GayCalgary Magazine - September 2015

SEPTEMBER 2015

® ISSUE 142 • FREE The Voice of Alberta’s LGBT Community

Interview with

ZACHARY

QUINTO

Simon Dunn

“World’s Sexiest Man” gets Messy

Amber Benson

Coming to Edmonton Expo

PLUS:

Tea Party • Yaya Han Calgary International Film Festival Calgary and Medicine Hat Pride 2015 ...and more!

Business Directory

Scan to Read on Mobile Devices

Community Map

Calgary • Alberta • Canada

Events Calendar

Billy Boyd

Serenading at Edmonton Expo

Tourist Information

STARTING ON PAGE 51

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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Table of Contents

SEPTEMBER 2015

®

Writers and Contributors

Diane Mercedes Anderson-Minshall, Allen, Chris Azzopardi, Chris Azzopardi, Dallas Barnes, Dave Dave Brousseau, Brousseau, Jason Sam Clevett, Casselman, JanineJason Eva Trotta, Clevett, Andrew StephenCollins, Lock, Lisa EmilyLunney, Collins,Mars Rob Diaz-Marino, Tonic, Steve Janine Polyak, EvaCarey Trotta, Rutherford, Jack Fertig, Romeo Glen Hanson, San Vicente, Joan Hilty, Krista Evan Sylvester, Kayne, V.N. Stephen Winnick Lock,and Neilthe McMullen, LGBT Allan Community Neuwirth, of Calgary, Steve Polyak, Edmonton, Careyand Rutherford, Alberta.

Romeo San Vicente, Ed Sikov, Nick Vivian and the GLBT Community of Calgary, Edmonton, and Photography Alberta.

Steve Polyak, Kurtis Allan

Photography Videography

Steve Polyak, Diaz-Marino, SteveRob Polyak B&J

Sales Videography Steve Polyak

Stevesales@gaycalgary.com Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino

Legal Council Printers

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Medicine Hat Pride

Oh, they’re running!

10 Calgary Dyke and Trans* March Solidarity, healing, and seeking justice

PAGE 12

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

12 Yaya Han

Charismatic Queen of Cosplay

13 Pride Calgary

Booming numbers a cause for celebration

14 CIFF Announces LGBTQ+ Themed Movies Clear your schedule for this year’s impressive film milieu

Office Hours:

By Council appointment ONLY Legal Courtney Aarbo, Barristers and Solicitors Phone: 403-543-6960 Toll Free: 1-888-543-6960 SalesFax: & General Inquiries 403-703-0685 GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine E-Mail: magazine@gaycalgary.com 2136 17th Avenue SW This Month's Cover Calgary, AB, Canada Main:T2T Zachary 0G3Quinto

Top Right: Simon Dunn. Mid Right: Amber Benson.

Bottom By Right: Billy Boyd Office Hours: appointment ONLY Phone: 403-543-6960 Toll Free: 1-888-543-6960 Fax: 403-703-0685 E-Mail: magazine@gaycalgary.com

This Month's Cover Cher and Christina Aguilera courtesy of Sony Pictures; Annie Lennox courtesy of Mike Owen; Goudie. of: ProudRexMembers

Proud Members of:

16 Of Crosswalks and Pride 18 Positive Thoughts

Trans Women are 49 Times More Likely to Have HIV and Here’s Why You Should Care

e n zi

20 Hey Mickey, You Do Hair So Fine

Comeback actor Robert Michael Morris talks ‘TV baptism,’ onscreen sexuality and being Lisa Kudrow’s cherished sidekick

a g a

22 The De-Gaying of Xavier Dolan

Out director talks hot farm boys, directing Kathy Bates and Susan Sarandon, and dropping the ‘gay film’ label

m

24 Deep Inside Hollywood

Maggie Smith, Archie, Terence Davies, James Franco

25 The Amazing Race Canada

PAGE 26

General Inquiries Distribution

® GayCalgary Calgary: GallantMagazine Distribution 2136 17th Avenue GayCalgary StaffSW Calgary, AB,Clark’s CanadaDistribution T2T 0G3 Edmonton: magazine@gaycalgary.com Other: Canada Post

PAGE 14

Courtney Aarbo, Barristers andWeb Solicitors North Hill News/Central

Chatting with Top 4 Duo Nick and Matt – the Wrestlers

26 The Boyd is Back in Town

Billy Boyd will serenade Edmonton after a very long sojourn

28 Tea Party returns to the Edges of Twilight

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association

Celebrates iconic album’s 20th anniversary with re-release and tour

National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association

Gay European Tourism Association

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Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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Table of Contents  Continued From Previous Page

30 Simon Dunn Gets Messy

®

‘World’s Sexiest Man’ at Hot Mess Sunday

Magazine Figures

PAGE 30

33 Amber Benson Comes To Edmonton

Buffy The Vampire Slayer star on the groundbreaking role and more

35 Joy Without Judgment

The Bird and the Bee on how they’re ‘amazed’ by the gays, casual sex and not being lovers

37 The Name Is Quinto…

Zachary Quinto PAGE 33

Zachary Quinto calls upon LGBT actors to ‘be who they are,’ talks marriage, James Franco and lack of gay action stars

41 Queer Eye 46 A Couple of Guys 48 News Releases 51 Directory and Events

e n zi

56 Classified Ads

a m

PAGE 35

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

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

Proof of monthly figures are available on request.

History Originally established in January 1992 as Men for Men BBS by MFM Communications.

Name changed to GayCalgary in 1998.

Independent company as of January 2004.

First edition of GayCalgary.com Magazine published November 2003. Name adjusted in November 2006 to GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine. 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.

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.

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Submission: Fri, Oct 9th Online: Tues, Oct 13th Please contact us immediately if you think you may have missed the booking or submission deadline.

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Community

Medicine Hat Pride Oh, they’re running!

By Carey Rutherford The Medicine Hat Pride guys (Adam, Brandon, Paul, Dane and others too numerous to mention in this short space of time) are making it happen! Despite the fact that nine days ago the fourth annual Medicine Hat Pride organizers said they wouldn’t be able to get it up in time(!), this collection of hometown boys and their accomplices are going to make it so!

“We’re having the Pride flag raising at noon at Veteran’s Memorial Park tomorrow (Saturday)… when we will fill everyone in on the schedule of the day,” says Brandon. “There will be some keynote speakers there (MLAs and local notaries), and our big showcase [at the Park] will be Netty Mack, from 1:45 to 2:45 [though there are lots of other events and entertainers, as you can see in the schedule]. And the festival ends at 5pm, in the park, and we have our dance starting at 8.”

Brandon, who has been commandeered to pass on this information, mentions that the festival is going on basically as originally arranged by the original organizing committee.

“What happened is the Medicine Hat Pride Association (MHPA) said that – due to a lack of timing and volunteers and stuff – they didn’t see that the Pride Festival would be able to happen… So a couple of us in Calgary, who were involved in the Medicine Hat Pride initially, asked to see if there was anything we could do to make this happen.

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 Medicine Hat Pride 2014, photo by GayCalgary Magazine

“So they gave us their resources, and we have a couple of the members on the Board helping us out as well… We all (Brandon, Adam, Paul, Dane, etc.) believe that this needs to happen, and there are many people from Medicine Hat that have contributed greatly as well.”

Brandon notes that – if you weren’t watching the Facebook notices carefully – you might not even have noticed the Pride

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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 From Previous Page

Online Last Month Creep of the Week Ryan Anderson

Now that the rainbow dust is starting to settle after all the big gay parades celebrating the Supreme Court decision, we can finally get down to the real business of marriage equality:... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4776

The OutField

Extreme sports seek LGBT acceptance

Five-year-old Tedi Bowler was “totally into” sports. But in Duluth, Minn. in the 1980s, she says, “girls were not allowed to do that.” So she grew wary of following... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4780  Medicine Hat Pride 2014, photo by GayCalgary Magazine

had been cancelled, as they began running with it the same morning that the association mentioned its cancellation online.

“We’re still going off of the same framework that the MHPA has done for the past three years… The festival has [always] gone over very well; it’s all-inclusive [and] we encourage everyone to bring your family down.

“Personally, I believe in the festival. I love seeing families coming down, and I love seeing that there are all these resources out there, and that [community members] are not alone, because I know it can be quite an isolating feeling.”

Brandon notes that, regarding the current schedule, “an amendment would be that at 12:10pm we have Bob Wanner MLA and speaker of the house making an address, [and that] for our drag queen performers we have Argentina and Elektra Kute – both from Calgary. Throughout the day we will be playing music pre-recorded by DJ Dopamine.”

Medicine Hat Pride September 19th , 2015 at Various Locations http://www.medicinehatpride.ca/ http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4792 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

Hear Me Out

Miguel, Kacey Musgraves, Adam Lambert, Joy Williams, Florence and the Machine

Miguel, Wildheart Carnal sex is the gateway to bittersweet romanticism on Miguel’s modern-lust-and-love odyssey, Wildheart. And the pompadoured R&B seducer’s third studio... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4781

Creep of the Week David Wells

Good news for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and intersex kids who get arrested in Kentucky! Well, I mean, bad news to have been arrested, but at least there’s... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4788

Deep Inside Hollywood

Clea DuVall, Luke Evans, Grace Jones, ‘Rainbow Family’

Clea DuVall in the director’s chair Lesbian fan favorite Clea DuVall, star of Argo, American Horror Story and, back in the day, the queer indie cult hit But I’m A Cheerleader,... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4789

Backyard Box Office

Screen These Essential Summer Movies From Your Outdoor Theater

There are few things more enchanting, relaxing and memorable than private movie screenings in your own backyard.

This summer, skip the blockbusters playing at the multiplex and... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4791

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Creep of the Week Priests for Life

Warning! A three-headed beast is on the loose, and it’s coming for the children.

Specifically the unborn. I know what you’re thinking: “Nice try, but monsters aren’t real.”... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4796

Creep of the Week Todd Courser

Michigan State Reps. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, and Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, two of the most right-wing and extreme members of the Legislature, have been doing it for quite some... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4803

The Frivolist

7 Positive Ways to Get Out of Your Big Gay Rut

Feeling more Marilyn Manson than Marilyn Monroe lately? Trade in that rut for swagger and strut with these seven positive ways to shake things up when your spirits are down. 1.... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4806

Hip-Hop Queen

Nicki Minaj A Thrill For Fans

The ‘concert reviewer’ gig is an interesting one. I have been exposed to lots of great bands I may have never seen otherwise, and get to share my experience for those that aren’t... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4779

Creep of the Week Kim Davis

Once upon a time, when I was a teenager, I worked at a video store. One very busy night, a woman and her young son asked me for the bathroom key. It was store policy to unlock... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4809

Janet Jackson

A Rush Through the Classics at Calgary Concert

There are few that dominated pop music like Janet Jackson did in the 1980s and ’90s. The youngest member of the Jackson family has released 10 studio albums with an 11th on the... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4787

The Money Shot

Lands On The Mark

hriI love Chantal Perron’s face. As Bev, the most grounded of the four characters in Ground Zero Theatre and Hit & Myth Productions The Money Shot, Perron captures the audience’s... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4800

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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Community

 Calgary Dyke and Trans March 2014, photos by GayCalgary

Calgary Dyke and Trans* March Solidarity, healing, and seeking justice

By V.N. Winnick At its roots, Pride is about activism. Straight people who think they’re not homophobic will often lament, around this time of year, Well, why do you need a parade?

Whereis straight pride? It’s the unfettered coddling of the status quo that prevents these I’m-just-saying types from recognizing that every day is straight pride. When heteronormativity is the air one breathes, it’s no wonder it is invisible.

Even our own community, however, can easily drift away from the point. Pride has, over its lifespan, become rapidly and expansively commercial, with its radical jabs at straight society blunted. Recent victories for our American cousins – as important as they are – carry with them certain complacency about the inevitability of acceptance and equality.

It’s quite clear then that events like the Calgary Dyke and Trans* March are necessary, as much for the solidarity and visibility it provides as for the visceral reminder of the demands for social and legislative change that inspired the creation of Pride in the first place. “Where the dyke march originally came from,” says organizer Jillian Thompson, “is recognizing that, yeah, we do have things to celebrate… especially in Canada. Pride should be a celebration, and we should have space for that, but at the same time there is still a lot of oppression in the queer community, especially for visible minorities in the group… While we have things to celebrate, we also have a long ways to go.”

The current march evolved from the prior Calgary Dyke March, which expanded in 2014, to explicitly include trans individuals with equal prominence. “While Calgary Pride is a great celebration,” Thompson says, “there are still people in

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

our community that… experience discrimination every day.

So the grassroots of [this event] was to fight against this and show resistance against this oppression.”

Oppression may seem like a strong word to some, even in a wedge of Canada so notorious for its conservatism. Public perception insists we’re not as bad as those fire-and-brimstone types south of the border. At a systemic level, however, there are many without adequate protections. “Specifically with [respect to] the trans community, policies change when political parties change,” Thompson says. “I know that for a long time, funding was revoked for transitioning, so for surgeries – for hormones, for those types of procedures – those were revoked.”

This is true across the board. At the federal level, journalists and activists have watched bills intended to protect vulnerable members of the queer community fall resoundingly inert through multiple parliamentary sessions, most recently in the form of bill C-279, which would have enshrined language protecting gender identity in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Of the recent NDP sweep of Alberta at the provincial level, Thompson says, “[W]hile it’s a more progressive political party, you still don’t know what will change under [them] in terms of funding and policies.”

Queer youth are also vulnerable though, at the provincial level, there has been some encouraging movement, with the legislative changes allowing GSAs to be formed by Alberta students.

Apart from the lofty goals of social and governmental change, the board of directors organizing this year’s Dyke and Trans* March had more practical concerns. Following some administrative difficulties Thompson says their “focus

Continued on Next Page 

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is to make sure the Calgary Dyke and Trans March happens.”

Further avenues of activism and organizing will be explored after the march’s AGM this fall.

Anyone who has attended one of our Calgary Pride parades in recent years will no doubt have noticed the conspicuous presence of political parties, candidates and sitting public servants, ostensibly marching in solidarity. As Pride’s inclusivity in welcoming allies has created avenues that the cynical often use for self-promotion, the march organizers opted for a more deliberate approach. “The dyke march happens in Mission, and that’s Joan Crockatt’s riding. We made a point of making sure she is not invited – we did not reach out to her,” Thompson states. “A lot of political parties use Pride as an opportunity to gain some coverage, and she’s not supported bills that could help the dyke and trans community, so we didn’t reach out to her at all.” More supportive politicians, however, are more than welcome. “We did reach out to Kent Hehr – invited him to be part of our day and our march – because he has been really supportive…

It’s not about coverage; it’s about who’s going to stand up for us when it counts. We have also reached out to Greg Clark… [He] had a huge influence during the by-election, especially against Gordon Dirks, because Dirks was one of the people who was supportive of some of those oppressive laws against GSAs. We’re making sure [our collaborations are] very intentional.”

