evening visits have been like forging bold new territory, and there have been a few surprises to be sure.

Right off the bat, I became acutely aware of this really weird etiquette that seems to prevail among the other playground parents, where no one talks to anyone but their own kids. Now maybe it’s because I’m from a different generation than some of the younger parents – I’m 47, or have always been a really friendly guy, or that I was taught it’s just polite to say hello to people when you encounter them in social situations – but, after saying hi to a couple people and being met with what I can only categorize as total disdain by several playground moms and one dad on our first outing, it got me wondering: why aren’t parents friendlier to each other? After all, weren’t we all there for the same reason? That being when your kid is worn out after playing, they go to bed on time and actually sleep which, as any parent of a toddler knows, is a true godsend.

At first I immediately wondered if I was experiencing some sort of mass homophobia. But, as time goes by, I have observed that none of the parents talk to each other. It’s like they’re there, but behind an imaginary glass enclosure that separates them from the rest of the world and their only link to the outside – ironically, since they’re already outside – are their cell phones. That coupled with the fact that I’m not a very flamboyant gay man – polar bear here – leads me to think it’s probably not homophobia at all, just self-absorbed parents with little to no social skills which, in some ways, I think is worse because their kids are just as anti-social as their parents are. Since I love to study people, which is why I chose communications as a professional career, and all I have to do while I’m there is observe the other parents in this setting, I have identified some archetypes that seem to sum up our playground’s cast of characters.

The first, and most prevalent, are the ‘I’m way too busy to talk to you’ moms. They arrive in their mini vans with their brood of five or six in tow, always on their cell phones, and between texts or calls they’re the ones screaming at little Johnny or Tiffany to stop whatever they’re doing because Mommy has had it. She’s also most likely to be the parent not paying any attention at all to her kids, except for the screaming. I would love to tell these ladies to put down their devices for just a few minutes and actually interact with their children on their level because believe it, or not, the simple act of playing with your child is really, really rewarding! But hey, you only get one chance to snub me before my imagination starts to write your back story and, in the narrative, I imagine these moms end up divorced with daughters who dance on a

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

pole and sons who end up living in a religious commune in Costa Rica with 16 wives and 27 children.

The second most common archetypes are the ‘Helicopter Parents’ and these can be either women or men. In classic helicopter fashion they won’t interact with the other adults because they think their children are made of glass. They seem to operate on the assumption that if they take their eyes off their kids for even a second, something terrible will happen. To date I haven’t personally observed any monsters or child eating animals, so I think the playground is pretty safe, but by the way these people act, disaster is only moments away from happening. Who knows, maybe they know something I don’t? But until I see a Muppet with a meat cleaver, I’m going to assume my son is safe on the swings.

The third parental archetypes I have catalogued are the ‘Tiger Moms’.

Not just of Asian descent either, although they do make up a large portion of this group, they can come in all shapes, colours and sizes. These parents are so competitive and structured that even something as fun as a twisty slide becomes a lesson in physics, a swing set is a geometry problem, and a hop scotch grid turns into an ultimate fighting ring.

I’m all for a good education, competitive sports, and finding teaching moments all around us, but sometimes play time is just that – time to play. My advice to these moms is to lighten up and let your kid be a kid once in a while. In order to be well adjusted and psychologically stable adults, everyone needs time to relax and unwind, but these moms can’t seem to allow their kids any freedom at all, and when playing and having fun are viewed as work which needs to be scheduled, that’s a recipe for resentment and rebellion down the road.

Next up are the ‘Single Dads’. They’re usually around the playground on holidays and weekends and are pretty good at paying attention to their progeny, yet even they can’t seem to put down their phones for any substantial amount of time. I often wonder who’s more important than their own kids, or if that text or call couldn’t have waited for 15 minutes until it was time to go? Maybe that’s why their divorced in the first place?

Men, here’s a hint: you need to actively listen to your kids and spouses from time to time. There’s a great deal of information to be gathered if you just take a few minutes to give 100 per cent of yourself to the other people in your life. It can be the difference between a happy relationship or one clouded by distance and suspicion.

Last, but not least and the most rare of the bunch, is the category I put myself in, and that’s the ‘child stuck in adult’s body’. We’re the ones playing on the swings with our kids, running around and screaming like we’re five again, riding down the slides and hanging upside down from the monkey bars. We take play time seriously and have never met a game of hide and seek we didn’t love. I’m sure when my son gets to be a little older I’ll totally embarrass him, but hey that’ also part of the fun, and I hope that we have many more years to play and be kids – both big and small – together.

Of course this is all meant to be tongue and cheek with me poking a little good-natured humour at the other parents in my neighbourhood.

In reality, I applaud any parent who takes time out of their busy day to spend some quality time with their kids. So far my experience has been that it’s this time that kids crave from their parents, not what we give them materially, or how much time they get to play video games, but actual time spent just being together. If you take anything away from my musings here, take this: nothing can replace one-on-one time with your kids. So give them a big hug and a kiss and tell them how much you love them right now. You won’t regret it later on.

If you’d like to share a story, or have any comments please email me at parentingproud@gmail.com.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

21

Theatre

 Photo by Cirque du Soleil

Open The Cabinet

Explore the Kurios new Cirque du Soleil show

By Jason Clevett Those driving down Macleod Trail will have noticed that the trademark yellow and blue tent has arrived on the Stampede Grounds. Until May 24th, Calgarians will be amazed by the latest Cirque du Soleil production Kurios - Cabinet of Curiosities.

GayCalgary spoke to the show’s Artistic Director Bruno Darmagnac as the show was wrapping up a critically acclaimed run in Seattle before heading to Calgary.

“The show takes place in the time period of the end of the 19th century in the Industrial Revolution, when there were lots of inventions and lots of things were possible. The future was bright. That’s what really makes the show it is optimistic, enthusiastic and happy. We are in a laboratory of a scientist’s and all his inventions come to life and become acrobatic acts.

It is something very happy, positive and high energy,” he said.

While the audience is awed by the spectacle of 46 performers from 14 countries for Darmagnac, having been there from the start, he has a different outlook.

“I don’t look at the show the same way an audience member sees it; nobody working on the show does. I’ve seen it getting created and its first steps: its growing and changing, and all the work that went in behind it; what goes wrong, what is good and what can be better. I am very careful and attentive to how the audience reacts, but don’t see it the same way they do.”

Having been with Cirque du Soleil for four years, including closing Alegria in 2013 20 years after its debut, Darmagnac enjoys being able to settle into a city for a few weeks. Few touring shows can sell out 2,700 seat venues for weeks at a time like this does.

“I really think it is because of the quality. Cirque du Soliel is, of course, about acrobatics and the various aspects of circus, like comedy and music. It puts a lot of attention to the costumes and a great story. We are all working very hard to push to have the best quality for each section. We have the best artists and acrobats possible, and that makes the difference. People recognize and feel that, and when they want to go and see a live 22

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

show, we are not cheap; it is cheaper to go see a movie. When they go and see a live show they want to see quality and they really get it here. Since Kurios has started, it is going to be one year old; it is still a baby. Since the beginning the audiences have been enthusiastic and loving the show. There is a standing ovation every performance, and I think that is what people want and why there is this success, because of the quality.

There are a few different incarnations of Cirque shows – the residencies like KA and Love in Las Vegas, the arena shows like Michael Jackson Immortal and the grand tent tours like Kurios.

Although he hasn’t worked a resident show, Bruno shared a comparison.

“The good thing about the big top show is you travel with your environment and it stays the same. There is the show tent and artistic tent and the layout is always the same. For the artists and everybody it is a lot easier. In arenas you change cities every week and have to adjust to a new building. On Alegria, the first two or three days, everybody is lost and looking for their way around. With the big top you are like a turtle; you travel with your house, which makes it easier. The quality of the show is better in the sense that you always have the same parameters. The sound, for example, is always the same in the tent. In an arena the space can be bigger or smaller, and it can take a few shows to adjust to that space. So the big top is a lot more consistent. We stay a long time in each city with the big top, so you have time to have a life and explore the city. In the arenas, on your day off, you are moving. Here we stay and can enjoy where we are. The same applies with resident shows, from what I understand. You come and do the job and they have their lives; their kids are going to school; they have their homes and cars. They are not on tour – it is really stable and another atmosphere.”

Each Cirque du Soleil show has its own unique features and Kurios is no exception. With so many unique talents it can be a challenge to cast the show and deal with illness. For example, Antitina Satsura is one of the 10 smallest people in the world, at 3.2 feet and 39 pounds. If she is unable to do the show, it changes.

“If this character is out of the show because she is sick or needs to go home for an emergency, it is very difficult to replace her because of her size and specificity. She is extremely strong, always here and a really hard worker. She is human and can be sick and, if that happens, I have no one to replace her. If she is out of the show for a few days I have a version of the show without her. If she decides she doesn’t want to renew her contract we will definitely look for someone to replace her and take her part.”

Cirque du Soleil always delivers when they come to Calgary and, from reports and reviews from previous stops, Kurios Cabinet of Curiosities takes things to a whole different level.

“It is very good and fun. It is a happy show; people leave with smiles. You are going to see really high-level acrobatics different from other Cirque shows. The characters on stage are a lot more human. Cirque has had a lot of strange creations on stage, but not in this show, and I think people relate to that.

There is the Steampunk element in the costumes and scenery, which I think is very beautiful and warm. It is a nice experience; it makes people happy. If you want a bit of happiness in this sad world, come see Kurios.”

Kurios - Cabinet of Curiosities https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/kurios/default.aspx Calgary - April 9th to May 24th Stampede Grounds http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4614 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

Interview

Mimi Imfurst

On coming out, Drag Race, and spinning at Western Cup

By Lisa Lunney Twelve-time GLAMMY Award nominee and reality star from RuPaul’s Drag Race, Mimi Imfurst will be hosting the Western Cup Dance. GayCalgary Magazine chatted with Mimi about her experience on Drag Race, being a celebrity and more! Check it out: GC: Thank you for taking the time to chat with GayCalgary Magazine.

Calgary couldn’t be more excited to be graced with your presence in April for the Western Cup. What can fans and partygoers look forward to seeing? What are some of your favourite things about visiting Canada?

MI: The people. Every time I’ve been to Canada, the hospitality is overwhelming. It feels like home and, seeing as that I lived in Maine for a while growing up, it practically is.

GC: You are a queen with infinite amounts of sass! Where do you channel your personality from? Is Mimi much different from Braden?

 photo by Jonathan Hernandez

MI: Oh, Mimi is very different from Braden. Braden is a lot more quiet. Mimi is loud, politically incorrect. She speaks her mind. A lot of my inspiration comes from folks like Bette Midler, Miss Piggy, Divine, Joan Rivers.

MI: Oh it was hysterical. I couldn’t figure out why Jinkx was burping the whole time, but she told me that she just had lunch right before they shot that scene and was gassy.

GC: How has life changed since the show?

MI: It’s been insane. I was touring a lot nationally before show, and

GC: Can you share your experience about opening up about sexuality

and becoming Mimi?

MI: How much space do I have? I could write a novel on this but

I’ll just say that coming out, for me, was never some sort of internal struggle. Once I realized that I was gay, I was completely okay with it. I never felt shame or confusion over my feelings. I understand also that not everyone had that experience. However, the other people in my life, I’m not sure they were as comfortable with it as I was. It led for some very difficult experiences. I lived on the streets for some time. That being said, I don’t harbour negative towards the people in my life who may have hard a harder time with me being gay than I did. They have to go through their own coming out process as a friend or parent of an LGBT person.

Everyone has their own path and experience. I feel lucky for the one that I went on, even though there was a lot of pain and bad experiences after coming out but, in the end, I feel those experiences taught me so much about who I am and the value of being true to yourself.

GC: If you could choose one song as your anthem, what would it be

and why?

MI: You’re going to make me pick just one song? Right now my theme song is “21 Guns” by Green Day. It just reflects a lot of my journey at this time in my life.

GC: Let’s talk Drag Race! What are some of your best memories from

the show?

MI: Honestly, getting to meet and work with Ru, the other queens,

and of course Michelle Visage. Michelle is such an amazing person to have in your life.

GC: How accurate do you think the show’s portrayal of Queens is?

MI: Honestly, it is 50 per cent truth, 50 per cent good editing. There’s

was opening for Kathy Griffin for audiences of 10,000. But Drag Race is a different kind of fame. It’s been a lot of joy and a lot of struggle as well.

I’ve never worked harder. But overall, I’m thankful and blessed.

GC: Your career has you travelling quite a bit! What have been some of the best travel experiences? The worst?

MI: The hard part are the hours, early flights, late shows, running from a gig directly to the airport. The schedule is tight sometimes. I’ve even had to get out of drag once I got on the plane because I didn’t have enough time between the show and the flight. These days I’ve gotten really good at sleeping on planes; I usually end up passed out before we even take off.

GC: What is the most outrageous and over-the-top thing you have ever done?

MI: I once flew cross-country in full drag at the age of 16. My friend and I went by the alter egos Mary Tammy and Tammy Mary. We snuck a small radio on the plane (with cassette tapes) and lip-synced “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. That is, until we were asked to take our seats by the flight crew.

GC: What advice can you offer to those struggling with their sexuality and opening up to their family and friends?

MI: You have to be you – at all costs. Our moments here are so precious and, if you’re not true to yourself, you’re doing a disservice to the gift of life we are all given. Anyone in your life who doesn’t except who you really are isn’t someone you should have in your life anyways.

Love yourself and accept those who love you equally. Otherwise, to compromise your truth, is an act of treason on yourself.

GC: Any closing thoughts?

MI: Come see me spin at Western Cup! I’m so excited… let’s party!

a lot of things that don’t happen exactly the way they did, but that doesn’t make for good television. In some ways Drag Race is really wonderful because it elevates this drag queens to superstar status but, at the end of the day, you’ve just watched them jump through all these obscene challenges that have very little to do with what these drag queens do in real life. So it’s exciting after the show is said and done to show people what we really do.

Western Cup Dance http://www.westerncup.com/

GC: Runway challenges! Is it difficult to be in the spotlight and struttin’ your stuff? You’ve made it look so easy!

Calgary - Saturday April 4th @ Hotel Arts General Admission: $25 Advance, $30 Door

MI: Ha! Do I? Drag Race is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, twice.

Nothing that anyone says can prepare you for that experience. In the end, it seems like a weird dream.

GC: What did you think of Jinkx’s portrayal of you in the lip-sync challenge?

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

23

Gossip Bowl Shuffle” seems really complicated anyway, so it’ll be entirely understandable if that’s how it goes down.

O’Lucky Day for Dinklage Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, for years, even in the beginning of his career when he really needed it, has refused to take roles traditionally handed to little people, stuff like Santa’s elves and leprechauns. He pushed his way into parts probably written for men double his height, and now he’s famous, which is called having the last laugh. Next step, then?

Another last laugh, of sorts – a leprechaun comedy called O’Lucky Day, to be directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray).

Before you consider it to be some sort of capitulation, go watch Bad Santa, because that’s what this story line sounds like: a bad-news con man posing as a leprechaun who’s out to fleece the gullible. In other words, the perfect sort of snarling, tables-turned comedy brutalism you’d expect an independentminded artist to warm up to. This is how you run your own show. Shooting is scheduled to take place during Dinklage’s next break from Thrones.

Thomas Roberts in the afternoon Thomas Roberts, the gay anchor of MSNBC’s Way Too Early (its 5:30 a.m. show), has a shot at being their afternoon news star. Starting March 2, the network is replacing Ronan Farrow Daily and The Reid Report with a daily two-hour block of news programming, from 1 to 3 p.m. Eastern, featuring Roberts.

The move comes as a response to flagging daytime ratings and a desire for that slot’s programming to feature more breaking news. Roberts has already worked as a correspondent for CBS News and contributed to Entertainment Tonight, before landing at MSNBC in 2010. For the sake of LGBT TV personalities in need of jobs, we’re happy about this and hoping for robust ratings. But really we’re just happy that the handsome journalist will be available to be admired at a reasonable hour instead of at the crack of pre-dawn. No amount of coffee was going to help with that.

Update on those movies you were hoping to see  Baz Luhrmann. photo by Debby Wong

Deep Inside Hollywood Dancing with the Sam, Peter Dinklage, Thomas Roberts, Movie Update

By Romeo San Vicente Dancing with the Sam You have to hand it to Michael Sam – he does not quit. The first openly gay NFL prospect will try, try again on March 22, when he participates in a veteran’s combine. This one will include football’s between-teams free agents, aka, other players in Sam’s boat, guys who will participate in a variety of activities like position-specific drills, all while scouts watch and size them up. And Sam’s next non-football job should probably help keep him flexible for that day: He’s going to be part of the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars. Obviously, if the combine goes well and he’s got to ditch the world of ballroom dancing for a spot on a team somewhere, he can always forget the choreography on the next week’s show. Dancing to “Super

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Remember when Tom Ford showed he could direct a movie with A Single Man? Sure you do. It was only about five years ago. And then remember when he just didn’t follow it up with anything? Well, that might change soon, if the fashiondesigner-turned-filmmaker gets his way. He’s being quiet about details, but he says it’s going to be a two-part thriller based on some popular books. And that he wants to start shooting in the fall of this year. And that, friends, is all the information he deems fit to share right now. If it starts to fall together in a more newsworthy way, you’ll hear about it… And then there’s Pee-Wee Herman and Judd Apatow, who have struggled for years to get that next P-WH film made and distributed. Well, now Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday has a home, one suitably modern for the ageless, small-suited, man-child: Netflix. His stardom peak was 30 years ago, after all, which means that a theatrical release could be marketed incorrectly and misfire. This way, streaming via Netflix becomes a way to get the movie to the right cool-audience eyes without too much budget spent on promotion and fear of butts in seats on opening weekend. We love this so much we’re going to marry it.

