GayCalgary Magazine - November 2016

NOVEMBER 2016

® ISSUE 155 • FREE The Voice of Alberta’s LGBTQ Community

Garrett Clayton

on becoming Brent Corrigan

Interview with

KRISTIN CHENOWETH

Cam

country music queerness

PLUS:

Travel - Whistler, BC Chantal Kreviazuk Indiana Queen • Hello Moth ...and more!

Business Directory

Tyler Glenn

Scan to Read on Mobile Devices

Community Map

Calgary • Alberta • Canada

Events Calendar

being ‘unapologetically’ gay

Tourist Information

STARTING ON PAGE 63

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Table of Contents

Videography Photography Steve Polyak

Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino, B&J Sales Steve Polyak Videography sales@gaycalgary.com Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino

Legal Council

Courtney Aarbo,Printers Barristers and Solicitors North Hill News/Central Web

General Inquiries

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

Office Hours: By appointment ONLY Legal403-543-6960 Council Phone: Courtney and Solicitors Toll Aarbo, Free: Barristers 1-888-543-6960 Fax: 403-703-0685 Salesmagazine@gaycalgary.com & General Inquiries E-Mail:

GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine This Month's Cover 2136 17th Avenue SW Main: Kristin Chenoweth,

by Gian Andrea di Calgary, AB,photo Canada Stefano. Top Right: Garrett T2T 0G3Clayton, photo by IFC. Mid Right: Cam, photo by BB Gun Press. Bottom Right: Tyler Glenn,By photo

by Meredith Truax 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 Coverof: Proud Members Cher and Christina Aguilera courtesy of Sony Pictures; Annie Lennox courtesy of Mike Owen; Rex Goudie.

Proud Members of:

Publisher’s Column

Banff Pride 2016 – and what happens when you push yourself too much

9 Hello Moth Emerges from Stone

PAGE 16

Writers and Contributors

Chris Mercedes Azzopardi, Allen, Chris DallasAzzopardi, Barnes, Dave Dallas Brousseau, Barnes, Dave Constable Brousseau, AndySam Buck,Casselman, Jason Clevett, Jason Oriol Clevett, R. Andrew GutierrezCollins, Jr., Paul Emily Hutnick, Collins,Steve RobPolyak, Diaz-Marino, Carey Janine Rutherford, Eva Trotta, Romeo JackSan Fertig, Vicente, Glenand Hanson, the LGBT Joan Hilty, Community Evan Kayne, of Calgary, Stephen Edmonton, Lock, Neil andMcMullen, Alberta.

Allan Neuwirth, Steve Polyak, Carey Rutherford, Romeo San Vicente, Ed Sikov, Nick Vivian and Photography the GLBT Community of Calgary, Steve Polyak, ISCWREdmonton, and Alberta.

5

Calgary singer releases sophomore album

12 Transgendered, Two Spirit, First Nations Who are They?

16 Chantal Kreviazuk Sets Sail Canadian Songstress Returns After 7 Years

18 And The Oscar Goes To…

Stage West’s Movie Music Revue Pure Magic

19 Love Letters and Queer Witch Hunts

Darrin Hagen Returns with Something Old and Something New

21 Positive Thoughts: No Blame, No Shame

e n zi

Raising HIV awareness among Latinos

22 Deep Inside Hollywood

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Bella Thorne, Dee Rees, Salma Hayek and ‘Will & Grace’

23 Discussing Community Safety

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Neighborhood and Home Safety Tips

24 Coming Out of the Dark

Tyler Glenn opens up about resisting suicide, losing his religion and being ‘unapologetically’ gay

PAGE 28

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

NOVEMBER 2016

PAGE 13 PAGE 24

®

28 Whistler, BC 39 Whistler Pride and Ski Festival 2017

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association

National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association

Gay European Tourism Association

PAGE 39

Food, Arts and Culture

Continued on Next Page  www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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Table of Contents  Continued From Previous Page ® Magazine Figures

42 Cam for Queers PAGE 42

Country’s rising star on finding Nashville’s gays, country music queerness and why she ‘literally can’t’ perform with the Indigo Girls

Indiana Queen Prepares For The Next Four Years

PAGE 46

47 Unleashing Garrett Clayton

King Cobra actor on becoming Brent Corrigan, his secret sexuality and learning to kiss like a gay porn star

50 The Artful Elegance of Kristin Chenoweth Iconic Star Release New Album

PAGE 47

Queer Eye A Couple of Guys News Releases Directory and Events Classified Ads

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Scan for this Issue:

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ga

Scan for Latest Issue:

PAGE 50

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

Total Readership of PDF/ISSUU/WEB

46 A New Country

54 58 60 63 68

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Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

GayCalgary® is a registered trademark.

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Editorial

Publisher’s Column

Banff Pride 2016 – and what happens when you push yourself too much

By Steve Polyak November marks our 13th Anniversary of the magazine.

It doesn’t feel like much since we did pass a major mile stone in June, 2016, with our 150th edition. There is another major milestone approaching the company in January, so I won’t get too carried away now on celebrations. The milestone will be revealed in our February 2017 edition, so stay tuned. The publisher’s column this month will be short; outside of Banff Pride and the changes to Backwards (again), there is not much else to bring up.

Banff Pride 2016 I was looking forward to being in Banff for Pride. Every year we have been out there to cover the event I have been able to check out the town. This trip was a little different. The organizers of Banff Pride were unable to book a room for us for the night due to the high cost. After checking with Greyhound, I found out that you could get a round trip ticket for about $45.

I arranged it that I could arrive at 2pm and leave at 4am. This way I did not have to worry about getting a ride out and, since Rob was out of town and Justin couldn’t make it, I would be out there by myself.

Everything went as planned that I hung out in Banff and checked out shops and things that you usually don’t notice on

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the main strip. It was an enjoyable day and I lost track of time. I wanted to try the local bus service between Canmore and Banff so I could check out Canmore too, but realized I spent too much time checking out stores in Banff. I decided to hang out and have dinner in the Cascade Mall, then head out to Wild Bill’s Saloon an hour or so before the show started. I let them know that I was there to cover Banff Pride. As I was sitting at a table, I noticed that I was starting to get chills and feeling a little off.

Since I did not have a place to stay at in Banff, I asked the onshift manager if I could have a spot away from the customers because I was starting to feel tired and ill. They let me stay upstairs, which is usually used as over flow and coat check.

I am very grateful to the staff and management of Wild Bill’s Saloon since the next part was bad.

Within a couple minutes of sitting down, the chills really hit. I started shivering to the point I was stuttering. I tried to text Rob and Justin to let them know what was going on. I realized how bad it was when as I was texting; my hand was shaking so bad that even auto correct could not figure out what I was saying.

Rob and Justin knew something was up but it was not easy to give proper responses. They received a lot of messages with words with the same character repeated. I had some Ibuprofen with me, just in case, so I popped some of those.

Continued on Next Page 

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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 From Previous Page

Online Last Month Creep of the Week

Pat McCrory Hey, remember that anti-gay law in North Carolina, HB2 (which stands for “hate & bullshit”)? Well gosh darn, the whole thing just doesn’t seem to be going very well... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5342

Deep Inside Hollywood

Desiree Akhavan, James Baldwin, Stacie Passon, trans actor on ‘Nashville’ Desiree Akhavan is here 2 creep in Creep 2 After taking a bow with 2014’s indie comedy Inappropriate Behavior, where she wrote, directed and starred as a young bisexual Persian... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5343

Screen Queen  photo by GayCalgary

The shivering lasted for over an hour and the drag show was going to start soon. I started to calm so I decided to get my place by the stage for photos. I let all the drag queens know that I was sick; no hugs and kisses. While taking photos, I started to sweat, which meant I had a fever. As I was taking photos, I was wiping my forehead and I was just dripping. The drag show would be over by 1am; I told myself that I can do my job, get photos and then rest at the Greyhound station before the bus comes.

The show was stellar – as it always is. I think I got some great shots even though I was sick. Banff Pride had the place sold out again, which was great to hear. Check out page 55 for the coverage.

After the show, seeing that I had a couple hours to kill, I decided to grab some food and hot chocolate to help replenish fluids after sweating so much. I walk over to the Greyhound Station to find it closed and that it would not be open until the morning. It would have been nice if the Greyhound website or the ticket informed you in advance of the hours of operation of the station. It was chilly but not freezing so I waited by the station. With how much I had sweated, I started to get cold so I looked for a place that was open 24 hours.

The Shell Gas Station was open and they recommended to hang out at the McDonalds since that was pretty much the only place with seating still open. I stayed there for about an hour and then headed back to the Greyhound station. Once I got home, the fever and shivers kicked back in, but at least I was in my own bed. I was sick until the next day.

This was the first time I had gotten so sick while covering an event. Seeing that no one else was with me, who I could hand off the duties to, did not help either. I know that I had been over-working myself on magazine stuff prior to Banff Pride happening and not getting enough sleep. It is not easy to run the magazine mostly by myself and, at the same time, not to over-work myself either. With another milestone about to

A Taste of Honey, Everybody Wants Some!!, Carrie, Neighbors 2, Sing Street, and more A Taste of Honey Remember 1961? The world was straighter then. There was no Will, no Grace. No Ellen, either. So, it’s no surprise films from... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5345

4 Signs Your Friends Are Failing You – And How to Dump Them

For gay people, our friends are often our family.

They’re there for us through thick and thin, even when our blood relatives let us down – which, as unfortunate as it is, happens... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5346

Your Real Estate Agent Matters

Buying or selling a home can be a long and difficult process. Sometimes there’s a snag in your financing or the entire sale falls through due to some minor detail. Dealing with... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5296

Creep of the Week

Donald Trump Ijust finished watching the first debate between Hillary Clinton and DonaldTrump.

The expectations for her were very high. The expectations for him, notso much. What I witnessed... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5349

Tegan & Sara Make the Most of Hometown Return

Returning home for a visit is often a whirlwind pulling you in multiple directions. When Calgary born Tegan and Sara Quin returned home for a stop on their Love You To Death Tour... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5298

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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Creep of the Week

Larry Klayman Hey, have you heard the one about Hillary Clinton? Yeah, she’s a lesbian. I know what you’re thinking: That joke was poorly constructed and executed and was not funny at all.... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5362

10(ish) Horror-Movie Hardbodies to Die For

Every horror movie spectator chooses one character as soon as the story starts to unfold that they hope will make it out alive – and for us gays, it’s usually the one who’s most... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5365

OLPxIME Show Delivers a Special Night of Homegrown Rock n Roll

For many Canadians in the 1990’s, Our Lady Peace and I Mother Earth were two bands whose CD’s were constantly in your Discman and stereo. Our Lady Peace’s Naveed and Clumsy, and... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5302

Creep of the Week

happen, it just puts things into perspective. I should take a day off every now and then for some me time.

Backwards Rebrands After a difficult time getting open, and then working out the bugs of operating the bar, Backwards closed at the end of October to rebrand as 628 Stage and Lounge. It took a couple of weeks to repaint, adjust the sound system, create a VIP area, adjust the menu, and more. Instead of being classed as a ‘gay bar’, they are now a bar for everyone.

This change made sense for them. Being located on 8th Ave – where you have lots of people around for lunch – it is a little hard to get customers to come in if they think it’s a gay-only establishment. The new format also uses the stage and lounge feature more and, once they complete the downstairs, the night club part will be open.

In this economy, you need to be for everyone. Look at how many events are happening at ‘straight’ bars for the gay community. Those bars are pretty much no different than what 628 will be doing: gay events will happen along side other events. If you look at some of the reviews of the gay night clubs on Yelp or Facebook, you will see that several are coming from straight people spending money and hanging out in gay bars.

628 still has people from the gay community working there, doing events, fundraisers and more. GayCalgary will cover them alongside of Cowboys Nightclub, Flames Central, Night Owl, Broken City, National and others bars that support and provide space for the LGBTQ community. As gay rights and acceptance continues, that black and white of what is a ‘straight’ or ‘gay’ bar becomes more gray – or maybe even a little pink.

Donald Trump (Yes, Again) As part of the liberal media I have been working night and day to rig this election for Hillary Clinton and I am exhausted. And I know what you’re thinking: “D’Anne (as we...

http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5377 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

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Deep Inside Hollywood

Rachels McAdams and Weisz, Adam Shankman, Alan Cumming, ‘Love Is All You Need?’

The Rachels McAdams and Weisz might soon be disobedient lovers Those always-somewhatmysterious “talks” and “negotiations” are underway to make a big-screen... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5369

The Frivolist

4 Reasons You Need to Stop Using PrEP as an Excuse to Be a Slut PrEP. It stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, a drug that LGBT people – mostly men – take to reduce their risk of HIV infection. And therein lies the problem. Men in our community,... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5371

The OutField

Out off the field In nearly 10 years of covering sports, “The OutField” has reported on dozens of LGBT athletes and coaches. We’ve interviewed gay fan groups and referees. We’ve talked... http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5372

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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Hello Moth Emerges from Stone Calgary singer releases sophomore album

 photo by Kenneth Locke

By Jason Clevett Slave in a Stone – the second album from Calgary’s Hello Moth, is stunning both in its musicality and creative process. Entirely self-produced, the album is available now. Hello Moth launches the album December 9th at Festival Hall.

“This album I wanted to be a little more unified then the last one. The last one felt like a collection of songs I was playing at the time. This one I had a much larger library to draw from. Initially I took the same approach of selecting songs that I had been playing live and were getting good reactions from audiences,” the artist told GayCalgary.com.