One of the major aspirations of this year’s march is healing; for all of the marginalization visited upon the queer community from without, there is also a great deal of harm done internally. “There’s a lot of hurt in the community,” Thompson says. “There’s a lot of trust issues, and a lot of people who really didn’t want the dyke and trans communities to come together for this march last year. They got a lot of pushback. It makes sense why there is resistance, but we’re

hoping that by continuing to stand together… we’ll gain some more traction and some healing in the community” Fundamentally, that healing has to come from honouring one another’s experiences, Thompson says. “I can speak for myself as a queer woman that’s feminine: there’s a lot of assumptions that are made about myself and my sexuality, and everything in my life really, based on my physical presentation… [We need to] recognize that within queer communities different people will have different privilege, and [think about] how can we come together and use our privilege for those who are oppressed, in a positive way.”

For anyone who understands the value of recognizing and empathizing with the experiences of those different from themselves, the Calgary Dyke and Trans* March can be the first stage in that process of healing. The march welcomes trans women and trans men, genderqueer and nonbinary individuals, bi women, lesbian women, femme, butch, and queer folks to this space to celebrate our shared diversity and vibrancy. The march begins at William Aberhart park and will travel to Roulleaville Square where attendees will be greeted with entertainment and interaction.

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The Calgary Dyke and Trans* March September 5th, 2015 @ 11am Starting on 4th Street SW http://pridecalgary.ca/organizer/calgary-dyke-trans-march/ http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4784 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

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11

Interview

Yaya Han

Charismatic Queen of Cosplay

By Mars Tonic I have only ever cried over two celebrities in my life: the so-attractive-he-was-probably-carved-from-amountainside Karl Urban, my favourite man in the world; and – perhaps this is unexpected – world-famous costume designer and cosplayer, Yaya Han. The tears came with surprise, drawn out by her genuine kindness and thoughtfulness. She is more than lovely, giving me a big hug once the cameras stopped rolling. But let’s rewind.

We have interviewed a few cosplayers for this magazine, but there are none quite like Yaya Han. Most of those in the fan, geek and costuming community know who she is – an artist who has transformed her love of crafting into an international business, going from competing in costume contests to being the featured face on Syfy’s Heroes of Cosplay. One might say she is notorious, however, let it be known we would only use that word to describe her in the best sense. If the cosplay community was a comic series, Yaya would be the equivalent to Marvel’s Nick Fury.

On that note, Yaya is also a comic book character. Or at least she has released The Yaya Han Saga, which follows a cosplayer similar to Yaya herself, who gains superpowers. But it’s not a trip down Vanity Lane; rather, the comic serves as a vehicle of positivity for everyone entering the convention circuit, whether they cosplay or not.

Body positivity is a big thing among cosplayers, who find themselves matching their bodies up against often unreasonable expectations made in comic books, movies, and anime. Beyond that, there is sometimes a level of competition amongst other cosplayers to ‘out do’ one another, as if this were high school all over again. While many like Yaya are outspoken against cosplay elitists, as they are called, it is still a rough fight.

“I really wanted to go back to the feel of what it was like for me when I first started cosplaying,” she explained. “I feel like cosplay has helped me come out of my shell over the years, and I hope that reflects in the comic as well.”

It is Yaya’s hope that the comic will help inspire and embolden current and former cosplayers to be more confident. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from, or what you look like – if you’re at a convention, we should all accept each other; we should all be there to support each other. We’re all geeks, we’re all fans, we all love something – that’s why we’re here.

“I started cosplaying 15 years ago and, because the cosplay community was very small back then, we were actually able to wear more variety of costumes. I felt like it was safer for girls to be in revealing costumes at conventions, because everyone who went to cons were all fans. They all understood if you were dressed as, you know, Yoko from Gurren Lagann, that you were cosplaying. Where versus now, cosplay and conventions are so mainstream that people will come that have maybe never seen a show like that and just be like Why is she running around in a bikini? The popularity has brought more scrutiny to cosplay.”

That scrutiny has added another element to cosplay: a popularity quest. To some people, a cosplay’s success hinges on how many photos are taken of it. When a cosplay fails to garner a lot of notice, many cosplayers are discouraged and see it as a sign of failure. “I always encourage cosplayers to look within themselves and re-evaluate why you’re doing this,” Yaya said.

“If no one asks you for a photo, that’s okay, because maybe you can do some photos with your friends. Make sure that you at least have some photos and don’t let it discourage you.”

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p

Watch the video interview online

 Yaya Han

Anyone who is seen in the public eye can get a lot of negativity thrown at them, but Yaya uses the spotlight for good (her Facebook page, for example, recently broke 1.5 million likes). Several months ago she spoke out when she was grabbed while walking on the street in New York. This was during the convention circuit, but not while she was in the convention hall itself. “I was very unsure if I should make a post like that, because I do not ever want to be negative. I want people to always look to the positive,” she said. “I don’t ever want to bitch just for the sake of bitching.

“When I made the post, it was really to illustrate that I actually feel safe at conventions, versus being out just as a woman in the world. So I really hope that it reminds us to be there for each other as fans. When we’re at cons, if you see something, say something. And also just treat each other like equals. The world is a big, scary place and this is our reprieve.”

To anyone that has ever felt unsafe simply walking home from work or heading to the store, the safe haven that a convention can be is incredibly important – and easily jeopardized if we don’t do anything about it.

There are a lot of critics over Yaya Han. That’s an unavoidable reaction to being well-known. I’m certain of this, though: she is genuine; she is kind; she is passionate about what she does; and she wants to give back. Have you ever tried to make a cat suit? If you’ve done any sort of costuming at all – from drag to theatre – you probably know how difficult and daunting of a task that is, and how impossible it is to find a good pattern for.

Well, at least it used to be. When the McCall Pattern Company approached Yaya to see if she would design some patterns for them, there was no question as to which she would draft first.

Now you can purchase a helpful bodysuit pattern with different style options. The release of this pattern was the cosplayer equivalent of dropping the mic. “I just hope it’s helpful,” Yaya said – all class.

Yes, Yaya made a small attack on my tear ducts, but that’s okay. As far as movers and shakers go, the costuming community has lucked out with her. Have you ever wanted to dress up as your favourite character or pop culture reference without having to wait until Halloween? Go for it. Break out the sewing machine, check out websites, go thrifting, and arrive at your local convention with style. Yaya Han has made a career out of it, but you don’t have to in order to enjoy yourself. Do what you love, and the rest will follow.

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4782 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

Community

 Calgary Pride 2014, photos by GayCalgary Magazine

Pride Calgary

Booming numbers a cause for celebration

By Krista Sylvester Oh my, how things have changed.

In just five years the Calgary Pride Parade has gone from 5,000 attendees to what is expected to be over 60,000 attendees this year, with more out of towners than ever. That’s a far cry from the less than 300 that showed up 25 years ago, many with disguises over their faces because of fear of consequences and repercussions for attending a pride rally. But that was then and this is now and, while society has a ways to go toward fully accepting homosexuality, it has come a long way; everywhere you turn you can see progress being made.

But that’s not all that has changed, according to Pride Calgary director of communications Tansy Wong, who says this year’s 25th anniversary is celebrating many other milestones, including the city’s first rainbow crosswalk. It’s not a novel concept, as many other Canadian cities have adopted similar initiatives, but in Calgary it’s an especially special feat. Wong shares with GayCalgary the excitement for this year’s festivities and invites all Calgarians out for what is going to be a fabulous anniversary.

GC: Can you talk about Pride’s beginnings and how it has grown over the

years to its size now?

TW: Pride in Calgary started 25 years ago as a small rally, where some

participants wore paper bags over their heads. In recent years, Pride has experienced a tremendous increase in support from the community, growing from about 5,000 attendees five years ago all the way up to now where we are expecting approximately 60,000 people to come out and celebrate with us.

GC: The parade has moved locations this year because of the size – can you tell us about that?

TW: We have over 120 parade entries this year, and Stephen Avenue was regretfully no longer a safe or practical option for the event. As Calgary already has the infrastructure in place on 9th Ave for the Stampede Parade, it only makes sense for us to move to 9th Ave, which will be accommodating our ever-growing parade for years to come.

Calgary Transit and Pattison Outdoor to bring the city’s first ever Rainbow Pride Bus to the streets, and introduce a little more colour to Calgarians’ daily commute.

GC: Tell us more about the rainbow crosswalk: how has the feedback been; do you feel it has been generally accepted by Calgarians?

TW: It’s amazing to have a rainbow crosswalk in Calgary to show how diverse and inclusive the city has become. We have gotten a lot of positive feedback about the crosswalk, and many Calgarians love it. Some are even asking for it to become permanent fixture all year round. The smiles of people walking across it for the first time say it all!

GC: What are the biggest differences you have noticed over the last few years when it comes to Pride in Calgary?

TW: There has been a growth in diversity in Calgary, and a major shift in people’s attitudes. With that, more and more people are supporting Pride and becoming interested in getting involved, whether it’s being in the parade, sponsorship, events or volunteering.

GC: A lot of out of town tourists are expected for this year’s event; where are they coming from, and why?

TW: We get a lot of people from all over Alberta and Canada coming to Calgary to celebrate Pride. We’re a destination event and provide one of the last big Pride celebrations of the summer. We want to share how progressive Calgary can be when it comes to diversity and LGBT rights, and this is a fantastic way of showcasing that!

GC: Anything you would like to add?

TW: Festival goers can go to our website for the full schedule of events

during Calgary Pride Week, and to learn more about what it is we do.

Whether you’re looking to dance the night away, see a couple film screenings, learn the history of our local LGBT community, or wave a flag at the parade, there’s really something for everyone! We welcome all Calgarians – from individuals to families – to come out and see what it’s all about, and enjoy this spectacular week of celebration!

The Pride Parade on 9th Ave. marches from 12pm to 2pm with Pride Fest running from 12pm until 8 pm at Shaw Millennium Park. On the night of the parade, some downtown locations will be lit in rainbow colours, including Stephen Avenue, River Walk, Langevin Bridge and the Calgary Tower.

Calgary Pride Parade and Fest September 6th, 2015 from 12pm to 8pm

GC: What else is new for this year?

TW: 2015 is the first year of a fantastic new partnership with ATB

9th Ave to Shaw Millenium Park http://www.pridecalgary.ca

Financial, who has come on board in a big way as our presenting sponsor; they have been a terrific ally, and have been with us every step of the way to ensure that our 25th Anniversary is the biggest Pride this city has seen! At the festival, we’re bringing in international headliners Catey Shaw (NY) and DJ Citizen Jane (Miami) to perform at our stage, and extending the event an extra two hours [noon to 8pm]. We also had Calgary’s first Rainbow Crosswalk (#YYCPrideWalk!) installed in front of City Hall, and have partnered up with

www.gaycalgary.com

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13

Theatre

 Closet Monster

 The Summer Of Sangaile

CIFF Announces LGBTQ+ Themed Movies Clear your schedule for this year’s impressive film milieu

By Janine Eva Trotta In time for the huge celebration of Pride coming up this weekend, the Calgary International Film Festival has announced 2015’s LGBTQ+ selections – and what a roster it entails.

From the much talked about Freeheld, starring Canada’s beloved Ellen Page and Hollywood royal Julianne Moore, to the Brazilian short by director Flavio Alves, Tom in America, the nine selections offered in this year’s line up are sure to cater something to everyone’s cinematic tastes.

Freeheld, part of the festival’s Headliner Series, follows the true-life story of Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester (Moore) who, following the diagnosis of terminal cancer, battles her last fight for Stacie Andree (Page), the woman she loves, and their right to equality. Steve Carrell and Michael Shannon join the cast of this ‘tension-filled political drama’, under the direction of Peter Sollett. Page will also appear in the Canadian Headline Series film Into the Forest, opposite Evan Rachel Wood, which sees two forest-dwelling sisters realize the world around them has fallen into the “brink of apocalypse”. The ‘dystopian drama’ is based on the book by Jean Helgland of the same name, and directed by Patricia Rozema (When Night is Falling).

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Closet Monster, also a Canadian selection, offers a “fresh take on a coming-of-age-story”. Oscar (Connor Jessup) leads a troubling life: his mother is absent; his father is abusive; he is tortured by the memory of a homophobic act he witnessed while a child – all amid the dawning of his own sexuality. He takes solace in a relationship with a hamster (voiced by Isabella Rossellini), and becomes taken with a rebel coworker (Aliocha Schneider). This will mark acclaimed short director Stephen Dunn’s debut entry into feature length film.

Naz & Maalik, U.S., has already roped in an assortment of awards for its “stark realism” and intense storyline. Naz and Maalik are black, devout Muslim and gay teenagers struggling to hide their forbidden relationship from both their families and the racist, Islamophobic FBI agents tailing them for the petty crimes they engage in to generate some income.

A Trois on y va (All About Them) is a French/Belgian romcom that tells the story of a couple both having a secret affair with the same woman, all conveyed with a European lightness and charm.

Continued on Next Page 

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 Love 3D

Love 3D is a ‘sexual melodrama’ conveyed in 3D, a first for director Gaspar Noé, “known for pushing buttons and toeing the edge”. While Murphy (Karl Glusman) recalls his relationship with a missing ex, a host of dark and sexually graphic memories come back to mind. Expect to be aroused.

The Summer of Sangaile sees a unique collaboration between France, Lithuania and the Netherlands to set the gorgeous backdrop for this story of two teenaged girls relishing the last days of summer and the innocence of first time love. The sensual cinematography offered under the direction of Alanté Kavaïté will surely leave you without breath.

The Amina Profile follows the kidnapping of Syrian lesbian blogger Amina Arraf, who disappeared in 2011 during the Arab Spring revolts. Her partner, Canadian activist Sandra Bagaria, in mourning and seeking answers, begins a journey that will lead her through a tangle of lies and betrayals. This documentary took a Special Jury Prize at this year’s Hot Docs festival and was nominated at Sundance.

Avilaq: Entwined explores a plot perhaps never explored before. When the love interest of a gay Inuit woman marries her best friend, the three attempt a ‘plural marriage’, but their shifting society holds objections. This Canadian short is directed by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril.

And finally Tom in America stars two Academy Award nominees – Burt Young and Sally Kirkland – as a couple who, after 50 years of marriage, come to turmoil when a “provocative Tom of Finland doll triggers Michael’s long-buried desires” and secrets come to surface.

Guest actors and directors have also been revealed for this year’s festival, so do check out the website and stay posted for screen times. The Opening Gala will take place on Wednesday, September 23rd at the Jack Singer Concert Hall, and will feature the heartbreaking Hank Williams biopic I Saw the Light.

Director Marc Abraham will be in attendance.