Romeo San Vicente knows you are. But what is he? Or something like that.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

25

Hooked On Olly Murs

Pop star talks handsy fans, gay-baiting and sharing a sweater with Sam Smith

 photo by Columbia Records

By Chris Azzopardi A veteran of nakedness, Olly Murs was fueling our straight-boy fantasies long before Nick Jonas.

Stripping at London’s prestigious G-A-Y club, frequent underwear-only selfies, a leather jacket-clad cover photo in December’s Attitude magazine – we’re as addicted to Murs’ sex appeal as we are to his pop confections.

Following the release of the British “X Factor” alum’s fourth studio album, Never Been Better, Murs spoke candidly about how he and other artists use sex to market their music, his biggest regret in life and how he considers fans grabbing his junk a “compliment.”

GC: You were one of the original Nick Jonases – you got naked for the gay community years before he did.

OM: (Laughs) Yeah! I’ve done a few naked shots for the gay magazines. My body is in demand by the gay folks – I can’t complain! I don’t think I’ve got the best body in the world, but no, it’s very flattering. It’s always great to do those magazines and also to show people that – even though I’m a straight guy – I’m very comfortable with my sexuality, so I think that’s a great thing to do in those magazines, and it’s great fun.

I did a gig once at G-A-Y in the UK – a very renowned club, and a lot of artists go there to perform – and obviously when you do a performance there are girls screaming and going crazy for you, and obviously at a gay club it was a lot of men and it was quite strange, a different sort of noise, you know? It’s very, RAWR! GC: Are we gay men more touchy-feely than the girls?

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OM: I think you are actually. You’re a bit more forward. You have a lot more confidence. And that’s a good thing!

GC: What’s the grabbiest a fan has gotten at a show?

OM: When we did the 2012 tour and I walked into the audience, one of my fans went to grab my bits, which was quite interesting and quite funny.

GC: How do you react to grabby fans?

OM: Oh, it’s fine. It’s cheeky and playful. And a compliment!

GC: When Nick Jonas started showing more skin, people claimed he was gay-baiting. As someone who’s straight but open to getting naked for the gay community, I’m curious: What are your thoughts on “gay-baiting”?

OM: I don’t know why people would say that. You’re just giving people what they want, and sure, there are a lot of gay men out there that love Nick Jonas and wanna see him, but women wanna see him naked as well. At the end of the day, it’s up to the artists. I don’t have to take my top off, but when I was asked by a magazine like Attitude to do it, I was like, “Why not?” I’m not against it, and you hope you get a good reaction out of people, but as artists we’re always trying to promote and win new fans over. It’s playful, and also, what’s wrong with an artist taking his top off?

GC: What’s the trick to shooting a nude photo?

OM: Make sure you have a good diet before you do it. Make sure you feel good with your body and you’re comfortable with it. Obviously I wasn’t massively comfortable the last time I did it because it was the first time I got naked in about two years, so

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my body changed a little bit. I wasn’t quite as fit as I was before, but it was good though. Tuck that stomach in at all times!

GC: You’ve been hitting the gym. Where have you seen the most progress?

OM: Well… day one started yesterday. I’m on day two today.

(Laughs) And it’s going well! I’m getting there, you know?

GC: In an age where the stigma of male body hair is in flux, you seem to embrace yours.

OM: Always. I think we always talk about hair on bodies, and sometimes when you take it off you just look a bit too young.

I’m quite proud of a bit of masculine hair.

GC: When you measure the success you’ve had globally, where does America fall? How do you feel about your success here versus worldwide?

OM: Everywhere is different – for example, in Europe I’ve got a much bigger fan base, and obviously Australia too – but I don’t try to compare places. I just know certain markets are a little bit harder, and America is one of them. Every time I’ve come back, though, it’s been amazing. Just gotta keep working hard. And I think the fans in America are amazing – a really great bunch of people.

GC: Will you be touring America?

OM: Yeah, we hope so. At the moment we haven’t announced it, but we’re hoping to come back to the U.S. at some point later on in the year.

GC: Around Christmas of last year you were in a sweater foursome with not only Demi Lovato and One Direction’s Niall Horan, but also Sam Smith – all of you shared an oversized ugly sweater, and it was amazing.

OM: Yeah, I got to share a sweater with him, and it was a beautiful thing! I don’t think people realize how tall Sam is. He’s a very tall man! But he’s also very charming and really honest.

Sam’s great.

GC: How tall are you?

OM: I’m about 5-foot-9 on a good day. He’s about 6 foot, maybe.

GC: How did you and Sam initially meet?

OM: I met Sam at a gig. I can’t remember (exactly where), but then during X Factor (in December 2014) we had a good chat again and he’s a lovely guy. Really great singer, and obviously had an amazing week at the Grammys. He deserves it.

GC: During the song “Stick with Me,” you refer to regrets and how we all have a few. What’s your greatest regret?

OM: I don’t live life by regrets, but I went to college in the UK and didn’t go to university, and I’d love to have done that and experienced that. I really didn’t work hard enough in school to do it, and I regret a bit that I didn’t. But, obviously, I’m really happy where my life got me to now, so I can’t complain. I’m in a really great place as a person now, and I’ve never really had many tough times in my career where it’s been terrible; it’s always been quite positive with me. This album really is a true reflection of me realizing what I’ve got.

GC: Would you say this is your most serious and personal album?

OM: Yeah, definitely the most serious, and it definitely has a lot of balls behind it. It’s exciting to do an album and put your life and soul into it, and it’s bigger and better than the last three albums. It’s the best one I’ve done. I’m excited to hear what all the American fans think of it.

GC: Describe the album as if it were a candy.

OM: It’s a Gobstopper – long-lasting. You’re chewing it and enjoying every piece of it until the end.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

27

Interview

 photos by eOne Music Canada

New sound, same spunk Die Mannequin back on tour opening for Manson

By Krista Sylvester A lot can change in five years and, for Die Mannequin lead singer Caroline “Care Failure” Kawa, it has.

Five years has passed since Toronto’s Die Mannequin released a full-length album and with the band’s latest offering, called Neon Zero, Mannequin singer Kawa is putting it all out on the table with fresh lungs and a revitalized spirit. Not only has the band released its latest album but they’re on tour with none other than Kawa’s musical idol Marilyn Manson – for the second time. Die Mannequin opened up for Manson on his 2010 tour and Kawa is excited to be included again.

Describing the band’s sound as “way fucking better”, Kawa says it feels good to hit the road again with a new set of bandmates.

While she says the new tour feels “less hiatus-y and more tour-y” than ever, they’re still hitting the road for the first time together and they’re ready to put their stamp on the EDM scene although – to Kawa – it’s Evil Dance Metal. Die Mannequin opens for Manson’s Hell Not Hallelujah tour in both Lethbridge and Edmonton this month. Kawa opens up – and not so much – about touring again with her new band and what to expect on the road again here.

GC: What have you been doing the past few years?

CK: I was improving my baking skills along with binge-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer… Naw… I just didn’t really feel like writing or releasing an album for a couple of years there… but it didn’t take long until I felt bored but also hungry enough to make music again and tour heavily. Music is in my blood and in my bones. It is also one thing I feel I do slightly well. So I got my shit together, signed a new deal, wrote a slew of new music I felt truly represented me, and came back more bulletproof and dangerous than I ever was before.

GC: What do you love about touring Canada?

CK: Vancouver is great for its whale art. Calgary is great for its rampant homophobia. And Las Vegas is great for its slot machines. (That’s in Canada… right…?)

GC: Describe the energy of opening up for a Manson crowd?

CK: We toured with Marilyn Manson once before across Canada back in 2010, I believe. And sometimes, when you are the opening band, you fear that no one wants to see you and they just want to see the headliner. So I am always surprised and stupefied to see the crowd all singing and moshing along to all of our songs...

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Maybe I am just lucky with the Manson crowd and fans either being extra tolerant and cool, but so far we have had a super warm and fuzzy reception, and lots of sweaty dancing and rocking fans jumping along.

GC: Tell us about your new album?

CK: It’s white and colourful on the front. The back is a puke-y mis-match of nauseating colours. The middle has a lot of photos of me and other people. And the actual CD is made of plastic. In a pinch, you can also use the CD as a mirror to shave the back part of your head. I think it also makes music-songs.

I very recently went through a bunch of line-up changes which lead me to a completely new band. I was already looking for a new drummer and second guitar player when my bass player Tony (Anthony Bleed) and I broke up after being together for 10 years.

So when we split six months ago, Tony wisely decided to leave, so it left me in a strange position of having to then re-build my entire band.

So I got my long-time friend/musician/producer Kevvy from Fake Shark (Real Zombie!) on bass and backup vocals. Keith Heppler is now on drums – he is also in a band I love a lot called Secret Broadcast, who is also on the same label as Die Mannequin.

And last, but not least, my secret weapon j.c. Sandoval on guitar – he also plays in yet another great Toronto band, Savannah.

So although losing members sucks, I at least got to re-build my dream band of players and musicians that I have always wanted to play with. So, in the end, it became the most deadly and tightest line-up I have ever had. So what was first chaotic ended up being an amazing new chapter for the band and me.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

29

Community

The Evolution of Jer’s Vision Talking about anti-bullying objectives

By Carey Rutherford “I’m Lukayo Estrello, senior manager for the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD),” the new title for Jer’s Vision, the nationally successful anti-bullying organization. “On the website I made a blog post called ‘In the Name of Naming’, which talks about the name transition. For me, being part of Jer’s Vision, and working here for three years, I have tried to move us more toward an anti-oppression framework.

People have argued that Jer’s Vision is more from a liberal framework, that our great success is appealing to straight and heterosexual and fifth gender people to try and get them to understand.

“Which is one of our greatest appeals: we go into schools, we talk about a bullying story, we try to get them at the heart of the matter. [I also] talk about growing up trans and an immigrant, and the two are different narratives, so they send me into schools where there’s one trans kid who’s recently come out or started to transition . . . and the school doesn’t want to put all the pressure on that one kid to educate all the other kids.

“So we still haven’t lost our goal of trying to appeal to other folks; that part of ourselves is put specifically into that campaign, while the Centre (CCGSD) idea is that we want to be more of a resource hub for other organizations across Canada. Our mandate has always been ‘You tell us what you need, we’ll go to where you are, and deliver what it is you want… If you’re from a small town, and you just need one visible gay person to talk to your kids, we’ll do that; if you need training for your teachers, at whatever level you need, if they’re still trying to understand gender identity, then we will do that.

“Sometimes that looks like a speaking tour, sometimes like a fullblown conference (or teacher summit, as is happening this Friday the

10th of April), sometimes it looks like them sending their kids to our week-long training forum.”

Lukayo mentions that founder Jeremy Diaz talked about wanting ‘Jer’s Vision’ to become ‘Shared Vision’, as there were now six staff members, all of whom have stories to tell and share about their own challenges and successes.

“If we’re going to have an organization that’s trying to reach out to people, to build alliances and allies, as well as to reach into our own communities, we have to have a diverse representative, and we have to be speaking from our own experiences. And I don’t see a lot of that in larger LGBTQ organizations. . . I know there are different organizations separated into The Native Youth Sexual Health Network, and that’s separate from [this or that]. The only place where I see that sometimes it will mix is in Toronto, and I want to see that more in other places. . .

What we want to be able to do is build those connections.”

GC and Lukayo discuss the varying natures and knowledge in such diversity, and Lukayo mentions that, as a Filipino with the kind of Two-Spirit history of his own culture, he was actually guided after his emigration to Canada (as a child) by local Two-Spirit Elders in learning about his own realities.

Then there’s the Gay Sweater. To quote the CCGSD media release: LGBT Community Creates World’s First Real ‘Gay’ Item to End Misuse of Word ‘Gay’: Today, the world’s first and only ‘gay’ object – a sweater knit from the donated hair of more than 100 LGBT people – makes its debut during Toronto Fashion Week. Appearing ahead of this summer’s upcoming Pride Week celebrations in Toronto, New York, San Francisco and London, The Gay Sweater was created to make people everywhere understand that it is incorrect and offensive to use language like that’s so gay to negatively describe something. . . The project is an initiative of The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD). “‘The idea for the sweater was born from a desire to educate and encourage everyone to use ‘gay’ the correct way,” said Jeremy Dias, director of the CCGSD. We bet it’s warm!

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The Unbreakable Mo’Nique

Oscar winner talks Lee Daniels drama, LGBT integration and an end to coming out  photo by KBiz Entertainment

By Chris Azzopardi Mo’Nique isn’t one to hold back. Take her ongoing clash with Lee Daniels, who directed her Oscar-winning performance in 2009’s Precious. Daniels said the 47-year-old’s behavior got her “blackballed”; she, on the other hand, says Hollywood isn’t “playing fairly.”

As the actress’ latest film Blackbird hits theaters, Mo’Nique discussed how the back-and-forth feud wouldn’t stop her from working with Daniels again; her belief that if she doesn’t have to come out as straight, nor should LGBT people; and the childhood mantra that brings her comfort when the media is on her back.

GC: Blackbird tells the story of someone who’s looking for acceptance from the outside world but also from within. Have you been there? Do you know what it feels like to be an outsider?

M: I think every human alive understands what it means to be an outsider. We’ve all been outsiders in one situation or another, so of course I’ve felt like an outsider before. But it’s OK to be an outsider.

GC: What situation did you find yourself in that made you feel like an outsider?

M: Baby, when I wanted to be a high school cheerleader and they didn’t think I could wear the little small skirts and do the kick.

GC: As an LGBT ally, where do you go internally to play someone like Claire, the homophobic mother in this film?

M: I go to honesty, because I know those mothers and I know those fathers that have and are having a really difficult time 32

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accepting the babies that they brought into the world. They can’t understand, “How can my baby be born that way?”

GC: What do you hope Blackbird conveys to those parents?

M: That it’s OK to love your baby through it. That it’s OK to love your baby because your baby has done absolutely nothing wrong. It’s OK to let your baby be who they were born to be and who they were made to be with no apology. Claire really feels like this is a sin, and we’re hoping that for our brothers and sisters who are really having a rough time because of their religion, that they walk away and see the devastation it can do to human beings, because you have no control over that.

It’s a message that says it’s OK to walk in your truth. It’s OK when it’s not popular or no one understands. It’s OK. To have the chance to play with a fearless director (Patrik-Ian Polk) that’s so willing to tell the truth in its rare form – I really thought I would never get that opportunity again.

GC: Why do you say that you never thought you’d have that chance again?

M: Because I think oftentimes we can be afraid to tell the real story. When I was so fortunate to do a movie called Precious, it was such a raw story – those people truly exist and truly get treated in that manner – and I just never thought I would get the opportunity again to be able to play with someone who was so fearless, so that’s what I mean when I say that.

GC: You mention Precious, which you worked on with director Lee Daniels. You and he are currently entangled in a “he said, she said” back-and-forth, and I’m wondering: Do you feel like the media is taking sides?

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M: Well, do you feel like the media is taking sides?

GC: I’ll say this: I just read a story that claims your Precious co-star Gabourey Sidibe “slammed” you with a tweet that said, “It’s sad to see a project like Precious, that was made with such love, be dragged through the mud by selfishness and lies.” How do you process stories that make you out to be the problem?

M: You know, I really don’t. When you know the truth, you don’t have the energy to process that kind of media. And this is coming from Mo’Nique’s mouth – there is absolutely nothing the media could write or say that would stop me from loving that beautiful young lady the way that I love her, because I was there on that set with that baby and I watched her do things that were just breathtaking and mind-blowing. I watched that young lady be fearless. I watched her do it with no judgment of herself. I watched that woman shine. So, regardless of what people write and what people say, I love that sweet, beautiful baby.

GC: So you don’t find it difficult to brush off media slams?

M: Remember when we were kids and parents would say, “Sticks and stones, they break your bones but names...” – I mean, we’re nothing but kids with grown-up faces. If you can still hold onto those things, then you don’t get affected by it.

GC: Would you ever work with Lee Daniels again?

M: I’m gonna say of course I would, because Lee Daniels is a brilliant director, a brilliant writer, and he is absolutely fearless when it comes to telling that story on the screen.

GC: You had said that the scripts never stopped coming after Precious, but aside from 2009’s Steppin: The Movie and now Blackbird you haven’t appeared in a movie since Precious. Were you just passing on them?