“I was able to unify the album by recognizing themes. There are scattered references to hymns and religion and violence and things that are in all of these songs even though it wasn’t written as a concept album. That was part of the creation that was important in creating the whole.”

Tackling all aspects of the creating the album is a big task especially for a second record. Having learned from his debut Infinity Repeated Hello Moth took that experience and applied it.

“You don’t argue with anybody. The biggest challenge is second guessing myself. If I come up with something I think is a creative or interesting idea, when working with others you get validation or someone saying it’s a terrible idea.

Having to be your own feedback is tough sometimes but also rewarding. It is a nice feeling when the album is out to see your creative choices validated or criticized, it just takes longer. Infinity Repeated was kind of released in a bit www.gaycalgary.com

of a hurry. I was working on the album for a good year. I gained a lot of experience and saw what people seemed to be connecting to on the album – the weirdness of tone in it and the idea of the organic mixing with the inorganic. Something that really ended up influencing Slave in a Stone was to take parts of infinitely repeated that worked for people on more of a pop level and running with that influence. This is by no means a pop album it tries to be a little more informed by pop. The darker parts are a little bit darker and the pop parts a little poppier and seeing how those two things would mix.”

The gorgeous album features multiple highlights including The Waters of Babylon.

“It has always been one of my favourite examples of a round. It was originally taught to me by a music educator named Malcolm Edwards. He had shown me that song as something being very simple spinning itself into something more complex. That is my MO for most songs I write.

Realizing I could perform that song with a loop pedal, I have been performing that song for years and I felt like it has been

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

9

a standout in concerts for some people. To hear 200 year old music work in a bar is pretty cool. When I uncovered the religion and violence theme that runs through the album, The Waters of Babylon is religious text is comes from Psalm 137. It is beautiful and has a sadness about it but also a disturbing element of violence at the end of the biblical text that talks about smashing children on rocks. It occurred to me to come at it from the perspective of a healing going on instead of perpetration of violence. At the end of the recording you hear me saying he leads me beside still waters which is from Psalm 23. That is a calmer, nicer reflection of religion. I am trying not to take too much of a stance with what I am doing and want people to find what they can find and start a conversation without it being political.”

There are other songs that he looks forward to performing live as well.

“Holy Chapter I really do love playing live. It is a very free kind of feel for me to sing it. There is a fast and slow thing that is fun for me to spit out that many words at once. Some of the other highlights when I am singing live are A Song About Transience and Some Shadows. I feel like the energy from those songs usually is reciprocated and reflected from the audience which is a beautiful feeling when I am performing.”

Performing with a loop pedal and a Casio keyboard helps create his unique sound.

“The keyboard found me in a way. When I decided that I wanted to try looping songs with a pedal I traditionally have trained myself on a grand piano. I can’t play guitar and never wanted to start to learn it but it doesn’t make sense to plug a piano into a loop pedal either. I had this synthesizer I had gotten at a garage sale and tried it out with the loop pedal. Initially it was just an experiment but one of the things I love about it is that the instrument is so limited in terms of what it can do by itself. If you had one of these little keyboards it is a harsh and low fi sound.

When you start layering it and mixing it with vocal sounds it changes in character and opens up possibilities that don’t exist with the instrument itself. That was an interesting transformation.”

2016 was The Year of Music in Calgary, which hosted the Juno Awards and saw the opening of Studio Bell/The National Music Centre. It has also been a year where many Calgary singers seem to be breaking out.

“To me it seems inevitable. I have been a musician in Calgary long enough to have met a lot of people who are doing great things in our city. Eventually when enough people are doing great things it increases the profile of the city and confidence of the musicians here. If I see another Calgary musician making a name for themselves it tells me ‘keep working on your music, this is not impossible to do.’

That is something that might be turning over in Calgary. I used to hear a lot of people say they couldn’t wait to leave.

People are realizing Calgary is a valid base for musicians to

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be exercising their craft and gaining recognition. You don’t have to move to Toronto you can remain in Calgary and have a wonderful career where people will hear your music here and abroad. As both a musician and a Calgarian music lover, seeing that success in others encourages me not just as a musician but as a fan. To say that Calgarians do feel a sense of pride in musicians coming from their city is not off base. Jocelyn Alice is a great example of someone who has made a great name for herself. People are proud to have seen her before all this happened.”

Hello Moth wrote with Jocelyn Alice, including her hit song Jackpot.

“Writing with Jocelyn is very easy to work with. She brings an immediacy to the table, she doesn’t need a lot of time to get her ideas out. She brings something very different to the table from me. None of the songs I have written by myself sound like Jackpot. You can hear my signature in the sounds of that song. To see that combined with her gritty urban soul vibe that I don’t go to myself it has a different character. It enables me to fly in a different direction.”

Hello Moth is also excited by the new National Music Centre.

“If Calgarian musicians and music lovers are seeing this focus on music and place to go, you are immersed into all this beauty in service of music it gives a validation to the musicians that have been working here already. People are building things around what we are doing and music is a priority in this city. It gives people an opportunity or focus to make an afternoon out of something musical. You visit the National Music Centre and learn tons of stuff about music in Canada you learn that arts are important.”

Fans will get to hear the new album live at Festival Hall December 9th.

“Kenna Burima is joining me which is going to be a real treat. She is a wonderful artist and I am honored and excited to have her join me. I haven’t figured out quite what it will be but I am going to incorporate a unique visual aspect to the show. I am really proud of how the CD turned out so if you like the album enough to have a physical reminder of that it will be there too.”

Hello Moth Slave In A Stone – available now Live in Calgary December 9th – Festival Hall, 1215 10th Ave SE http://www.HelloMoth.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5373 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

11

Transgendered, Two Spirit, First Nations

Who are They?

By Carey Rutherford So, not only is it the case that the gender diverse members of Canada’s First Nations groups insist that “Two-Spirit are not Gay!” (GayCalgary Magazine, October 2014, April 2015) but it is even more the case that the whole method of naming and discussing gay, lesbian, transgender and other members of this country’s Indigenous community is in constant, contemporary rediscovery. Metis Elder, Sandra Leo Laframboise, describes these changes (TwoSpirit self-recognition, and the history of Native gender diversity in Canada and the U.S.) as “the intricacies of a community defining itself”. What does this look like? If how we talk about ourselves constructs our experience as meaningful to us, then how do we create a meaningful and empowering discussion for each of us to live within, especially when stretching the current envelopes of interpersonal identity?

Imagine how challenging this is for a group of colonistprogrammed people whose tapestry of several hundred languages, cultural intricacy on par with Europe, and regional approaches to gender diversity have all been significantly lost, simplified or recycled. As was suggested in the previous articles, this is not about creating a place for oneself, but recovering previously acknowledged places.

“I’m presenting at the Lowitja Indigenous Health Conference in Australia,” Sandra begins. “I was invited by a researcher to 12

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

co-present on one of the researches that I’m Elder to.” As a trans First Nations psychologist and researcher, Sandy wears several hats, including that of a Metis Elder who is not afraid of speaking their mind. This is one reason why Sandy started Vancouver’s Dancing to Eagle Spirit Society. When discussing where I had gathered my information for the first two articles, I mention those who were basically centered in Alberta, either through the Glenbow or Tsuu T’ina museums.

“Well,” Sandra retorts, “I know Harlan [Pruden– Northern Cree lecturer] is doing a lot of work around Two Spirit, but he doesn’t have all the answers. We need to consult the whole community on this and have community forums.” And some other more colourful things that we decided not to print! And we laughed at this frank beginning.

Sandra is happy that GC is expanding the article outward from the male-embodied two-spirits in this region, “and it’s important that you interview someone in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, . . .

Ontario.” When I point out it has taken nearly a year to get this next installment of “Two Spirit are Not Gay” going, she agrees that “[Non-Native] doesn’t exist in our communities.

“The Native gay boys, the two-spirited, they’re out and loud and have been exposed to the big-city issues; the trans twospirited people stay very quiet and try to be stealth[y]. But some of us have realized that you can’t be stealth[y] if you want to make change and movement. Female to male transgendered Indigenous people are a little bit more calm, subtle, clean.”

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Sandy claims that the problem with the above-mentioned Northern Cree “and others is they all want to be It; they all want to be the expert on this. So they promote themselves, but they don’t promote the larger community. They don’t go out of their way to make sure that community members’ voices are heard. While they do a lot of work in communities, it’s always . . . an agenda-driven, community-based issue. There lies the problem.”

GC did mention Sandra speaks her mind! “[As a First Nations researcher], we’re changing that approach in everything we do, including in social justice movements . . .

The words we’re starting to use are ‘Nobody owns the whole pie’ in social justice. This is my grain of sand in the big sandbox.”

Sandy returns to the point again and again, as is indicated in the Indigenous research method, of always looking at the larger picture and not getting stuck in themselves. Whether it’s the rainbow spectrum, social research techniques, or activism, there’s a big picture to consider.

“I use words in the big community like This is chicken-shit: crow-poo (laughs). Because we actually have to really realize that we – the people who are put in the forefront (two-spirit, transgendered, bi-sexual, etc.) on behalf of communities because of some of the work we have been involved with – we are actually standing on the shoulders of others from our representing communities. So we have got to remove our own agenda, and truly represent the community.”

Sandra also points out that others, in more eastern provinces (like Saskatchewan, Ontario, etc. – transgendered, male and female-embodied two-Spirit and other members of the First Nations queer community) “are most of the time forgotten . . . Some of my articles have been I Will Not Be Erased. Damnit!

“I’m even fighting with the transgender health initiative program in B.C. right now because I have been part of them for years, and I had helped them in many things, and [when the program went public] the first thing I see under two-spirited is that they have a cis-gendered male person announcing twospirit sweat [lodges for personal and spiritual healing]. And I said What the fuck!. . . And then the definition of two-spirited is provided to them by the battered women’s shelter services.

Well, that’s not even an Indigenous organization, so how dare you? That’s a very colonial approach!”

GC sighs in empathy, which Sandra thanks us for, and laughs yet again. Sandy makes reference several times to different videos on the topics of transgender, two-spirit and other topics because of the importance of stories told in the subject’s own voice. “So you get the essence of what they’re talking about because, if you read [about it], you do not get the essence.”

And GC can assure you that, without hearing Sandra speak to you – voice soaring up in indignation, down to a one-to-one intimacy, back up into a whooping laughter – you don’t get the essence of Sandy either.

“I’m Metis, from the Algonquin Nation, and I live in British Columbia, and I have been practicing Native spirituality since 1989 here in Vancouver. I have been on the streets; I was a child porn [victim] and a sex-trade worker; an [intravenous] drug user and all that. And I cleaned up, became a researcher and a psych nurse, and I wanted to give back to the trans community.”

Sandra mentions being a pre-adolescent gay boy at the “We Demand” march on Parliament hill in 1971, and reminds us that “at that time we were homosexuals: we were not lesbian, gay, or transgendered people . . . We have evolved from that and became gays and lesbians. ‘Bisexual’ was added to the queer lexicon in the late ’70s, early ’80s (and) in the ’90s ‘transgendered’ began to be added to the community lexicon.”

Sandy’s history lesson includes a mention of the origins of trans activism in San Francisco, at a place called Compton café.

“It was the Queens: the transvestites, transexual, transgendered people. But, back then, we didn’t have the term ‘transgendered’ and ‘transexual”. . . We were all Queens back then!”

Sandra then describes how, at a Manitoba HIV/Aids conference, “according to [my friend and attendee] Albert Macleod, the conference would stop, Elders would talk, circles were made, the vision came, and the word “two-spirit” (to have a male and female spirit in the same body) came out, and we started owning that. So all the LGBTQ members of the Indigenous community started identifying as two-spirited.

“And two-spirits is the model: yes we’re two-spirited; yes, we’re Indigenous . . . The reason it came through as an English moniker is because each tribe, according to some knowledgekeepers, had [their own] version of somebody being different. . .

We didn’t send people away pre-colonization apparently.” Sandra pauses for a moment. “Well, we don’t know that. However, we do know there were words in Indigenous communities referring to people who were different. And in our social practices and spiritual practices we made space for differences.”

Insert authentic pow-wow drumming and singing here: energy is being raised and focused; events are reaching the present modern two-Spirit.

“So, as the movement evolved, as the years passed, and we were paying lip-service to that, we had to actually start proving this: the theory that two-spirit was an old tradition. So, as we talked with Elders, and talked about it openly, we created a space. We created viability and space for dialogue and, when you create dialogue, you heal rifts and create strength. And that’s what happened in the ’90s.

“The movement in the States and in Canada were clashing a little bit, because the States claim (the origins of two-spirit) as 1988 to ’89, and we claim it as 1991 to ’92 in Canada . . . There were words in different tribes meaning different things in the context of their cultural norms. And we started taking that out of context. So two-spirit – as an English moniker for a modern movement – we’re taking it out of context, culturally. [But] the Navajo is the best example, because they have a lot of recorded history around that. They have words . . . that represent ‘other genders’. So the Navajo created a film called Two-Spirit: The Murder of Freddy Martinez: [it] actually explains [this], through legends and through creation stories. We’re moving from an English moniker word from a queer community perspective, from a modern movement, to a cultural perspective. The Navajo actually explained it quite well.