 Freeheld

 Tom in America

The Calgary International Film Festival September 23rd to October 4th, 2015 at various locations http://www.calgaryfilm.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4783 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments www.gaycalgary.com

 All About Them (A Trois On Y Va)

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

15

Politics

Of Crosswalks and Pride

By Stephen Lock Pride means different things to different people. To me, for instance, it holds a strong political component even while I recognize the celebratory aspect taken on in recent years but, I think, even that dawns a political aspect as we celebrate who and what we are as individuals and as a community.

Others don’t ascribe as much importance to the political nature of Pride. They may not even be aware of what Pride commemorates: the historical beginning of the modern GLBTQ movement with the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City. That’s fine. Knowing, recognizing, and appreciating our history is, I believe, important, but so is being able to openly celebrate who we are, and have that recognized and affirmed by the dominant culture around us.

Given my perspective, I must admit to some reservations (for lack of a better word) about what I see as a trivializing – I might even say patronizing – observance on the part of non-GLBTQ folk. I absolutely believe those outside of our community should acknowledge and respect Pride celebrations in much the same way as any other cultural celebration is acknowledged and respected.

I’m just not sure painting the Pride Rainbow on crosswalks, sidewalks, or a bus is the way to do that.

Really, what tangible benefit arises from doing so? Each of the painted streetways and the Calgary Transit bus that have been gussied up with the Rainbow colours (the sidewalk was done by the Alberta Treasury Branch (ATB) who is a corporate sponsor – and a welcome one – of this year’s Pride Week, the crosswalk by the City at the initiation of councillor for Ward 4 Sean Chu) cost several thousand dollars to accomplish; money that perhaps could have been better spent on funding programs within the GLBTQ community. ATB, it should be said, has significantly financially supported Camp Fyrefly and Fyrefly In Schools, two programs dedicated to queer youth.

Our community has certainly made some significant gains in recent years, but there still remains work to be done. GLBTQ youth, trans rights, addiction issues within the community – any number of social ills that can and do beset any community but which, when added in with being GLBTQ, are exacerbated – these all need to be addressed in a systematic and cohesive fashion.

In order to do so, such programs are in dire need of funding.

The estimated $1,000 Chu forked out to help defray the cost of labour and expenses related to the civic Rainbow Crosswalk, the additional $8,000 Pride Calgary paid for it, the $9,000 it cost to repaint the bus (and repaint it back again, I assume, or is that an additional cost?), and probably a similar amount for the ATB Pride sidewalk add up to a significant chunk of change; approximately $28,000, if not more (such projects always carry hidden or unforeseen costs, like repairing vandalism for instance).

Think what $28,000 could mean to a social program, or a small and struggling GLBTQ volunteer-run organization.

Sun columnist Michael Platt, in an August 26th column, dismissed such concerns out-of-hand as the ranting of “bullies” who cannot forgive Chu for his comparing the struggle for, and eventual success of, Irish equal marriage rights to Calgary’s struggle with dedicated bicycle lanes in the downtown core. Yes, a flip and silly tweet; and one for which Chu, to his credit, has apologized for and taken steps to amend.

Pride Calgary sees Chu as an ally; I do too. I don’t think that he meant to be insensitive, let alone homophobic. He just didn’t think – in that insidious little way those who are not part of a particular culture or community can when it comes to comments or views about that culture or community. It happens all the time on Twitter.

So I am not one of the bullies Platt mentions who “find glee in picking on Chu” and who refuse to forgive him for one silly 16

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comment. I didn’t find the comment all that offensive when he made it, just weird and a bit dismissive. He has apologized, he has offered support to the community, and he has even put his money where his mouth is. I just happen to think it’s somewhat misplaced but, hey, it’s his $1,000.

The reservations I have around painting the Pride colours on crosswalks and a bus have nothing to do with forgiveness for a momentary lapse in judgement, or about dismissing his attempts to make amends. He needed to apologize and he has. As far as I was concerned, that should have been the end of it.

My point is that it’s easy to slap six bright colours on something and call it ‘support’, but it has no substance to it, which real support should have. Painting Pride Rainbow colours on something, to say nothing of the accompanying expense of doing so, is hollow.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Pride observations in Calgary. That in itself is something to celebrate. That Pride would evolve into something this big, this accepted, was not something we, who organized that first small gathering in Central Park 25 years ago, ever imagined. Hoped for? Yes. Pride parades had been an established occurrence in many other cities, most notably American, for 30 years by the time a handful of activists from CLAGPAG decided it was high time Calgary got going on this. Looking back, I would have to say that, yes, we may have envisioned Calgary Pride eventually being like what we saw happening elsewhere, but I don’t know if we ever thought it would actually happen. Calgary was not San Francisco or New York City.

Calgary in 1990 was still a very conservative environment. At the time, we had almost no rights whatsoever. In 1990, we had zero protection under provincial human rights legislation, and the possibility of being fired from our jobs, denied access to public services, evicted from rental accommodation, and being denied that accommodation to begin with, was a very real thing – all with no recourse.

That is what Pride, in part, is about: acknowledging where we, as both individuals and as a community, came from and what we have accomplished. Seeing our Pride flag still fills me with emotion. I love seeing it hanging from balconies and flying on flagpoles throughout the city during the week. It tells me we have ‘arrived’. The Rainbow flag was meant to be used as a visual cue to our presence in society.

Gilbert Baker, the San Francisco-based designer of the original flag (1978) never copyrighted it, and based it on any number of other rainbow flags like the Peace and Co-operative Movement flags used all over the world. The different colours in the flag represent the diversity of the GLBTQ community. The flag was originally designed with eight colours (pink for sexuality and turquoise for art/magic, but were removed for production purposes). The remaining colours symbolize aspects of GLBTQ culture and community (red-life, orange-healing, yellow-light, green-nature, blue-harmony, and violet-spirit). It is, therefore, an important symbol.

Yes, Baker’s intent was for it to be widely used in whatever manner those who used it saw fit. I understand that. Which is why I don’t have a whole lot of issues with the Pride colours being used on everything from coffee mugs to jewellery but, somehow, having them used on a pedestrian crosswalk seems, well, pedestrian.

It just strikes me as somewhat disrespectful, although I know it is not intended to be. However, I do think it was ill-advised and a colossal waste of money that could have been better used elsewhere.

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Lifestyle

Positive Thoughts

Trans Women are 49 Times More Likely to Have HIV and Here’s Why You Should Care

By Diane Anderson-Minshall Let me tell you about a woman I met. Let’s call her Trina.

On the surface, we have some similarities. A woman of color and a bottle blonde, Trina grew up feeling like she never fit in. Shuffled between family members, she left home early in an effort to be herself, and ended up homeless at one point.

Like my husband, Trina is transgender. Unlike my husband, who grew up in a white mid-dle-class family and has a master’s degree, doesn’t have insurance (yes, even in this age of Obamacare), worries about affording her hormones, and has had to do a lot of things to be the person she is. That includes turning the odd trick or two.

She has HIV. When she tested positive last year, it wasn’t a surprise to her or to the other women in her trans support group, which meets at her local LGBT center each Wednes-day night. It’s one of the few places Trina feels at home, accepted, able to be honest. And many of the women are also HIV-positive.

Transgender women are 49 times more likely to have HIV than the general population. We first heard this number when The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) released a report in 2014, “Trans Populations and HIV: Time to End the Neglect,” and this summer, the World Health Organization did a new meta-analysis of data from 15 different coun-tries, which again showed that transgender women were nearly 49 times more likely to have HIV than the general population.

Both studies argue that trans women are the most at-risk population around the globe. The numbers are even worse for those who are women of color; 56 percent of black trans women have HIV. That’s over half.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, transgender women in-volved in sex work have HIV rates that are almost twice that of trans women not en-gaged in commercial sex work. They’re also six times more likely to be living with HIV than other female sex workers.

Perhaps you’re ready to turn the proverbial page because you think women who do sex work deserve it. They don’t.

My friend Trina gave blow jobs to help afford the hormones she needs every two weeks to continue living as a woman. Going off hormones would give her serious medical issues. The waiting list to get into her local clinic was two months. She’s had bad experiences with doctors who refused to treat her because she’s transgender. She’s not alone: The Task Force’s 2011 study, “Injustice at Every Turn,” reports that approximately one in five trans people in the United States has been denied medical care as a result of their gender identity.

She’s also shared injection needles not for drugs, but at a pumping party, where trans women get low-cost fillers to create a more feminine look in their faces, breasts and hips.

As a once-homeless trans teen – over 40 percent of homeless teens are LGBT, according to a 2011 Williams Institute study – Trina has had to do plenty of things that put her at risk for HIV. But that’s not how she got HIV. Like the majority of HIVpositive people today, Trina became HIV-positive during a relationship that she believed was monogamous. The man she loved was not monogamous – and he was not aware that he had HIV.

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Today Trina is on antiretrovirals and sees a doctor at a clinic who knows how to treat trans people living with HIV. Those are few and far between.

It’s time for all of us to wake up to this issue. As we revive the conversation around gay and bi men and HIV, it’s time to end this epidemic for trans people too. (Note: Many of my suggestions originally appeared in “Injustice at Every Turn.”)

This is what it takes: • LGBT activists needs to care about the alarmingly high rate of HIV among trans women – and to push our organizations, political leaders and the pharmaceutical industry to do so as well. Silence can still equal death for trans people who can’t access medical care. It’s time to remind everyone of this.

• The research/medical community and pharmaceutical industry needs to stop mis-gendering trans women in research studies. Lumping trans women in studies about “men who have sex with men” does not give you true statistics on trans women’s needs and risks, making it difficult for concerned clinicians to properly treat trans women with HIV. We need them to ensure that trans people are properly catego-rized in future research.

• We need to push researchers to understand that gay and bi transgender men may be at equally high risk; since there have been no studies, nobody knows.

• Medical schools and medical organizations need to start training their people to treat transgender patients properly and mandating that people do so. Refusing care to people because of their gender identity is a travesty.

• We need to elevate trans people into leadership areas in HIV organizations, in-cluding their voices when we talk about HIV. • We need LGBT organizations to take up the mantle in talking about trans people and HIV, and we need trans organizations to tackle HIV. One such organization is doing just that: The Transgender Law Center has created Positively Trans, a project led by a group of poz trans people who have launched the firstof-its-kind study seeking to determine the obstacles to care faced by trans people living with HIV. In order for all of us – poz or not, trans or not, queer or not – to do right by trans women, we have to do more than tune into I Am Cait once a week. We have to tear down and rebuild the systems that are here to care for trans and gender non-conforming people in a way that really works. We have to remove the stigma of being trans, of being positive, of seeking to take an HIV prevention treatment. That’s only one step, and there are many needed, but just that, understanding and truly caring about trans people, can take us quite a way.

Diane Anderson-Minshall is editor in chief of Plus magazine and editor at large for The Advocate magazine. You can find her online at HIVPlusMag. com and Advo-cate.com. This column is a project of Plus, Positively Aware, POZ, TheBody.com and Q Syndicate, the LGBT wire service. Visit their websites – http://hivplusmag.com, http://positivelyaware.com, http://poz. com and http://thebody.com – for the latest updates on HIV/AIDS.

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Hey Mickey, You Do Hair So Fine

Comeback actor Robert Michael Morris talks ‘TV baptism,’ onscreen sexuality and being Lisa Kudrow’s cherished sidekick  photos by Colleen Hayes/HBO

By Chris Azzopardi Lisa Kudrow’s Valerie Cherish might be the washed-up star of her own show, but it’s her trusty hairdresser, Mickey Deane, who makes her look like one.

For two seasons of HBO’s sharp reality-show satire, The Comeback, Mickey Deane, played by Robert Michael Morris, has endured the plights of humiliation right alongside Valerie herself – all in the name of friendship. From season one’s cupcake fiasco to Val’s tasteless improv riffs after his cancer diagnosis during the second installment, the manny-pack-wearing Mickey’s seen it all… and, well, so has “Red,” as he affectionately calls her. She once walked in on him in bed, sprawled out, naked.

As the entire 21-episode series (so far) hits DVD, the Kentuckyborn Morris phoned to chat about how that emotional finale was “all in Lisa’s eyes,” his former career as an English teacher and why he decided to bare his butt during the show. And no, he doesn’t do hair.

GC: I just watched the season two finale for probably the 15th time.

I can’t shake it. Those last few minutes are some of the most brilliant minutes in television history. What was the vibe of the cast during the finale shoot?

RMM: Well, I was away for most of it. The hospital scene – they were shooting other stuff, but I was just waiting in the hospital bed, so for me it was very easy. Just lie there! (Laughs) We didn’t wrap that last scene until 4:20 that morning, so it was quite late in the day. I keep using the word “honest,” and that’s the thing I always appreciated about the show. It seemed to me to always be so honest, and the relationship between Lisa and I really crystallized in that last moment.

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GC: That’s true. By the end of the second season, Valerie realized what really mattered.

RMM: Oh, she always realized it. It’s like you can’t walk away from a sick child, and when Mickey, who had always been with her forever – 25 years longer than her marriage – seeing him on his way out became the priority for her. I have got to get to him. I have got to get to him.

When she gets there and finds out it was the medication and he’s just a frightened mess in the bed – and she’s comforting him for a change – it really revealed the depth of their relationship. A lot of times we skate on the surface, and it’s only when the rubber hits the road that you can plumb the depths of what it is.

GC: Nothing has been confirmed regarding a third season of the show. And seeing it took nearly 10 years for a second season, it could be that long before we see a third. Did the uncertainty of the show’s future make shooting this past season emotional?

RMM: Oh, I don’t think that played into it – it certainly didn’t play into it for me. You hear actors say a lot of times they have to be in the moment, and if you’re playing something for effect, it rings false.

HBO has always loved the show and they were incredibly supportive of this show. Well, the current HBO people. I think the first HBO person – whomever he was – didn’t get it. It was also, at that time, the only show that HBO had where there was a female lead. They were all male leads. And (the show) is about the business, which for them was uncomfortable.

I feel pretty confident in saying that there is gonna be a third season.

There will be a third one, I’m almost positive. Lisa has already said in many interviews there will be, and (co-creator) Michael (Patrick King) has said there will be, and HBO has said we’re leaving the door open.

It takes a while to write something of quality, and I think that’s what

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they’re doing now. But they know what they want. Michael said to me, “We wanna make sure the next time is something worthwhile, that it’s something that will be what people wanna see about Valerie.” Lisa’s already said, “I’m not done with that character.” I don’t know where she can go: Oscar? Tony?!

GC: You must have been over the moon when Lisa recently received an Emmy nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

RMM: Oh, I was thrilled to death! I emailed her right away and she got right back to me and said, “Thank you.” But this gives you an idea of the kind woman she is: She said, “...however, it’s bittersweet because they overlooked two other Michaels.” She’s a neat lady.

GC: How would you like to see the relationship between Valerie and Mickey evolve during a potential third season?