M: I passed on most of them because the offers didn’t make sense. When you speak to Tyler Perry and he says to you, “If you get nominated, your next film is gonna be between $3 and $5 million, and if you win it, it’s between that and $8 million” – well, I appreciated the information he gave to my husband (Sidney Hicks) and I. We appreciated that. But there have been no offers that have come in from the studios that have appeared that way. The offers that were actually coming in were lower than what I made before I won an Oscar.

GC: Why do you think that is?

M: That’s the big question. I can’t answer why that is, but when you hear our beautiful sisters Patricia Arquette and Gwyneth Paltrow say we need wage equality and they’re our white sisters, well, what do you think we’re getting being women of color?

What I will say is, while there are those people out there who just believe (they) can play unfair, there are also those people out there who say we are going to play fair – it’s a company called HBO. I did a movie with HBO called Bessie (premiering May 16) and it’s amazing. Queen Latifah plays Bessie Smith and she is, hands down, absolutely brilliant in her performance (Mo’Nique plays the openly bisexual Ma Rainey).

When HBO called, they played fair. The offer that they gave was more money than I’ve ever been offered before and after this Oscar, so I say that everybody that buys into the game of “let’s just see if we can get them for whatever we can get them for,” there are those that do play fair, so I have to applaud HBO for playing fairly when they called for me to do the movie Bessie.

GC: Are black women treated unfairly in Hollywood?

M: Let me ask you this, Chris: When have black women ever been on the totem pole to be paid the highest? When has that time happened? Never. So do you think it’s happening right now? It’s not something that’s happening. Our (white) sisters say we want wage equality – and they’re absolutely right, and it got applause that night (at this year’s Oscars) as it should have. But if they’re saying it, once again, what do you think we’re getting?

GC: What the gay community has always appreciated about you, Mo’Nique, is the ease with which you speak your mind.

M: That’s what Blackbird is about, because even though we’re discussing this situation – and there are people who are saying, “Mo’Nique, aren’t you afraid to say it out loud?” – that’s the same thing that people are telling our babies who were born the way they are, and they’re saying, “Aren’t you afraid to say you’re gay out loud?”

We’re hoping this movie stops the coming-out announcement.

I never had to come out to say, “I’m a heterosexual.” Never had to go on anybody’s show. Never had to write a book. Never had to apologize. Never had to say, “Guess what, Chris, I’m a heterosexual!” Let people be.

GC: Isaiah Washington is a close friend of yours, and actually brought the role of Claire to you. He also stars as your husband in the film. Though he’s since apologized, Isaiah upset many people in the LGBT community after calling his Grey’s Anatomy co-star T.R. Knight a “faggot.” Considering his controversial past with the gay community, did it surprise you to know he was involved with a film about the same community he once offended?

M: Because I know Mr. Washington personally, it was an honor when he called to say, “Please do this,” because, again, I know him personally and that’s a good brother. So I don’t believe there was a problem that he had with the gay community – I don’t believe that. Because again, I know him and he’s good in his heart.

He plays the father, and the father that he plays, that’s who Isaiah is when it comes to people having equality and being who they are. As executive producers of this piece of work, (my husband and I) truly believe it will change people’s hearts and minds and will open us up to loving each other.

GC: From your experience with black gay culture, do you think it’s more difficult for black gay men to be out?

M: I think that it’s hard for any man to be out. See, there was a time I did feel that way until I started doing the festivals for Blackbird, and at those festivals we were being approached by white men, Asian men, black men. They were all saying the same thing – that’s my story. So there was a time I did feel that way, and the reason I felt that way was because that was the only community I was in to see it.

I think it’d also be beautiful if (there’s not) just a white gay pride and a black gay pride – it’ll be beautiful when it’s just pride and it’s not separate. Again, what this movie says is equality, but what this movie also says is love is so powerful and so beautiful. You don’t get caught up in, “Oh my goodness, it’s two men”; you get caught up in, “Oh my goodness, they’re so in love.”

GC: You have Blackbird out soon, and then HBO’s Bessie.

But do you see yourself ever taking on a role in a big-screen film for a major studio?

M: You know what, I am in a big major screen film and it’s called Blackbird, and it’ll be in theaters April 24, 2015. (Laughs) If you accept the perception people put out there, then you buy into it. For us, for my husband and I, to see this movie make it to the big screen – you’re talking about friendship since we were 14 years old, in the 10th grade – so for us, baby, we have a big motion picture film, and it’s called Blackbird.

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Interview way to see you, which is nice. I am very much looking forward to it. It is a great opportunity to get together with people you may not have seen in awhile and immerse yourself in a place that – in my case, other than arriving there in 1980 to be picked up by my sister once – I have never been too. It is fantastic because all those people are there for one reason: to have a great time. Who can fault that?”

With a knowledgeable audience attending, many people will know McTavish not only from The Hobbit and his current TV show Outlander, but also shows like 24 and Prison Break, as well as animated voice work for shows like The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and game work like the Call of Duty series.

“The video game stuff for sure, I meet a lot of people from that subculture of gaming, which is growing all the time and becoming more sophisticated. I think, still, it is in its infancy compared to what it will be like. Even in the time I have been doing it, the most recent game is The Order 1886. The facial and motion capture they have done on that – compared to even five years earlier – there is no comparison. It is a fast growing industry and something I am excited to be a part of. Not something I planned at all, but happy to be involved in it.”

Doing voice work, where you can literally be in your pyjamas, is quite different from the physical transformation he had to go through to play Dwalin in The Hobbit films.

Send In The Hobbits

Graham McTavish coming to the Calgary Expo

By Jason Clevett It is hard to believe that the trilogy of Hobbit movies has come to an end. For three Christmases in a row fans flocked to theatres to see Peter Jackson’s vision for J.R.R. Tolkien’s story. For the actors from the films, such as Graham McTavish who played Dwalin, it is even more surreal.

“It has been an incredible journey that started for me in May 2010!

To go through that whole experience of getting the job and the training, and two and a half years of filming, and the premiers – for it to be over, to be honest with you, I think I am in a bit of a state of denial about it.

One of the nice things about all these conventions is it allows you to keep the experience going. It is a nice opportunity for us to get together as a little gang and hang out. I will probably be in a wheelchair in my 80s still saying Yes, I was in The Hobbit. It has been a great thing for us to have done for sure.”

McTavish is excited to be appearing at the 2015 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo.

“All of the ones I have been to so far, it is very rare in life that you get to be in a place with so many people that are so happy to be there. It is a very warm embrace that you get from people at these things. I am always struck by how many people are dressed as the dwarves that come to visit, and so many of them are women. I was shocked at first when I began to realize, they are so good at it you don’t realize they are women until they speak. That has been nice. It is a loyal group of people the Hobbit and Outlander fans; they are very passionate and travel a long

“I do like challenges and physical challenges, and the great challenge of The Hobbit was I had to get myself into the best shape I had ever been. I devoted three months before I went to New Zealand, and then another three months while I was there, to get into really good shape for the work, because I knew it was going to be so demanding. I’ve just done a boxing movie in Philadelphia. I had never had any involvement in the world of boxing, and I did a lot of research and worked with a lot of boxers, and did training with them so I would understand that world.

That is one of the joys and benefits of the work; that you get to dip into worlds you have never encountered before. Same with Outlander and 18th Century Scotland. I love the research and immersing yourself in the work.”

With the success of shows like Outlander and Game of Thrones there is a big demand for historical and medieval shows on TV. “There is one aspect of it, which is kind of the binge viewing of these shows. I do it myself: I buy a box set of a DVD and I just sit down and watch it over a couple of days. People really enjoy that. Speaking of the popularity of Outlander I think it occupies quite an unusual place in television at the moment, in that it portrays romance. It is unashamedly romantic at its heart. The relationship between Jamie and Claire is a throwback to the 19th Century literature of Thomas Hardy, the Brontes or Jane Austin. The landscape of television at the moment, mostly, is… quite bleak and hopeless view of humanity. I think this alternative resonates with people.”

So what would McTavish do if he, like Claire Randall in Outlander, was suddenly thrust 200 years into the past?

“That is a very good question. The truth of it is, if one of us was sent back 200 years, we wouldn’t last long. Your immunity wouldn’t be able to cope with the diseases you would encounter and it would be very difficult to survive. Putting that aside, I would find it absolutely fascinating! It would be amazing – even just for a day I would love it!

One thing you would notice is that people are more similar than you imagine them to be over thousands of years. You would have a great deal [more] in common than you would imagine. Equally, there would be things that would surprise you so completely that we aren’t even aware of historically. Suddenly you would go Oh my god; they do that?! That would be very interesting.”

Graham McTavish Appearing at the Calgary Expo Calgary – April 16th to 19th @ Stampede Park http://www.CalgaryExpo.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4609 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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35

Interview

 photo by Mark Schaffer/HBO

Ladies’ Man

Andrew Rannells on ‘dangerous’ road to Girls, his hope for TV true love – and a Book of Mormon revival?!

By Chris Azzopardi Andrew Rannells won’t soon be living down the handjob he gave to a boy in a bathroom. Thanks to Lena Dunham and the other writers turning out sharp social commentary and anecdotal writing for this current installment of HBO’s Girls, now in its fourth season, the theater-turned-TV star didn’t just speed-race his way through a handy – he’s danced, de-clothed and continued to lambast the fogey fashions of Dunham’s Hannah. And god bless him for it.

GC: So, Andrew, what’s up with Marnie getting all the sexy sex scenes on Girls?

AR: I know! She gets to do all sorts of crazy shit this year and poor Elijah just gets an awkward handjob in the bathroom.

We’ll see if we can’t fix that.

GC: I like seeing the gender roles being subverted, though.

Most people would expect to see the gay guy getting rimmed, not Marnie.

AR: That is true. Lena’s pushing boundaries all over the place!

GC: How did you end up with a bigger role on the show, especially this season?

AR: Well, I was really excited: Last season was the first season that I got to be a full-fledged regular on Girls. They’ve always done such an amazing job of making me feel like a full part of that team, but last year was the first season that I really got to just be devoted strictly to them. In the past, during the first season, I was still doing The Book of Mormon, so with the second season, I only got to do half of it. And then we started The New Normal, and then after The New Normal ended I got to do the back end of the third season. They’ve always been so welcoming, and I’m just thrilled to be a full-time cast member over there.

I mean, literally, I don’t think it was even 20 minutes after they had made the announcement that The New Normal was canceled that I got phone calls – one from (executive producer) Jenni Konner, one from (executive producer) Judd Apatow and one from Lena Dunham – all saying, “Please come back and join us.” Even though they had started prep for their season,

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they worked me in very quickly. Again, I’m so grateful to them and so touched that they include me. I feel really at home with that group.

GC: Which of the Girls characters would you most likely hang out with in real life?

AR: Lena and I actually hang out a fair amount, and Allison (Williams) and I hang out a fair amount as well. Particularly during this past year, (Allison and I have) kept in very close contact over our hiatus, which is great. Character-wise, I feel like it might be a Marnie situation, I think. I know that she’s a little high-strung, but, particularly now with her new sexual awakening, I feel like she would be a fun girl to hang out with.

GC: The one you’d least likely hang out with?

AR: I might have a hard time with Jessa. Yeah, that would be a tough hang for me.

GC: Because she pisses in the street?

AR: Well, the pissing in the street – yeah. I would’ve run. If I were Adam, I would’ve just bolted. Like, “See ya, lady!”

GC: What is your relationship dynamic with Lena off set? Do you guys dance like you do on the show?

AR: Well, we’ve had a few opportunities to dance together, which is pretty fun. The fascinating thing about Hannah vs.

Lena is that Lena is so obviously wildly driven and incredibly talented, and she doesn’t possess any of that insecurity or lack of direction that Hannah has. I learn so much from working with Lena in terms of just being motivated and making things happen for yourself, and also being confident in yourself and trusting yourself. She’s very inspirational in that way. It’s so funny to me that she plays this character that she created that is such a fucking mess. Completely opposite of herself.

So my hanging out with Lena is super fun but she’s also so encouraging. She’s really just very inspiring to hang out with in a great way. Sometimes I look at her and all that she does and all that she accomplishes and I’m just very let down with myself and annoyed with her. (Laughs) Like, “God, I do nothing.” I feel so lazy sometimes. I’m like, “I should’ve written a couple of books by now. What am I doing with myself?!”

GC: That Iowa rager this season – please tell me those are your moves.

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AR: Oh, hell ya. One-hundred percent. I’m embarrassed to say it’s not choreographed. That is all free style, my friend.

That’s, like, me in high school.

GC: Elijah is very impulsive and decides to follow Hannah to Iowa this season. What’s the most impulsive you’ve been about a situation in your own life?

AR: In 2004 – is that right? – I had this job. I was working for a company that made Pokémon and all these anime cartoons; I was doing voiceovers for them and directing a couple of series for them. It was good money. It was a steady 9-6 job. It was basically an office job, even though I was in a recording studio and I was doing something that was on television. And it was fine, but it was soul crushing. I knew that I wanted to really pursue the musical-theater thing, which is what I had moved to New York to do. One day I just walked into the office and I quit. Everyone was so baffled because it came out of nowhere, but I had just reached a point where I was like, “I can’t fucking do this anymore. I just can’t do it.” And everyone was like, “This is a terrible idea; you’re making a huge mistake.”

GC: What made you go with your gut?

AR: It was building inside of me for a long time. I just knew that I was unhappy, and I would go to see a Broadway show and I’d be like, “Goddammit! That’s what I came here to do!” And I felt like I was letting myself down by not seeing that through, so yeah, I just did it. But that felt nuts to me. That was probably the most impulsive and, you know, ultimately rewarding thing I could’ve done.

GC: How long were you without a job?

AR: It was not that long, but it felt horrible because I was unemployed for about eight months. I was just auditioning and tripping around, so it wasn’t a horribly long time. When you don’t know what the end is, though, it feels pretty dangerous.

GC: Elijah makes himself right at home in Iowa. Having gone from Nebraska to New York, and also to Los Angeles, is it easier being gay in a big city?

AR: I was out but not fully out at 19. I wasn’t really in any kind of scene in Omaha, so I don’t know what it was like to be an adult in that city. All of my adult gay experiences have been in either New York or Los Angeles. I mean, it’s certainly easier to find your people and your group in a larger city.

My mom now does a lot of work with the Nebraska AIDS Project and PFLAG in Omaha, and I’ll go back to visit and go to events, and there’s a great community planted there. She’s really dove in during the last couple of years and started volunteering with all these different organizations. I go back and meet young gay people who live in Omaha whose parents are maybe not as accepting and they always say, “Your mom is so great; she’s kind of like our mom.”

GC: Why do you think Elijah is so pivotal this season, especially to Hannah?

AR: His return into that friend group was a little tentative.

(Hannah) found out he had sex with Marnie in the second season, so she kicked him out of the apartment and then he sort of disappeared. Then, coming back, I think Hannah took a second to really welcome him back into the group, but I feel like this season really solidifies his place in this friend circle.

GC: Where do you hope to see Elijah in the next season?

AR: I would love to see him get a real boyfriend. I want to see him in a real relationship, and I want to see how he would function if he actually fell in love with someone. I think we’ve seen him flounder about and kind of half do a relationship, but I want to see him fully in a relationship. Someone is in love with him; he’s in love with someone else. I wanna see what that brings out in him.

GC: You’re starring alongside Anne Hathaway in Nancy Meyers’ The Intern. I understand the role was originally written for a woman; so, in the film, are you gay or straight? Does your sexuality come up at all?

AR: It doesn’t really come up. Even written as a woman, there was nothing really about her personal life in it, so in making the switch to a man, it was actually shockingly easy because there

was no personal detail there. The requirements (for the role) were really just sort of play off Anne and Anne’s character, so it really wasn’t about any kind of personal background of mine.

So it didn’t really come up. You tell me when you see it.

GC: And you and Anne are besties now, right?

AR: It’s funny: I had met her a bunch of times during The Book of Mormon because she had done a movie called Love & Other Drugs with my co-star from that, Josh Gad, so I knew her before, which made it super relaxed and easy. I mean, she’s extremely talented and intimidating in that she’s worked with a bunch (of people) and she has an Oscar, but I also knew that she was just a very cool girl, so it made it easy doing scenes with her, knowing her a little bit. It was great.

When I started, I was in rehearsals for Hedwig (on Broadway) as we were filming that. During my first night I received this ridiculous flower arrangement, and I was like, “Who the hell is this from?!” And it was from Anne Hathaway. Class act. Very nice that she remembered.

GC: What kind of role would get you back on Broadway?

AR: I loved my experience with The Book of Mormon and doing a new show, but ahh… you know, I’m certainly… I’d be very excited about doing a revival. Umm. There is… yeah. Yeah.

Without – (laughs) I’d be very excited to go back. Yes. I’m looking forward to finding that project and getting back on Broadway.

GC: I feel like you’re strongly suggesting something here.

AR: (Laughs) I don’t know!

GC: Well, something’s in the cooker and I like it.

AR: Well, good!

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Interview

 photo by Rachel Pick

Zaac Pick

Canadian Artist Celebrates 2015 Album Release and Tour

By Krista Sylvester Alberta-born Zaac Pick has been a rising star in the Canadian music scene since 2009. This spring he made the leap from an EP to full-length album with the release of Constellations. Zaac took the time to chat with GayCalgary about his upcoming tour, breaking into the music scene, and more.