“That is the important thing to remember when we’re talking about two-spirited people: while the word is new – while the moniker is new – and we’re talking about a queer movement as an Indigenous people that did not fit into the queer movement, it also refers to a cultural identity. And it’s up to us two-Spirited people to educate, and to pull out those histories.”

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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Chantal Kreviazuk Sets Sail Canadian Songstress Returns After 7 Years

By Jason Clevett The last time Chantal Kreviazuk released an original album was 2009’s Plain Jane. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t kept busy. She’s been a prolific songwriter for artists such as Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Josh Groban and Shakira. She’s been featured on tracks by artists like Kendrick Lamar and Drake. All while raising her three sons with husband and Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida. Her gorgeous new album Hard Sail was released in June. She plays the Taylor Centre on the MRU campus November 8th.

“This album more than any album I have done is a real creative process mashup. There are songs on the album that I wrote and submitted to other artists that were on hold. P!nk had one called Meant For This. Kelly Clarkson had one called I Love You. They as artists have their own creative process and time and rhythm.

When I suddenly came into this place of “hmm I need to make an album. I have stuff to say and it feels right for my family” Kreviazuk told GayCalgary.com. “When all of that started to come in I looked those other songs back in the eye and went Let’s see if I can’t

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

maybe perform those and make them my own. Of course P!nk in her awesomeness was supportive and I took the song back. Kelly in the end wasn’t going to cut the song so it was perfect. I recorded them and those songs spawned the fire under my tush and I went with the momentum created. I started to get into that creative process of writing songs. I worked with my husband on half of the album. It was a beautiful experience. I think I have written for so many other people and been recording so much and performing a lot. Even though I haven’t toured or had an album to promote I’ve been really busy. It was different the process but felt great.”

It is not uncommon for artists to take time away when starting a family. As was the case for Kreviazuk.

“I think the need to be a mom and prioritize and be near my family. If you make an album you really have got to get out there and work it otherwise there is no point in making it. I’ve released so many singles in Canada and am always busy and performing somewhere. It’s not like I felt a big void that I wasn’t working. I had a song with Kendrick Lamar and performed on SNL with him, I had a song with Drake. You feel like you are busy, I was fulfilled and really devoted to my beautiful family. Everything felt great and then it was like boom. I had some tragedy in my family, it also caused me to be really busy therapeutically seeking songwriting.

There is a song called Lost that basically saved my life and caused me to not have a heart attack. I was in the middle of a crisis situation and went straight to the piano in a studio and it was so healing. It just poured out of me, as you hear it on the album is how it popped out of me. The music starts to tell you what to do after a while.”

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From the opening chords of Hard Sail to the final notes of Smile In Your Sleep the album is stunning both lyrically and musically.

Kreviazuk’s voice soars on bigger tracks like All I Got and then softly rocks you to sleep on Smile In Your Sleep – a beautiful lullaby that closes the album and was spawned by a few scenarios.

“I was away on a family trip and one of my friends gets mad at us because we go to sleep to early and she wants to party. One night she was complaining and then the next time we looked at her she was asleep on the couch. She looked so beautiful because she was smiling in her sleep. I took a picture and the next day I painted it and gave her the painting,” Kreviazuk said, adding that her role in the film Kiss & Cry - which will be released in 2017 lead to writing the actual song.

“Kiss & Cry is about a young lady named Carley Allison. She was a vocalist and an elite figure skater from Toronto who got this cancer that only two other people had ever had and it took her life.

Her family really wanted me to be a part of the making of her story.

It was authentically portrayed in her true locations – the hospital, her skating rink, her home – and her family was very much a part of the process of telling her story. I played her Mom in the movie.

There is a moment where Carley found out that she wasn’t going to live and there was nothing else that could be done for her. Her Mom and her went home and just sobbed together. They thought it would be really wonderful if I sang to her in that moment. There is a song I always sing to my kids at night called Alright For Now

by Tom Petty. I said to the director that I really wanted to do that song. But Tom is tough, it would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to use his song in the film. I was like what am I doing?

I’ll write my own lullaby. I was out walking alone with my dogs and the song just tore out of me, it was like this amazing force came through me. Thankfully I could record it into my phone.”

Family is very much a theme of the album and a major topic of discussion during our interview. Kreviazuk and Maida raise their family in Los Angeles, allowing them some anonymity away from their fame.

“Raine and I are pretty bulletproof. We embrace our real life as a family not our celebrity life. That’s why we decided to raise our kids in Los Angeles because everyone is either famous or works in entertainment and nobody cares. Not to say we are a big deal in Canada, but its where we’ve put ourselves out there so much.

I wanted to foster character, a life in the arts and in service and to keep it simple. I don’t think there was much room for us to be surrounded by ourselves or people’s impressions of us. We really have gone rogue as people and managed to be grateful for our careers and an amazing life and experiences but very much honoring something even bigger. When you start talking about having children and being the guiding force behind a life that is some serious shit. We keep our priorities straight. We really do anchor each other and choose really amazing life partners. At some point love is a choice and I very much choose Raine. Do I think he’s beautiful? Yup. Am I completely attracted to him still?

Absolutely and I am lucky for that. After 20 years together I choose him more and more because I respect him as a person. There is a maturity there that I am really proud of, and what we have managed to figure out. There is no manual, you have to find your own. Whatever it might be, but for Raine and I we have figured out what makes us tick as people and a couple and work really hard.”

It seems after two decades together the couple has figured it out.

It is still challenging to balance work and life at times. Maida just wrapped up a cross-Canada tour that’s conclusion is overlapping Kreviazuk going out on the road herself.

“It is really hard. He came home once during the tour but when he left it was like I am not seeing you for a month. Wow. We are trying to figure that piece out. I start to get pretty bummed out after about 10 days I kind of reach my ceiling. I will say I am really hands on with working remotely with our team. My mother-inlaw is with the kids right now and we have an amazing village and are super blessed. This period where we are both not there is pretty intense but it’s going really well. You have to be a grown up.

Prioritize the kids and make sure that is functioning well, tuck in there our own needs because we are also children of the universe and just communicate.”

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Fame has never gone to either of their heads. Both have been recognized for their support of charity around the world including being inducted into the Order of Canada. Their humble nature and desire to give back is part of what makes both so respected and adored in Canada.

“It is incredible. Every day you hear a new story and connect with a new soul and that is really powerful and a privilege.

Yesterday I read a story about a boy who only connects through pictures. He has grown up finding my music as a major source of comfort. It was beautiful because the note was from a caregiver of his and there was no expectation or request attached. I wrote back and said that’s awesome how can I meet this person? Service to me is one of the most important ingredients in life to fail having. Being an artist I am presented with so many opportunities to serve so I feel really lucky. On the journey of life, it can be hard to figure out how you can help and connect and feel an experience in a way that honours your purpose. I can do that in many ways as an artist.

I can sing and perform and leave it there. I can try and connect with a person who is hurting who has been on that journey with me in their way and appreciated my music. I took my son to Peru a couple of weeks ago with the Starkey foundation which provides hearing for people around the world. 10% of people are deaf and hard of hearing and 80% of those people have no means to help them with being deaf. My 12-year-old son and I fitted local Peruvians with hearing aids. 10 teams fit 500 people and he and I together fit 50 people. It was so meaningful and felt wonderful to pass on that value to him.”

The intimate show at Mount Royal University will feature songs new and old.

“There is some private photos and footage in the show from my trip to Peru which is really special and people seem to enjoy. It is intimate, fun, funny and moving. It is cathartic for me. I play some of the new album and some older stuff and it has gone awesome so far. I am stoked.

Chantal Kreviazuk Hard Sail available now On Tour – November 8th – Mount Royal University http://www.chantalkreviazuk.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5339 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments

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Theater

 photos by John Watson

And The Oscar Goes To… Stage West’s Movie Music Revue Pure Magic

By Jason Clevett Since the announcement earlier this year that Stage West would finally be doing one of its popular musical revue’s with a movie theme I have been incredibly excited. While music provides us with the soundtrack of our lives, movies provide an escape and opportunity to explore different worlds. Some of the greatest songs ever created were for films, and Stage West does a fantastic job of bringing those songs to life over the 2-hour production of Hollywood Hits: The Songs that Rocked the Movies.

Stage West has changed up some aspects of the format.

Large screens enhance the experience with videos. Andrew McGillvray takes on a narrative role and continues his string of incredible impressions that include the likes of Charlie Chaplin & Ed Sullivan. A hilarious moment sees McGillvray bust out the Oscar winning Hard Out Here For A Pimp – full of bleeps for language. It is, after all, Stage West. It adds a different level to the breaks as the cast is frantically changing backstage to bring artists like The Bee Gee’s, Simon and Garfunkle and Adele to the stage. Every time McGillvray performs he knocks it out of the park.

The baseball euphemism is appropriate to describe many of the numbers in the show. Tara Jackson brings Tina Turner to stage for a sultry Goldeneye and later appears in a full Mad Max outfit to belt out We Don’t Need Another Hero. She scores a trifecta of awesome with a chill inducing Run To You – one of the more underrated Whitney Houston tracks from The Bodyguard.

JJ Gerber’s tribute to Prince from Purple Rain brings about tears especially during a ensemble rendition of Purple Rain.

Seeing Elodie Dorsel and Jesse Weafer glide across the stage during I’ve Had The Time of My Life & Up Where We Belong

added to those already legendary tracks. There is even a hiphop segment featuring Gangsta’s Paradise, Lose Yourself & For The Love of Money that was excellent both in delivery and the fact that rap songs were being performed at Stage West.

It definitely makes one realize how many songs have been from soundtracks. Neither Bryan Adams or Celine Dion, who have famous songs from multiple films – were included. Another multi-soundtracker Whitney Houston was just one song. The themes that were used were often clever – a series of songs from James Bond Films or Hollywood Heroes featuring a hilarious rendition of Ghostbusters – as examples. Animation was not forgotten with the show wrapping up with Can You Feel The Love Tonight (complete with an incredible intro), Let It Go, The Bare Necessities, and Happy. The entire cast is excellent, and as much as I would like to highlight each one and a standout number, there is just not enough space and too many great songs to list them all.

It’s a perfect show. My companion for the evening was a friend that I have grown up with and spent many hours in dark theatres or in our living rooms watching movies. After we reminisced about how certain songs, and the movies associated with them brought back so many wonderful memories of family and friends. That is part of why Hollywood Hits: The Songs that Rocked the Movies is so incredible. It’s part nostalgia. Part concert. All Magic.

Do not miss this one.

Hollywood Hits: The Songs that Rocked the Movies.

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Theatre

 photos by Aaron Pederson

Love Letters and Queer Witch Hunts Darrin Hagen Returns with Something Old and Something New

By Dallas Barnes Writer, performer, director, composer, teacher, activist, and drag artiste, Darrin Hagen is no stranger to the Edmonton theatre scene. As artistic director of the Guys in Disguise theatre company, Hagen has delighted audiences with the kind of gender-bending, queer-ensuing performances that could give La Cage aux Folles’ Edouard Molinaro a run for his money. After 30 years of LGBT contributions, Hagen was awarded with one of the 25 Influential Alberta Artists in 25 Years awards from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and continues to impact and delight audiences with a reworked revival of the classic, Tornado Magnet: A Salute to Trailer Court Women, and the new Witch Hunt at the Strand.

Tornado Magnet, brought to stage by Theatre Network, sees Hagen’s classic heroine, Dotty Parsons (played by Darrin himself) continue to combat home-ophobia in The Wild Rose Trailer Court, as she has done on stage for the past 20 years. What’s different this time is the arrival of grandkids.

“It was 20 years ago that I started to write my second play,” Haggen says.

“Tornado Magnet became my most-produced, most travelled play. It’s been seen in Edmonton (twice), Red Deer, Calgary (twice), Fort Macleod, Regina, Meacham, Winnipeg (twice), Ottawa and Whitehorse. There’s something universal about it: whether or not the audience has lived in a trailer court, they understand that what it’s really about is growing up on the prairies.”

“When Brad Moss approached me about reviving Tornado Magnet, my first response was I’m too old. Dotty would be a Grandma now. His response was Well, maybe it’s time to revisit it from a new perspective. And I’m so glad we did. I love performing this character and telling these stories. They take me back to a time when my biggest worry was how to fill the endless summer days with fun. The trailer court in the ’70s was a place I felt safe; before all the fears of growing up queer started to preoccupy my imagination.”

“Witch Hunt at the Strand reveals an Edmonton that most historians have ignored – the ‘underground queer scene’, where gay men moved like ghosts through a military-obsessed capital city during WWII. The story starts with an ad being placed in the personals of the local paper – a gay man from Vancouver has moved to Edmonton and is looking for friends.

He begins to meet some of the local gay men. Within two years, 12 men have been arrested, charged with many offences including gross indecency, buggery, and others. Three of those men were high-profile members of Edmonton’s performing arts community. The resulting hysteria dragged hundreds of people into the gossip and innuendo as police rounded up gay men of all walks of life.”

“Creating this play, I was able to draw upon my extensive history of LGBTQ Edmonton. I have narrated the Queer History Bus tours for years, so I was aware of the community’s emergence in the ’60s to ’70s but, for the 1940s, there was not a lot of info. However, the arrest records and transcripts – along with dozens of personal intimate letters that were seized as evidence – paint a detailed and frightening account of the lives of gay men in the 1940s. For a historian, like myself, they are a treasure trove.”