RMM: Oh, I don’t know. She’s seen me bleeding, she’s seen me naked, she’s seen me laid out on a hospital bed scared out of my mind.

It can only go up from there!

GC: When your character was first developed, how did you find the Mickey that we came to know by the end of the second season?

RMM: I know that Michael and Lisa did not want a screaming stereotype. Mickey was just a human being and he didn’t think of himself as gay. Remember in the first episode he says to her before he went to the restaurant, “Did you tell Juna I was gay?” Now anybody with half a brain – or Stevie Wonder who can’t see – knew he was flittin’ around. But he was just being him, so he couldn’t imagine why Juna would think that he was gay. And the look on Lisa’s face – her take on that was, I thought, masterful. So he finally decides by the end of that season to come out, and he’s a little long in the tooth to be coming out, but he decided to come out. He brings his boyfriend Robert to the party and kisses him on national television – or on the reality show, anyway – and Lisa’s only comment is, “Well, that’s out of the way.”

GC: Can you elaborate on exploring Mickey’s sexuality during the

series?

RMM: I think it’s a common thing – well, maybe not common, but

it’s not so extraordinary that men who do have a sexual preference for men don’t believe anybody knows. I’ve heard stories of people who were major celebrity types who like to crossdress but they don’t think anybody knows it. I mean, what exactly makes somebody gay? Now they’re all saying it’s the way you talk. Other people say it’s the way you walk. In high school, one of my dearest friends was effeminate, and effeminacy is not the same as being gay. In fact, there was a marvelous Saturday Night Live skit with Dana Carvey where his kids all thought he was gay because he liked to do interior decoration and arrange flowers, and maybe he had a bit of a stereotypical speech pattern, but his own children thought he was gay, and he wasn’t.

It’s a very complicated issue, and what I liked about it (on the show) was that they didn’t want the same kind of approach to it that is often used. Right away it goes to the humor and not necessarily truth. Then after he comes out or announces on the show that, in fact, he is (gay), I think there’s a kind of freedom in him, but you’ll notice he doesn’t noticeably change. He doesn’t start wearing loud colors. I mean, he really likes jewelry, but what’s wrong with a little personal adornment?

GC: In what ways are you and Mickey alike?

RMM: Well, I do like wearing jewelry, although I go through phases.

(Laughs) A lot of the jewelry that was used in the show was mine. I brought it all in. In fact, as we started doing the show, I bought a lot of stuff on eBay.

GC: Do people expect you to know a lot about hair?

RMM: Yes, they do… and I don’t! I ran three college drama

departments, and I was always pretty much a one-man band, so I had to learn how to do everything. I had to learn how to sew – not well, but at straight seaming I’m a whiz. And I don’t really know fabrics that well – I’m not really a tailor. I also had to learn how to do wigs. A lot of Mickey is based on some people that I know who were hairdressers who helped me out when I was teaching college. When we first started the show, I would sit and watch Lisa’s hairdresser style and do her wig for her. I watched what he did and I just tried to do that without screwing up what he had done. I think actors observe. You have to watch people, and I think you have to know what you’re doing or it rings false. I take it as a great compliment that people think I was or am a hairdresser, but it couldn’t be further from the truth!

RMM: No; most of my life, I was primarily a teacher. I taught for over 25 years. I had no intention of doing show business because I had done very little television. I did one under-5 (a character who has fewer than five lines of dialogue) for All My Children so long ago that Erica Kane still had her communion money, but I was working there after the teaching thing ended. I was working for my brother and Michael King called me on September 19 – I remember the date – and he said, “I’m working on a show with Lisa Kudrow, and there’s a part I think you would be really right for.”

You see, I had known Michael for a long, long time, and my brother would always say to me, “Why doesn’t he get you on Sex and the City?!”

I said, “Look, I would never ask a friend for anything like that. To me, a friendship is more important than a job. He knows what I can do and when he can, he’ll do something.” And I told that to Michael. He said, “Oh, I could’ve used you, but it would’ve been a one-shot deal. I wanted to wait for something with more substance.” So I went to the audition for The Comeback and then the call back and, to my surprise, I was hired. It was my first audition in Los Angeles; I hadn’t worked with anyone else. This is really my TV baptism.

GC: Looking back at the show’s two seasons, what scenes that you shared with Lisa stand out most to you? I mean, aside from that naked scene where your behind is on full display – because I imagine that’s a real highlight!

RMM: (Laughs) I said one time in a meeting, “Everybody thinks that he’s a bottom anyway, so that makes perfect sense to me.” That’s what people think being gay is all about. “Top or bottom? Which one are you?”

But let’s see. I always love her when she’s befuddled, when you can see her mind racing, like, “What do I do? How do I make this work?”

And then, of course, that last scene I really love. And that’s all Michael and Lisa, I must tell you. They know what they want and everything is in Lisa’s eyes. When she looks at you, she’s bare. She’s a very, very honest performer.

GC: How did that help you connect with her during that final hospital scene?

RMM: There would be no scene if that wasn’t there. I remember one time someone asked Meryl Streep that (same question) when she did Sophie’s Choice and she said it was always in Kevin (Kline) and Peter MacNicol’s eyes – that’s where she got her performance. And I think that’s true for me – it was all in Lisa’s eyes. You’ll notice, if you watch it for the 16th time, because there are no cameras around, she’s not performing. To me, it was an amazing thing.

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GC: Have you ever worked with a Valerie Cherish type?

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

21

The De-Gaying of Xavier Dolan

Out director talks hot farm boys, directing Kathy Bates and Susan Sarandon, and dropping the ‘gay film’ label

 photo by Shayne Laverdiere

By Chris Azzopardi Xavier Dolan is fulminating against the gay tag that typically accompanies his revered art films.

Though indies such as Laurence Anyways, I Killed My Mother and Mommy have earned Dolan substantial queer cred, sexuality-based pigeonholing has been irksome for the 26-yearold cinema prodigy. Surely, however, it hasn’t stopped him from moving beyond those perceived barriers.

His big break is just around the corner: Dolan has two projects in the hopper featuring Hollywood notables. Marion Cotillard is taking on the role of Catherine in Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World, while The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, which he’s also directing, attracted Oscar winners Kathy Bates and Susan Sarandon.

But first he’s making his press rounds for Tom at the Farm, an eerie drama centered on a young man (Dolan) asked to keep his sexuality on the DL while staying at his dead lover’s mother’s farm.

GC: Tom at the Farm mingles grief with sexual desire. Why do you think sometimes these two emotions converge, and what drew you to explore that hybrid on screen?

XD: I’m glad you’re bringing that up because I remember on set saying it’s gonna be an extreme mixture of violence and emotion. I feel like when you watch a thriller you are not emotionally stirred – you are anxious or you are scared – and then when you watch an emotional movie, you are rarely scared or freaked out. I saw that it could be an interesting way of approaching a thriller, to combine these emotions, not that I think this film is especially emotionally stirring, but it’s a little 22

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morose, a little blue, in the beginning. Characters are indeed grieving, and there are moments of sincere emotions toward the end with the mother. It was all about finding a balance. I think that happened quite organically on set, and it was pretty clear to me when was the right time for which emotion.

GC: There’s a real sexual intensity between Tom and the brother in this film, and this lingering feeling that they’ll get it on.

XD: You know what? It was originally planned as such. We shot a scene, but I feel like in the end it wasn’t what the movie was about. It wasn’t about romance; it was about something else. It was about a theme that is larger than sexual desire, even though it’s cool and, you know, sort of a nice supporting narrative to add tension, but it wasn’t something that needed closure or needed to actually happen for real.

GC: It’s the big tease of the movie. Was that gay / pseudostraight attraction influenced by any real-life desirability of your own?

XD: (Laughs) I wish! My life is not that exciting. I honestly wish that I had known that sort of barbaric, savage, brutal tension... with such a man... on a farm. But, unfortunately, no; I’m afraid my romances are much more urbane.

GC: Why were you drawn to Tom at the Farm?

XD: I saw the play and the cinematic potential was just very, very obvious. I immediately saw that this could be a very exciting thriller and a very exciting endeavor for me. The story itself was fascinating and very interesting, but then I was excited to explore something new – the newness in everything was what was most appealing. www.gaycalgary.com

GC: And it strays from your typical style.

XD: It’s sort of an outcast in the rest of the ensemble. But you know what? I’ve been dreaming about doing another thriller. I really am looking right now.

GC: One of your next projects is The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, starring Kathy Bates, Susan Sarandon and Jessica Chastain. Isn’t that like the ultimate gay filmmaker’s dream?

XD: I mean, Kathy Bates, Jessica Chastain, Susan Sarandon – it’s a dream come true. Kathy Bates is just, honestly… who doesn’t love her? She’s an icon. She’s so, so good. Same goes for Susan Sarandon. Both were part of my childhood. And Jessica is literally the first actress who reached out to me and said, “I want to work with you,” and who showed me kindness and generosity in a very surprising and rare way. She is an infinitely kind person and a truly compassionate woman. She is socially engaged. She’s just eloquent and beautiful and, over the past year, a true friend. I’m excited to get to know the other actors I’m about to work with as well as her because obviously I don’t have a relationship with all of them. I don’t know them that well.

I know Kit (Harington of Game of Thrones). We’ve hung out a couple of times and he’s a sweetheart, and I’m extremely excited to work with him.

GC: You have two projects with big names on the horizon; aside from John Donovan, you’re directing It’s Only the End of the World with Marion Cotillard. How are you feeling about what lies ahead when it comes to your film career?

XD: I’m very excited. I’m just hoping I can shoot John Donovan like I wish to shoot it in that we’ll be able to bring that movie to life, see it take shape and then share it with the world. The movie speaks again about diversity, and as much as I want to think of it as very commercial and appealing to a broader audience, I’m having a hard time convincing people of that.

GC: You have said that your hope is that the line between “gay” films and non-gay films disappears. With that in mind, how do you feel about Tom at the Farm being touted as a “gay thriller”?

XD: I’m not infinitely pleased. Let’s just try to fathom how a community would react if we’d call it a Jewish trailer or a black thriller. Tags and ghettos are not exactly my speciality.

GC: How do we overcome these labels?

XD: We just drop the word “queer” or “gay” and call it a thriller, that’s basically how we do it. It’s a very, very simple thing to do and we are extremely reluctant to do so. To stress the ghettos and labels and tags to which movies belong – I can hardly imagine what the positive impacts of those gestures of marginalization are. I can hardly imagine how those impacts can be positive.

I’m trying to understand what exactly it’s doing to give a movie an award – a queer award – like the queer Palmes. In Cannes you can win a normal Palme and then you can win a gay Palme.

The problem with ghettoization is that there are ghettos and we don’t blend in and people are taught to see others as outcasts.

The place that queer themes and queer characters should be occupying is not a marginal or an independent place.

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 photo by Amplify Releasing

It seems that those intrigues can only unfold on the independent scene, but the rest of the world is ready to see gay characters and gay themes on the commercial scene without stressing that they are gay or queer. You know, every once in a while (including) a gay character who isn’t some sort of sassy boss in fashion or annoying first AD on a set or other unimportant gay best friend to the bridesmaid. These tropes stem from a very contrived perception of homosexuality and diversity. With that being said, the problem is obviously much larger than just for LGBT or queer culture – it’s for anything that’s not generally white and anglophone. There is a place out there for difference, but the problem is that there is no place for difference – there is a place. There shouldn’t be a place. There should just be more place.

GC: I’m glad you’re taking such a passionate stand on this issue.

XD: You know, this sort of speech is perceived as homophobic by many, many people, and it’s just exasperating. (People think) you are ashamed about your sexuality and you’re coy about it, and it’s so not what it’s about – it’s that I’m striving for a greater understanding and welcoming and acceptance of new standards of new ways of living. Not only by a community of people who are already convinced – this is about bringing one culture into another one.

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

23

Gossip Archie sings again Let’s say you’re old enough to remember The Archies, the early ’70s fake rock group invented for the animated Saturday morning version of Archie comics. Each episode of the series ended with a song from the “band.” They even had whoppingly popular hit singles such as “Sugar Sugar” and “Jingle Jangle,” very much like the fake live-action TV band, The Partridge Family. Well, writer-director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) remembers it so well that he’s taking the Archies to Broadway in a brand new musical. And who better to describe the action plan than the man himself: “Archie represents a bygone era of America. And like all bygone eras, there are elements we miss and elements that should be bygone.

This will be a musical that deals with both those realities in a bright, colorful and slightly demented way.” McKay will write the book, but that’s all the information known at the moment.

We assume McKay will include Riverdale’s gay teen Kevin Keller and at least some cameos from Josie and The Pussycats and Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Right? Please?

Davies’ Sunset Song Veteran gay filmmaker Terence Davies is a master of the quietly intelligent British period film. He has long explored the fate of individuals caught between their desires and duties during England’s shifting historical framework, as in The House of Mirth and The Deep Blue Sea, and the results are always moving. For his latest, Sunset Song, based on the novel by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, he follows acclaimed Scottish actor Peter Mullan and model/actress Agyness Deyn as they navigate the hardships of rural life in that northernmost U.K. country. The film has its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September and a theatrical release will follow, wherever movies for grownups (aka the ones lacking superheroes, robots and dystopian futures) appear near you.

Porn in the U.S.A. with James Franco

 James Franco, photo by magicinfoto

Deep Inside Hollywood Maggie Smith, Archie, Terence Davies, James Franco

By Romeo San Vicente Maggie Smith is living in a Van The Lady in the Van is quite the departure for Maggie Smith.

Lately, she’s become more well known than ever for her appearances in the Harry Potter films, her sassy dowager on Downton Abbey, and her cranky retiree in the Marigold Hotel films. In Van, Smith plays Miss Shepherd, a real-life woman who decided to park her van in the driveway of English writer Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George, The History Boys), and live there. For 15 years. During this time, Bennett simply allowed her to continue doing so – that British politeness at work – and both of their lives were, naturally, altered by the experience. Filmed at the real locations, this idiosyncratic story from Bennett and director Nicholas Hytner will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and almost certainly be hitting theaters around award season. How could it not?

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

David Simon. Know that name? No? Well, he’s the TV genius who created the acclaimed HBO shows The Wire and Treme.

And after his latest miniseries, Show Me a Hero, airs on the pay cable channel, he’s got a new project in the works, a pilot for a series currently known as The Deuce. It’s set in the notorious and much-missed Times Square of the 1970s and 80s, a place of vice, sin, drugs and crazy porn theaters that showed X-rated movies round the clock and boasted wild titles on marquees for all to see (they usually included words like “nympho” in case you’re too lazy to chase down Google Images).

In other words, it’s going to look amazing. It will also star James Franco, whose presence signifies weirdness and probably some homosexuality. There’s only a pilot order for the moment, but Simon’s relationship and history with HBO tends to point to this going to series. We’re very excited and also somewhat horny now.

Romeo San Vicente’s Time Square experiences resemble those captured in Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” video.