GC: 2015 has started off great for you! A new tour and the unveiling of the first full-length album! Can you share your thoughts about touring and the emotion behind releasing new music for your fans?

ZP: It’s shaping up to be pretty exciting, yeah. It’s been a year and a half since my last proper tour, and about three years since my last EP. This new record Constellations is actually my first full-length album. Much of the record was recorded separately, with my band mates and I sharing files over email and Skype, so having people finally hear these songs, and getting to go on tour and play them for people together, is the reward we’ve been looking forward to for months.

GC: Lyrically, what songs are you most proud of?

ZP: I have always liked lyrics that paint pictures, but also that have layers, that read well on a page, like poetry. Early on in the writing process, I was reading a few Hemingway titles and somewhere he’s giving advice to other writers to ‘write hard and clear about what hurts’. So I challenged myself to try and write more honestly about things I spend a lot of time thinking about, but normally might not put into a song. I definitely spent more time crafting the lyrics on each song from Constellations than I have in the past, and I’m proud of all of them. A number of the songs have to do with the forces at work in relationships; the impermanence of feelings; learning to trust another person.

Here’s an example from a song called “Maps”: the continents have broken / torn where the road ends / I’m looking out on oceans / between bodies of land / but love ain’t an island / a place we arrive in / or a way of surviving / a difference of views.

GC: When did you fall in love with music?

ZP: My grandma passed away when I was really young, and my family inherited this great big organ, with bass pedals and a drum

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machine built in. I was completely fascinated with the sounds it could make. I guess I fell in love with sounds, and the way they can change your mood first, and fell in love with music later, after I discovered my dad’s old Yamaha guitar.

GC: What era of music has inspired you most, as a musician and as a music fan?

ZP: There’s great music to be found in every era I think, but the ’60s seems to have more than its fair share. There was so much happening culturally, and you hear that in the music, like reading the news. Audiences seemed open to anything, as long as it was saying something.

GC: How has your sound evolved since you first entered the music scene?

ZP: My first couple of EPs were more acoustic-guitar driven—I didn’t really have a band when we recorded them, but we added other musical elements as an accompaniment to the songs. The songs on Constellations have a much more cinematic feel; more of a musical landscape for the lyrics to live in. When I started work on these songs, I had been playing with an amazing group of musicians regularly for a couple of years, and I wanted to experiment with the songs together and try to find a more interesting way to present them.

GC: How different is it playing in your home province in comparison to international shows?

ZP: It’s always nice to play some familiar places, to familiar faces, to see so much of your home province or country, more than most people might get to. Playing abroad though, I’m reminded more often just how amazing it is to be able to share music with people who sometimes don’t speak the same language, but yet are excited about your music. I feel very fortunate.

GC: What have been some of the most memorable venues? Fan experiences?

ZP: There have been quite a few! Sometimes for the wrong reasons, ha. One of my favourite shows might have been opening up for The Civil Wars at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver a few years ago. It was right before they won a bunch of Grammys. A friend of mine knows their manager, and I got the call to do it on the day of the show, after their opener got stuck at the U.S. border. They’re some of the most kind and generous people, and so were their fans. They were pin drop silent for me, and incredibly appreciative.

I still get fans coming up at my shows who first saw me there.

GC: What is your favourite track on Constellations?

ZP: They’re all my children, ha. But I’m pretty excited to play “Impossible Blue” for people live.

GC: What do you hope fans take away from your music?

ZP: I have always loved music that takes me on a journey, that makes me feel more connected to other people, like a good book you remember well years later. I hope my music has a similar affect on people.

GC: Any advice to Canadian musicians and artists?

ZP: Try not to tour in the dead of winter; it’s actually insanely dangerous. Also, don’t eat fast food. Buy a small cooler and fill it with healthier fare. You’ll feel better, have more energy, and enjoy the music a lot more.

GC: What’s the best thing about being raised in Alberta?

ZP: I was born and raised in Medicine Hat, Alberta, but I live in Vancouver now. I do miss those big open skies though. Guess that’s why I need to enjoy being in close proximity to the ocean.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

39

Out of Town Kauai Adventures

 View of the Na Pali Coast and Hanalei Bay from the St. Regis Princeville Resort. Photo by Andrew Collins

by Andrew Collins Nobody on Kauai will give you a hard time for simply lazing on one of the island’s gorgeous beaches every waking hour of your vacation. Still, you may find it impossible to resist the countless opportunities for outdoor adventure on this lush, mountainous and least populated of Hawaii’s four major islands.

Whether you venture out sea-kayaking, helicoptertouring, ziplining, hiking, or canyoneering, you won’t likely regret packing an activity or two into each of your days on what’s typically nicknamed the “Garden Island.”

For the ultimate hiking and beachcombing, many visitors to Kauai ( http://gohawaii.com/en/Kauai ) head for the Na Pali Coast, which is on the northwestern tip of the island, just beyond the picturesque village of Hanalei (the setting for such films as South Pacific and Indiana Jones). The eastern side of Kauai is dominated by the waterfalls of the Wailua River Valley, the southern end by Poipu’s breathtaking beaches and upscale resorts, and the western side by gargantuan Waimea Canyon – there’s unparalleled beauty wherever you look.

Touring Kauai by helicopter affords visitors one of the most memorable opportunities to see the entire island, and especially the remote and formidable Na Pali Coast. Several companies offer these tours. Island Helicopters ( http://islandhelicopters.com ) is especially fun because they offer an 85-minute island excursion that includes stopping and walking around the base of 400-foot Manawaiopuna Falls, which appeared prominently in the opening scenes of Jurassic Park. This extremely informative, mesmerizing tour then circles the entire island, its capable pilots zipping in and out of tight valleys and even, weather permitting, the crater of extinct Kawaikini Peak, the island’s highest point.

Another exhilarating way to view part of the island is by striking out for an afternoon of high-wire action with Koloa Zipline ( http:// koloazipline.com ), which operates an eight-line course in the verdant mountains near Poipu resort. You can opt for a classic or “Flying Kauaian” style harness (the latter is plenty more fun and well worth the $20 surcharge). As you sail above the treetops on some of the

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longest zip lines in Kauai (one stretches for a full half-mile), you’ll be treated to plenty of thrills.

If you’re in good shape and game for an independent adventure, you can always hike into the Na Pali highlands via the famed 11mile Kalalau Trail. To hike the entire trail, which is steep and rugged in places, you must obtain a permit and camp overnight, as it’s not possible to cover the entire trail in a day. However, day hikers can easily venture in the first couple of miles to Hanakapiai Beach.

And without a permit you can also climb up to Hanakapiai Falls, or continue for another few miles to Hanakoa campground.

Less demanding options for sightseeing include driving to the viewpoints at Waimea Canyon State Park – they don’t call this the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” without good reason. The 10-mile-long canyon is 3,000 feet deep and is one of Hawaii’s best photo ops. If you have a few hours, drive all the way to visitor center at Waimea Canyon’s Kokee State Park to pick up a trail map, and then embark on the stunning hike along the Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls, which affords visitors an incredible perspective on the canyon.

You’ll find beautiful beaches all around the island, some of them drawing heavily among Kauai’s many LGBT residents and visitors.

The easiest to reach is Lydgate State Park, just south of Kapaa off the Kuhio Highway – walk south from the parking area for the gaypopular section. Donkey Beach, off Kuhio Highway a bit north of Kapaa, is enjoyable both for sunbathing or swimming, and it draws a mix of gays and straights. Just keep in mind that the surf can be intense, so exercise caution. You’ll see the parked cars on the side of the road as you head north out of Kapaa, between mileposts 11 and 12 – from here just follow the trail down to the water. Nudity is permitted at this beach as well as at 3,000-foot Secret Beach (aka Kauapea Beach), another favorite of LGBT folks that’s up north near Kilauea Lighthouse (it’s a bit hard to find, however, so ask locals for directions).

In recent years, quite a few sophisticated, urbane restaurants have opened on the island, making it a genuine favorite among foodies.

One of the best is Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Kauai Grill ( http:// kauaigrill.com ), the refined restaurant inside the stunning St. Regis Princeville resort. If you dine here, consider visiting the terrace bar just off the lobby before your meal; this open-air perch is the place to watch the sun fall over Hanalei Bay. With friendly, solicitous service

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and superb food – hamachi sashimi with shiitakes and a yuzu-soy glaze, roasted Kona lobster with glazed chestnuts and pepper butter – it’s the ideal special-occasion dining destination.

Another exceptional choice for a superb, exquisitely prepared locavore-driven cuisine is RumFire Poipu Beach ( http://sheratonkauai.com ), which enjoys a dazzling setting on a promontory overlooking the sea at the Sheraton Kaui – try the fried Brussels sprouts with Portuguese sausage and spiced macadamia nuts, or local butterfish with a plank-grilled salmon with purple potatoes and cherry-tomato jam. This romantic restaurant is also well-regarded for its extensive cocktail menu and well-chosen wine list. Other Poipu culinary highlights include the Kauai outposts of two restaurant brands that have become legendary in Hawaii: Merriman’s ( http:// merrimanshawaii.com ), which serves farm-fresh, healthful regional cuisine, and Eating House 1849 ( http://eatinghouse1849.com ), the terrific plantation-inspired restaurant operated by renowned Hawaiian chef Roy Yamaguchi.

Up north, charmingly laid-back Hanalei is home to the Hanalei Taro & Juice Co. ( http://hanaleitaro.com ), a humble food truck (with a covered seating area) in the center of town that serves delicious and authentic Hawaiian specialties, such as Kalua pork tacos and laulau chicken, plus luscious and healthy taro-based fruit smoothies.

Hanalei Coffee Roasters ( http://hanaleicoffeeandteacompany.com ) serves some of the best java on the island. And hip and sophisticated Bar Acuda ( http://restaurantbaracuda.com ) turns out delicious Mediterranean fare – it’s owned by talented chef Jim Moffat, who ran some of San Francisco’s hottest eateries in the ‘90s before moving to Hawaii. House-cured chorizo, roasted squid with chili oil and fresh lemon, and seared local ono fish with shaved fennel and a bloodorange reduction are among the delicacies here.

Kauai has no shortage spots specializing in tasty short-order fare and tempting snacks, including Papalani Gelato ( http:// papalanigelato.com ) in Poipu, and Jo Jo’s Anuenue Shave Ice in Waimea. Just north of Poipu, the Koloa Fish Market prepares superfresh plate lunches and bento boxes to go (try the ahi poke bento) – they’re perfect for a picnic. In Lihue, dive-y Hamura’s Saimin is worth stopping by to sample hearty renditions of ramen-like saimin, a beloved traditional Hawaiian dish. Don’t pass up the lilikoi (passion fruit) chiffon pie for dessert.

If you’re driving through Kapaa, stop for a meal at Art Café Hemingway ( http://artcafehemingway.com ), which is run by a charming Eastern European couple, features beautiful artwork, and serves high-quality coffees and deftly prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner fare. Cozy and bustling Verde ( http://verdehawaii.com ) is a fun little Mexican restaurant in Kapaa, serving tasty blackenedmahimahi tacos and garlic-shrimp tacos.

Kauai has few nightspots, but just about anywhere on the island you’ll be greeted warmly – and there’s pretty good chance of bumping into “family” at most places. One spot that many LGBT folks frequent, especially during the “gay nights” held the first Saturday of each month, is Nawiliwili Tavern, near the Kauai Marriott. Also in Lihue, in a shopping center with the island’s only bowling alley, Rob’s Good Times Grill ( http://kauaisportsbarandgrill.com ) is Kauai’s favorite sports bar – it’s not exactly a gay hotspot, but it is friendly and fun.

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Kauai has a nice range of accommodations in all prices ranges, from posh resorts to gay-friendly B&Bs. Poipu, on the south shore, has the greatest concentration of distinguished lodgings, including the aforementioned Sheraton Kauai ( http://sheraton-kauai.com ), which hugs a spectacular point on the ocean, and has a great pool where you can also rent private bungalows for the day, a stunning beach that’s famed for snorkeling, and the outstanding restaurant RumFire. The Sheraton’s prime setting has also made it a favorite resort for gay weddings.

The Grand Hyatt Kauai ( http://kauai.hyatt.com ) ranks among Kauai’s most sumptuous full-service resorts - rooms have smart, contemporary furnishings and such cushy amenities as iHome stereos and beverage chillers. The Hyatt is also home to the superb Anara Spa – set amid lush gardens and waterfalls – as well as a top-notch golf course and several excellent restaurants.

If you wish to be close to Waimea Canyon, consider the charming and historic Waimea Planation Cottages ( http://coasthotels.com ), whose 61 private bungalows were built in the early 1900s for workers of a local sugarcane mill. They’re situated around relaxing, treeshaded grounds that fringe the ocean. It’s a great option if you’re seeking a laid-back, old-school Hawaii experience, but with comfy accommodations that include well-equipped kitchens, private lanais, and vintage plantation-style furnishings. Also impressive and with a central location near the airport, the Kauai Marriott Resort ( http:// marriott.com ) has the largest pool in the state and spreads across 800 handsomely landscaped acres and a fabulous beachfront. It’s a favorite option of LGBT families, given all the kid-friendly resort activities and amenities.

Up the coast toward the north shore, lushly and secluded Mahina Kai B&B ( http://mahinakai.com ) is a lovely getaway and the island’s only gay-exclusive lodging. The five rooms are beautifully – and distinctly – furnished, and the surrounding Japanese-inspired gardens and lagoon pool are the perfect places to relax and de-stress.

There’s a fine, uncrowded beach within walking distance.

And finally, on the north shore and with unparalleled views of Hanalei and the Na Pali coast, the ultra-swanky St. Regis Princeville ( http://stregisprinceville.com ) enjoys one of the most majestic locations in Hawaii. You enter this gorgeous property through a topfloor lobby – it’s situated high on a bluff over the ocean – where you’ll also find the inviting Halelea Spa and access to celebrated Kauai Grill and St. Regis Bar. Cushy rooms with panoramic views seemingly tumble down a hillside to the beachfront, where you can tan your hide around a large pool and open-air restaurant, or saunter out onto the beach. The surrounding Princeville resort is also home to the world-class Makai Golf Club, a number of condominium rentals, and another terrific lodging option, the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas ( http://westinprinceville.com ).

Andrew Collins produces the website GayTravel.About.com and writes about travel for a variety of LGBT and mainstream publications.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

41

Interview

 Mary Wilson, TJ Lubinsky and Martha Reeves, photo by DPTV

 Mary Wilson, photo by TJL

 Martha Reeves, photo by TJL

Mo Town – Interview with Mary Wilson of the Supremes and Martha Reeves Icons talk inclusive musical era, gay followings and, of course, a Supremes reunion

By Chris Azzopardi “I’m wondering, well, why wasn’t Martha Reeves mentioned?” says Martha Reeves.

Holding up the marquee from the Motown 25 box set, a baffled Reeves doesn’t know the reason she and other Motown greats – Mary Wells and Junior Walker, for instance – got shafted, but she’s not letting that get in the way of today’s appearance at Detroit Public Television in Wixom, Mich., where she and Mary Wilson of the Supremes are appearing in-studio for the TV special’s re-broadcasting to air on public TV throughout March.

The original Motown 25 special premiered May 16, 1983 on NBC to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Motown. It was during this broadcast that Michael Jackson debuted the moonwalk, Smokey Robinson reunited with the Miracles, and the Four Tops duked it out with the Temptations in a fun-spirited battle of the bands contest. Reeves, without her Vandellas, belted out 30 seconds of one of her group’s biggest hits, “Heat Wave,” while Wells sang “My Guy.” Motown 25 became one of the most buzzed-about concerts to ever air on TV. “I guess we’re the ‘surprise others,’” Reeves says bitingly, referencing the box set’s promised features. “So – surprise!”

Less surprising is Reeves and Wilson’s place on the metaphorical marquee of LGBT icons, where their legacies are etched into the rainbow fabric of our lives. From the studio, the two Motown legends talked about Motown’s “inclusivity,” their respective gay followings and the drag queens who are carrying on their legacies.

30 YEARS LATER Martha Reeves: Do you know how exciting it is to be talking about something 30 years old?!

Mary Wilson: Even though it’s been 30 years, when it’s as phenomenal as Motown was, it’s one of those things that’s with you forever. The time isn’t even an element. It’s timeless. It’s hard to say it was 30 years ago!

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GAY FOLLOWINGS Wilson: I didn’t know anything about that. (Being gay) was a new phenomenon that hadn’t been exposed. It wasn’t something in the mindset that you thought about. In fact, I don’t think there was a moment when I realized that because it was just so early and it was (a) very inclusive (time). (Men) weren’t coming out. The gays didn’t come and you’d say, “Oh, those are gay people!” We didn’t have that. The realization (hit the Supremes) when we started doing TV shows and a lot of the guys who would design gowns for us were gay, and they would bring all those gorgeous design sketches and we looked like little Barbie dolls – three little Barbie dolls – and so that’s when we realized there was something about that that was different from the way you were normally perceived, because they saw us as these glamorous, gorgeous Barbie dolls – black Barbie dolls!