“The play uses real trial transcripts, personal letters and extensive research into Edmonton and Edmonton’s arts scene at that time.”

“At the 2015 Fringe, director David Chereos and I staged the evidence and the documents. It wasn’t a play yet, but the story they told was compelling enough that it was nominated for a Sterling Award for Outstanding New Fringe Work. In this incarnation, I have fleshed out the story significantly, and tried to imagine what’s behind the dark and lurid details of the trial testimony. This is the first major work that specifically illuminates that period in Edmonton’s Queer history.”

Tornado Magnet November 10–November 27, 2016

“[Tornado Magnet] is all about how a mom creates a home and, growing up surrounded by so many strong dedicated prairie women, is a big reason I am the man I am today.”

Theatre Network, 8529 Gateway Blvd. Edmonton http://www.theatrenetwork.ca/shows/season/season42/tornadomagnet/

“Witch Hunt at the Strand takes on a more serious note, as it delves into a life in Edmonton most of us are not aware of.” Hagen continues.

“Based in Edmonton, in 1942, police investigate a group of gay men who are prevalent in the city’s theatre scene. Based on actual transcripts, the story articulates how gay men were rounded up, assaulted, and imprisoned for simply being gay.”

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Lifestyle

Positive Thoughts: No Blame, No Shame Raising HIV awareness among Latinos

By Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr. I graduated college in 1992, the same year I tested HIV positive. Sometime in the late ’90s, I reconnected with a college friend. He was actually a friend with benefits, so I was quite happy when he tracked me down, which wasn’t that easy back then, at least compared with today.

He invited me to a nice dinner in Chelsea, which was becoming the happening place in New York City for LGBTs. (Hell’s Kitchen now has that distinction.) His intentions seemed to be more than two friends catching up. It turns out, I wasn’t off the mark. He had recently broken up with a boyfriend.

We were all smiles by dessert, but then he became awkwardly silent. “I have to ask you,” he said, “are you HIV positive?” I said yes. He said, “I knew it!” I said, “What do you mean you knew it?” He said, “Well, come on, we both know what I mean.” Then I became furiously silent.

Finally I asked, “Because I’m a slut?” Breaking the tension with a smile and a squeeze of my hand, he looked me in the eyes and said, “That’s why I tracked you down!” We laughed and moved on, but between his hypochondria and my HIV it was clear that we weren’t going to be a couple.

Instead, we became close friends with some minor benefits along the way as he became more educated about the virus.

We’re still good friends, but those benefits expired a while ago, which is just fine. Although I’ve long since forgiven him, I often use this memory as a touchstone.

Even with such a wealth of affection between us, my dear friend couldn’t see past his assumptions. His sexual appetite was no different than mine I eventually confirmed, but nonetheless, as a white gay man, he assumed that I, as a Latino gay man, was naturally more sexual than him.

And there it is, this double-edged sword of a myth. Just as black men have to contend with the myth of their endowments, Latinos have to counter the myth of our libidos. I admit the Don Juan persona can come in handy on occasion, but the price over time for using it is quite high.

Case in point: When citing these statistics — if current trends in U.S. HIV rates continue, 1 in 2 black men who have sex with men (MSM) and 1 in 4 Latino MSM will get HIV in their lifetimes — what often follows is a train of thought among too many people that blames and shames.

Studies show that MSM of color aren’t more sexual or taking more risks than white MSM, and lack of access to health care explains only part of those stats. Another factor is that the sexual networks of many MSM of color only include other MSM of color. There is a measure of choice in that fact.

However, prejudice from white MSM, no matter how benign, is also at work. That is an uncomfortable truth, but it’s not too difficult to see just by browsing posts on dating apps and sites that clearly rule out certain racial or ethnic identities. Such sweeping categorical rejections are all too common.

I know many of you are saying to yourselves, “I like what I like.” I agree, in general. I, too, like what I like. That said, if I don’t find myself attracted to someone, I still take a moment to question why that is. I encourage you to do the same. You may be missing out by sticking to your predetermined likes.

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Of course, no matter what our backgrounds are, we are all responsible for own behaviors. Part of taking responsibility is becoming knowledgeable, which is what annual awareness days are supposed to support. This column in particular is in support of National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD), which is Oct. 15.

This is the first year that “Latinx” is in the official NLAAD title, replacing “Latino.” Latinx (pronounced “La-teen-ex”) is a gender-neutral alternative to Latino and Latina. The Latino Commission on AIDS coordinates the NLAAD campaign, but groups across the country conduct local NLAAD events.

According to the NLAAD website, since the awareness day was established in 2003, there are now about 450 partners that organize more than 150 related events nationwide. To find an event near you, please go to nlaad.org or Twitter @nlaad or Facebook @OfficialNLAAD for more information.

Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr. is the editor-in-chief of POZ magazine. Find him on Twitter @oriolgutierrez. This column is a project of Plus, Positively Aware, POZ, The Body 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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Gossip Dee Rees is Mudbound with Mary J. Blige, Compton’s Jason Mitchell Dee Rees, the acclaimed filmmaker responsible for Bessie and Pariah, is hard at work on her new movie. It’s called Mudbound, and it’s based on Hillary Jordan’s award-winning debut novel of the same name. Set in 1946, the story revolves around a city woman who goes to live on her husband’s Mississippi cotton farm. There she meets two WWII vets – one white, one black – who come to work the farm and find themselves having to deal with civilian life and Southern racism. Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E in Straight Outta Compton), Carey Mulligan, Mary J. Blige, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clark and Stranger Things co-star Rob Morgan have all been cast and the film is currently in production for a planned 2017 release. We’re not sure how much lesbian content is in this one, even though Rees’ first two films featured lesbian protagonists. But, of course, there’s no law saying a lesbian filmmaker has to make a lesbian story, so we won’t worry about it; we’re happy to see any queer filmmakers getting their projects past the green light stage.

Salma Hayek is coming to Dinner

 Eric McCormack and Debra Messing, photo by KathClick

Deep Inside Hollywood Bella Thorne, Dee Rees, Salma Hayek and ‘Will & Grace’

By Romeo San Vicente Bella Thorne is Famous in Love Young, hardworking Bella Thorne – who came out as bisexual on Snapchat, like the kids all do these days (and, you know, so what if she immediately decided to start dating Teen Wolf’s Tyler Posey, because that’s no disqualifier; that is, in fact, what bisexual means) – has a lot going on. She has, in fact, no fewer than 10 upcoming projects coming down the road, including Boo! A Madea Halloween. Most of these projects are film-based, but it’s the pilot of the TV series Famous In Love that has us most excited. Based on the novel by Rebecca Serle, the series will follow a young actress (Thorne) getting her big break in Hollywood and the behind-the-scenes drama that ensues with newfound fame. The series also stars rising young talents like Keith Powers (Straight Outta Compton) and Charlie DePew (Amazing Spider-Man 2). Why the excitement? Because Pretty Little Liars has been on for a long time now, and we’re just looking for a new Millennial-based TV thrill. Simple as that.

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

Salma Hayek (Frida) and John Lithgow (Love is Strange) are hosting what’s certain to be an intriguing party in Beatriz At Dinner, the latest from director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Mike White. Hayek is Beatriz, a Los Angeles health practitioner who was raised in a poor town in Mexico. Lithgow is Don Strutt, who, true to his name, is a billionaire who thinks very highly of himself. Then they meet at a dinner party and neither of them leave the same person they were. The film co-stars Chloe Sevigny, Jay Duplass, Connie Britton and Nina Arianda, and is currently in production in Los Angeles. And yes, we get it, the premise is the kind that could easily turn into one of those awful message movies about understanding human difference. But this is a film from Arteta and White, whose past collaborations, Chuck and Buck and The Good Girl, were bold films about complex people who didn’t fit into neat narrative boxes. In other words, we’re excited for this one.

We want more Will & Grace and so does Will and Grace (and Jack and Karen) You saw the election-based clip with the old gang. And you got excited. Why wouldn’t you get excited? We need them now more than ever. Well, they got excited, too, it turns out. And the cast members of Will & Grace had some things to say about their hopes for a full-on reunion. Debra Messing wants it to be on Netflix or Amazon, “where it could be the naughty version.”

She has a point. Network TV in the ’90s was, quite often if you recall, no place for so much as a real gay kiss, must less anything more daring, so prestige limited series is kind of an amazing idea (and it worked for Full House). Eric McCormack added he’d “be interested to get that call,” and Megan Mullally chimed in with something about anything being possible. Which is true. Anything is possible, especially when you have a built in audience for your intellectual property. One change we’d make: cast Mullally’s real-life husband Nick Offerman as her this-shouldn’t-work-but-it-does love interest. Just a thought.

But seriously, we’re waiting.

Romeo San Vicente cooks and keeps it hot and all those other kitchenbased innuendoes.

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Community

Discussing Community Safety Neighborhood and Home Safety Tips

By Constable Andy Buck

Hello again everyone, it is a pleasure to be back talking with you again.

I would like to start by saying a huge “thank you” to everyone who came out to support the recent Pride Parade here in Calgary. It was amazing to see so many smiling faces; it is incredible to see how far the parade has come in such a short period. As usual, the Calgary Police Service entry was very well received in general, and I want you to know how much your support is appreciated and never taken for granted. I can promise you that discussions are already taking place here at police headquarters in terms of making our attendance more spectacular for 2017, so watch this space! I know that there was a section of the community who were against our attendance in uniform.

I get that point of view completely, and have tried to put forward my own views on that in previous articles. However, I would additionally like to thank the members of the Voices coalition for their respectful demonstration at the end of the parade, and the way in which they conducted themselves during our communication pre-event. Some of the points made have changed my individual focus, and I look forward to working with members of that coalition in the coming months as we try and make some positive change.

Talking of coming months, it is not lost on me that the clocks change again soon, which means shorter days and longer nights. With that in mind I wanted to take the time to remind you of some safety tips for when Daylight Savings Time ends.

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

• Make a list that includes serial numbers for all your valuable items. That way you can provide this to the police and ensures that any found items can easily be returned to you.

Remember, Calgary is statistically still a very safe City. If you follow these simple tips, and make sure that the house is secure at night or whenever you leave your home, your chances of being a victim of burglary are slim.

I am excited to be attending the GSA conference in Edmonton on Saturday November 19th, and will also attend the Transgender Day of Remembrance here in Calgary on the following day, so you can catch me at either event. In the meantime, please look out for each other, take care of yourselves and each other, and feel free to connect with me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

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Neighborhood safety tips.

Remember, your neighborhood is your first line of defense – burglars don’t like watchful neighbors who are collectively interested in the security of their neighborhoods. Next, look at your yard and neighborhood from the burglar’s point of view. These tips may help: • Trim trees and bushes that could hide burglars.

• Pay attention to trees growing near your house. Could a burglar climb the tree to access your property?

• Keep your yard maintained to give the house a livedin appearance; cut grass, rake leaves, remove dead branches and clear debris.

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

• Make sure emergency personnel can easily see your address from the street, even at night.

Home safety tips.

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

• Glass in outside doors should be at least 40 inches from the lock, or be unbreakable.

• Secure all outside doors with deadbolt locks.

• Install a peephole viewer on the entrance door.

Of course, all the security measures that you implement are no guarantee of immunity to crime.

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

Please call 9-1-1 and watch your house until the police arrive. www.gaycalgary.com

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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Coming Out of the Dark

Tyler Glenn opens up about resisting suicide, losing his religion and being ‘unapologetically’ gay  photos by Meredith Truax

By Chris Azzopardi “To be honest…” Tyler Glenn begins, following a telling deep breath.

Glenn’s lead-in could serve as the prologue to his new noholds-barred solo debut album, Excommunication. Here, however, it precedes the heavy moment when Glenn, the lead singer of Neon Trees, reveals he’s considered suicide twice this year.

Perhaps that comes as a surprise. The singer seemed vibrant and hopeful when he came out in 2014. At the time, Glenn was looking to reconcile his Mormon faith with being gay, and during our talk that same year he said, “I think that there’s a time and a place to come out, and I don’t know if waiting till I was 30 was the best thing, but it definitely has turned out fine, and I’m a happy person.”

A year later, Glenn received dispiriting news that left him feeling just the opposite: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enacted a policy that prevents children living with same-sex couples from being baptized until age 18 – also, they must “disavow” same-sex relationships be-fore baptism – and proclaims members in gay marriages subject to excommunication.

The church’s shameful decision had a destructive effect on Glenn’s well-being. “I tried to kill myself,” the singer confesses on the new album’s G.D.M.M.L. GRLS (i.e. “God Didn’t Make Me Like Girls”), “and I’m not the only one.”

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During our sobering exchange, the 32-year-old ex-Mormon spoke candidly about his descent into a life-threatening low and how his own fans pulled – and are still pulling – him through.

GC: When were you having these suicidal thoughts and what kept you from taking your life?

TG: (Sighs) To be honest, it was earlier this year. For me, I believed in Mormonism, and I knew I was gay, and then I tried to merge the two together. Then, when the church put out a policy that clearly put same-sex couples in their place and in a marginalized box, it was just clear to me it was a toxic space.

I started looking at things that I thought I knew were true my whole life and really began to see that those things weren’t true. I looked deeper and I fell down a rabbit hole. I felt the rug had been pulled out from under me, and I didn’t know what to believe in. It became really dark, and I realized how it feels to want to sort of, you know, leave. And, to be honest, even two months ago I felt this thought and saw my life sort of – I don’t know. It’s been a long road. I totally recognize now what it’s like to be that dark and to think that that might be an op-tion, and it freaked me out.