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Interview

 photos by Bell Media

The Amazing Race Canada

Chatting with Top 4 Duo Nick and Matt – the Wrestlers

By Janine Eva Trotta With only weeks left to go The Amazing Race Canada viewers are likely chewing at the bit to see which team will take it all. Nick Foti and Matt Giunta – the hulky and endearing wrestling teammates – made it third out of last week’s challenges in BC. We had chance to chat with the pro tag team, known on the wrestling circuit as “Asylum & Burns” or the “Flatliners”, on how they got this far and what have been their strengths on the course.

GayCalgary: What made you guys decide to audition for the Amazing Race?

Nick & Matt: We saw the ad online that read: “we are looking for interesting and unusual pairs wanted”. We thought that being pro wrestling tag team partners was fairly out of the norm and decided to give it a shot.

GC: How long have you known each other? How did you first meet?

N&M: We met 10 years ago at a wrestling gym in Nick’s hometown. We decided that a team was less commonplace that a single wrestler. Strength in numbers. So we packaged ourselves to promoters as a team. Things picked up quickly.

GC: What strengths do you think reside in your partnership?

N&M: We know each other very well. We know each other’s strengths but, more importantly, we know each other’s weaknesses. Luckily, the other has the gifts that his partner lacks, most of the time.

GC: What do you think were/are your weaknesses?

N&M: I think so far we have run a pretty tight race. We knew we would be a threat, but I think we have even surprised ourselves. I suppose we could both be a little faster on our feet.

For almost 500lbs combined, I think we move pretty good.

GC: Without giving away any spoilers, what were the greatest challenges you had to face to get through filming?

N&M: Honestly, luck plays a huge role. You leave your fate in a cab driver’s hands way too much for both of our liking.

In Kolkata, we were minutes behind first place ‘cause our cab zigged when he should’a zagged. Them’s the breaks I guess.

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GC: What were the most positive outcomes to come out of the experience? Did you learn something new about yourself?

About your partner? About life in general?

N&M: I think we both realized that you can accomplish anything if you just put your head down and run towards it.

Being pro wrestlers, your head is always in the clouds; we are perpetual dreamers. When you stop and look back at all you have accomplished (TARC included) it’s pretty amazing.

GC: Did you see/learn or experience something you wish you hadn’t or wish you could go back and do differently?

N&M: There is always something you wish you could do again. We have had so many close calls on the race that we would be lying if we said we didn’t want a re-do on some things.

GC: What advice would you give to any of our readers who may be pining to audition for the show?

N&M: It’s a cliché, but in our case we think it’s true; if we can make it on, anyone can make it on. We are about as average and down to earth as you can get. We just happen to wear spandex and roll around in a wrestling ring on the weekends. You never know until you actually do it. So many people congratulate us and say we wanna do it but we haven’t applied. What are you waiting for? If you don’t make it one year, just apply again.

The Amazing Race Canada airs next on Thursday, September 17th at 8pm central on CTV. The final four teams will take a step back in time to face off on the ice in Edmonton.

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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The Boyd is Back in Town

Billy Boyd will serenade Edmonton after a very long sojourn

by Mars Tonic It has been awhile since Billy Boyd was in Edmonton, but the thespian/musician is about to come back. Not since he was here to host a screening of Scottish film shorts at Edmonton’s Garneau Theatre, back in March 2003, has he graced our (rather chilly) city with his presence.

“It’s my first time back; I think I’m still warming up from it,” he laughed, before asking me if it would be similarly cold for his next visit. I assured him that, seeing as how the end of September is usually a glorious part of our fall season, that he should be fine with a few jackets and hats in the evening and not, say, an entire wolf pelt.

He is looking forward to his return, however. Not only will he be visiting to meet many of his fans, he is also travelling with friends of his – the other men who make up the rest of his band, Beecake. While an accomplished actor, Boyd is also a talented musician. “There has always been music,” he said.

“Billy Johnston, who I play in Beecake with, we’ve been in bands since we were 14 together, and sort of have been ever since. Rick [Martin], who plays bass, I’ve known him since around that time as well. He has played in bands that I’ve known and respected.”

Lately, he says, his love of music has crossed over more into his acting, which is unsurprising to long-time fans of his who are aware of his talents. While filming Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy – I probably don’t need to tell you that he played roguish and lovable hobbit Peregrin “Pippin” Took – 26

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

Jackson wanted to include more poetry and song, which is a large part of the world which Tolkien created. Howard Shore was meant to write the melody for “The Edge of Night”, a song based off of the poem A Walking Song in the Lord of the Rings books.

Boyd was prepared to sing the song in a scene with Pippin and John Noble’s character Denethor but, when scheduling jumped and they were shooting earlier than expected, Boyd rose to the occasion and composed the melody himself. “Peter Jackson said to me, ‘Could you write something?’ and I said ‘yeah, I’d love to’.

So I came up with this melody and went over to his house and sang it, and everyone agreed that it was good for the film.”

Not only was that song used again in the trailer for The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, but Boyd also wrote and performed “The Last Goodbye”, which was used in the credits for that final film. He assured me that song would make an appearance during his performance this month. “There will be some Tolkien tears in the crowd,” he promised.

Boyd is one of those actors who bears that streak of genuine you don’t often find in big name performers that make a name for themselves on the international market. And while he doesn’t eschew that, he has done quite a few Scottish works as well. Such projects resonate with him, which has him recall his experiences watching film and television when he was younger, and being exposed to both local and international work. “When I was a kid and watching Gregory’s Girl, I was excited when I saw the world that I knew. It seemed to me that all film was American, with high schools... I didn’t know that world that well. But I got excited when I saw the world that I knew on www.gaycalgary.com

film. And when I go to a country, I want to see films about that country.”

Because, you see, Scotland isn’t the only country he feels drawn to. “Even now, when I go to film festivals in Sweden or Australia or wherever, I get more excited about watching the films about that place. You know, like New Zealand films, like Whale Rider, or Boy. And, in Canada, watching Canadian films...

I get more excited about smaller Canadian films because I want to learn about that – you know? I have seen enough films about American high school. I want to see film about Canadian life.”

To Boyd, one of the most fun things for him about filming is the places he gets to go to. Surprisingly, when I asked him which location (besides Scotland) he loved to film in most, he had quite a lot to say about Saskatchewan. “New Zealand is a big favourite from doing The Lord of the Rings. You get to see such amazing places. And Master and Commander down in Mexico – that was pretty special. Being on the ships around the Gulf, that was incredible. And, of course, Saskatchewan.”

He has good reason to rank the province alongside places like Mexico and New Zealand. “I made a film called Space Milkshake that was made in Saskatchewan: it was great fun; I loved it!

And I had more fun making that movie maybe than any other movie. It was such a fun time with the whole crew and cast. It was lovely. And Saskatchewan had some great restaurants…

I’m looking forward to coming back to that part of the world.”

It will, hopefully, be a warmer experience than the last was for him. He is slated to be a defining guest at this year’s Edmonton Expo, and will be performing with the rest of his band on the evening of the 25th. Beecake has never performed for a convention before, but Boyd is looking forward to it, as well as sharing the convention experience with his band. “This is the first time we’ve tried this. We play a lot of shows and music festivals, but never an Expo, and I don’t know why it came about. I think maybe, because I [had] done the music for

the last Hobbit film, that someone thought… it might be a good idea. I have such a laugh at conventions that it just seemed like a great idea, and you’re always kind of looking for something to do in the evening, after the convention. If the band’s there, I get to share the experience with all the boys.”

The Edmonton Expo is going to run from September 25th to the 27th, so do yourself a favour and visit him there; see his band, or both. After all, who can resist that lovely voice?

Everyone knows the Scots have one of the best accents in the world, and it sounds even better with musical accompaniment.

For those in Calgary who may not make the three-hour drive up north, don’t fret. You will be able to see Billy and Beecake yourself at Dickens on 9th Ave SW on September 22nd, with opening acts by Free the Cynic and Dead Pretty.

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Billy Boyd and Beecake http://beecake.com/ Edmonton – September 25th to 27th the Edmonton Expo Calgary – September 22nd Dickens Pub http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4802 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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Tea Party returns to the Edges of Twilight

Celebrates iconic album’s 20th anniversary with re-release and tour  photo by Brad Conrad

By Jason Clevett It was August, 1995, and a packed house at the Silver Dollar Action Centre off Blackfoot moshed, crowd surfed and basked in the musical expertise of three young men from Windsor, Ontario. It was the first of what would be many Tea Party concerts for me. Touring behind the release of the album The Edges of Twilight, singer/guitarist Jeff Martin, bassist/keyboardist Stuart Chatwood, and drummer Jeff Burrows made many of those in that hot sweaty room that night a fan for life.

Fast forward to 2015 and The Tea Party and its fans are reliving that iconic album, with a re-release and a crossCanada and Australia tour, playing the album in its entirety along with a second set of other favourites. The band hits Calgary September 24th at the Jack Singer Concert Hall and Edmonton’s Winspear Centre on September 25th. Playing a classic album is something that has become a strong touring concept for artists ranging from Korn to Our Lady Peace to Bryan Adams. According to Jeff Martin, revisiting the album – which features multiple world instruments – was a challenge they could not resist.

“There is a hell of a lot going on on that record and, in order for three men on a stage to pull that off, [it] would take some focus and determination. It is something that we were up to the challenge of doing, not only from a technical standpoint, but also this is the seminal Tea Party record. It is something that deserved to be celebrated because I think we feel, and a lot of other people feel the same way, that this record is timeless. It’s not a record that sounds like the ’90s; it’s as fresh as ever. We 28

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

really wanted to celebrate the achievement we made 20 years ago,” Martin told GayCalgary over the phone from Ontario. The band kicked off the tour with two nights in their hometown, Windsor, and have received rave reviews from tour stops in cities like Winnipeg and Montreal. “It was a little shaky at first.

There is so much to think about on stage; I can only speak for myself, but there is a lot of muscle memory involved in The Edges of Twilight, so it took me a couple of shows to get into the groove of things. Rehearsing is one thing – when you are in front of an audience and have to perform and keep them engaged and entertain them, if you are thinking too much about what you are doing, it is a difficult thing to do. Now that we have a few shows under our belt, the last few shows the switch went on and now The Tea Party is in full flight. The way Jeff and Stuart are playing as well, it is now an enjoyment. I am walking on stage every night and I can’t wait to put on the guitar… because I know how good it’s going to be every night.”

The Edges of Twilight was re-released on September 4th with a bonus second disc featuring demos and other versions of the songs. It is interesting to hear lyrically, and musically, how some songs changed between the demo and the eventual finished version.

“We are very fortunate that Stuart Chatwood is the archivist.

I never know what he is going to be putting away. Luckily, for us, Stuart kept all those digital audio tapes and mixes I created in my studio in Old Montreal. I remember Stuart sending it to Jeff and I when I was visiting my father in Windsor. Jeff and I were driving around in his BMW listening to these demos – just listening – and we would look at each other and be smirking www.gaycalgary.com

because we know what we got up to back then. A lot of rock ’n roll hedonism; that’s for sure,” Martin recalled, laughing. “It was a band that was now finding its stride and, for three young men, it was a very powerful rock band, and still to this day is.

There are memories attached to the creation of those songs.

With what is being achieved on stage, a song like “Turn the Lamp Down Low” – how powerful it’s becoming now on stage – it is one of the highlights for me. I wasn’t sure if we would really be able to do it justice live, but it has become one of the highlights on stage.”

“Turn The Lamp Down Low” is featured on the additional material as a different blues version.

“The blues version that we hear on the second disc was an afterthought. It was not the way that it began. It was something that we just tried to do as an outtake, a B-side. The demo of “Turn the Lamp Down Low” unfortunately can’t be found to this day, as far as like “Fire in the Head” and “The Bazaar” and all that. I guarantee you that what I remember from it is that the demo was very close to what it became in the studios in Los Angeles.”

The tour is already a success, and the band has started planning the possibility of revisiting 1997’s Transmission as well as adding more deep cuts to future sets. The band has toured extensively for the past four years, but many great songs like “Emerald”, “Certain Slant of Light” and “Requiem” have either never been played live, or not in recent sets.

“Because of the success of what is happening right now with Edges, Transmission is something that we have been discussing, and is another record that would be very challenging for the three of us to pull off, so it is certainly worth contemplating doing the 20th anniversary of Transmission. If we do that then obviously “Emerald” would be heard along with songs that we have never played live, like “Alrum” and “Gyroscope”. There is so much in the vault for us to explore once again that it makes it brand new all the time. I do miss a lot of those songs; I am very fortunate that we have an opportunity to re-explore them, or explore them for the first time in a live setting.”

The Tea Party has performed in Calgary many times, ranging from Flames Central in recent years to venues like Macewan Hall, The Max Bell Arena, The Calgary Stampede’s Coke Stage, and Edgefest at Race City Speedway. The last time the band played the Jack Singer was with a full orchestra for two concerts in 2000 and 2002. Calgary has long held a special place for the band.

“All [shows] have their different moments. The Jack Singer show we did with the orchestra, that tour was so technically involved and complicated to pull off, the Calgary show was one of the nights I wish we would have recorded: everything just clicked.”

They have also played the Saddledome and Rexall Place, opening for bands like Def Leppard and Ozzy Osbourne.

“The best experience of touring with bands like that is creating new friendships and getting to know the people behind the image. The boys in Def Leppard were just sweethearts; Joe Elliot and I got along really well. Ozzy, I couldn’t understand what he was saying sometimes, but he was a perfect English gentleman.”

The Tea Party has always had a strong connection with their fans, whose demand to see the band resulted in them reuniting in 2012 and releasing a new album, 2014’s The Ocean at the End. The tour has a VIP package with a sound check, merchandise and a meet and greet with the band.

“It’s humbling but, at the same time, so reassuring to know that the fan base in different parts of the world is so strong and continues to support and encourage The Tea Party to push the boundaries and make new music. As an artist, I don’t think you could be more blessed, so we are very fortunate and thankful.

There is not a day that goes by that any one of us would take it for granted. Obviously, with the Tea Party’s success, it’s impossible to go out after a show and talk to 3,000 people. It’s not going to happen. To do these VIP packages is a great thing; to really connect one on one with super-fans and get their feedback

on different things, and just to show them – especially in our sound checks, in the way that the three of us interact with one another – there is a lot of joviality going on… As serious as the concerts are, the three of us don’t take ourselves so seriously.

To use an Australian term, we are constantly taking the piss out of one another on stage – especially during those sound checks – because it’s loose. I don’t necessarily sing entire songs because I’ve got to conserve my voice for the evening, but we play things that we won’t play later on in the evening. One of our favourite songs to do in those sound checks is “Overload” from Seven Circles. It is one of the great rock songs that The Tea Party has done. It’s not something that we put in the set often.”

After the tour Martin will take fans on a trip and then head back down under to tour and plan more music.