THE SUPREMES Wilson: We came around at the right time in American history. All these other people inspired us, and then, in the ’60s during the civil rights movement and women’s liberation, we happened to be right there. We were there at the right time. We had a chance to really accomplish more because the world was changing and we were right there.

ARE THE SUPREMES EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER? Wilson: I wouldn’t say that I’m sick of hearing about it. It’s a question that comes up at every interview. I’ve done interviews thousands and thousands of times, and it always comes up.

Whenever, and if, Diana’s ready, then something like that could happen. She would have to be the one to say she’s ready.

Right now she’s not ready. You should write about this... Diana and I are sisters from the soul, period. You know, you have a lot of things in life that interfere with your feelings, and that has happened with us. It’s just life situations. Life’s business. Life’s all those things that are in the middle of our friendship. Our friendship is still our friendship. It’s all this other crap that’s in the middle of it. I don’t even know how it started or where it came from, but it’s all professional. www.gaycalgary.com

THE QUEENS

THE SOUND OF YOUNG AMERICA

Reeves: They have a revue here (in Detroit) at a club, and I went and saw some guy. And oh god! He kept pulling up his clothes – nothing I’d ever do! He was doing his man thing, honey. I don’t have a man thing. Never put on men’s clothes to try to be a guy, that’s for sure. He was doing his female thing too, but it wasn’t necessarily Martha Reeves. It’s like seeing Linda Ronstadt sing “Heat Wave,” or like seeing Marvin Gaye sing “Dancing in the Street” where he looks over and sees me in the corner admiring him. (Both songs were originally recorded

by Martha and the Vandellas.)

Wilson: Oscar Huckabee was one of the biggest drag queens in Detroit at the time. We did a lot of shows in Detroit, and Oscar Huckabee – he wasn’t called a drag queen at the time that I know of, but he was at all of the shows and would always do these exotic dances. He was always dressed in exotic kinds of things. He was exquisite. Just wonderful. I guess you would call him a drag queen today. He was a very important figure in those days. He was a dancer – an exotic dancer – and boy was he great. For sure he was not straight! (Laughs)

Wilson: The music was inclusive. It didn’t matter who you were, the music touched your soul. Music, to me, brought all the souls together. I’ve always said that Motown was an ambassador for love and for friendship because it brought people together. Music does that anyway, but Motown as a whole was an entity that really brought people together.

Reeves: I think gay people came out of the closet mainly for racial reasons, because if you can accept somebody being gay then you can accept somebody being black. Gay people fit right in with us. It was no big deal. Nobody was special.

Nobody was different ... until they became musical or started dancing, and then they wanted to show off their artistry. The flower movement – the flower children – were trying to tell you, “Accept us for who we are. We all love in music, ‘Flower Power’ and LSD – everything.” Everybody got high. Everybody went wild. Everybody came out.

It’s a free world now. We’re all free. “Dancing in the Street” was to allow people to block the streets off with the police forces and yellow tape, come out of their house and dance without fear of getting hit by a truck, a train, or a car or an airplane. It’s about freedom. It’s about being who you are, and being free to be who you are ... without anybody beating you up!

There’s no difference to me. It’s all about being who you are and living the way you want to live. That’s America. That’s the freedom that we learned as Motown artists. That’s the way Motown was – free. The “Sound of Young America.” And that’s everybody.

UPCOMING PROJECTS Reeves: After Motown, the third company I went to was Arista – Clive Davis. I’ve been recording all along – I just didn’t have distribution or promotion – but they just found a 30-year-old album and released it again and it’s online right now entitled “The Rest of My Life.”

Wilson: I have new recordings that are coming out, and hopefully soon! Next couple of months. We’ve been working on it for 12 years. I’m feeling like Stevie Wonder! When is this great project coming out?! So that’s how I feel. I have my gown exhibit – the Supremes gowns – which are still touring, and I’m hoping to set up a place in Las Vegas – an exhibit – with all of my Supremes gowns.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

43

Interview

Calgary Expo Gets A New Zipcode

Luke Perry joins Jason Priestley and Ian Ziering for a 90210 reunion

By Jason Clevett If you grew up in the 1990s you likely watched Beverly Hills, 90210. From 1990 to 2000 we gathered around TV sets to see the life of Brandon and Brenda Walsh and their friends Dylan, Kelly, Steve, Andrea, Donna and David unfold. Fifteen years after the original show ended (a spinoff aired from 2008 to 2013), it is still considered one of the best ‘school-based’ shows of all time. Fans of 90210 are excited to meet Luke Perry (Dylan McKay), Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders) and Jason Priestley (Brandon Walsh) at the Calgary Expo April 16th to 19th at the Stampede Grounds. Perry himself is also excited to reconnect with his pals.

“I just found that out that we are going to be there! I saw Jason two days ago I saw Ian maybe a month and a half ago. We don’t do anything on a regular basis but we get together when we can.

Jay and I grabbed breakfast the other day. Both Jason and Ian’s kids are a lot younger than mine; mine are teenagers. They are in the throes of toddlers and stuff, so we are on different schedules.”

It has been 25 years since 90210 first hit the airways, and 15 since the series ended. The show hit on many topics during its run, such as date rape, gay rights, animal rights, alcoholism, domestic violence, anti-Semitism, drug abuse, teenage suicide, teenage pregnancy, AIDS, bulimia and abortion. That universality was the key, says Perry.

“Twenty-five years ago... wow. Jason is much more eloquent about this than I am, so I am going to poorly paraphrase his response, if you don’t mind. It was the universality of the stories that we were telling; it was stories that everybody could connect to who had been that age at some point in life. The twist on it was the Beverly Hills angle, which not a lot of people knew was like, but the idea is the stories we were telling played out everywhere so people connected.”

Although others from the original cast appeared in the reboot, Perry never did.

“It just didn’t seem creatively moving forward to me. You’ve got to do that as an actor, even if it means failure or unemployment.

You need to keep looking for a thing that moves you creatively forward, and I just wasn’t feeling it there.”

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Beverly Hills, 90210 made Perry a household name. Although he had runs on Another World it was a long journey for Perry from his Ohio roots. Multiple auditions resulted in no work, and he did many other jobs prior to auditioning for the role of Steve Sanders in the show. That role eventually went to Ziering, but Perry got cast as Dylan, and the rest is history. He and Priestly became heartthrobs with their faces on magazines, and plastered on the walls of teeens around the world. Despite it all he remained humble, a drastic comparison to many ‘teen idols’ from the past and current eras.

“I think having had a lot of other menial labour jobs before I got it made me realize how fortunate [I was] to be doing it. I was shovelling asphalt the day I got hired for 90210 and had done a lot of other things that I didn’t want to do. When someone was going to give me the opportunity to do the things I loved to do, and make my living at it, I always felt very fortunate. I still try not to lose sight of that; I am really lucky. The Internet was just coming around and no one knew what the magnitude of what that was going to be when 90210 was happening, and I’m glad. Irrespective of all of that, the deal is act like you’ve got some sense and behave. Just because all of a sudden your life changes drastically doesn’t mean you have to. You can drive that stuff a little bit,” he said, adding that his focus was on the show, not on being famous. “I just concentrated on going to work. We made a lot more episodes than other shows did; like 32 in a season. There wasn’t the long hiatus period to bask in it – we were just working all the time and, looking back, I am fine with that. I never felt the need to cultivate a profile about anything other than my work. I don’t like my life being out in the world. I just like going to work.”

In addition to the 90210 connection, Perry is also reuniting for the first time with his Buffy The Vampire Slayer co-star Kristy Swanson. He is excited to spend a weekend with Kristy and the

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boys, and reflected on how the experience of Buffy altered his perception of the movie industry, and his career.

“It does sound like a good time, doesn’t it? Kristy is just one of the boys – that is one of the cool things about her. There are a lot of Buffy fans out there from the TV show and movie, and spun a bunch of shows off. It had its own little world going there and I don’t think anyone expected that. That was interesting to watch unfold. In terms of me and the movie, it didn’t open well.

It opened second that weekend to Death Becomes Her and they didn’t think that was enough, so they stopped promoting the movie. It was a big lesson for me why movies are considered hits or not hits, or if they work or not work on opening day. The studio didn’t have faith that the film would find its audience as much as it has, and I always thought that was a mistake on their part.

In terms of how it reflected back on me, I think my opportunities got a little limited because there wasn’t a tremendous box office payoff on what I thought was a really great script. There are a lot of ins and outs in the business and it was the first time I’d been made privy to how all that works.”

Perry has twice played gay characters in appearances on sitcoms which, in many ways, was a big step in the process of gay characters on TV, for someone of Perry’s stature to play the roles.

In a 1997 episode of Spin City he played Spence, the ex-boyfriend of gay character Carter (played by Michael Boatman) who visits and tells Carter he is getting married to a woman. In 2005 he played Aaron, a nerdy birdwatcher that catches the attention of Jack (Sean Hayes), in an episode of Will & Grace.

“The writing was funny. The character just happened to be gay, but the writing was really funny. How can you not want to work with Sean Hayes? Working with James Burrows, Megan Mullally, that was a no brainer. In terms of being the boyfriend of Michael Boatman, I’d like to think – on some level – I am still the boyfriend of Michael Boatman. He is a very good actor and just a cool dude; that was so much fun. Spin City was the first time I had done a sitcom and I was so interested in seeing how they were made.

They were great at helping me figure it out. Everybody sees it in a different context: you see it as ground breaking, but I just saw it as these are funny jokes and I get to work with Michael J. Fox!” Perry also voiced himself in an episode of Family Guy in 2000.

Peter Griffin subs out an article his daughter Meg wrote changing it to claim Perry is gay. When Perry finds out he tries to sue Meg and typical Family Guy hilarity ensues.

“I love animation. I have done a bunch of cartoons like The Simpsons. When Seth told me what the concept was I thought it was hysterical. I love Adam West – he was Batman when I was a kid – so I thought, to be able to in some way be in the same piece as Adam West, of course that would be great. Then when I saw the level to which they executed it, where the swimming pool was shaped like me and the sideburn was the diving board, I thought that was fucking funny. Seth is a very talented guy and I wanted to be part of that.”

In looking back, Perry had no qualms about the roles, and received no negativity from playing them.

“I have never heard a negative reaction to any of it; people thought it was funny and worked well. It was something that you just can’t worry about – what people are going to say. You are going to play the characters you play, for whatever reason you want to play them, and can’t worry about what other [people think].”

While Beverly Hills, 90210 may be what Perry is best known for, his career has spanned over decades and he has appeared in many shows and films. When you meet him, tell him some of your favourite moments, whether it was Inspector Space Time on Community or his runs on Oz and Jeremiah.

“I have a lot of people at these types of events that ask me about… the ending of Jeremiah and ask if there will be any more.

I always have to sort of disappointingly tell them that there won’t be. I wish more people would bring up Inspector Space Time! That was fun. Comedy interests me; it is a hard thing to do – much harder than dramatic stuff – and I find it really challenging. It is one of those things that if you do not do well at it, you just suck, and can hear the crickets chirping. I respect that level of talent

where it is either going to work or you are going down in flames.

You want to take all those opportunities to do funny shows like that.”

That includes working with other icons. Perry understands what it means to fans who were influenced by his work because he too has had experiences he will never forget and will share with his grandkids.

“I did Hot in Cleveland last year and I had a blast doing that.

Betty White is a 92-year-old comedic ass-kicking machine. I only did one episode but, apparently, on the show this is her party trick. She was doing a scene with Marion Ross and Marion hadn’t had much time to rehearse so they wanted to try different takes on the scenes. They would change the dialogue on Betty every time and she was bang bang bang! Nailing it the first time every time. My mouth was open and they had to cut because my jaw kept dropping open. There was no joke that she couldn’t make work. I will be telling my grandkids about it. Some people say I saw Babe Ruth play I will be saying I worked with Betty White.”

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Interview

Philip Sayce

Canadian Guitarist Shares his Influence

By Jason Clevett On March 19th music fans and members of the Calgary music industry packed the Ironwood in Inglewood for an early show from Philip Sayce. The Welsh born, Toronto raised musician was doing a small Canadian tour in advance of his first Canadian album Influence. What those in attendance got during his short set absolutely blew everyone away. Channelling some of the most iconic guitarists of all time – like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn – he captivated the audience as he magically worked his guitar. A charismatic and engaging performer, the look on his face captured his feelings of playing in that moment: orgasmic, spiritual, pure happiness.

“That is what it feels like, all of the above. There is also a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to make music in my lifetime; to have the opportunity to come to Alberta and play music and have people come to a show, and then sit down and have a conversation and talk about it? How grateful am I about that? I have so much respect for the music and love for the music and, when I don’t play for a while, I start to get bummed out and not feel right. You can do meditation or different therapy, but sometimes going to that creative place is just what the doctor ordered, and I need to do it more often,” Sayce told GayCalgary over breakfast the next morning. One of the highlights of the performance was when he walked through the audience while playing, ordered a drink from the bar, and then walked back to the stage while drinking and continuing to play.

“Blues cats do stuff like that. I got to see Albert Collins one time, who is one of my all time favourite musicians. When he was done destroying the audience he would do things like walk through the audience outside of the venue. People could hear the music coming from inside, and he was playing, and then a city bus pulled up and he walked on the bus and walked through it playing. It is just having fun with it, and I could actually reach the bar, so I thought I would have fun with it. A big part of it is paying respect to where the music comes from, but it’s fun too.”

Sayce’s album Influence was released on April 7th and is a classic rock/blues album. Featuring a mix of covers such as “Ten Years After”, “If I Could Change The World”, Little Richard’s “Green Power”, and Graham Nash’s “Better Days” – combined with original songs like “Out of My Mind” and “Fade Into You” – it is one of those great records that should be in the collection of any fan of rock music.

“I went down to Nashville with my friend Dave Cobb, who is a great producer, and it ended up becoming a collection of songs – half original, half by other artists – as a way for us to pay respect to the music that has inspired us along the way, and put our own spin on these songs. They are songs that maybe are a little deeper in the catalogue, and [we] do them through our own lens. I then had the opportunity to go to Toronto and record two additional songs with my friend Michael Nealson that are added to the record as Canadian bonus songs. I am very, very excited.”

You may not know the name Philip Sayce yet, but you know his playing. He has played with Jeff Healey, Uncle Kracker and Melissa Etheridge, including playing with her at the Oscars and Grammy Awards.

“I learned a lot from Melissa. It goes without saying she is one of the best rock ‘n roll performers of all time. Any kind of success she has had from winning a Grammy or Oscar, when she sits down and opens her mouth and sings, traffic stops. She has this amazing ability to walk on stage and make every person feel like she is performing to them; individually. It is very unique. Everyone is engaged and she has them in the palm of her hand. That is very, very special for an artist. Performing with her was a very special time. She was very good to me and gave me a lot of time to learn and grow. I approached it as an apprenticeship, and I was standing next to a master. I did the best that I could to learn from her and be a sponge. It isn’t even so much ‘how is she doing it’, because you can’t study that. It was just observing and trying to feel her energy and flow. We got along really well and it was a very special time in my life to get to be [with] her. If I can play my own music for an incredibly

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large amount of people, that would be awesome. I am open to that and would love that opportunity. Melissa was so generous in taking us into the studio to record “I Need To Wake Up” for Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. She was so generous to me and gave me this long guitar solo, and it was amazing that she really shared the space. In the middle of recording a record she got invited to play the Oscars. She could have sung by herself but and invited us to go with her. It was funny; it was like a wax museum. I’m up there playing and looking at the audience and there’s Clint Eastwood – really him – or Jack Nicholson, or Eddie Murphy. Backstage was hysterical because there are all these people everywhere you look and they all know Melissa, and love her, and were talking to her. So it was insane. It was really fun to have that experience with her, and when she won the award we were backstage and we went crazy. I enjoyed doing things like that. We did the Grammys when she was still doing radiation, which was crazy. She didn’t have hair yet, and she came out there and lit that stage up – it was spellbinding. When you experience playing at those kind of events, you want to go back, so I would welcome the opportunity to play at that level.”

Touring with the likes of Etheridge and Healey prepared him for his current focus on being a solo artist.

“I spent a lot of time observing how they carried themselves in these situations, and trying to pay attention to how they interacted with others.

They were really good role models as well; not everyone is as gracious as those individuals. They were always pretty respectful of things that had been awarded to them, but they also worked hard. There was no joke there. Ultimately I tried to approach it as a student because I was doing my own thing, and these opportunities come up. Jeff Healey just went Hey, do you want to come play? and I am not going to say ‘no’ to those opportunities, and it made sense where I was on my path. So I try to take a page out of their books in how they treated people. A lot of my heroes

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are like that. People like Stevie Ray Vaughn; I never met him, but the generousness of his spirit… and the goodness that he was bringing in the world, trying to teach people about some of the trials and difficulties he had gone through. When he healed himself he wanted to help others to be healed as well. There is something so beautiful about that. It is an exchange of energy and I think a lot of people, like Hendrix and Stevie, their whole thing was about getting deeper with the music. I am trying follow that lead and do the best that I can.”

His passion for music is evident, but Sayce is learning the ropes still on the business end of the industry.