GC: I’m sorry you were having these thoughts just a couple of months ago. I hope that you have pulled yourself out of that rabbit hole.

TG: I have. I hope I don’t go back. I know that I need to be stronger, but there are times when it’s just all fresh for me, and that’s the thing with this record: I’m still sort of living it. It’s not completely behind me. www.gaycalgary.com

GC: How would you describe the feeling of being this beacon of light for young queer people, but at the same time experiencing the same struggles they’re going through? Is it conflicting for you?

TG: It is. (Sighs) A month ago I went to Wyoming for a weekend with LGBTQ kids to speak with Matthew Shepard’s mom, to hear my own mom speak about being a mother of a queer kid, and then I just got to hear from kid after kid and adults as well who were pouring their hearts out. But the day before was probably one of the lower points in my life – of this year, at least.

I was on a plane and I was telling the lady next to me that I want to be able to tell all these peo-ple that it gets better, but I don’t know that for sure. Then to be able to go and spend a weekend in Wyoming and have my perspective and attitude change – those are the things that keep me from falling completely down that dark hole. So, it’s conflicting. It exhausts me because I’m actually just kind of an introvert.

I know that about myself.

But I am so in awe of other people’s strength, and I need them as much as maybe they need me sometimes. I need to hear that it’s gonna be good, that there’s a point to all this.

So, I feel really bonded to my gayness, I feel really bonded to the community more than I ever have, and I’m really exploring that. That, I think, is one of the most rewarding things about this record so far for me.

GC: What were you feeling during the process of writing and recording the songs for Excommunication?

TG: I felt pretty out of my mind when I was writing a lot of it because I just felt compelled every day. I woke up and paced my apartment, manically writing beats so that I could sing the melody in my head. There are a few songs that didn’t make the record that are even more raw and point-ed, but what ended up making the record is a body of work that showcases the highs and lows of this transition, as well as this coming to terms with identity. In that way, writing

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it was really ef-fortless, but exhausting.

Recording it was one of the most creative, joyful experiences so far in my musical career. That’s what makes it worth it. It’s really rewarding. I hate to sound like this guy who’s like, “I don’t care if it’s No. 1,” or, “I don’t care if I have a hit off of it” – those things are important – but what’s driving this record is the real-life crisis that I’ve gone through and shining a light on those who are also going through it. To know I’m not alone is really exciting.

So, if the record reaches the audience I made it for, then I’m stoked. To me, that’s success.

GC: Which song on the album means the most to you?

TG: That’s hard for me; there’s a few. There’s one called “Midnight” that when I see people’s reaction it means so much to me. There are a lot of songs on the record that talk about big ques-tions and wondering about (my) purpose and feeling the hurt, but “Midnight” encompasses the universal experience of not really knowing for sure.

Growing up Mormon, I knew the church was true. Now, to say “I don’t know” is really kind of freeing.

GC: Tell me about “John, Give ’Em Hell.” Did you write that for excommunicated Mormon podcaster John Dehlin?

TG: I wrote it for John Dehlin, yeah. I wrote it for John just as a friendship gift.

It was on acous-tic guitar, and I recorded it on my cell phone and sent it to me. Then, I just kept listening to it and going back to it, and I played it for my producer and he was like, “You gotta put this on the record.”

GC: I’m sure you’ll be hearing this a lot, but Excommunication is the album I needed when I was 16. Has it dawned on you that you could save so many lives just by being yourself and put-ting this out there?

TG: It didn’t at first. I literally was just doing it so much for my own sanity.

It wasn’t until I started putting out songs from the record slowly that I got that feedback, and I’m just beyond

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stoked that that’s one of the reactions - that it’s helping people or carving a space for people. That to me is a huge deal.

GC: Where’s the feedback coming from?

TG: Mostly from fans on social media. I see it on Reddit. I see it from a lot of LGBTQ people, and also just a lot of marginalized people in religion. So, it’s not just the gay community, but that’s meaning a lot to me because that’s the audience I intended it for. I’m glad that it’s being received by those types of people.

GC: This album will likely define a lot of coming-of-age moments for a lot of LGBT people. When you were going through your darkest moments, which artists and albums did you find yourself clinging to during your journey to self-discovery? Who did you turn to for musical sal-vation?

TG: Often it was The Smiths and Morrissey just because I looked at him as doing sexuality in his own way, and I always clung to that idea that I didn’t want to be defined so much by orienta-tion. Even Lady Gaga, during 2008 and 2009, when she was first coming onto the scene, was such a breath of fresh air.

I remember obsessively watching any interview I could find on her when she first started doing press for The Fame and The Fame Monster. I felt validated as an artist and we hadn’t even made our first record as Neon Trees yet, but I just felt like, “Damn, hell yeah, thank you.”

GC: Does she know you feel this way about her?

TG: I told her briefly when I met her, but when you meet people you look up to – these icons – you don’t always get the two-hour sit-down conversation. I also have trepidation when I meet people. I don’t want to come off as the needy fan who just wants a picture, so I don’t know... maybe one day I’ll be able to.

GC: When a fan of your wants to express the same sentiment to you, how do you navigate that encounter?

TG: I honestly give a lot of time and space for that because I know how much it means to me, and I know my experience with meeting certain celebrities in the past who I’ve looked up to. I know that it’s meant so much to me when they give me their time. I try to give as much of myself to make sure people feel validated.

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GC: What inspired the “Who the Fuck is Tyler Glenn?” shirt you’re wearing in the video for “Shameless”?

TG: It’s a riff on a shirt that The Stones used to wear. (Stones guitarist) Keith Richards used to wear a “Who the Fuck is Mick Jagger?” shirt when they first started putting records out, but also, I’m sort of in a moment where I’m asking, “Who the fuck is Tyler Glenn?” I’m on the search for the meaning and purpose of life much more now. Now, I feel way more whole than I ever have because I feel like I’m being a gay man for the first time even though I came out two years ago. I feel like I’m without filter – and I’m without a framework that never really had a space for me to begin with. Now, I’m just really free to exist and find out just who I am and what I want in life and what I want my life to be and look like.

GC: What does it mean to you to be gay “without filter”?

TG: When I came out, I came out as gay and Mormon, and for about a year after that experience I tried to reconcile religion and continued to try to fit the square peg into the round hole.

I think now I’m kind of rebuilding my own framework. I’m still trying to fit into a space that doesn’t really have any room for me or people like me. I’m excited that I’m only 32, but at the same time I wish I had done that earlier.

I’ve always been worried: “How do I be a good Mormon?” “How do I be the right kind of gay guy?” Now, I don’t really feel like there’s one way in religion. I don’t feel like there’s one way in the gay community either. It’s way freer. Being able to hold hands with a guy that I’m seeing in public – I know that kind of sounds like baby steps, but I just feel so effortlessly comfortable in my skin and, honestly, it took me almost 32 years to get there.

Where what usually occupied my thoughts was my nature, now I don’t even think about it. It’s so nice to live unapologetically.

GC: Seeing as how bold and personal your solo debut is, where do you see yourself within Neon Trees going forward?

Could you ever be this personal within the band?

TG: I don’t know. It’s definitely been on my mind. I’ve had convos with the band and they’ve been really healing, and some of the members of the band who are still Mormon are unsure of how we carry on. I have the same questions. For me, it’s completely possible because I love my band and I love what we’ve done, but I can’t go back to it in the same way. If I’m able to write freely and if they’re able to feel comfortable creating with me, then I think we might be able to make even cooler records. But I don’t know.

I just can’t ever create anymore in a space where there’s a limitation. I wouldn’t say that Neon Trees is ever limiting, because for where I was in my life at the time it was completely as authen-tic as I could be, but I’m just not the same Tyler Glenn from even two or three years ago when we made our last record.

GC: You’re sending a lot of messages to a lot of people with this album. But what message do you hope to send to Mormons who’ve condemned you and other LGBT people?

TG: I want them to recognize that it’s not a tantrum, and that there are thousands upon thou-sands of voiceless LGBT people within even just the Mormon community who feel like they can’t ask questions and can’t have doubts and can’t be themselves. I want to be able to give a microphone to those people.

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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Whistler, BC Food, Arts and Culture

 photos by GayCalgary

More photos and videos online: http://gaycalgary.com/a5380 

By Steve Polyak GayCalgary Magazine has attended the Whistler Pride and Ski Festival for the past number of years. In 2017, it will be their 25th Anniversary of the event. Every year, we talk about the award-winning slopes for skiing and snow boarding and, on our last trip, I decided to check out the other side of Whistler. I will still bring up the slopes, but elaborate on the other great things there.

Whistler is two hours north of Vancouver along the sea to sky highway. The drive is breath taking and deserving of roadside photos. It is a great way to start your stay. The slopes were already internationally known as some of the best places to ski and snowboard prior to the 2010 Olympics; post Olympics, the momentum keeps growing. SKI Magazine surveyed more than 20,000 of their reader’s reviews of the 50 top resorts in North America, examining nearly every aspect of the mountains. In the end, SKI Magazine readers ranked Whistler as the number one overall ski destination in North America for the third time in four years.

As Rob checked out the slopes, I finally had a chance to do a snowmobile tour. We usually do shots of the mountain scenery and the gondola rides but, though the weather was great for skiing, it was difficult to get photos outdoors. Heavy wet snow was coming down for the majority of the time we were there. So, it helped that we had already decided to change direction of the travel article.

Arts and Culture Though Whistler is well known for the skiing, you don’t realize that it’s a very young town. Pioneers were in the area back in the 1880s, but it was not until 1975 that the Resort Municipality of Whistler was established, and it became the first resort municipality in Canada. So, over a short period, Whistler has grown to be the place to ski in North America – boasting major hotels, restaurants and services – while maintaining a small foot print.

Prior to the Whistler seen today, these were the lands of the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations. The two different cultures of

Fairmont Chateau Whistler

Luxury and customer service at its best http://gaycalgary.com/a5381 After several years of attending Whistler Pride, this was the first time we had the pleasure of staying at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Like most Fairmont hotels that we have seen in the mountains, they are not on the main strip or in the center of town.

Some can be a bit of a distance from the core – like the Jasper Park Lodge – but the Fairmont in Whistler is a short 10 to 15 minute walk to Whistler Village, with the back side of the hotel right on Blackcomb Mountain, meaning slopes are within a couple minutes.

The hotel is new compared to the Fairmonts in Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise. It opened in 1989 with an additional expansion in 1997.

Despite its short years, the hotel embraces a traditional Fairmont

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 Fairmont Chateau Whistler - From Previous Page Chateau look both inside and out. A grand entrance way greets guests checking in, with tall ceilings, lots of artwork, stone pillars, wood finish, wood-carvings and lots of small detail accents throughout. Every time you walk through the hotel, you come across something that you want to take photos of. It could be the large floral arrangement in the lobby that is constantly being refreshed, the light fixtures, the fire places, the pool, the walk way above the lobby – and so on.

The hotel has 12 floors and 550 rooms. It also homes conference rooms and a 12,000 square foot ballroom. It has a fair-sized outdoor pool and hot tub, so you can enjoy a nice soak with snowflakes falling around you. The pool is on the back side of the hotel too so you can see the skiers and snow boarders coming down Blackcomb Mountain.

The room we were placed in was large. It had two queen size beds and a big bathroom where you could either use the two-person dedicated shower, or take a bath in bath tub on the other side. This room is designed for four people to easily get ready in to hit the slopes in the morning and relax when they get back. The theme of detail continues into the rooms with carvings in the furniture, large chairs, bead headboards, granite counter top in the two-sink bathroom, and more.

While we were getting ready to head out for Whistler Pride events in the evening, we got a knock on the door: turn down service for the rooms. I was at first confused on what was going on. I found out that this luxury service is included with the room. The room service attendant comes in with bottled water for each guest, adjusts the bed sheets so that they are ready for you to crawl into bed, provides house slippers for walking around the room and hotel, and checks to see if anything else is needed.

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 Fairmont Chateau Whistler - From Previous Page Customer service is something that the Fairmont has been stellar with. They have a free shuttle service from the hotel throughout Whistler Village and back. We were also offered rides in other cars should the bus not be convenient. The bus stops as close to the location requested by the guest as possible on its loop. The trip is about 20 to 30 minutes from the hotel and back. The driver was extremely helpful in providing some additional tourist information.

The hotel provides its own guide for snowshoe walks, ski/snowboard tours, mountain tours, hikes and more. The excursions offered depend on time of year and can go for one to three hours. There is supposedly an ice cave on Blackcomb Mountain that they will take small groups of people to see. We would love to get a chance to do this in the future.

The guided excursions are included with your stay at the hotel and daily activities are confirmed 48 to 72 hours in advance. They have the list posted by the elevators so you can plan your stay to include them.

The hotel offers six dining locations that provide a unique menu and feel. Check out our food review on page 31. There is a lower level, which connects to a street with several shops and services, so you don’t need to venture too far if you need to grab stuff for the slopes, a bite to eat or gifts. The hotel has a roof top wedding chapel, too, which affords a spectacular view of the area. There is also the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club, a high-end golf course, as part of the hotel. It features an 18-hole, award-winning course, suitable for all skill levels. It is open from the last week of April to mid-October. The golf course is not on site, but a short distance from the hotel; the shuttle service can drive you over to it. The golf club also has restaurants and shops. There are also tennis courts open when weather is suitable.