“I’m going to Morroco in October for a sabbatical and some super-fans are joining me. We are touring Australia in November. I have production work to do in Australia with some young rock bands. These Raven Skies are going to be coming back over to Australia to do a new album with me at some point. Jeff and Stuart are going to be coming over to Australia in February to do some writing with me. I know that Canadian festivals are looking for The Tea Party to play next summer, and we would like to have a few new songs to add to the set, so we will see.”

It’s clear in talking to Jeff Martin, and previous interviews with his band mates, that The Tea Party are solidly one again.

Now four years back together, after breaking up from 2005 to 2012, the band is as great as ever. Their members have grieved through the loss of friends and family, celebrated births of children, and strode through various ups and downs to rebecome the band they are now.

“I think what has changed is the friendship between the three of us is stronger than what it was at its zenith before we took our hiatus. That is very much a blessing. I actually feel the musicianship between the three of us is stronger because of what we went through individually during the seven years we were apart. I think we became even better musicians. Once we got back together, the collective became even more powerful.”

It is this stronger trio that will create magic this week on stage. Jeff Martin promises an unforgettable night.

“The set that we do after Edges of Twilight changes every night because we have so many songs to choose from. Some nights we will put in “Psychopomp” or “Save Me”, or we won’t.

The staple we want to play is “The Ocean at the End” because it is such a powerful song that never fails to elevate the audience.

I think what you are headed towards is a blissful experience.

It is a hell of a lot of music over two hours. The Tea Party live has always been an emotional rollercoaster for the band and the audience – even more so now. That experience is going to be exponential. I daresay it could possibly be the best Tea Party concert that you have seen so far.”

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The Tea Party’s The Edges of Twilight Tour http://www.TeaParty.com Calgary - September 24th Jack Singer Concert Hall Edmonton - September 25th The Winspear Centre Grande Prairie - September 28th Better Than Fred’s http://www.gaycalgary.com/a4814 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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By Jason Clevett Did you know that the sexiest man on earth lives in Calgary? That is, according to the readers of UK magazine Attitude, who voted for Australian bobsledder Simon Dunn as number one on their top 100 list. Dunn, who appears Sunday at National for Hot Mess, ousted his fellow out athlete Tom Daly, as well as stars like Channing Tatum, to achieve the honour. The magazine flew him out to London to attend a party for the issue, not telling him until he arrived that he won the title.

Simon Dunn Gets Messy

‘World’s Sexiest Man’ at Hot Mess Sunday 30

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

“They told me that I would be happy with the result. I was like Alright. Then they offered to fly me out for the party. It wasn’t until I arrived and landed that they told me; it was a little bit surreal. Driving from the airport and the editor goes Oh, in case you didn’t know… I was like Oh... really? I think for me it was more about the readership of that magazine in particular – like the fact of what I am trying to do for gay athletes. I think it is more about that then attractiveness,” Dunn told GayCalgary.com. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. The publicity is good, just to be in the media and have people realize that there are actual gay athletes out there, is probably the best thing to come out of it.”

As for the magazine’s claim online that Dunn “left on the arm of a dashing boy-bander”, Dunn remained mum.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said laughing.

“I can’t recall. Obviously I can but... yeah. My sister was convinced that I was dating a member from One Direction.

If that were the case I’d still be in London. My niece is a big One Direction fan, so it is probably that my sister has been exposed to them through her.”

Sadly, Canada can’t take credit for Dunn. The native Australian moved to Calgary in November, 2013, to pursue rugby, but a chance meeting changed the direction of his life.

“I am coming up to two years here. I came here because I had played rugby in Sydney for a while and wanted to use it to travel the world and play somewhere else. I had played three games in Calgary and then I met up with the captain of the Australian Bobsled team. Bobsled took over and I didn’t play rugby anymore. I prefer rugby, to be honest, because it’s what I’ve done my whole life. They are very similar in that they are both about power and speed. It is a bit of a difference, but it’s been okay,” the athlete says. Between working at Winsport, and training, Dunn is at Canada Olympic Park around 12 hours a day.

“I have a lot of lifting – about 2.5 hours of lifting weights.

Every couple of days I have sprint training and push training and, when it is cold enough and the track is actually open, we spend a couple of hours up there sliding down hills. On top of that, I have to work, so it’s pretty full on. It makes it tough when your life is in the northwest. I live in Montgomery, so I am pretty much on a bus line to go straight to work. I haven’t seen much [of Calgary’s gay community], unfortunately. Not as much as I would like. With training and work I tend to just hang out at the gym, but what I have experienced has been a lot of fun. It’s not like Sidney, but Sidney doesn’t have a bobsled track.”

Although there are many similarities between the two countries, Dunn talked about the differences he has experienced, most notably his home country’s lack of gay marriage equality.

“It is a little bit embarrassing that Australia is that far behind on the whole gay marriage thing. I find that Canada is a lot more accepting than Australia. Unless you live in a gay enclave in Sydney, it is kind of a bit homophobic. I haven’t had any issues in Canada. In Australia, the team I played for was a gay team: the Sydney Convicts. I felt comfortable enough to play for what you would call a ‘regular team’ over here. The inner city of Sidney is not homophobic, but if you went out into the suburbs it is pretty homophobic.” www.gaycalgary.com

Dunn returns to Australia September 7th – the day after Hot Mess – for tryouts for the team.

“Every year we have to try out and meet a certain standard and, if you don’t meet it, you aren’t allowed to race. Last year they were here, which was extremely convenient. This year they are in Australia, so I am flying a ridiculous amount of distance to run 30 meters. Not that I am over the moon about it. There is no bob sleigh track in Australia; just a sprint track. Once we’ve done the testing there we still have to come back here and make the standard push. It’s an expensive little adventure. We tried to get it done here because, with the Canadian team being based out of COP, there are people here that could run the tests themselves, but our federation didn’t agree with that. I am not looking forward to the 20-hour flight with a hangover at all. I am flying on Australian airlines, so I am trying to pull the athlete card to get an upgrade, but I don’t seem to be having much success,” he said. When suggested that maybe he could flirt with the desk agent and pull the I am one of the hottest guys on the planet angle to get an upgrade, he laughed. “Hopefully! That is one of my plans.”

It all leads to South Korea and the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“Being someone that has always had sports as a major part of my life, to be able to have done it is primarily who I am, and to represent my country would be amazing. Also I will be the first out gay man to represent their country in bobsleigh at the Olympics, so it would be another chance to break down stereotypes and help change the world one step at a time.”

You can meet Simon before he heads back to Australia (briefly) at Hot Mess Sunday.

“Apparently I have to socialize, give out autographs, and there will be a photo booth. I’m still not certain that anyone is going to want to get my autograph; we’ll find out, I guess. They have given me a reasonable amount of drink tickets so we will see what happens,” he said, adding that being part of Pride is a big deal. “I think it’s being proud of yourself. Being gay for me, personally, is a fundamental part of who I am. I am quite proud to be a gay man.”

In the end, that is what is most important to Simon Dunn.

While the flattery is appreciated (the offer to strip while in Australia not so much: “That’s... not really my thing. The money would be good – don’t get me wrong – but then there goes the whole role model side of things,” he said) being a good example is the biggest thing. “[English rugby player] Sam Stanley just came out, and it was funny, because I was wondering why he was following me on Instagram for the last six months. Now we know why. Also we had [player] Keegan Hirst in rugby league come out. For me, the main reason I do this is because I am not only representing

my country, but the gay community. Growing up I never had those kinds of role models. I ended up giving up rugby league in my teen years because I didn’t feel like a gay man could participate in sport because of the general perception of gay men in the community. The more gay athletes that stand up and be known, the less likely the younger generation will have to deal with the same struggles that we had to, to do what we love.”

For many, the accolades and attention would go to their heads. Not so in this case; Dunn remains quite grounded.

“I would say that the whole training aspect of it keeps me humble. Bobsled is what I am known for, and my desire to do really well in that sport ensures that I have to stay grounded and not get carried away with everything that has happened,” he said, adding that it has been an amazing experience since he first became highlighted in Attitude and other media in December, 2014. “I think it is funny that there were articles last year saying I had just come out. I actually came out when I had just turned 17. I came out as a bobsledder more than as a gay man. So it was a bit weird, but it has been amazing.

It was this time last year when I was asked to try out on the 18th of September. Since that time I have become the first out gay man to represent my country in bobsleigh. Then it was off to London... it is a bit surreal and amazing – I am not complaining. It seems to have snowballed into what it is.”

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Interview

Amber Benson Comes To Edmonton Buffy The Vampire Slayer star on the groundbreaking role and more

By Jason Clevett It has been 13 years. Yes, 13 years since Buffy Summers last slammed a stake through the heart of the undead on our TV sets. Despite this, fans of the show and others within the ‘Whedon-verse’ created by writer and director Joss Whedon remain as passionate about Buffy as ever.

At the Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo stars Amber Benson (Tara), James Marsters (Spike), and Eliza Dushku (Faith) are appearing together.

Benson’s role of Tara on the show was groundbreaking. The character’s long-term relationship with Willow, played by Allison Hannigan, was the first lesbian LTR portrayed on network television. GayCalgary spoke with Benson recently about Buffy and more.

“When you are working on a show you kind of do it in a vacuum.

We were on sound stages – just us and the crew and the writers – and, at the end, you are like I hope people like what we are doing. I am not sure; it seems really good when we are on set making it, but you never know. To be able to go out into the world and talk to fans, and find out how important the show was to them and that we didn’t just do it in a vacuum after all, is really amazing. You feel like you are part of something important. We were the first long-term real deal relationship.

We didn’t even know, starting out, that was where we were headed; I only thought I was going to be on two episodes and that was it. I was going to be Willow’s friend. Then the crew kept coming up to us and going ‘wow you guys have such good chemistry’. Joss took us aside and said soo ladies... you are going to be special friends. Very, very special friends.

That is how we found out what was the future of the relationship. When you get letters and emails from kids saying I didn’t kill myself because of this relationship. I live in some little town where there is nobody else like me, and I watched the show and realized that it is ok to be who I am. You don’t get that on any other show I ever worked on. I feel very blessed to have walked in Tara’s shoes. You feel like you did something important, and not just regurgitating lines for money. You are part of something important.”

When Tara was killed near the end of the sixth season, it was devastating for fans.

“As awful as the end was with Tara, and how people felt about her death... spoiler alert. People get upset and say ‘spoiler!’ It has been 13 years guys – I’m sorry! I think Joss really wanted to write a kind of a note to a lesbian couple that he was friends with. T&W’s relationship was sort of his ‘I love you guys and this is my present to you’. He came at it from a wonderful, amazing place, and it was really important to him. And let me just say that even though, on screen, you didn’t see us having ‘special times’ in the bed... Willow and Tara had a very healthy sex life.

They were very busy and spent a lot of time in that arena bolstering that part of their relationship. I found out about the death, actually, at the end of Season 5. We were shooting the finale and Joss comes up and says I have amazing news I have to tell you! We are going to kill your character! I was like Oh... ok sure. That’s amazing in ways I probably don’t understand. He was very excited about it because he was looking at it from the story perspective. For him Willow’s arc, as far as using magic, she was an addict. He was interested in the story of ‘how does an addict come out of that?’ They have to hit bottom first. How do you make Willow hit bottom? You take away the most important thing in her life, Tara. As painful as it was, I understood from the story point of view why it was necessary.”

Buffy aired before the dawn of social media. Although Tara’s initial relationship was met by some with negativity, as well as her death, it

wasn’t nearly the same level that can occur today. Even in 2015 fans will take to Twitter and Facebook and attack shows like The Walking Dead and How To Get Away with Murder for having same-sex kissing or relationships.

“It is really funny. I never really had any terrible experiences with fans over the relationship. Sure, people wanted Willow to be with Oz, but that had nothing to do with her becoming interested in someone of the same sex. It was just we love Seth Green and don’t want him to go away. I was sad when I realized I was going to be on Buffy and wasn’t going to get to work with him because he is one of my favourites. So I was bummed. So people weren’t crappy about the relationship, they just really liked Seth. I can’t imagine what it is like to be on a show now with the advent of social media. We had the Buffy posting board, and people would chat there, but none of the access that people have now via Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr and Instagram. It is a different world, and it is really scary in a lot of ways. It is great in a lot of ways, but frightening in others. People can hide behind keyboards and it’s not good because it just seems like this sort of I can get away with being a jerk to people because I am anonymous. That I don’t like.”

Buffy is not the only gay-themed show Benson has been in. She played a role in the 2003 film Latter Days about a young Morman coming to terms with his feelings for the gay boy next door, and in the 2011 Web series Husbands.

“I want to support as much as humanly possible because I feel like, as much as we have had these forward movements in my country with marriage equality finally becoming part of the lexicon, we are still not there. We have to keep moving forward as far as a society. We have to be the kind of society… where people can be who they are and not be criticized or bullied because of it. We are not there yet and have to keep working. When I met with [the casting team for Latter Days], I told them to be in that I would do anything. I’d do craft services or clean the bathrooms! I felt like it was really important that this film be made. I felt like, up until that point, a lot of queer cinema was about either a coming of age, where you are discovering your sexuality, or it was ‘let’s talk about AIDS’. I felt Latter Days was about the next step: once you have decided ‘I am what I am’, how do you move forward and create a life for yourself, fall in love, have a happy ending? I felt like Latter Days addressed that. Yes, it still talked about how difficult it is to come out

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make up. We were there until it was getting light out sometimes. So I try to be respectful of my crew and cast, and that comes from being in the business since I was 13 – so 25 years. It’s a lot.”

Benson had a guest appearance on Sarah Michelle Gellar’s show Ringer and has seen her fellow Buffy cast members at other events previously. She is excited to reconnect with Eliza Dushku and James Marsters in Edmonton, as well as to meet fans.

 photo by the CW in the Mormon Society that doesn’t accept you, but it was about the two characters that fell in love. That, to me, was very important.”

Since Buffy, Benson has spent time writing graphic novels and directing, including the 2010 comedy Drones. Having been on screen gave her a unique perspective behind the camera.

“I love bossing people around! Just kidding... not kidding? No I am kidding. As far as being an actor, I know what it feels like to be vulnerable on camera, so I try to give space for my actors to be as comfortable as possible. I know how hard the crew works from working on Buffy, where we were there sometimes for 18 hours doing stunts and effects and crazy

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“Oh my god it’s gossip city! It’s awesome; it is like old home week.

You start gossiping and finding out what everyone has been up to. It was like being on a little family on Buffy. It translates even all these years later when you see somebody you worked with – for me, for three years; and for a lot of them, even longer. It’s lovely and makes me happy.

It is full circle. You do the show in a vacuum and 13 years later you get to experience the show through someone else’s eyes, which is really fun. When you talk to someone who didn’t watch the show on air, but discovered it on Netflix... they are new viewers to Buffy! That is crazy!