“A very valuable lesson I learned recently is: it’s the music business; not the music friendship. I am really turned on by the creative process and singing stuff. The business part to me I don’t enjoy, but I have developed that skill set in order to protect myself. The music industry is a bitch, and I have been hurt a lot – we all have. If you can’t do it you have to find someone you really trust that can do it for you. I have to keep my eye on the business, and it is a total distraction from the creative process and muddies the waters, and takes the love out of it. At the end of the day you are talking about money, and while I would love to make a comfortable living, my initial inspiration had nothing to do with monetary things. The last couple of years were really difficult and a lot of bad things happened, and a lot of the emotion on the record is about feeling those experiences.”

“There are a few songs on the album that I feel really good about.

I don’t listen to it all the time; sometimes I hear it back and think of things I would change. It was a snapshot of a particular time in my life, and those particular moments are on there. There is a song called “Fade Into You” that was a real opportunity for healing after a particularly difficult period of time dealing with some music business shit. The performance on that was really healing. It is a bleak song, but then there is a guitar solo that feels a little bit like the beginning of breaking up the chains of being stuck in this really bummed out state of hopelessness.

It was ripping the chains off, and beginning the healing process, so it is an important song on the record. Another song called “Triumph” is instrumental, but seemed to capture a lot of what was going on doing the recording of the record – triumphing through some rough times and coming out the other side.”

After 20 years in the industry, Philip Sayce is ready to break through as a solo artist. As humble as he is talented Sayce’s time is now and, based on his live performance and Influence, he has all the tools to be the success that his talent dictates he should be. Go out of your way to seek out the album and catch him live, because he truly is a special and spectacular performer.

Having returned to L.A. to prepare for the official launch of the album, Sayce is expecting some festival dates this year, including Ottawa’s Bluesfest. Any opportunity to play is a big one, he says.

Philip Sayce New album Influence available now

“Any opportunity to make music is a blessing and something I am grateful for. The opportunity to play at prestigious festivals like Ottawa Bluesfest or Montreal Jazz Festival is super exciting. There is such an energy at festivals, and it is an honour to have those opportunities.

We’ve always said whether it’s 50 people or 10,000 people we are going to give as much as we can on that day, in that moment.”

http://www.PhilipSayce.com

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Sayce has enjoyed playing the songs live on the new album, which comes from a very personal place.

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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Interview

Kristy Swanson Slaying The Calgary Expo

By Jason Clevett Vampires beware! The original Buffy The Vampire Slayer Kristy Swanson, who starred in the 1992 film, is bringing her stakes to the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. She appears April 17th to the 19th and will be alongside her Buffy co-star, Luke Perry, for autographs and photos. The Calgary Expo marks the first time the two have appeared at a convention together. GayCalgary caught up with Swanson over the phone recently, who was excited to spend time with Luke and her fans for the weekend.

Ed tie corper si. Alis dolor sendit am nulpute magna facipis d“I had lunch with Luke four months ago, but I think I hadn’t seen him for about two years before that. I see him here and there. I absolutely love and adore Luke; he has been a great friend for many years. Same with Jason Priestly – he is lovely and wonderful and I have loved being friends with him as well. I don’t know Ian as well, but I look forward to seeing him as well. It is totally going to be a throwback and a lot of fun, and hopefully nobody is wearing any ’90s clothes; we will be dressed modern. Luke and I have never gone out together for this purpose. I am always up for new and different things so

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I am excited for it. To meet my fans and Luke’s fans and the Buffy fans is exciting.”

The film’s cult classic status, combined with the passion for the subsequent TV version, means that Buffy has a special place in the hearts of many fans. Twenty-three years later fans still talk about the movie.

“It is totally impossible for me to know exactly why; I am not an expert in that field. There are certain films, not just Buffy, but many like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or the Peewee Herman films that have become cult classics just because.

They become very popular and a Friday night movie rental.

For the TV series to have come and been so successful, that sort of made the movie have a bit of a rebirth in a way. I am very excited about it; I think it’s great and am excited to get out and see the fans.”

Meeting fans is the highlight for Swanson, who said that her experiences have meant a lot to her.

“The highlight, for me, is just getting out and talking to people, and meeting them and taking pictures I really like doing that. Not for my ego – it pleases the person that wants to meet you, but it also pleases me that I touched their life in some sort of way in a performance I did. To be able to get feedback, or have people asking me questions, I am here to answer anything and am happy to so that is what I look forward to the most.”

With a career dating back to the 1980s, and appearances in shows like Knot’s Landing and Psych, and films like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Hot Shots! and Dude Where’s My Car? Swanson has a long list of great roles to look back on. In 1995 she portrayed Kirsten, a student questioning her

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sexuality in the film Higher Learning. The film dealt with a lot of dark subject matter in the life of young people in the mid-90s. Swanson has played lesbian roles a few times, and has had no issue in doing so, but in 1995 it was a ground breaking role.

“I have played a lesbian a few times. I guess you are right; I hadn’t thought about that in a long time. I think that the movie Higher Learning was a very true and realistic take on many different issues that go on with young people back then and still today. It is pretty normal for teenagers or someone in their 20s to be curious. Some people know they are straight, some know they are gay, and some don’t know what they are.

I think it is good that John Singleton exposed that side of sexuality in life and young people.”

For fans of horror, Swanson is also present in the genre of scary animal movies. Dating back to Jaws through the recent Sharknado films, people are fascinated with sharks and films about them. Swanson has starred in two monster shark movies: 2003’s Red Water and 2011’s Swamp Shark.

“It is really ironic that I have done two shark movies.

Snakes and spiders are up there too, but sharks are one of my biggest fears. I saw the movie Jaws at too young of an age and it messed with my head my entire life. The fact that I did these shark movies is really weird because I hate sharks, but am completely fascinated with them. I am the first one to be like hold on everybody; it’s shark week we’ve got to watch and DVR everything… It wasn’t the most comfortable thing for me to make those movies. There was a fear factor and a lot of the screaming and yelling that went on wasn’t very fake.”

Swanson has taken on a different role since 2007: that of a mom to son Magnus.

“The acting came first, I am in my 37th year now in acting, which is just mind boggling to me that this much time has

gone by. Now that I have played all those roles and was married to my career most of my life, Magnus came along, and that is the biggest role I have played in my life. There is no acting involved, but it is a huge role. I love it. He is an incredible kid who is understanding and loving about when I have to go away for a couple of weeks and shoot a movie. He likes to travel and come visit the set, and adapts and adjusts.

He is cool about it. We Skype a lot. It is all about balance and we work it out. He is a really easy kid so I am very blessed.”

The Expo is the first time that fans of Buffy can meet Kristy and Luke together; you do not want to miss out on this rare opportunity.

“Come out and meet us! We have some small Buffy posters that are easy to walk around with; we are going to sign those for you guys and take pictures with you, and tweet and Instagram and have fun!”

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Might-y Tight-y Leaner Meaner Workout Gear

 ES Workout long pants

By Sean Larkin Inspired by the tight fitting, high performing uniforms worn by hotties like footballer Tim Tebow, many athletic wear designers are leaning things up this fall.

They’re doing away with the baggy sweats of yesteryear and presenting new form-fitting gear.

The results are sports tees and pants that not only play well, but look damn good on. Here are some of the season’s favorites that are available now in stores.

Timoteo Champion Pant:

Perfect for lounging around the house or working out in fashion at the gym, the Timoteo Champion Pants feature contrast side stripes, straight cut legs, comfort stretch fabric, and functional side pockets. Its clever waistband is what most captured our attention and is sure to catch the attention of the handsome jock working out next to you. Fashioned after a boxing short waistband, it adds just the right amount of stylish muscle to make these pants a real knockout.

100% mid-weight cotton fleece. $62.00/Timoteo.net

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ES Workout long pants:

If anyone knows sexy, it is ES Collection. Their new Workout Long pants are for guys who have done the heavy lifting and now aim to show it off. The low-cut pants fit tight around the hips, accentuating all the important curves on a man. Most brilliantly, there are two roomy pockets for keys, a wallet, or more likely for those random hands that might want to slip in for a feel. These pants should come with directions: Just Add Sweat… because everything else is there, including a sophisticated embroidered shield on the upper left side. Made from 95% cotton and 5% elastan. $162/ESCollectionUSA.com Teamm8 Rider Sweat Pant:

For the preppy athlete who aims to look sharp as he curls his dumbbells, Teamm8 presents its Rider Sweat Pant. It has been a particular standout among retailers this season because the pant can be dressed up or down. Slick yet super comfortable, with a tapered leg, these pants are just as suitable wearing out-and-about in the neighborhood as they are in the

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 Freedom Reigns Body Pump

 Freedom Reigns Body Pump

 ES Workout long pants1

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 Teamm8 Rider Sweat Pant

 Timoteo Champion Pant

gym. Wear them with a tank or a collared shirt… both will work to give you that well coifed jock look. There are even two side pockets big enough to carry a small book in, you smarty. $79.00/LaJock.com

Freedom Reigns Body Pump:

Whether you’re off to the gym or the ski slope, these Summer Games-inspired pant from Freedom Reigns will have athletes sporting Olympic-style this summer.

They also double as long johns that are so comfortable; they can be worn as pajamas! Or better yet, wear them under your favorite workout shorts for that sexy layered look. Freedom Reigns gives you the versatility – or freedom – to wear sweats in the way that works best for you and your body. Also available as shorts. $55.00/LAJock.com

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Our Lives Would Suck Without Her

Kelly Clarkson talks new equalityinspired anthem, gay bars and her ‘Kezbo’ following

 Photo by RCA Records.

By Chris Azzopardi Before catapulting to pop stardom, Kelly Clarkson was one of us. In many ways, she still is.

The original American Idol, who memorably erupted into waterworks when she won the first season of the reality show in 2002, wasn’t always able to muster the willpower she’s instilled in the gay community through her uncompromising persona and liberating pop anthems, including those on her latest album, Piece by Piece.

That’s just the charm of Clarkson, who opens up in our new interview about overcoming teen inferiorities, diehard lesbian fans who call themselves “Kezbos,” driving Bette Midler to “suicide,” and that night she sipped some wine, felt “sad” for our generation and wrote a powerful song about it.

GC: OK, Kelly, take my hand. I wanna go back with you.

KC: The imagery!

GC: Tell me the moment in your career you first knew gay people worshipped at your altar.

(Laughs) Oh my god – that’s amazing! It was the Breakaway World Tour (in 2005) – the first tour for the Breakaway record – and it was so awesome. One girl on tour came up and just introduced herself and was like, “I’m a Kezbo,” and I was like, “What?!” She was like, “A Kezbo – your lesbian fans.” And I 54

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was like, “Wait – there’s enough of you to have a group? That’s amazing! Awesome! Go me!” And she was like, “Yeah, we just love you. We’re gonna bring you to the other side.” And I was like, “All right, well, keep trying!”

Then, on the same tour, I had this guy, and he was so funny!

Because, you know I’m a huge fan of Bette Midler and have been since I saw For the Boys when I was a kid, and he’s like, “You’re our new Bette!” (Laughs) I was like, “You need to aim higher. Bette Midler just shot herself! I’m not that cool, but I will work on gaining the respect of that compliment.”

GC: Is it hard to fathom yourself a gay icon?

KC: I guess it’s hard to fathom you can be an icon in general.

I don’t consider myself an icon at all, but no – I have a lot of gay and lesbian friends and they like my stuff, so I guess it’s not so hard for me to think (the gay community) might like my music. But I don’t know ... I’m not an icon. I’ve only been doing this for 13 years. You’ve gotta be doing it for a good 20 to gain that status.

GC: When it comes to your strong bond with the gay community, how do you explain that connection?

KC: I have a connection, but I don’t look at it differently. I don’t ever look at a fan as a gay fan or a lesbian fan or a straight fan – I don’t ever look at that. Fans are fans, and no matter what our lives are like, no matter what path we’re on, music is www.gaycalgary.com

the one thing that connects us. I mean, I had so much fun at this club recently. It’s called G-A-Y – this club in London – and everybody knew all the words to every song. Even the new one!

And they were gay and straight and lesbian – everybody was there. It didn’t matter, and it was just really cool. It was a cool event, and it was fun. And it’s what I love about music – that it doesn’t matter. That’s what connects us.

GC: What was your very first time at a gay bar like?

KC: Oh gosh – that would’ve been in LA, and I was probably 22. I went with some of my friends and a couple of my gay friends, and they were like, “You’re gonna love this! But you’re gonna need to wear a hat.” They played “Since U Been Gone,” and it was so funny because nobody knew I was there. I had a blast!

The awesome thing, for girls especially: Because most gay bars that I’ve been to – and I guess I’ve been to four or five – are all gay men and not lesbians, and being a straight female, you don’t get hit on the whole time, you don’t get people grabbing you or, like, being gross. There’s no judgment, and it’s just fun.

You’re not worried about going, “No, thank you, I can buy my own drinks.” It’s the most fun club and fun time you’ll ever have in your life.

GC: The song “Invincible” alludes to overcoming self-doubts and insecurities. In your own life, when did you most experience those hurdles, and when did you finally accept yourself for who you are?

KC: In high school, and you know, I was having a hard time.

I guess all people go through it – it’s just a different time period for all of us. When I was a sophomore in high school, it was the one time (in my life) I felt like I was insecure. It was just an awkward stage for me. Well, as was junior high, but I just wasn’t aware of it yet. (Laughs) I’ve always been different. I’ve never been the girl that has to feel like she has to get all dolled up every day. I’ve always been kind of a tomboy. I’ve always been very outspoken, and, you know, my mom is too. I don’t know any other way to be. It’s just my personality.

In my sophomore year of high school, I got a little insecure about (my personality), because girls can be mean and I got the lead in this role in choir. No sophomore was ever supposed to get it, so people were just really mean about it. And, like, mean.

Worse than the movie! (Laughs) It made me insecure, and not so much (in regard to) my music or as a singer or an artist – just me as a person. I was like, “Is there something wrong (with me)?” I would go, “But I think I’m a good friend.” That was the only time that I was really doubtful of my person. But I got over that real quick!

GC: Growing up in small-town Texas, when did you get your first taste of gay culture? Did you even know gay people then?

KC: Oh yeah. Yeah! Nobody was outspoken like they are now.

I think it’s a more comfortable – well, I don’t know. A couple of friends of mine just recently came out to their parents and one was just about the most horrible situation ever. So I think

that still happens, unfortunately. But when I was a kid, I had a couple of my friends in choir with me. I think everybody knew (they were gay), but it wasn’t talked about or anything.

Honestly, I grew up in such a creative environment. Even in our choral group – even with my friends – nobody really talked

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about it, nobody was against or for it. There were no flags of any kind – of race, of who liked who. I feel like I grew up in a really incredibly good bubble. I never experienced people hating – no hate crimes or anything like that – until well into the industry. With Idol, people would say hateful things about certain contestants on the show, and I was like, “What in the world?!” I, fortunately, grew up in a world where that wasn’t a huge issue.

GC: But you were raised Southern Baptist, a denomination that condemns homosexuality. What was the journey like to get to where you are now – a staunch supporter of gay marriage?

KC: At my church, whenever I did attend Sunday service, that was never talked about. I know that is what the doctrine of Southern Baptist is, but they also said don’t drink and dance, but we drank and danced! (Laughs) I don’t think I grew up in some hardcore community where people were like that. I grew up in a very accepting household. I was taught to accept everybody how they are, and I admire my mom for that. She’s never taught me hate.

GC: I gotta ask about your baby girl, River Rose.

KC: Because she’s magical. She’s a magical unicorn.

GC: You know, in some circles, the unicorn is a gay symbol.

KC: Oh, I didn’t know that! But I love it. That’s what I call my baby!

GC: Speaking of which, how might you and your hubby handle it if River turned out to be lesbian?

KC: Oh, I don’t care. I mean, here’s what I hope for her: I just hope she finds love. It took me a while, man. And there was a lot of heartache throughout those years. You know, as long as she’s happy, I don’t care either way, and neither does my husband. And we have two other kids as well, and we don’t care either way for all of them.

GC: If one of them were to come out to you, what would you say?

KC: I’d be like, “Awesome! When do we meet him or her?”

Honestly, it’s so funny, it doesn’t even register in my world as different. I don’t know why. But yeah, it doesn’t. I’m glad it doesn’t!

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GC: During the song “I Had a Dream,” which you wrote about setting an example for future generations, you say, “Spreading your legs instead of using your words.” Older generations often criticize the industry for peddling so much sex. When you look out at pop culture currently, where do you stand concerning its use of sex? And how satisfied are you with the examples these artists are setting for people like your kids and future generations?

KC: There’s a reason why women have been revered as long as we have been – even back in the day most statues are of us; most paintings are of us – (and it’s because) we’re a beautiful form, and I get it. I get that that is sexy and I’m so in support of that. I love a sexy video. I don’t even mind raciness. I don’t mind that at all.

I just mind when people use that as the entire basis of their career. The only reason that I say that is because I feel those people are short-sighting themselves. I’m like, “You’re far more talented than that.” Yes, you can be sexy and risqué, but some of these women have these amazing voices and these amazing ideals, and they have more to offer than just that.