If you are wanting to stay at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, I recommend booking several months in advance. When we were there, it was fully booked. They were even worried that they might have not be able to accommodate us since they were also booked for a conference, on top of people using the slopes and people there for Whistler Pride. As I work on this article, again it is sold out. The room rates vary depending on the time of year and what you want, but if you want luxury, high-end customer service – and to feel like you are truly away from the norm – this is the place for you.

Fairmont Chateau Whistler

4599 Chateau Boulevard Whistler, British Columbia, Canada http://www.fairmont.com/whistler/ p photos by GayCalgary

 Whistler, BC - From Page 28 these First Nations people are showcased in the area as well as on the sea to sky highway. This is the reason why I wanted this year’s travel article to highlight the food, arts and culture of Whistler.

Sometimes it can be missed when all focus is on the slopes.

Whistler has two local own museum showcasing how the village was started, the history of skiing and snowboarding in the area, their multiple attempts to host the Olympics, and archives and 30

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artifacts from the 2010 Winter Olympics they hosted. Check out the article on page 34.

The second museum we check out was the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations Museum, showcasing the cultures of the First Nations people that lived in the area for centuries prior to the arrival of pioneers. Artwork and interactive displays illustrate

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Fairmont Chateau Whistler Quick bites, dining and drinking http://gaycalgary.com/a5382 During our stay at Fairmont Chateau Whistler, we had a chance to taste some of the amazing food that they create. The Fairmont has several locations to eat at and their hours of operations, and what they serve, varies. We started at the Mallard Lounge with some cocktails.

The lounge has nice, large comfortable chairs, or you can sit up by the bar. Along with a creative selection of cocktails, wine and whiskey, the lounge also offers a Chocolate Bar with an assorted selection of cakes, tarts and chocolatey treats. So, if you are a chocoholic, this is the perfect place to be after spending time outdoors.

We tried the Snow Storm cocktail: Ciroc Coconut Vodka, ginger puree, fresh lemon, Gosling Black Seal Rum float and coconut shavings. We also tried the Apres Bramble: evergreen-infused Tanqueray Fin, House raspberry liqueur, fresh lemon and lemon peel syrup. They were very refreshing, with a tropical kick.

Once a table opened for us, we moved over to the dining area from the bar counter. There we were served Salt Spring Island Mussels made with white wine, garlic and fresh herbs, with grilled crostini.

Simple dish, but the mussels were fresh and local. That was followed by truffle fries made with lemon Parmesan aioli and chives. They tasted amazing. We could have easily had another serving. I don’t know why I have seen truffle oil getting a bad wrap on some cooking shows but, if it is used right, I think it can add infinitely to the dish.

As we were waiting for our main dishes, we sampled the Moon Rise Martini: Plymouth Gin, apple-infused moonshine, Apricot Brandy, orange and pomegranate juice. The drink is fruity and summery, which helps when it is dark and cold outside.

Our mains arrived then: Lobster Mac n’ Cheese, made with orecchiette pasta, white wine and gruyere cream sauce, peas, shallot, bacon and parmesan-panko crust; Maple-glazed wild BC Salmon, made with warm Pemberton potato and grilled chard salad, with mustard vinaigrette; along with Ancho-Grilled Fish Taco, made with Pacific ling cod, flour tortilla, pico de gallo, guacamole, red cabbage-corn slaw and fresh cilantro topped with chipotle aioli.

The Lobster Mac n’ Cheese was the most complex macaroni and cheese dish we have ever had – the numerous layers of taste just came together. It might be the best I have ever had. When you are coming from Calgary, you know you don’t get extremely fresh fish. The BC Salmon tasted fresh, the potatoes are local, and it’s nice to have all those BC flavours come together. The Fish Tacos had a nice crunch from the red cabbage-corn slaw and were also a nice summer-feel food.

To end off this amazing meal: a Single Origin Chocolate Bar, made with 70% chocolate ganache, chocolate financier, white chocolate snow and caramel popcorn sauce. It was chocolate upon chocolate and should cover most chocoholic lovers’ needs, but there were so much to sample that maybe you might want to try a couple more later during your stay in Whistler.

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 photos by GayCalgary

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 Fairmont Chateau Whistler - From Page 31 Every morning we ate breakfast in the Wildflower. Though you can order from the breakfast menu, we decided to stick with the all-youcan-eat buffet. It helped us sample different items from the complete menu and let us go back for extras, like the eggs Benedict, which Fairmont Hotels are famous for. They do have an omelette station, so you can select your ingredients and they will make it in front of you. They had assorted bread and muffins too. The breakfast was very filling but worth it if you are into eating a lot before heading out. If you eat small, I suggest ordering off the menu: the buffet is $34 per person, but you can get lighter items like HouseMade Granola served with strawberry Activia yogurt cup for $10, or Rooftop Honey French Toast with blackberry orange compote, crème anglaise and whiskey-barrel aged maple syrup for $22. The Fairmont Chateau Whistler homes their own rooftop beehive, which they harvest from during the summer for some of their dishes.

The Wildflower is open for dinner too. We did not get a chance to try it out, but they offer a family menu with several dishes created from locally-sourced items.

The Portobello restaurant is located on the lower level of the hotel, at street-level, along with the stretch of shops that reach the ski lifts.

Portobello is more of a bistro, where you can pick up fresh bread, pre-assembled or to order sandwiches, house-made pastries, soups, salads, coffee and more. Since we arrived close to them closing for the night, Rob had a sandwich. I noticed a full roast turkey on display that they were using for sandwich meat. It was not on the menu, but I ask if I could have the turkey drumsticks. They said ‘sure, since that is something that people don’t ask for’. Rob said I was too excited to get it, but he knows how much I like my drum sticks.

During summer the bistro offers patio seating and Italian Sodas. The menu changes seasonally.

Fairmont Chateau Whistler

4599 Chateau Boulevard Whistler, British Columbia, Canada The Mallard Lounge and Terrace

http://www.fairmont.com/whistler/dining/themallardloungeandterrace/

The Wildflower http://www.fairmont.com/whistler/dining/thewildflower/ Portobello Market & Fresh Bakery

http://www.fairmont.com/whistler/dining/portobellomarketfreshbakery/ p photos by GayCalgary

 Whistler, BC - From Page 30 what life was like for them in the past, as well as how things have changed over the past 100 years. Check out the article on page 35.

Food and Drink For a resort town, there is a multitude of places you can eat at; still many of these locations are pretty much packed with lineups once the slopes close for the day. There are your staple fast food restaurant franchises like Subway, Starbucks, Dairy Queen, 32

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Orange Julius, Domino’s Pizza, KFC, McDonald’s, etc. Then sit down dinning places like Earl’s, the Old Spaghetti Factory, Milestones and several others. But it is nice to see some great local favourites, several of which source ingredients from the area when possible, like fresh local seafood and produce. The Fairmont Chateau Whistler, for instance, harvest their own honey from a bee hive that habituates on their rooftop.

We tried several restaurants at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, which included The Mallard Lounge and Terrace, The Wildflower, www.gaycalgary.com

Snowmobile Tour http://gaycalgary.com/a5383 I usually don’t get a chance to do any winter outdoor activities since I don’t ski or snowboard. The last time I wanted to do something as part of the travel articles, it was the Super Fly Ziplines, but unfortunately I was over the weight requirements.

This year I lucked out. While Rob was snowboarding I got the chance to do a snowmobile tour with The Adventure Group.

Though I have been on snowmobiles several times, each time someone with lots of experience was driving. This was the first time I had to drive myself. It was something I had been wanting to do so I was excited to finally get the chance.

It starts by signing up at The Adventure Group storefront in Whistler Village. I rented a GoPro camera from them, which they had helmets equipped to attach them to. Their shuttle takes snowmobile and Zipline guests to their starting point on the mountain. Once I arrived, the tour guides said I should have worn ski gear, since I would get really wet from all the snow – I had just worn my jeans and a winter coat.

They had rubber pants and boots for me, plus heavy gloves, goggles and helmet. It was a lot to wear, but worth it.

The snowmobiles were waiting just outside the cabin that we got dressed up in. For every five people there must be a tour guide. Our group was just three. They explained how to drive the vehicle, as well as giving us hand signals, so we could let people around us know if we were in trouble or if they could pass. It is like driving a motorbike or a scooter, but they are very heavy and difficult to get unstuck if you find yourself deep in snow.

We started driving. It took a little bit to get used to the controls and sharp turns. There are lots of bumps on the path, so expected some bouncing. The view was amazing but, since it was snowing very wet snow, I wished there were automatic whippers on my goggles. There is a video of the ride, but you will see what I mean: the snow was collecting on the lens of the GoPro Camera.

p photos by GayCalgary

As we drove up the mountain you could see the mountain edge where, if you were not paying attention, you could easily drive off of. A couple days prior to me doing the snowmobile tour, there was a death from a snowmobile accident somewhere else in the province. Since this was my first time, I drove as fast as I was comfortable with. When I did speed up, I got stuck in the snow bank and needed help to get out of it.

When we got back to the start point, I asked if there was supposed to be a point for us to stop and do photos of the scenery. They said yes, but since I was driving so slow, they did not have time to allow the group to do it. If I knew that I was holding the group, I would have gone faster, but I either I missed the instruction on how fast we were supposed to go or they just assumed that I would speed up. I overheard other people in the group complaining that we were going too slow. They were skiers or snowboarders, used to fast speed. Perhaps groups need to be formed based on skill level and speed intensity.

I still enjoyed the tour. Having to figure out how the machine worked, plus getting comfortable driving it through heavy fresh snow, and then driving it through a course of sharp turns, lots of bumps, while enjoying the scenery and trying not to get stuck – I did not think I was too bad for the first time. I would try it again without hesitation and wish that we could have gone longer, since the more time you spend on the machine, the more comfortable you are with it and then faster you can go. Plus, if you have gone through the coarse once or twice, you get use to the scenery and then can enjoy the speed of the machine. Check out their website for the right package for you.

p photos by GayCalgary

and Portobello Market & Fresh Bakery. All of the restaurants are open to the public, and each offers a different taste and feel.

The Portobello Market & Fresh Bakery is for people who want to pick up a freshly made sandwich, baked good or tea and, in the summer, Italian soda. The Wildflower is a great place to start the day with a breakfast buffet, or you can order from the menu. The

Snowmobile Tour by the Adventure Group

http://tagwhistler.com/activity/snowmobile-tours/

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Whistler Museum http://gaycalgary.com/a5384 Most articles on Whistler talk about the world-class skiing and snowboarding facilities but, after going to Whistler for gay pride the last several years, I decided to take a different take: Whistler arts and culture.

First off, the Whistler Museum. Though not very large, there is a ton of great information. They had a great number of artifacts from when Whistler started out as a village, as well as exhibits on the plant and animal life in the area. There is a history section on skiing and snowboarding, which was cool to see how these sports developed over a short period of time.

They have a section on the decades-long process they had gone through trying to host the Olympics, and artifacts from hosting the games, finally, in 2010.

It was great to see how Whistler has expanded and grown. Though pioneers were in the area in the 1880s, it was not until 1975 that the Resort Municipality of Whistler was established, and it became the first resort municipality in Canada. From then to what you see now – in a short period of time – is pretty impressive. You realize why you don’t see too many old buildings still standing, because everything was built up in the tight space they had. They wisely reuse spaces without impacting the environment around the village.

When I was talking to museum staff, they said that was one of the reasons why the museum is not as big as they wish.

They have on display less than 10 per cent of the artifacts that they have in their collection. They need to wait until a larger space becomes available for them to move the museum into. They said that even their library contains artifacts that they don’t have the space for. Businesses also must wait for another to close before they open or move to a larger venue.

The museum does not have very much in regards to the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations, but there is a dedicated centre that I checked out later in the day. Read the article on page 35. The Whistler Museum is worth checking out, especially if you have kids – there are a lot of interactive displays for them to learn from. It is also worth it for adults, especially if you are interested in the Olympics, or the history of skiing and snowboarding.

Whistler Museum

4333 Main Street, Whistler, BC http://www.whistlermuseum.org p photos by GayCalgary

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Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations Museum http://gaycalgary.com/a5385 Across the street from the turn off to the Fairmont Chateau Whistler is the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations Museum. Unlike the Whistler Museum, this place is big. Your jaw is pretty much left wide open as you walk into the place. The artifacts and replicas on display are full size.

The museum has three levels. The lower level has the gift shop and the Thunderbird Cafe. The main level and second floor contains displays, interactive exhibits and a theatre to watch an introduction movie.

Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations are two different cultures and their ways of life are very different from one another. Squamish people lived more coastal, where as Lil’wat lived in the interior, so things from canoes, how they lived, their art and how they survived are different, even though they were neighbours. They share a respect for the land and the riches it provides them, and both have a rich oral history and culture. The museum helps them showcase that.

Since we were there in the winter, I did not get a chance to check out the pathway around the museum. The pathway is a short interpretive walk that passes through some of the old-growth forest in the upper village of Whistler. This would be beautiful to see in the summer. There is also an underground hut to demonstrate how they survived cold winter conditions.

The museum brandishes some amazing artwork throughout. There are several full-size canoes, so you can see how they were carved and shaped for use. The Squamish and Lil’wat built canoes differently: one style was used for oceans; another for fast river or lake use. Coming from Alberta, I have some understanding of what First Nations life was like on the prairies, but there is a bit of a difference seeing what life for these two cultures was like being beside the ocean or living in the forests of the west coast.