That, to me, is the best part. It is a legion of people that love Buffy and we are starting to take over. I have met fans that were barely alive, or not alive, when the show was on. Many of them. It’s frightening. I feel like the writers and Joss really brought all of that to life and gave us this wonderful stuff to act out. We were very lucky as actors to get to work on the show.”

Amber Benson Presented by the Edmonton Comic & Entertainment Expo September 25th to 27th @ the Edmonton Expo Centre

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Joy Without Judgment

The Bird and the Bee on how they’re ‘amazed’ by the gays, casual sex and not being lovers  photos by Autumn de Wilde

By Chris Azzopardi Greg Kurstin and Inara George, collectively known as the Bird and the Bee, are standing at the doorway of Webster Hall in New York City, where they’re about to take the stage. Kurstin, 46, raves about the free chocolates he’s about to take full advantage of, and George, 41, will probably have a glass of wine. “I’m the booze bag of the group,” she readily admits.

Best known for their 2006 dance hit “Fucking Boyfriend,” Los Angeles-based Bird and the Bee is on tour to promote their first album in five years, Recreational Love, yet another synthpop pleasure from the duo that will have you wishing you were sipping a summer cocktail in the sun.

GC: You’re about to hit the stage – do you expect there to be a big gay turnout?

Inara George: What we love about our shows is we have people from all over the place, and yeah! I feel like we do have a pretty good gay following.

Greg Kurstin: Hey, we’re happy if anyone shows up! We’ve been away for five years, so we’re just happy that people are still coming out. When you go away for that long, you just hope people remember you.

GC: When in your career were you first aware of a gay following?

Inara: I just had a flashback. I remember having an interview with a gay magazine right after “Fucking Boyfriend” – the dance track version – and thinking, “Oh my god, that’s amazing.” I’ve always felt like the gay community has pretty good taste, so I www.gaycalgary.com

was obviously excited about it. The Bird and the Bee (in 2007) was the first record where I kind of got it.

GC: What’s the significance of the title of your new album, Recreational Love? What does “recreational love” mean to both of you?

Inara: I came up with the title of the record before I really knew what it was about. I think of it as a play on words: recreational drug / recreational love. As a young woman, I always have the sense that I could have recreational love; for me, it really exists without some emotional attachment.

Greg: (Laughs) I can’t say that I have a lot of recreational love now that I’m married. I’ve definitely done my share of dating, and I’m just happy that I don’t have to date anymore because it’s so nerve-racking. But I’m married, and so it’s like, “Ahh, finally; I don’t have to worry about it.” It was a lot of stress for me! But yeah, the song is a fantasy song in a lot of ways.

Inara: It’s not like that’s what I’m doing anymore; it’s a commentary on how I miss it.

GC: You guys have been making music together for a decade.

How does such an enduring relationship influence the music over time?

Greg: We’ve just been good friends for a long time, so I feel like we feel comfortable around each other. It’s great to work with someone who you feel comfortable around, and you can really experiment in the studio and not worry about doing something ridiculous where someone’s gonna judge you. I feel very free with Inara, so we can just explore and try different crazy things. If we wanna do something that’s a funny ’80s love

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ballad or a disco song or whatever, we can. We can go in any direction and we won’t judge each other because we’re friends.

GC: How does that relationship compare to other female artists you work with, such as Kelly Clarkson or Pink?

Greg: Everyone’s different, but I’m lucky. I’ve narrowed it down to working with only people I do feel comfortable with, that I really do get along with. If I worked with someone and it didn’t feel natural, then we probably wouldn’t work together.

With Inara, and because I’m a member of the group, there’s a certain kind of freedom where we can do whatever we want.

We don’t have to make a commercial record if we don’t want to.

When I work with certain artists, there’s a big label behind it, and I feel like I really need to deliver.

GC: Do you try to separate the sound you bring to Bird and the Bee from other artists you produce?

Greg: Yeah, I definitely consider that and try to keep the Bird and the Bee consistent. When I started doing the Bird and the Bee, I didn’t really have other stuff going on, so I’m very aware of that, and I want the Bird and the Bee to have a special place and a consistent sound. I have to kind of compartmentalize a bit.

GC: Inara, do you have a favorite song that Greg’s produced outside of Bird and the Bee? Inara: I love that new Beck one he just did… what’s it called again?

Greg: “Dreams.”

Inara: And I love the stuff he did with Sia – it’s amazing. I thought that Christmas record with Kelly Clarkson was really good. He does a lot. I’m always really impressed. It’s funny, when a song comes on the radio, I’m like, “Is this Greg?!” The thing that’s so amazing about Greg is he can be a chameleon and he has so many different styles. Unless you come see him

play live, I don’t think anyone quite knows how good of a player he is.

GC: As a gay man, I couldn’t help but read into the line, “I don’t care if people stare / People stare at all the wrong things” on “Will You Dance,” as pertaining to the LGBT community.

What inspired that?

Inara: I think you’re right about that line. I think the things that are most beautiful, like two gay men together dancing or somebody dancing for just the joy of it – people stare at all the wrong things. Why aren’t we staring at the homeless person on the street when you walk on by them? The joyful things are sometimes the things that people are most judgmental about.

GC: The title track alludes to the fact that love is a universal human need. It especially struck me given the recent Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality. What prompted you to explore the universality of love on that track?

Inara: When I was a 20-year-old girl, there was the prospect of casual love, like you can be so intimate with someone and yet have no idea who they are. I think that was the thing. We all need this love and we all want to end up feeling secure and open. It’s all about pushing against being vulnerable, I suppose.

GC: How often have people confused you for a couple?

Greg: It happens. We’ve been doing interviews for this record and Inara is like, “and we have kids...,” and then she’s like, “... but separately!”

Inara: (Laughs) There was one guy who would not believe us.

Greg: A writer from England was like, “Are you sure?!” We could not convince him we were not a couple!

GC: Obviously you both share a mutual adoration for music.

What don’t you have in common, though?

Inara: We’re pretty much like Chip ’n’ Dale.

Greg: You listen to more podcasts than I do! You’re like, “Check out this podcast, check out this podcast!” I have a list of, like, 30 podcasts.

Inara: (Laughs) Greg: I listen to more music. I think Inara might read more than me?

Inara: No – that’s not true at all. I pretend. I leave all the music stuff up to Greg. I can’t keep up with music today, so I’ve sort of given up. I let Greg keep up with all the current music, and I keep up with all the podcasts!

GC: You notably did a Hall and Oates tribute album called Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates. Who will you cover for Volume II? Inara: Well… we have decided on one, but we are not telling anyone yet.

Greg: We have to leave the particulars to ourselves. I get a lot of suggestions of things we should cover. We talked about maybe covering different eras, like an ’80s kind of thing or ’70s rock.

Inara: We talk about it a lot.

Greg: We have something in mind. It’s a person, but we don’t want to say who because…

Inara: It doesn’t always work out. But as soon as we have time, then we’ll start on it.

GC: So 20 years from now?

Inara: No! We have a standing date every Friday for a couple of hours.

GC: If you could be any creature apart from a bird and a bee, what would you be?

Inara: I like dragonflies!

Greg: Maybe some sort of bird… a tropical bird…

Inara: The Dragonfly and the Toucan.

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The Name Is Quinto…

Zachary Quinto

Zachary Quinto calls upon LGBT actors to ‘be who they are,’ talks marriage, James Franco and lack of gay action stars

 Photos by Reiner Bajo

By Chris Azzopardi “Oh, Jesus.”

Zachary Quinto is aptly responding to the fact that, yes, despite establishing himself as an Emmy-nominated actor with versatility, out-of-this-world talent and some of the best eyebrows in the biz, he once starred on an episode of Touched by an Angel.

He isn’t reacting to being on the show, per se – he just can’t believe it’s been nearly 15 years.

Since then, Quinto has made major shifts beyond his transformation to leading man. After matter-of-factly coming out to the masses in 2011, he became an outspoken advocate for the LGBT community and has notably taken on subjects such as PrEP and gay teen suicide.

The 38-year-old’s sexuality is a non-issue when it comes to his meandering career on TV, in film and on Broadway, as his varied typecast-defying roles demonstrate: Sylar on NBC’s Heroes, Quinto’s breakout role; the infamous American Horror Story killer Bloody Face; James Franco’s lover in I Am Michael; and, of course, Spock, the Star Trek icon he brought back to the big screen, ears and all. (He’s currently shooting Star Trek Beyond, the reboot franchise’s third installment.)

Quinto’s latest big-screen endeavor is the video gameinspired Hitman: Agent 47, wherein he dials up the badassery as a CIA agent you definitely do not want to cross. A major studio-produced action movie featuring… an out gay actor?

You better believe it.

As he swings open the door on a traditionally gay-less genre by breaking down Hollywood stereotypes, Quinto spoke to us www.gaycalgary.com

about recognizing his unique place as the go-to gay when it comes to action flicks and how he “definitely” thinks the world is ready for a gay James Bond. Plus, why he believes, despite the recent Supreme Court ruling on marriage, our fight for equality is far from over.

GC: Hitman centers on an assassin who’s genetically engineered as the perfect killing machine. If you could be engineered to do anything you wanted, what would that be?

ZQ: If I could just travel anywhere at any time and somehow my genetic modification allowed me to transport somewhere, I imagine that would be a pretty useful genetic modification that I would get a lot of pleasure out of. No jet lag!

GC: Heroes, American Horror Story, Hitman: You like being bad, don’t you?

ZQ: Well, it’s just sort of the way it falls out sometimes. It was never something I set out to accomplish specifically, but I think Heroes set a certain tone, and that was the first time that people on a wider platform became aware of my work.

Because of that association, other opportunities in that vein have presented themselves.

I’m playing an antagonist again in this film. I think, for me, I really consider it a really nice bookend actually, because I’m very interested in cultivating other experiences for myself creatively, so I feel maybe like I can actively hang up the villain hat for a little while and do some other stuff. I really am open to things as they present themselves. It’s a balance, you know?

Making decisions every time an opportunity arises – I’m grateful and fortunate to be in a position to be able to do that.

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GC: You were bullied as a kid, so I find it interesting that you take on all these villain roles. Do you draw upon those experiences when acting as the bad guy?

ZQ: I’ve never drawn on those experiences creatively in that way. It’s a lot about imagination. When you’re in a world like this, which is stylized and heightened and has a sleekness to it, then it becomes about filling that world with the character that you’re playing and, for me, that’s all about rooting it in the imaginary circumstances – one definition of acting is truthful behavior in imaginary circumstances. So, for me, it’s a lot about connecting to that and connecting to the people that I’m playing and that’s a different process depending on what the style and the tone of the piece is. This one was so driven by physicality and by actual conflict and combat, and that kind of drove the character a little bit. I didn’t really have to dive back into my uncomfortable moments of childhood to connect with that necessarily.

GC: How strategic have you been with the projects you’ve chosen in order to avoid the typecasting some LGBT actors have said they’ve experienced?

ZQ: I played gay characters, but I was never part of a gaythemed story until I did I Am Michael last year with James Franco. That was a specific decision; I felt really drawn to the story (of an ex-gay) and the nature of the story. My whole take on the potential perceived limitations is just to not engage them and not allow them to exist – to me that is a choice. I know what I am capable of and I know what my range is, and I know that’s not limited by or even affected by my sexual orientation. So, for me, it was just a matter of doing what I do and opening myself up to the roles that present themselves, whether they’re gay or

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straight, with a kind of creative integrity. That’s all I really feel is in my control and that’s the place I work from in terms of both pursuing work and engaging work.

GC: Do you think today – in 2015, post marriage equality – typecasting on the basis of an actor’s sexuality even exists?

ZQ: I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think it has anything to do with marriage equality – that victory has been won and has been a really profound advancement to the LGBT community. I think our real fights for equality aren’t legal; it’s about humanity and compassion and inclusion.

Even in the wake of marriage equality you’re seeing all these county clerks who are refusing to issue marriage licenses, which is despicable and illegal. Just a few blocks from my house, these two guys – the first gay couple to be married out of West Point – were harassed in the bodega (in SoHo). It’s not behind us. The movement toward equality is bigger than just one legal issue, and that’s amazing that the highest law of the land has supported our struggle for civil rights, but civil rights is only one aspect of being a minority of any kind. It’s much more about human connection and respect in the long run and in a very broader sense, and I think that’s the fight that continues.

GC: Seeing as though I Am Michael is your first gay-themed film, would you have taken on that movie earlier in your career before you became such an established actor?

ZQ: It was a different time. I don’t know if that movie would’ve been made. It’s hard to say. I mean, it came to me at the right time and it was the right thing for me to choose in that moment, but I don’t know the answer to that question.

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GC: What was the process of developing your onscreen chemistry with James Franco for I Am Michael?

ZQ: For me it was just about relating to the guy. Franco has so much attention and he’s sort of this ubiquitous figure. A lot of people have opinions of him and a perspective on who he might be. For me it was just about cutting through all of that and getting to know him. I really enjoyed our time together and I respect what he was doing by putting that movie together and wanting to tell that story, so I was happy to be a part of it. I’m sure that kind of set the connection that we had in our work together.

GC: There is definitely a sense of intrigue regarding Franco’s persona.

ZQ: Yeah, and that seems like that’s his public persona, that’s his relationship with the public. There’s no clarity, really, as an actor, as a writer, as a director, as an artist; I think he’s just trying to do as much as he can and put as much out there as he can, and I respect that. He’s a really hard working, ambitious guy and I thought that his energy behind this movie was interesting and part of what compelled me to do it.

GC: With the exception of yourself, there are not any bigname out gay actors getting lead roles in action movies. Not Matt Bomer, not Andrew Rannells, not Neil Patrick Harris. Why do you think there aren’t any major LGBT actors besides you getting top billing in major Hollywood action films? I mean, why can’t we have a gay James Bond?

ZQ: I mean, we can, right?

GC: I’d like to think so.

ZQ: Sure. I definitely think that we can. Matt Bomer is one of my favorite friends. I’ve known him for 15 years – longer. I know Andrew. These are friends of mine. The fact that so many of my friends who are openly gay have flourishing, thriving careers is really exciting. That in and of itself is progress if you consider that 15 years ago, when I started acting professionally out of college, you couldn’t even count on both of your hands the number of openly gay actors in any form, television or film.

It was a totally different issue 15 years ago, and that’s not a very long amount of time to have made such progress.

So, I do not disagree with you; I do feel like I occupy – not in any self-aggrandizing way – a space where I have looked to my peers and looked around me and said, “Well, who else can I look to?” And there isn’t anybody else. That to me is significant and personally gratifying as I consider my own journey to self-

acceptance, but again, I just think, “Don’t let it slow me down.”

And I don’t. I don’t create an issue where there isn’t one, and I think the more that we’re all able to do that then the more diversity will present itself.

GC: What do you think of the LGBT community’s evolution since your coming out in 2011?