The song actually came about because I was sitting around with some friends – we were all drinking some wine – and I was like, “Man, when you were 10 were you not just so excited about our generation and what we were gonna accomplish?”

And then you look now and we’re still talking about race and we’re still talking about equal rights for everyone – didn’t you think we’d be past that? Didn’t you think we’d be more? I ended up writing a song about that because it’s just kind of a sad thing. I just felt like our generation – I think we could’ve been more. It was just a sad moment for me, reflecting.

GC: Gosh. That’s real deep, Kelly.

KC: (Laughs) I can go dark real quick!

GC: Why was it important for you to include a gay couple getting engaged in the “Heartbeat Song” video?

KC: What’s funny is, I wasn’t even actually the one who picked all the people! Marc (Klasfeld), the director, and his team did. But it was funny, because I was doing an interview here in Nashville at one of the radio stations and one of the DJs there was like, “I’m gonna be in your video tomorrow!” And I was like, “Whaaaat?” And he was like, “Yeah! I asked if I could bring my boyfriend and they said yes.”

We had no idea that his boyfriend – I mean, he didn’t know either – was gonna propose to him on the set! At first he thought it was part of the video. He didn’t get it at first, and that’s why he was like, “Are you for real? I don’t get it.” But it was the coolest thing that ended up happening, but none of that, honestly, was planned. It just kind of happened, and it was a beautiful thing.

GC: And it’s sending an important message, don’t you think?

KC: I think it’s silly that we’re still talking about gay rights.

I just live in this world where people are accepted, so it’s very hard for me to even realize that that still exists. It’s hard for me to wrap my brain around it. That (gay couple) was a no-brainer, and I didn’t even think, “Oh, I’m making a statement for gay rights.” I was making a statement for the loss of love and the hope that you can still find it, regardless of what form that comes in. It wasn’t a purposeful thing. Love is love in whatever relationship it may be in.

Kelly Clarkson Tour Calgary - Saddledome October 12th, 2015 Edmonton - Rexall October 14th, 2015 http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4583 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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Photography

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HOMOCIDAL at Evolution, Edmonton

Stiletto Awards at Evolution, Edmonton

photos by Kurtis Allan

photos by Kurtis Allan

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

www.gaycalgary.com

Photography ISCWR 90s Show at Evolution, Edmonton

ISCWR Halftime Show at Evolution, Edmonton

photos by Kurtis Allan

photos by Kurtis Allan

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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Photography All Tease All Shade Queer Cabaret at Evolution, Edmonton

Easter Weekend at Evolution, Edmonton

photos by Kurtis Allan

photos by Kurtis Allan

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www.gaycalgary.com

Photography ANDS Prelim Part One at Evolution, Edmonton

ANDS Prelim Part Two at Evolution, Edmonton

photos by Kurtis Allan

photos by Kurtis Allan

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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Photography Pump - An Alternative Night Out at Bespoke Nightclub, Calgary

ISCWR - April Showers at Woodys, Edmonton

http://gaycalgary.com/pa920

photos by J&B

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Photography Queers on Campus Gender Bender at the Den, Calgary http://gaycalgary.com/pa933

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Photography Jasper Pride 2015 http://gaycalgary.com/pa921

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Photography

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News Releases Ongoing & Pervasive Discrimination by Law Enforcement in the LGBT Community in the USA

TESA launches federal equality rights campaign, #transrights NOT #trashrights

A new report released today by the Williams Institute at UCLA...

Canadians from all walks of life are urged to write their Members of Parliament and Senators to condemn proposed changes that...

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1798

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1804

Montréal Pride will Host the First Edition of Canada Pride in 2017

NSFW - Steam Room Stores: Lumbersexual Vs Metrosexual

Montréal Pride will organize the first edition of Canada Pride from August 11 to 20, 2017, as a nation-wide celebration of Canada’s... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1799

SECOND SHOW ADDED - MADONNA - Edmonton - October 12 DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND SECOND SHOW ADDED MADONNA, REBEL HEART TOUR SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2015 - SOLD OUT MONDAY, OCTOBER... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1800

Alaska Thunderfuck to Host “The Hookies” The 9th Annual International Escort Awards Show RuPaul’s Drag Race sensation Alaska Thunderfuck will host “The Hookies: The 9th Annual International Escort Awards”,... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1801

Great-Grandson of “The Wizard of Oz” Lyricist Plans “The Sound of Oz,” a New Documentary Film Everyone knows the songs from The Wizard of Oz; in fact, Over the Rainbow is often cited as the greatest movie hit of all time.... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1802

NSFW - New Andrew Christian Video! GLITTER MUSIC: “Formula” By Thrill Kill. Getty Images Music MODELS: Designer Andrew Christian, Topher DiMaggio, Pablo Hernandez,... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1803

Do you like your men rough or perfectly manicured? That’s the question in the all-new episode of Steam Room Stories. Steam Room... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1805

NSFW - COLT Studio Group has New Styles Ready to Ship!

Iconic all-male production house COLT Studio Group announced today that it is ready to take wholesale orders and ship its all-new... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1806

LGBT Women Are Among Most at Risk of Poverty in America Groundbreaking report from broad coalition examines poverty and economic vulnerability of LGBT women. According to a new report... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1807

LGBT Community Creates World’s First Real “Gay” Item to End Misuse of Word “Gay” Today, the world’s first and only ‘gay’ object – a sweater knit from the donated hair of more than 100 LGBT people – makes its... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1808

NSFW - Steam Room Stores: Straight men get a taste for ‘pegging’ ‘Pegging’ – aka butt sex for straight men – is the talk of the Steam Room in the latest episode of Steam Room Stories. In the... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1809

2015 Artists for Life Line-Up Announced JTMF West is proud to announce tickets are on sale now for http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1810

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News Releases NSFW - New titles from the Bruno Gmünder Group in April 2015

Williams Institute Launches First-of-its-Kind Study of U.S. Transgender Population

New in April 2015 from Bruno Gmünder Group. Click on photos for more info on each book. Visit their website today!

Information collected from a statistically representative sample could be used to help craft better policy. Researchers at the...

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1811

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1814

Theatre Outré stages controversial and rarely produced Wallace Shawn play in its Calgary premier

New Research Compares LGBT Rankings of US Metro Areas in 1990 and 2014 San Francisco tops both lists, but Salt Lake City sees the biggest jump. For two decades, residents in San Francisco, Austin,...

Written in 1976, Wallace Shawn’s infamous play A Thought in Three Parts created a controversial uproar even in the midst of a...

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1815

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1812

LGBTSportZdate.com Offers Eligible LGBT Singles Who Love Sports to Safely Connect, & Find Love LGBTSportZdate.com is the first and only dating site to cater specifically to sports enthusiasts within the LGBT community.... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1813

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Blake Spence has been livening up the party scene in Calgary with Hot Mess since 2010, following a return to his native city after three years attending university in Vancouver. While living on the west coast Spence, 31, had noticed that there were really successful pop up parties complementing the already successful bar scene in the city. Upon returning to Calgary, the city was definitely not the city that he had left in 2007; many bars and nightspots in the community had closed down. With a friend, Spence decided to take a stab at hosting a party similar to what he had experienced in Vancouver.

The good folks at the now closed down Calgary Eagle gave Hot Mess a chance and played host to the inaugural event. The event was so successful the bar actually ran out of vodka.

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After another successful event the bar sadly shut its doors, and Hot Mess decided to try their hand at a community hall. Sadly this wasn’t as successful as it was in the previous venue, so Spence and his business partner Sean Stewart approached the Concord Group, and the rest is history!

While not working on all things Hot Mess, Spence works at the Calgary Sexual Health Centre and has been doing so for the past five years. He is single (but not necessarily looking) and shares custody (it’s a long story) with his beloved dog.

http://gaycalgary.com/pa935

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events DOWNTOWN CALGARY

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Calgary Outlink---------- Community Groups HIV Community Link---- Community Groups Backlot------------------------Bars and Clubs Texas Lounge-----------------Bars and Clubs

5 6 7 8

Goliath’s--------------------------Bathhouses Twisted Element--------------Bars and Clubs Broken City-------------------Bars and Clubs Cowboys Nightclub-----------Bars and Clubs

FIND OUT!

LGBT Community Directory GayCalgary 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.

✰....... Find our Magazine Here

......... 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 Browse our complete directory of over 750 gay-frieindly listings!

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

 209 - 10th Ave SW

4 Texas Lounge------------------------------ ✰

 308 - 17 Ave SW  403-229-0911  Open 7 days a week, 11am-close

www.gaycalgary.com

6 Twisted Element

 1006 - 11th Ave SW  403-802-0230

 http:.//www.twistedelement.ca

9 10 11 12

Dickens Pub------------------Bars and Clubs Flames Central---------------Bars and Clubs Local 522---------------------Bars and Clubs Ten Nightclub-----------------Bars and Clubs

13 The Pint-----------------------Bars and Clubs 15 The Blind Monk--------------Bars and Clubs

8 Cowboys Nightclub------------------------  421 12th Avenue SE  403-265-0699

 http://www.cowboysnightclub.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.

9 Dickens Pub

 1000 9th Ave SW  info@dickenspub.ca

 http://www.dickenspub.ca

7 Broken City

 613 11th Ave SW  info@brokencity.ca

 http://www.brokencity.ca

 403-262-9976

 403-233-7550

• Western Cup 31



http://www.westerncup.com

10 Flames Central----------------------------  219 8th Ave SW  403-935-2637

 http://www.flamescentral.com

• Badminton (Absolutely Smashing)

11 Local 522----------------------------------  522 6 Ave SW  403-244-6773

 http://www.localtavern.ca

• Boot Camp

12 Ten Nightclub

 1140 10th Ave SW

• Bowling (Rainbow Riders League)

15 The Blind Monk

 918 12th Ave SW  12thave@blindmonk.ca

 http://www.blindmonk.ca  Mon-Sun: 11am-2am

 403-265-6200

• Curling

 North Hill Curling Club (1201 - 2 Street NW)  curling@apollocalgary.com

• Golf

 golf@apollocalgary.com

14 Vinyl & Hyde (CLOSED)

 213 10 Ave SW

 http://www.vinylandhyde.com

 587-224-5200

• Lawn Bowling

 lawnbowling@apollocalgary.com

• Outdoor Pursuits

Bathhouses/Saunas 5 Goliaths------------------------------------ ✰

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

Community Groups Alberta Society for Kink

 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

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

 slow.pitch@apollocalgary.com

• Squash

Apollo Calgary - Friends in Sports

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

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

 403-384-9777

 http://www.apollocalgary.com  http://www.myapollo.com

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

 403-457-4464

13 The Pint

 1428 17th Ave SW  calgary@thepint.ca

 http://www.thepint.ca/calgary

Bars & Clubs (Mixed) These venues regularly host LGBT events.

N

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

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Directory & Events Fetish Slosh----------------------------  Evening

Calgary Events

At 3 Backlot

Mondays

 2nd

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

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

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

Saturdays

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

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

Karaoke-----------------------------------  7pm

At 5 Goliaths

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

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

Wednesdays

Fridays

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

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

See

ISCCA BBQs--------------------------------Dinner

Student Night------------------------  6pm-6am

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

At 5 Goliaths

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

Tuesdays

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

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

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

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

Beers for Queers--------------------------  6pm

Thursdays

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

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

Student Night------------------------  6pm-6am

 Kerby Center, Sunshine Room 1133 7th Ave SW

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

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

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

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

Buddy Night-------------------------  6pm-6am

 Bonasera (1204 Edmonton Tr. NE) See 1 Calgary Outlink

See 1 Calgary Outlink By

 1st

YYC Badboys at 13 The Pint

At 5 Goliaths

At 3 Backlot

Knox United Church

 Old Y Centre (223 12th Ave SW)

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

 3rd

Between Men--------------------------- 7-9pm Karaoke-------------------------  8pm-12:30am

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

 2nd, 4th

At 4 Texas Lounge

ISCCA at 3 Backlot

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 tennis@apollocalgary.com

• Yoga

 Robin: 403-618-9642  yoga@apollocalgary.com

Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association (ARGRA)

 www.argra.org

✰

At 5 Goliaths

At 1 Calgary Outlink

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 3rd  4th

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

 1st

• 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

Deer Park United Church/Wholeness Centre

 http://www.calgaryexpo.com

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

Calgary Gay Fathers

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

 403-278-8263

Different Strokes

 http://www.differentstrokescalgary.org

FairyTales Presentation Society

Calgary Men’s Chorus

 403-244-1956

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

 http://www.calgarymenschorus.org

• Rehearsals

• DVD Resource Library

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

✰

 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.

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

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

 Old Y Centre (303 – 223, 12 Ave SW)  403-234-8973  info@calgaryoutlink.ca  http://www.calgaryoutlink.com

 girlfriends@shaw.ca

 members.shaw.ca/girlfriends

• Peer Support and Crisis Line

2 HIV Community Link------------------- ✰

 110, 1603 10th Avenue SW  403-508-2500  1-877-440-2437  http://www.hivcl.org

 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.

• Telephone Support

 M-F, 8:30am - 12:30pm + 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Hillhurst United Church

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

HIV Peer Support Group

Girlsgroove

 http://www.girlsgroove.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.

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

 http://www.miscyouth.com

• Fake Mustache • 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

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Sundays See See See See See

Deer Park United Church Scarboro United Church Hillhurst United Church Knox United Church

Rainbow Community Church

Flashlight Night---------------------  6pm-6am At 5 Goliaths

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

 Weeds Cafe (1903 20 Ave NW)

Calgary Expo

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

 2nd

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

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

• Tennis

 Arrata Opera Centre (1315 - 7 Street SW)

 1st

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 Calgary Contd.

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

 2nd

See 1 Calgary Outlink

Uniform Night-----------------------  6pm-6am

See 1 Calgary Outlink

By

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

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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

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

 www.sutr.ca A collaborative effort dedicated to building capacity and acting as a voice for the LGBTQ community, service providers, organizations and the community at large to address violence. For same-sex domestic violence information, resources and a link to our survey please see our website.

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

Spectrum Volleyball Calgary

 http://www.spectrumvolleyball.ca  spectrumvolleyball@gmail.com Join us for recreational, competitive or beach volleyball.

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events  Calgary Contd.

Unity Bowling

 http://www.cruiseline.ca Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

Wild Rose United Church

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

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

DevaDave Salon & Boutique

 1317-1st Street NW

Restaurants & Pubs

Ellen Embury

13 The Pint See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).

Hardline

Adult Depot (CLOSED)

 Calgary: 403-770-0776

 Edmonton: 780-665-6666  Other Cities: 1-877-628-9696  http://www.hardlinechat.com Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

Adult Source----------------------------

 12 Deerview Terrace SE  403-879-1967  http://www.canyonmeadows.net

Retail Stores

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

✰

 10210 Macleod Tr S  403-271-7848

 #102 2323 32nd Ave NE  403-769-6177

 1536 16th Ave NW  403-289-4203

 4310 17th Ave SE  403-273-2710

 http://www.adultsourcecalgary.ca

 812 11 Ave SW  403-263-6500  http://www.webstergalleries.com

 T-S: 10am-6pm, N: 1-4pm

MFM Communications

NRG Support Services

Priape Calgary (CLOSED)

 Suite 27, Building B1, 2451 Dieppe Ave SW

 403-471-0204  780-922-3347  nrg@shaw.ca  http://www.nrgsupportservices.com

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

SafeWorks

Pushing Petals

Free and confidential HIV/AIDS and STI testing.

 1209 5th Ave NW  403-263-3070  http://www.pushingpetals.com

6th and Tenth - Sales Centre

Bars & Clubs (Gay) 3 Buddy’s Nite Club------------------------- ✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  780-488-6636 6 Evolution Wonder Lounge

 10220 - 103 St  780-424-0077  http://www.yourgaybar.com

FLASH (CLOSED)

 10018 105 Street  flashnightclub@hotmail.com

Barry Hollowell

UpStares Ultralounge (CLOSED)

 4th Floor, Jasper Ave and 107th Street

4 Woody’s------------------------------------ ✰

 11725 Jasper Ave  780-488-6557

Bars & Clubs (Mixed)

Calgary Civil Marriage Centre

These venues regularly host LGBT events.

Hooliganz Pub (CLOSED)

ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects

 403-294-7402

 http://www.ATPlive.com

Fairytales

Craig Connell (Maxwell Realtors)

See Calgary - Community Groups.

Cruiseline

 Big Secret Theatre - EPCOR CENTRE  403-299-8888  www.oyr.org

One Yellow Rabbit--------------------------

Edmonton Illusions Social Club

 780-387-3343

 groups.yahoo.com/group/edmonton_illusions 2 Edmonton STD

 11111 Jasper Ave

Edmonton Vocal Minority

 780-479-2038  www.evmchoir.com

 sing@evmchoir.com

Fellowship of Alberta Bears

 www.beefbearbash.com

GLBTQ Sage Bowling Club

 780-474-8240

 tuff@shaw.ca

HIV Network Of Edmonton Society----

InQueeries

Bathhouses/Saunas 5 Steamworks------------------------------- ✰

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

Community Groups AltView Foundation

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

 403-398-9968  info@altview.ca  http://ww.altview.ca For gender variant and sexual minorities.