Due to time, I did not get a chance to do the tour. Rob, though, was able, and took the time to enjoy what they had to offer. It is highly recommended; they explain in more detail the hands-on displays, which include things like creating a cedar bark bracelet. When I walked in, I was given a small rose made of a ribbon of cedar bark. I still have it and it floored me that something so small could have so much detail.

Drums and songs are a big part of the learning experience in the museum. They want to make sure that their languages are not forgotten so you will see, on most of the displays, the First Nations’ languages used with the English translation.

The gift shop on the lower level is loaded with some great locally made artwork and gifts. The staff are extremely friendly and were very happy we were there. They explained that – during the Olympics – they got some great coverage, but since they are not directly in the main village, they don’t get the traffic from people walking through. However, because they are off the main path, they could develop a large space to showcase both their cultures in an amazing and immersive way. Seeing this place gives you an appreciation of the people who came before the Europeans and how much they cared for the land around them.

Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations Museum 4584 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC http://www.slcc.ca/ p photos by GayCalgary

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Thunderbird Café http://gaycalgary.com/a5386 On the lower lever of the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations Museum, is the Thunderbird Café. Before checking out the museum, Rob and I tried out a couple items from the menu. We ordered the Bannock Taco, the Grilled Smoked Salmon Panini and a small cup of the Sockeye Salmon Corn Chowder.

Each one of those dishes came with freshly made bannock. I was taken back and had to double check since I have never tasted bannock that was so light and crisp. It was hands down was the best bannock I have ever had. The Bannock Taco was grilled bannock topped with venison chili, cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream and green onions. It was a First Nations take on the Mexican Taco and it worked! With that amazing bannock and the venison chili, the flavours came through great.

After seeing the smoked salmon sitting on a cedar plank in their refrigerated display case, I knew I had to try it in a sandwich.

The Grilled Smoked Salmon Panini was served on bannock with red onion, spinach and crème fraiche. It came with a side salad with wild blackberry maple vinaigrette. The salmon was fresh and flavourful. The salad dressing is something I wish I could have bought in a bottle of to take home, but forgot to ask before we left.

The cup of the Sockeye Salmon Corn Chowder was something you would get at a high-end restaurant. The smoked salmon was a great edition to the corn chowder with that smoky flavour coming through. They do have other items on the menu too, including a Pemberton Bison Pot Pie, which is served with a side salad and wild blackberry maple vinaigrette. If the taco is too much for you, you can just order the Venison Chilli with the bannock. You can also order the Cedar Plank Sockeye Salmon Salad served over spinach and mixed green salad with that wild blackberry maple vinaigrette.

They serve desserts, coffee, hot chocolate and teas as well.

If you want to try something different when in Whistler, I recommend trying the Thunderbird Café. The food is affordable, served in nice sized portions, and you will enjoy what they offer. While waiting for your food, you can check out the gift shop, located right beside the café. Admission to the museum is not needed to access the café.

Thunderbird Café in the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations Museum 4584 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC https://www.slcc.ca/visit/thunderbird-cafe/ p photos by GayCalgary

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Ketel One Ice Room at Bearfoot Bistro http://gaycalgary.com/a5387 When we were first told about meeting at Bearfoot Bistro, Rob and I were really confused. Vodka drinking in a cold room? Thoughts of being in a big cold room just made me think about the walk-in coolers at Real Canadian Wholesales.

Turns out this was going to be a unique experience.

Bearfoot Bistro has a special space set up that you access through a hallway outside of the restaurant doors. You are provided Canada Goose, Artic-ready parkas which – even though are large and bulky looking – are comfortable to wear. Once everyone is dressed and zipped up, you are brought into the ice room ,which is the kept at -32C year-round. They boast that they are the world’s coldest vodka room and the only permanent sub-zero vodka room in Canada.

They have set a limit of 20 minutes that you can spend in the room, since you would easily get frostbite on your exposed parts.

The room has bottles of vodka in shelves of sold blocks of ice.

Everything has a blue tint to it. There is a bar counter set up with shot glasses for tasting their extremely cold vodka.

Their selection of alcohol is from around the world and there are about 50 different vodkas you can choose from.

It was easy to lose track of which ones we were tasting: everyone in the room was so excited to be there. We were all handed shot glasses with vodka and, as you drank it, you could feel ice crystals forming on your tongue. You could taste some variations between the different shots of vodkas as you drank them. You could feel your fingers getting cold fast; every time you grabbed the next glass, your fingers were exposed to the cold air plus a glass at -32C. The last shot was served on a small ski with small glass boot shot glasses attached. It was a little tricky to make sure everyone got it in their mouths, instead of on their face, but it was a cool way of ending the tasting.

The vodka tasting experience is $48 and you sample four different vodkas. They also have a five-course menu available and a wine program with the biggest restaurant wine cellar in BC – boasting over 20,000 bottles containing over 2,100 labels. In addition, they host a unique Champagne bottle sabering experience. You can try to cleanly saber the top off a bottle of Champagne.

Ketel One Ice Room at Bearfoot Bistro

4121 Village Green, Whistler, BC http://www.bearfootbistro.com/menus/vodka-menu/  photos by GayCalgary

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 photos by GayCalgary

 Whistler, BC - From Page 33

And more in Summer!

Mallard Lounge and Terrace is ideal for lunch or dinner. We have reviews of these locations on page 31.

If you are looking for something that you can’t find anywhere else, try Ketel One Ice Room at Bearfoot Bistro. They had -32C Ice Room for Vodka tasting, and it is open all year round. The restaurant also does the Champagne bottle sabering experience where you can try removing the top of a Champagne bottle with a sword. Check out our article on page 37.

The Thunderbird Café, which is part of the Squamish and Lil’wat First Nations Museum, had simple but delicious locally sourced food. Most dishes came with bannock – and that alone should make this restaurant a destination point. If you have never had bannock or think you have had the best, I recommend checking out this place. Check out the review on page 36.

The restaurants, lounges and bars also offer an extremely impressive selection of wines and spirits. They provide a reason to stay out at night, hanging out with friends and strangers while sampling some of the best that Whistler has to offer.

With amazing hiking treks, the trails of Whistler Bike Park, ziplines and more, Whistler is truly a year-round destination. The Peak 2 Peak Experience offers stunning sight lines of Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain; there is white water rafting; or go boating and fishing on a quiet lake. Whistler also does a Farmer’s Market from June to October so you can enjoy locally grown food.

If you have not had a chance to check it out, Whistler should be on your list of destinations to check out in Canada. If you are traveling to Vancouver to hang out on Davie Street, grab your friends and go for a quick daytrip. You and your friends will have a great time.

Whistler, British Columbia http://www.whistler.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5320

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Whistler Pride and Ski Festival 2017

 photos by GayCalgary

By Steve Polyak

GayCalgary checked in with Dean Nelson of Whistler Pride about the upcoming event. “We are really excited for our big 25th. We have some amazing headline artists coming in to help celebrate, including award winning singer/songwriter Kim Kuzma, comedian extraordinaire Pam Ann (aka Caroline Reid), uber sexy and talented Berlin DJ/producer Micky Friedmann, and one of the top five house producers in the world and international superstar DJ duo The Cube Guys. Our mayor is really excited for our milestone and will be out at more of our events, and the whole community is ready to host us for this silver anniversary, especially in light of some of the craziness to our neighbours in the South.”

There have been a lot of transformations since the start of Whistler Pride 25 years ago. “When Gay Ski Week first started, it was more of a fun social with a couple avid gay skiers. Then when the mood in Colorado become less tolerant of the gays, as well as the height of the AIDS crisis, Altitude (former name of Gay Ski Week) became one of the signature circuit parties in the mountains. Altitude was focused more on the party scene and skiing was a bit more in the back seat. In 2006, when Altitude transformed into WinterPRIDE, we began our journey of turning

the week from an event more into a festival, with a step up in the ski experience. The festival has matured, as have many of our guests, where the priority is on skiing, real connections and earlier night events, including exceptional dining experiences.

We still have circuit elements, which has been focused on the final weekend with our two signature dance events: Furrocious and Snowball.”

There have been some major milestones that past events have introduced, where its legacies have continued to impact the LGBTQ community outside of Whistler. “Whistler Pride is the first festival in Olympic history to straddle the Olympics and Paralympics. We were also the founders of the Pride House, and made a significant contribution to the public awareness of homophobia in sports and the Olympics. We were part of the movement that advocated to the IOC to update Principle 6 to including non-discrimination inclusion based on gender and sexual orientation, which was adopted in December, 2016.”

While years prior they had a lot more smaller events throughout Whistler designed for different tastes, this year they have adjusted some of the smaller events, and worked to make the main events each night more inclusive.

Whistler Pride is also using more of a venue called the CABN, located across from the Aava Whistler. “We had worked with the hotel over the last couple years discussing the possibilities of the hotel taking over the old White Spot restaurant space and converting it into the hotel’s special event venue for groups to be able to do events. Last year it became a reality and we were the first group to use the space. It was a glowing success and we had many compliments. We are so excited to be back in the

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A huge milestone is set to happen for Whistler Pride and Ski Festival in 2017. It will be their 25th Anniversary, and it will boast a big celebration. People who attend Whistler Pride come from 26 countries and most of them are there to enjoy the stellar skiing and snowboarding slopes. Whistler receives over 10 meters of annual snowfall and has 3,308 hectares of slopes to explore.

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space, and do even more programming throughout the entire week.”

This year, seven events will occur in the CABN, most of them being the Apres Ski earlier in the week. Also, they will introduce on Monday, January 23rd a Cards Against Humanity® night which should be a blast. Whistler Pride has it listed as “a party game for horrible people”. Unlike most of the party games you’ve played before, Cards Against Humanity® is as despicable and awkward as you and your friends.” I have been playing this game for over a year and it just keeps getting funnier. The event will be hosted by Ryan Steele and played in groups. A DJ will play music between the rounds.

The funniest night of the week is Wednesday, when Pam Ann, the iconic international celebrity airhostess, will perform.

The Pam Ann character is the alter-ego of Caroline Reid, an Australian comedian, writer and producer. Watch for our interview with her before Whistler Pride.

On Thursday night is the infamous Splash Pool Party with DJ Pornstar. This event is at the Meadow Park Sports Centre, a short distance from Whistler Village, so a shuttle service will be leaving every 30 minutes from Aava Hotel. The pool party is pretty much the best event in Whistler Pride to relax, chat with people at pool side, hang out in a hot tub, and enjoy drinks 40

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served by celebrity bartender Ryan Steele. Do all of that while wearing your swimwear and see everyone else doing the same.

Friday night is the Furrocious Military Ball at the Whistler Conference Centre. Dress up in as little as you want in your favourite uniform or sports wear. DJ Headliner is DJ Mickey Friedmann from Berlin. This event is powered by SCRUFF so you know that lots of scruffy men will be in attendance.

Whistler Pride will also have nearby and local talent get some great DJ’ing spots, giving them more exposure to our international audience. Local DJ’s Del Stamp and Nick Bertossi will be playing at both Apre T-Dances and DJ Bret Law, from Seattle, will be the opening DJ for the Snowball dance.

Saturday evening is the Snowball 25 main event with DJs the Cube Guys, of Sleeping Giant Music. The duo from are from Milan, Italy and their mixes are on all the international charts. They will be making their first Western Canada debut at Whistler Pride. The Snowball dance has a huge dance floor with the best lighting effects we have ever seen at a gay pride dance.

Unlike a lot of other dances – where close to half the people are there to socialize – the Apres Ski, which takes place hours before the dance, allows everyone to get their socializing done so later in the evening everyone can just enjoy dancing. Doors

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open at 10pm and the dance floor opens at 11pm, ending at 4am, so you have close to five hours’ worth of dancing.

Finding accommodations might be a little tight if you are making plans to attend Whistler Pride close to when the event is happening. “We anticipate that most people have booked their accommodations already by the time this article comes out.

For people that have been fence-sitters and are just making up their minds now, there are still a few rooms available through the Festival’s ticket centre at Wantickets. You could also look at alternate accommodation choices such as Riverside Resort

by Parkbridge Camping http://www.parkbridge.com/en-ca/ rv-cottages/riverside-resort or Whistler Hostel http://www. hihostels.ca/westerncanada/331/HI-Whistler/index.hostel.

Also AirB&B and calling 1.866.787.1966 – our official central reservations – as they may have some last minute cancellations that come.”

You can stay in Pemberton, which is about half an hour to 40 minutes away from Whistler. You could also try Squamish, which is less than an hour’s drive away from the village. When this article was written, rooms were available in both towns starting at $70 per night, where Whistler was showing at over 95 per cent booked. Taxi services are available for those who don’t want to drink and drive and they will go to Pemberton or

Squamish. Costs vary so contact them in advance, but it looks like you can do it for less than $100 per trip.

If you are unable to do the event this year Dean adds, “After saying all that... we would recommend your readers to book their accommodation needs by August 30th, 2017, where they can save up to 50 per cent off their accommodation packages.

When we announced our headline talent, Pam Ann, back in the spring, many of our guests did just this and got some wicked deals. Most hotels will let you cancel up to 30 days prior to arrival without penalty, so it is always good to lock-in early... and always buy travel medical and travel cancellation/ interruption insurance. [It’s] worth the few extra dollars for added peace of mind.”