ZQ: Look at the transgender movement: of course Laverne (Cox), and before Laverne, Candis Cayne, who was amazing on Dirty Sexy Money. And now with the emergence of Caitlyn Jenner, everything is changing. We’re rapidly evolving as a society, and I think there’s a lot of celebration in that. I think there’s a lot to be grateful for. The more that people from diverse backgrounds can stand up with integrity and integrate who they are in an authentic way to their creative process then everybody benefits and we all move forward together as a result. So I see myself as one of many, many people who have had their own journey that has defined them and contributed to the larger goals of advancement and equality, and that’s something that I’m proud of.

But we can’t stop, and so I do invite any gay actor to be who they are and to stand up and fight for their capacity to play different roles and to do different things. The more people can do that and stand by it, the more we’ll see it continue as we already have.

GC: In 2010, before you came out, you told The New York Times, “Let’s talk about something that matters.” Do you think celebrities do enough to speak out about and act on issues that can make positive change?

ZQ: Yeah – think about Leonardo DiCaprio’s commitment to the environment. Think about Amy Poehler’s commitment to the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. Think about Angelina Jolie’s work that she did in Cambodia to completely transform the landscape of that country. I do think there are socially responsible and conscientious members of the Hollywood community who stand up and fight for things they believe in.

I think it’s important if you’re in a position to have a public platform that you at least, in some way, utilize it for the betterment of other people and the benefit of those who are less fortunate.

www.gaycalgary.com

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Photography All Tease All Shade Sausage Fest at Evolution, Edmonton

TD Calgary Pride Reception at A-Loft, Calgary

photos by Kurtis Allan

http://gaycalgary.com/pa1029

Fringe Man Up at Evolution, Edmonton photos by Kurtis Allan

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GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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Photography The Great Canadian Bear Weekend III, Edmonton http://gaycalgary.com/pa1021

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Photography Central Alberta Pride 2015, Red Deer http://gaycalgary.com/pa1026

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Photography ISCWR - Coronation XL, Edmonton http://gaycalgary.com/pa1009

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News Releases Alberta Ballet presents Balletlujah! – inspired by and featuring the music of k.d. lang

Alberta Ballet is excited to open its 49th Season with Balletlujah! – an acclaimed collaboration between two of Alberta’s most... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1943

NSFW - New titles from the Bruno Gmünder Group in August 2015 New in August 2015 from Bruno Gmünder Group. Click on photos for more info on each book. Visit their website today! http://www. gaycalgary.com/n1944

Montréal Pride announces its spokesperson, Grand Marshals and Guests of Honour for 2015

Montréal Pride, presented by TD, is proud to announce its Grand Marshals and Guests of Honour for the festival’s 9th edition,... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1945

Celebrate the Holidays in a European Winter Wonderland

The holiday season is the most magical time of the year, yet every year many people receive a Christmas gift that leaves them... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1946

Taryn Manning (Orange is the New Black) to appear at the 4th Annual Edmonton Expo

Edmonton’s Comic and Entertainment Expo (Edmonton Expo) announced another special guest to appear at the pop culture festival... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1947

269 Chilli Pepper Single Hotel debuted its own clothes label

The 269 Chilli Pepper Single Hotel, the most famous hotel focused on the single gay man audience of all Latin America just launched... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1948

Here it is! The official trailer for “Where the Bears Are” Season 4!

SEASON 4 of the award-winning gay comedy mystery web series, “WHERE THE BEARS ARE,” premieres online AUGUST 24TH,... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1949

Magayzine, the New Spanish LGBT Television

For a few weeks, Magayzine has been trialbroadcasting. At the moment broadcasting is intermittent; several stories, a special... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1950

Investigational HIV Treatment

New HIV Single Tablet Regimen (STR) Poised to Represent the Next Generation of Safe, Simple and Highly-Effective Regimens New... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1951

NSFW - Andrew Christian Video: The Coronation

MUSIC: “Don’t Stop” By Neely Dinkins, Vito Colapietro, Tyler Sheritt. Courtesy Of Getty Images Music. MODELS: Peter... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1952

NSFW - Steam Room Stories: Anyone for a threesome?

A lot of men dream about their girlfriend asking them for a threesome but the gender combo can be a sticking point. In the latest... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1953

First self-injectable HIV antibody: 98% success rate in trial, could be commercial in 2017 The first self-injectable antibody, PRO 140, has documented an impressive 98% success rate in a Phase 2b clinical trial for patients... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1954

Softball Tournament in Jasper, Alberta for the Emily Morgan Foundation

Emily Morgan is Mychol Ormandy’s niece.

As her doting and loving uncle, Mychol is organizing “The Ninth Annual Emily Morgan... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1955

Return To The WILD! DJ Pornstar Sets Stage For One Wild Night of Pride

Hey Calgary! Last year you really made us feel very special by welcoming WILD with open arms. Not only did we sell out, but we... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1956

Queer theatre and Affirming Church unite for Pride week to dialogue about faith and sexuality

Third Street Theatre and Hillhurst United Church are proud to present a special staged reading of oblivion by Jonathan Brower... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1957

Celebrate the Sweetness of the New Year with Unique and Beautiful Desserts from Paula Shoyer

The Jewish High Holidays are a time when family and friends come together to share a meal and celebrate the new year. Paris-trained... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1958

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News Releases Calgary Celebrates Diversity With First Ever Rainbow Crosswalk

ALTO - A Lesbian Romantic Comedy starring Diana Degarmo Of American Idol & Annabella Sciorra

Calgary just got a lot more colourful. The city’s very first rainbow crosswalk was painted last night in preparation of the upcoming...

The theme of “authenticity” drives the narrative of ALTO, a lesbian romantic comedy starring American Idol’s Diana DeGarmo...

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1959

Ride With Pride on Calgary’s Very Own Rainbow Pride Bus

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1966

Calgary Pride, with Calgary Transit and Pattison Outdoor, wants transit users to ride with pride by making the daily commute a...

Cazwell Wants You To Play “The Biscuit”: New Single From The Rapper’s Hard 2 B Fresh album

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1960

The eighth single from Cazwell’s Hard 2 B Fresh album is a provocative, high-energy club banger whose name ironically enough has...

Facebook Apologizes to Transgender Fashion Line for Rejecting Ads Under “Adult” Classification

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1967

Tiny Blood Cells Make a Big Statement: Gay Rights Under the Microscope in New PSA

For over 20 years, the fashion line Suddenly Fem has been serving the transgender community with fashion forward clothes designed...

At a time when Canada’s blood supply is critically low, there’s a massive untapped pool of potential donors — the estimated 300,000...

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The HIV Story Project Launches Generations HIV Online Video Archive

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1968

“Be a Hero for Zero!” HIV Edmonton Scotiabank Aids Walk for Life

The HIV Story Project, a San Francisco-based non-profit organization focused on bridging HIV/AIDS with film, media and storytelling...

On Saturday September 19th, 2015 hundreds of Edmontonians will take part in a 5km nonathletic walk to help raise awareness and...

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1962

Xyrena Launches First Ever Branded Fragrance from an Openly Gay Athlete

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1969

Baxter’s Back! The Loden’s “Beagle” Cab Returns in Support of the BCSPCA

Kentucky Basketball Player Dalton Maldonado Partners with Pioneer Fragrance Brand to Support LGBT Athletes Xyrena, the first...

Back by popular demand, the Loden’s “Baxter the...

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1963

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“Eastsiders,” The Critically Acclaimed LGBT Series, Returns For Second Season

Principality of Monaco Becomes a Member of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association

EastSiders, the critically-acclaimed dark comedy starring series creator Kit Williamson (Mad Men) and three time Emmy Nominee...

Monaco is proud to announce its membership in the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA). Now more than ever,...

http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1964

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Big Dipper Releases Dope Remixes Of His Summer Smash, “Vibin’” ...Along with a Sexy Fun Video featuring Milk Queen and a Bevy of Scantily Clad Boys and Girls The gay bear rapper known as... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n1965

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Directory & Events DOWNTOWN CALGARY

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4 5

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1 2 3 4

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. ..........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)  403-457-4464

15 The Blind Monk---------------------------  918 12th Ave SW  403-265-6200  12thave@blindmonk.ca

 http://www.blindmonk.ca  Mon-Sun: 11am-2am  403-384-9777

14 Vinyl & Hyde (CLOSED)

 213 10 Ave SW

 http://www.vinylandhyde.com

 587-224-5200

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

• Curling

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

• Golf

• Lawn Bowling

• Outdoor Pursuits

Bathhouses/Saunas

Community Groups Alberta Society for Kink

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

Apollo Calgary - Friends in Sports

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

 lawnbowling@apollocalgary.com

5 Goliaths

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

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

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

 golf@apollocalgary.com

13 The Pint

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

 http://www.thepint.ca/calgary

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

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 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

 slow.pitch@apollocalgary.com

• Squash

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

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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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

• Monthly Dances

 Arrata Opera Centre (1315 - 7 Street SW)

Calgary Expo

 http://www.calgaryexpo.com

Calgary Gay Fathers

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

Calgary Men’s Chorus

 http://www.calgarymenschorus.org

• Rehearsals

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

Calgary Sexual Health Centre

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

At 5 Goliaths

At 1 Calgary Outlink

 2nd

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

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

Calgary Queer Book Club

 Weeds Cafe (1903 20 Ave NW)

Deer Park United Church/Wholeness Centre

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

• 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

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

 403-278-8263

Different Strokes

 http://www.differentstrokescalgary.org

FairyTales Presentation Society

 403-244-1956

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

• DVD Resource Library

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

Gay Friends in Calgary

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

Girl Friends

 girlfriends@shaw.ca

 members.shaw.ca/girlfriends

• 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

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

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

1 Calgary Outlink

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

 1st

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 Calgary Contd.

• Tennis

 2nd

See 1 Calgary Outlink

Uniform Night-----------------------  6pm-6am

See 1 Calgary Outlink

By

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

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 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

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

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

Ellen Embury

 403-750-1128  www.DBBlaw.com Fellow, American Academy of Reproductive Technology Attorneys

10 Flames Central---------------------------- See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).

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

Third Street Theatre

 #3 306 20th Ave SW 

http://www.thirdstreet.ca

Vertigo Mystery Theatre--------------------

Hot Water Pools & Spas

 812 11 Ave SW  403-263-6500  http://www.webstergalleries.com

 T-S: 10am-6pm, N: 1-4pm

Webster Galleries Inc.

EDMONTON

Lorne Doucette (CIR Realtors)

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

La Fleur

MFM Communications

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

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

 #4 - 1126 Kensington Rd NW  403-283-3555  http://www.thenakedleaf.ca Organic teas and tea ware.

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

Bars & Clubs (Gay) 3 Buddy’s Nite Club

 11725 Jasper Ave

FLASH (CLOSED)

 10018 105 Street  flashnightclub@hotmail.com

 633 10th Ave SW  403-239-5511  http://www.6thandtenth.com

 M-W: 12-6pm, R: 2-7pm, S-N: 12-5pm

 4th Floor, Jasper Ave and 107th Street 4 Woody’s

 11725 Jasper Ave

Barry Hollowell

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--------

 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

Bathhouses/Saunas 5 Steamworks

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

Community Groups

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.

 780-488-6557

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

 780-938-2941

UpStares Ultralounge (CLOSED)

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

Services & Products

 780-488-6636

6 Evolution Wonder Lounge

 10220 - 103 St  780-424-0077  http://www.yourgaybar.com

• Calgary Drop-in Centre

6th and Tenth - Sales Centre

 403-703-4750

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

 403-355-3335  http://www.interactivemale.com

 403-266-1707 Florist and Flower Shop.

www.gaycalgary.com

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

Interactive Male

Best Health

 Calgary: 403-777-9494

 Edmonton: 780-413-7122  Other Cities: 1-877-882-2010

Theatre Junction----------------------------

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

 11650 Elbow Dr SW  ctahn@thornsmeltz.com  http://www.thornsmeltz.com

Pumphouse Theatre------------------------

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

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

InQueeries

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 #142, September 2015

53

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.

54

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 #142, September 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 (closed)

 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 #142, September 2015

55

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

Home for Rent

347

“IMMACULATE INNER CITY NEWLY RENOVATED WINSTON HEIGHTS HOME” Perfect for the Professional Executive moving or already living in Calgary. This newly renovated 3 bedroom home (1 bedroom has been converted into an office with furnishings) offers high end luxury furnishings throughout with brand name appliances, authentic hardwood floors, gas fireplace, alarm system & granite counter tops. Five minutes from down town with a golf course 1 block away. Located ideally close to community center, grocery stores, trendy restaurants, shopping, transit, fitness, banks, cycling, walking paths plus much more.

Internet

415

Help Wanted

ALL MALE HOT GAY HOOKUPS! Call FREE! 800-913-8509 only 18 and over

Erotic Massage

Certified Personal Trainer

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

Cleaning

517

Private House Cleaner

GUYSPY 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

Products/Services 500

Will clean for the gay community. Very detailed. Includes vacuuming, dusting, cleaning floors, kitchens and bathrooms. Cute clean appearance. Must have own cleaning supplies.

Call for rates. Kevin 403-797-6336

240

GET A LIFE! Commercial Cleaning

COLECTOR’S II is RELOCATING Collector’s II is closing it’s doors towards the end of November...1005a 1 Street S.W. ph.4032786446 closed Mondays

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.

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.

Consulting

557

MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER FOR OATHS IN ALBERTA WEDDINGS AND MARRIAGES at your venue or in my home studio starting at $150

magazine@gaycalgary.com 403-543-6960

305

Want to attract the LGBT local or traveler to your business?

OFFICIANT

GayCalgary Magazine is looking for salespeople, graphic designers, and writers in Calgary or Edmonton. For more info, contact:

Antique

527

Rork Hilford MC

420

UltimateMaleMassage.com

Consulting

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

Calgary Erotic Male Massage Enjoy the pleasure of sensual eroticrelaxation male-to-male massage from the Calgary’s Premier Asian Male Masseur, Reynolds Onyx. Straight, gay, bisexual and curious guys are welcome.

To learn more or book an appointment, visit his website at http://www.calgarymalemassage.com or email reynoldsmassage@gmail.com

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

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

Travel

680

 Mail Forwarding

Puerto Vallarta Condos for Rent

To reply by post, mail to:

2 x 2 Bdrm for Rent. Ocean views. daily maid service included. Wi-fi , high speed internet.

Secure Quiet 9 suite building. 1/2 block to Blue Chairs Beach. On site English speaking Manager. Contact Rob - rburla21@gmail.com

Box # c/o GayCalgary 2136 17th Ave SW Calgary, AB, T2T 0G3 To reply by E-mail: box#@gaycalgary.com

Ads starting at $10/mo. for the first 20 words. Submit yours at http://www.gaycalgary.com/classifieds 56

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

www.gaycalgary.com

www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #142, September 2015

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