Book Worm’s Book Club

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

✰

 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.

 http://www.iscwr.ca

Theatre & Fine Arts

 403-253-5678  http://www.maxwellrealty.com/craigconnell

Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

 3379, 11215 Jasper Ave  780-429-5014  http://www.edmontonrba.org Primary focus is the provision of networking opportunities for LGBT owned or operated and LGBT-friendly businesses in the Edmonton region.

8 Yellowhead Brewing Co.

 10229 105 St  info@yellowheadbrewery.com  http://www.yellowheadbrewery.com

Wheel Pro’s

 3rd Floor, 1131 Kensington Road NW  403-571-5120  http://www.courtneyaarbo.ca GLBT legal services.

Edmonton Prime Timers

 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.

• Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre

 4143- Edmonton Trail NE  403-226-7278  http://www.wheelpros.ca “Experts in Everything for Wheels”

Courtney Aarbo (Barristers & Solicitors)

Edmonton Pride Festival Society (EPFS)

 http://www.edmontonpride.ca

 inqueeries@gmail.com Student-run GLBTQ Alliance at MacEwan University.

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

 403-808-7147

Edmonton Expo

 http://www.edmontonexpo.com

7 The Starlite Room

 10030 102 St contact@starliteroom.ca  http://www.starliteroom.ca

• Safeworks Van

Christopher T. Tahn (Thornborough Smeltz)

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

 10704 124 St NW

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

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

 780-938-2941

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.

• Centre of Hope

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

 403-819-5219  http://www.bcbhcounselling.com

www.gaycalgary.com

EDMONTON

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

 633 10th Ave SW  403-239-5511  http://www.6thandtenth.com

 M-W: 12-6pm, R: 2-7pm, S-N: 12-5pm

 Calgary: 403-777-9494

 Edmonton: 780-413-7122  Other Cities: 1-877-882-2010

Webster Galleries Inc.

• Calgary Drop-in Centre

Services & Products

 11650 Elbow Dr SW  ctahn@thornsmeltz.com  http://www.thornsmeltz.com

Vertigo Mystery Theatre--------------------

Hot Water Pools & Spas

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

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

 403-703-4750

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

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

 #4 - 1126 Kensington Rd NW  403-283-3555  http://www.thenakedleaf.ca Organic teas and tea ware.

✰

 #3 306 20th Ave SW 

http://www.thirdstreet.ca

Lorne Doucette (CIR Realtors)

La Fleur

Theatre Junction------------------------

Third Street Theatre

 403-355-3335  http://www.interactivemale.com

 403-266-1707 Florist and Flower Shop.

✰

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

Interactive Male

Best Health

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

Holiday Retirement

 2145 Summerfield Blvd  403-912-2045  http://www.hotwaterpoolsandspas.ca

 206A 2525 Woodview Dr SW  403-281-5582  besthealthcalgary@hotmail.com  http://www.besthealthcalgary.com

✰

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

 403-750-1128  www.DBBlaw.com Fellow, American Academy of Reproductive Technology Attorneys

10 Flames Central---------------------------- See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).

Pumphouse Theatre--------------------

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

Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose

Living Positive Society of Alberta

 #50, 9912 - 106 Street 780-424-2214  living-positive@telus.net  http://www.facebook.com/LivingPoz Living Positive through Positive Living.

• HIV Support Group

 huges@shaw.ca, curtis@optionssexualhealth.ca Support and discussion group for gay men.

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.

Pride Centre of Edmonton-------------

✰

 10608 - 105 Ave  780-488-3234  admin@pridecentreofedmonton.org  http://www.pridecentreofedmonton.org  Tue-Fri 12pm-9pm, Sat 2pm-6:30pm

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

73

Directory & Events DOWNTOWN EDMONTON

1

6

8

5 4 3

1 Pride Centre of Edm.---- Community Groups 2 Edmonton STD---------- Community Groups

Edmonton Events Boot Camp------------------------------ 7-8pm See

Team Edmonton

TTIQ------------------------------------- 7-9pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

 3rd

HIV Support Group--------------------- 7-9pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

 2nd

QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

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

7

3 Buddy’s-----------------------Bars and Clubs 4 Woody’s-----------------------Bars and Clubs

5 Steamworks----------------------Bathhouses 6 Evolution----------------------Bars and Clubs

7 The Starlite Room------------Bars and Clubs 8 Yellowhead Brewing Co.-----Bars and Clubs

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

Women’s Social Circle------------------ 6-9pm

QH Youth Drop-in------------------  2-6:30pm

Counseling----------------------  5:30-8:30pm

Book Club-----------------------------  7:30pm

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

Knotty Knitters-------------------------- 6-8pm

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

QH Craft Night-------------------------- 6-8pm

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

Cycling---------------------------  6:30-7:30pm

Fridays

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See

Tuesdays

See

2

See 1 Youth Understanding Youth

Mondays

N

Team Edmonton

Yoga---------------------------------  7:30-8pm See

Team Edmonton

Thursdays

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See See See

 2nd, 4th

BookWorm’s Book Club

 3rd

Team Edmonton Team Edmonton

QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

QH Anime Night------------------------ 6-8pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

Movie Night----------------------------- 6-9pm

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

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

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

QH Game Night------------------------ 6-8pm

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

QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm

Swim Practice--------------------------- 7-8pm

Saturdays

See

Team Edmonton

See

Wednesdays See

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

GLBTQ Sage Bowling Club

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

Youth Understanding Youth

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See

Team Edmonton

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton See See

Men’s Games Nights

Youth Understanding Youth

• TTIQ

• Counselling

• Women’s Social Circle

Come knit and socialize in a safe and accepting environment - all skill levels are welcome.

• Men Talking with Pride

 robwells780@hotmail.com Support & social group for gay & bisexual men to discuss current issues.

• Movie Night

Movie Night is open to everyone! Come over and sit back, relax, and watch a movie with us.

• Queer HangOUT: Game Night

Come OUT with your game face on and meet some awesome people through board game fun.

• Queer HangOUT: Craft Night

Come OUT and embrace your creative side in a safe space.

• Queer HangOUT: Anime Night

Come and watch ALL the anime until your heart is content.

74

See

Team Edmonton

Sundays See

Team Edmonton

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

Team Edmonton

Men Talking with Pride---------------- 7-9pm See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

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

Team Edmonton

Soul Outing-------------------------------  7pm

 Robertson-Wesley United (10209 123 St)

 2nd

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

 2nd

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

We provide a safe, welcoming, and non-judgemental drop-in space, and offer support programs and resources for members of the GLBTQ community and for their families and friends.

• Knotty Knitters

 2nd

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

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

Buck Naked Boys Club

 Edmonton Contd.

 780.488.3234 Free, short-term counselling provided by registered counsellors.

 2nd, Last

Naturalist Gettogether See

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

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

QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm

Swim Practice-------------------  7:30-8:30pm

See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton

A support and information group for all those who fall under the transgender umbrella and their family or supporters.  andrea@pridecentreofedmonton.org Women’s Social Circle: A social support group for all female-identified persons over 18 years of age in the GLBT community - new members are always welcome.

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

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

Women’s Drop-In Recreational Badminton. $40.00 season or $5.00 per drop in.

• Gymnastics, Drop-in

•Ballroom Dancing

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

 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.

• Blazin’ Bootcamp

• Hockey

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

 hockey@teamedmonton.ca

• Martial Arts

 Ed’s Rec Room (West Edmonton Mall)

 bowling@teamedmonton.ca $15.00 per person.

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

• Cross Country Skiing

• Outdoor Pursuits

• Bowling (Northern Titans)

 crosscountry@teamedmonton.ca

• Curling with Pride

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

• Cycling (Edmonton Prideriders)

 Dawson Park, picnic shelter  cycling@teamedmonton.ca

• Dragon Boat (Flaming Dragons)

 dragonboat@teamedmonton.ca

• Golf

 outdoorpursuits@teamedmonton.ca

• Running (Arctic Frontrunners)

 Kinsmen Sports Centre  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.

 golf@teamedmonton.ca

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events Red Deer Events Wednesdays

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

CAANS

 1st

Friday, August 15th

 Edmonton Contd.

• 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  http://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

• 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  http://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 & Pubs 12 Woody’s------------------------------------ ✰ See Edmonton - Bars & Clubs (Gay).

Retail Stores Passion Vault

 15239 - 111 Ave  780-930-1169  pvault@telus.net “Edmonton’s Classiest Adult Store”

Products & Services Cruiseline

LETHBRIDGE

 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!

• Soul OUTing

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

• Film Night

 Bi-monthly, contact us for exact dates.

• Book Club

 Monthly, contact us for exact dates.

Theatre & Fine Arts

Community Groups GALA/LA

 356 - 2 Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB  403-527-5882  1-877-440-2437

• Monthly Dances

 M-F, 8:30am - 12:30pm + 1:30pm - 4:30pm

 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

Exposure Festival

The Roxy Theatre

 University of Lethbridge GBLTTQQ club on campus.

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

BANFF Community Groups HIV Community Link

 102 Spray Ave  PO Box 3160, Banff, AB T1L 1C8  403-762-0690

JASPER Accommodations Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge

 Old Lodge Road  1-866-540-4454  http://www.fairmont.com/jasper

Community Groups Jasper Pride Festival

 PO Box 98, 409 Patricia St., T0E 1E0

 contact@jasperpride.ca  http://www.jasperpride.ca

• Telephone Support

ALBERTA 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.

Theatre & Fine Arts Alberta Ballet

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

Gay & Lesbian Integrity Assoc. (GALIA)

 galia@uleth.ca

• Movie Night

 Room C610, University of Lethbridge

Gay Youth Alliance Group

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

Lethbridge Expo

 http://www.lethbridgeexpo.com

Lethbridge HIV Connection

 1206 - 6 Ave S

PFLAG Canada

 1-888-530-6777

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

Pride Lethbridge

 lethbridgepridefest@gmail.com

RED DEER Community Groups

Whistlers Inn

 105 Miette Ave  1-800-282-9919  info@whistlersinn.com  http://www.whistlersinn.com

Community Groups HIV Community Link

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

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

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

MEDICINE HAT

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.

CANADA Community Groups 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

 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.

LGBTQ Education

 LGBTQeducation@hotmail.ca  http://LGBTQeducation.webs.com Red Deer (and area) now has a website designed to bring various LGBTQ friendly groups/individuals together for fun, and to promote acceptance in our communities.

Pride on Campus

 rdcprideoncampus@gmail.com A group of LGBTQ persons and Allies at Red Deer College.

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

75

Classifieds Event

140

The Fetish Slosh at the Backlot!

Come on down to the Backlot the 2nd Tuesday of every month for a no-cover Fetish party. Upcoming dates are November 13, December 11th, etc. You can dress up in Leather, Latex, cuffs, collars, or just your skivvies. Have the conversation you like without offending a vanilla in sight. The Backlot supports and promotes the alternative lifestyles of Calgary so feel free to express your KINK!

Wedding/Union

190

Magical Music DJs

Specializing in LGBT Weddings and Unions.

Everyone deserves the wedding they’ve always dreamed of with the person they love! Call us for a quote today 403.254.9754 Email: magicalmusic@shaw.ca Website: www.magicalmusicdjs.com

McDougall United Church (Edmonton), an Affirming congregation proudly performing same-sex unions or same-sex marriages since 1998. http://www.mcdougallunited.com

Employment

240

Barrio Fiesta Restaurant LTD. Located at 170-6800 Memorial Drive NE Calgary AB we are currently recruiting a cook This is a full time position starting ASAP $13.85 per hour Duties include Preparing and cooking specialty food, Oversee kitchen operations Set and oversee buffet Keep kitchen and work area clean Train staff Must have a strong knowledge of Filipino cuisine and experience of a minimum of one year is required. This is shift work afternoon, late evening to apply please email to bfresto. hiring@gmail.com for more information call 403-272-2970

Employment

240

Dandelion Harbour LTD O/A Subway Canada Located at 725-17 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta is looking for Restaurant Supervisor $14 40.0 hours per week full-time start ASAP Shift, Overtime,Weekend,Day,Night,Evening high school diploma Min 1 year Fast food outlet or concession experience Supervisory Experience an asset Supervise and co-ordinate staff who prepare and portion food Establish work schedule Estimate and order ingredients and supplies Ensure food service and quality control Maintain records of stock repairs sales and wastage Prepare and submit reports; Establish work schedules; Train staff in job duties sanitation and safety procedures Bondable This is a Fast-paced environment Work under pressure Combination of sitting standing, walking Standing for extended periods Bending crouching kneeling Walking Supervise 5 to 10 people Preferred application By e-mail kevin@richardsonperez.ca In person: from 13:30 to 14:00

Employment

240

Barrio Fiesta Restaurant LTD. Located at 170-6800 Memorial Drive NE, Calgary, AB we are currently recruiting a Food Service supervisor This is a full time position starting ASAP $14 per hour. Duties include Supervise and Coordinate up to 5 staff who prepare and portion food to serve, Estimate and order ingredients and supplies, Establish methods to meet work schedule, Maintain record of stocks and repairs, sales and wastage, train staff, ensure food meets quality standard, Must have a strong knowledge of Filipino cuisine and experience of a minimum of one year is required. This is afternoon and late evening position. to apply please email to bfresto.hiring@gmail.com for more information call 403-272-2970

Help Wanted

240

GayCalgary Magazine is looking for salespeople, graphic designers, and writers in Calgary or Edmonton. For more info, contact: magazine@gaycalgary.com 403-543-6960

Sales

270

COLLECTOR’S II Antiques and Accessories Clearance SALE 1005a 1st Street S.W. Parking in back 4032786446 Tues to Friday 10:30-5:30 Sat10-5 Sun 12-4

Sales/Rentals

335

Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. Safe Step Walk-In Tub Alert for Seniors.

Bathroom falls can be fatal. Approved by Arthritis Foundation. Therapeutic Jets. Less Than 4 Inch Step-In. Wide Door. Anti-Slip Floors. American Made. Installation Included.

Call 1-800-594-9682 for $750 Off.

Internet

415

Products/Services 500 Rork Hilford MC

Officiant - Marriage Commissioner Commissioner for Oaths in Alberta WEDDINGS AND MARRIAGES at your venue or in my home studio.

Destination Location Style • Elopement Style • Quick and Legal • Formal or Stylish • Immediate or in the Future • Religion Free • Standard or Customized Ceremonies • Cross Cultural • Same Sex - LGBT-TTQ hilford@shaw.ca • 403-246-4134

Certified Personal Trainer

GUYSPY ALL MALE HOT GAY HOOKUPS! Call FREE! 800-913-8509 only 18 and over

Erotic Massage

420

UltimateMaleMassage.com

Upcoming wedding/event/trip/class reunion?

If you want to look/feel better, increase your strength/endurance/flexibility, I CAN HELP YOU! call/text me 4038263305 or email me j_d_short@hotmail.com

Consulting

527

Want to attract the LGBT local or traveler to your business?

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

It’s not about special treatment. You can’t assume the LGBT person, or the straight person will follow the pack anymore. The LGBT market is becoming more and more aware of what organizations support them, and which ones don’t, ultimately sending them away from businesses and communities that do not recognize them or their lifestyle. Does your staff need LGBT sensitivity training? Want to attract the market but unsure how to proceed?

Local, Domestic, International, We can assist.

Check us out at http://blueflameventures.ca, Email us at info@blueflameventures.ca, Call us at 604-369-1472. Based in Alberta.

Ads starting at $10/mo. for the first 20 words. Submit yours at http://www.gaycalgary.com/classifieds 76

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

www.gaycalgary.com

Bookkeeping

537

Cleaning

517

Health

GET A LIFE! Commercial Cleaning

Crunch Accounting offers accounting and bookkeeping services to small businesses in the Calgary area. We offer competitive rates and exceptional service. Visit us at www. crunchaccounting.ca for more information or call 403 629-7677.

 Mail Forwarding

Does your business need a professional cleaner? Steve is bonded/Insured. Flexible prices and brings all his own supplies. Steve is a part of the LGBT Community and has been cleaning for over 5 years in Calgary.

(403)200-7384 getalifecleaner@gmail.com www.getalifecleaner.com www.facebook.com/getalifecleaner

550

Lose 15-22 Lbs in 30 days (average) Fight fatigue, have more energy and lose weight. Results backed by a 30 day full money back guarantee! You have nothing to lose but weight and I will be here to help you with any questions you have along the way! Also, great earnings potential for those looking to make extra $$$ from home. For More Info: clay1976. isagenix.com, 587-919-5744 (text or call)

Photography

572

Hire an Amateur Photographer Need new photos? Want something for LinkedIn, Facebook, holiday cards? Personal, couples, share-able or adult - no limits, you retain all rights. Creative Queer photographer, cheap rates. photo@chaoticwow.ca

Mail replies to Box 1018 c/o GayCalgary, or E-mail box1018@gaycalgary.com.

Scan below to view Classified Ads Online!

To reply by post, mail to: Box # c/o GayCalgary 2136 17th Ave SW Calgary, AB, T2T 0G3 To reply by E-mail: box#@gaycalgary.com

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

www.gaycalgary.com

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #137, April 2015

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