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Whistler Pride and Ski Festival 2017 January 22nd to 29th, 2017 http://www.gaywhistler.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5388 View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

41

a new wave of down-home chart-toppers who’d continue to carry the torch through to a “love is love is love,” postmarriage equality world.

Joining Musgraves on her mission to embolden the queer community is Camaron Marvel Ochs, the 31-year-old California native known simply as Cam. Last year, Cam picked up a Grammy nod for “Burning House,” a breakout hit from her debut Untamed, ranked No. 15 among Roll-ing Stone’s 40 Best Country Albums of 2015. Now, the singer-songwriter is taking her album on the road for a fall trek entitled the Burning House Tour.

Recently, an untamed Cam freewheeled through a variety of queer topics: her quest to find the gays in Nashville, why it feels “totally natural” to embrace her LGBT fans and how Miley Cyrus’ openness about her pansexuality is “fucking awesome.”

GC: Being from the Bay Area, I imagine you knew more gay people than some of your small-town country contemporaries.

C: It’s actually probably the weirder thing! For me, it was a reverse of the typical culture shock. I remember showing up to Nashville and being like, “Where are you hiding all of your gays and Asians? Where is everybody?!” (Laughs) It’s a totally different culture.

Man, it’s a different thing to understand what it means to be outside of the Bay Area. It’s a very special little pocket I got to grow up in.

GC: What did you learn about gay culture by being immersed in it at such a young age?

C: I’m not saying everything was perfect – everything is obviously still getting better everywhere – but I grew up with it being a much more normal part of life. It’s funny:  photos by BB Gun Press When you leave some place, you don’t really realize what your values are until you leave,

By Chris Azzopardi and then you start to realize you accidentally learned all these things.

A few years ago, Kacey Musgraves shook up country For example, when I first moved to Nashville, one of my favorite music’s conservative politics with “Follow Your Arrow,” people and my roommate for a while, who’s from Alabama and encouraging people to “...kiss lots of boys, or kiss lots of is gay, hadn’t come out to her parents yet. Obviously, it’s a pergirls if that’s something you’re into.” sonal decision, but I was just like, “Man, I see this weighing Gay-affirming country music artists were already percolating on you. Come on out! Pride is such a big party every year.” To well before the song’s release as a growing number of female this day, she’ll still be like, “Man, I really appreciated that. You country megastars advocated for their large LGBT followings: were one of the first people who made me feel like I could be Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton, Martina McBride and Carrie myself.” But then when she came out to her parents it was like Underwood. But then, in 2013, Musgraves began leading an explosion. It was not an easy transition. Her parents grew

Cam for Queers

Country’s rising star on finding Nashville’s gays, country music queerness and why she ‘literally can’t’ perform with the Indigo Girls

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up with cer-tain values that kind of made it feel like being gay was equal to murdering somebody, and I didn’t even know that mindset existed. So, I was the ignorant one in that situation.

I had no clue. And I didn’t realize me encouraging her was putting her in harm’s way.

They got through it and everybody is back on track, but I didn’t see that coming, because coming from the Bay Area, you’re like, “OK, maybe it’ll be kind of stressful,” but I didn’t expect that much. I feel like that’s a very good example of when (helping someone come out) can be a dou-ble-edged sword, where you just don’t understand the culture of the people you’re (meeting), and you kind of have to be sensitive to where everybody is.

I remember going to Nashville Pride the first year I went there and telling everybody, “Oh my god, get your wig, get your outfits – we’re gonna go down and we’re gonna party so hard.” It was a small riverfront party, and there were some people picketing and I was just like, “This was not the party that I wanted!”

GC: Why do you think you gravitate toward LGBT people?

C: I think I really like people who are authentic and who are very much themselves, and I do think – and I don’t know if this

is controversial to say – one weird benefit of the fact that maybe not everybody is fully accepting of queer people in general right now is that the people who are proudly themselves, who are out right now, are spectacular people because think how amazingly brave you have to be just to do the normal thing of being yourself. Most of them are just genuine-ly themselves, whereas most people don’t make a conscious choice. They don’t feel like they have something on the line about being who they are, so I do feel like there’s this special aura around people who are out, or any kind of queer.

GC: Is it still a bold move for a country star to advocate for the gay community?

C: Personally, I think, and especially with women country stars, we have so many gay fans it feels totally natural. The truth is, there’s a part of the country that is still understanding it – they haven’t quite wrapped their minds around gay culture yet, or some of the people they know who are gay aren’t out to them. There’s a whole host of reasons for all that stuff, but I don’t think they realize that some of their best friends or hairstylists or bankers are gay. There’s some sort of unknown factor that keeps it out of the dialogue in country music

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sometimes. Obviously, the gay community is everywhere; it’s just not as outwardly present, I guess, in country music yet.

So, maybe it feels bold because of that, but it’s not that bold.

GC: You recently performed Little Big Town’s hit “Girl Crush” with Alicia Keys during the 2016 ACM Honors. The tune was controversial for being misinterpreted as a lesbian love song.

What do you think the controversy says about the country community’s LGBT politics?

C: It’s so funny. Some people I talked to in radio said they never actually received any backlash, but then some people do.

One of the guys who runs a radio station down in Texas is gay, and he got a call from somebody who was like, “I feel like this promotes the gay agenda,” and he’s like, “I do not care.” So I don’t know how much of a crazy backlash there was. It feels so weird. You know you’re in your bubble when no one you know is complaining.

GC: When you sang it, did you feel like you were singing a lesbian song?

C: No! Also, that’s the reality of it: It isn’t one. If you’re gonna be mad about it, at least pick a song that’s actually (gay). I don’t think there’s much logic to it.

GC: Who are your country music girl crushes?

C: I love Kacey Musgraves. Obsessed with Kacey Musgraves.

And I’m kind of friends with her, so it feels weird to secretly admire her all the time! (Laughs) But man, she’s done such a killer job. I’m always so impressed by her.

GC: And then there’s fellow ally Dolly Parton, of course. You recently had a porch sit-down with her.

C: She’s amazing. When you’re talking to her, she’s always got the cutest and sweetest response. And you can see it in her eyes – she knows what she’s saying at all times, and it’s impressive to be around.

GC: Did she give you any songwriting advice?

C: Yeah, I was like, “Gimme all your tips!” She’s like, “Pick the right songs.” Not all her best songs were ones that she wrote, so she wasn’t really afraid to do that. And sometimes as an artist you can get a little high and mighty about your art and you want to control all of it.

GC: Were you that way with Untamed?

C: Well, I wrote or co-wrote all of those songs. (Laughs) GC: So… yeah?

C: (Laughs) Yeah. I think it’s a tough line to walk where you want to make something that ful-fills your creative needs, but also, it has to be something that really reaches other people and isn’t just something you make in your basement for yourself to listen to all day. It’s gotta be some-thing that appeals to other people, so you can have a joint experience with them. I try to walk the line between obsessively controlling everything that is going on and just realizing that you have to have other people in mind while you’re making it.

GC: At this point in your career, are you aware of your gay following?

C: Yes, definitely. I see all kinds of people at meet-and-greets.

It’s really nice when younger gay fans do know that you are supportive. That’s really important. I hate to call myself a role model, but somebody who is more in the public eye who’s on their team is always nice. They seem excit-ed about that, and that’s why it is nice when (artists) do take the time to say something a little more public so that their fans know.

GC: That might be more important in the country community because there are so few vocal al-lies.

C: Yeah, I know. But I mean, even Carrie Underwood is on it. I remember being younger and my grandpa had a ranch.

We went across the street, across to the neighboring spot that had hors-es. We were small, so we were leaning on the lower rung of the fence. My grandpa and his pal were leaning on the upper rung of the fence. We’re watching, and I could hear them shootin’ shit and they’re talking about, “Did you hear about Bob? He was wearing his heels to church and they asked him to stop coming.” This was a heavyset, super-country dude 44

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who everybody knew. I didn’t know him. I was too little. But I remember over the dinner table my grandpa went, “You know, I don’t think that’s right.” That was a big thing, to hear your grandpa say that. I feel like that’s a very country value to say, “I don’t think you support each other.” I know people talk the talk and don’t quite walk the walk.

GC: What did your grandpa teach you about acceptance?

C: I probably picked up open-mindedness from him, but I just feel my parents and the whole community – it just seemed like a normal thing. I couldn’t even tell you where I picked it up from. Being in Nashville, sometimes I’ll be behind on (LGBT issues) now because of how pro-gressive the Bay Area is. I’ll be behind on the correct term or the correct pronouns, (and) it’s my job to keep up with that too, but that’s when I feel like, “OK, that’s my battle; it’s not just, ‘Do you accept gay people?’”

That’s normal.

GC: Tell me about your obsession with the Indigo Girls.

C: They tweeted at me, and I died. I’ve been to three of their shows, if not four. And I remem-ber one time seeing them walk by, and my mom is like, “Go say hi,” and I said, “No. I literally can’t.” And they tweeted at me: “We love ‘Burning House,’” and they’re like, “We should write some time,” and I’m like, I can’t. I can’t be in the room with them. You know what I mean? It just won’t happen. I can’t do it. Some of your heroes, you just want them to stay heroes. Like, I don’t want you to be a real person.

GC: Did your infatuation with the Indigo Girls ever lead people to assume you might be gay?

C: To be honest, some of the people who did listen to the Indigo Girls in choir with me did end up being gay! (Laughs) But a bunch of them were straight too! It was a mix. I was really lucky that when I hit college, an album by the Indigo Girls was the first I found on my own; it didn’t come to me through my parents or through the radio. I found this music and I was obsessed with it. As far as I know nobody asked if I was gay, but I probably would’ve been very complimented because I love the Indigo Girls so much! (Laughs) GC: You co-wrote “Maybe You’re Right” for Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz album. What do you think of her using her platform to talk about issues that address sexual fluidity and queerness?

C: Her Happy Hippie Foundation (which rallies young people to fight injustice) is so cool. And man, she’s country too. I mean, she came from a country background. And I’m not close with her, but I think it’s so cool what she’s doing. It’s kind of a tough line to walk because sometimes I get annoyed when people speak on subjects they aren’t fully educated on, or sometimes if I just don’t agree with them, I’m like, stick to your trade. I don’t want to hear what else you have to say. (Laughs) As far as I know she’s straight...

GC: She’s openly pansexual, actually.

C: Oh, really? That’s cool. I didn’t know that. OK, that’s awesome!

GC: And she’s become an emblem for young queer kids to subvert labels.

C: That’s awesome. I think that’s probably where everybody is headed, which is amazing. I’m so glad she does that. Because as someone who identifies as straight, sometimes it feels very unfair that more often than not a straight person will be the person who has a platform, or a white per-son will be the one who has a platform, or a man will be the one who has a platform. Sometimes that gets a little tricky because you’re speaking about people who aren’t quite you. But Miley – if she is pansexual, that’s fucking awesome. And it’s so great because I’m sure she’s taking a lot of heat from people who don’t quite understand. But being the one who’s pushing forward and taking the blowback is gonna make it so much easier for the next generation.

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Interview

A New Country

Indiana Queen Prepares For The Next Four Years

By Paul Hutnick Perhaps the thing that separates Indiana Queen from other country bands most is that the band is all Kevin Thornton. The harmonies that seem to extend to infinity, they’re surprisingly all him. The outcome is an uncluttered, clean sound that forces listeners to actually pay attention and appreciate the intimacy he provides.

Oh, and one more thing: he’s gay.

Indiana Queen’s latest album is “Summon without Sorrow”, and with the album, the band is releasing a sexually explicit art film unlike anything ever seen in country music. It’s bold, fearless and unapologetically homoerotic.

“You’ll never see or hear manufactured songs about trucks and beer in my art,” says Thornton. “That stuff is garbage.”

He’s fixin’ to make it in country on his terms and “Summon without Sorrow” is one rootin’ tootin’, powerful celebration of love and acceptance. And don’t we need it more now than ever before? We spoke to Indiana Queen from his Nashville home.

GC: “Summon without Sorrow” is especially significant considering the uncertain future that lies ahead, and not just for the USA, but the entire world. Have you come to terms with Trump’s victory?

IQ: I’ve hardly come to terms with anything. It’s a lot to process. I certainly feel anxious about the future. There is a song on the album, ”I Could Not See The Future”, that I wrote several months ago, fearing a Trump presidency, and here it is.

If nothing else, I have a feeling a lot of art will get made in the next four years.

GC: Who do you blame for the outcome?

IQ: Billionaires. In other times of history, this is the moment we came with pitchforks. Unfortunately, this time Americans used the pitchforks on ourselves.

GC: The album is about reflecting on past sadness. Do you believe what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger?

IQ: No, I don’t. Sometimes what doesn’t kill us gives us chronic depression or addictions. Sometimes it makes it hard to trust and love again.

GC: Do your past troubles still haunt you?

IQ: I don’t have ghosts any more. I used to. My fundamentalist Christian past made for a pretty hellish teenage period. That’s when I realized I was gay. But time has its way. The demons turned to ghosts; then the ghosts faded into my past. That’s the true meaning behind “Summon Without Sorrow.” We can look back and remember the pain but we don’t have to bring it up again. I look back at it all with reverence. It made me who I am today.

GC: What is your view on fundamentalist Christians today?

IQ: It’s a world view rooted in fear. You’re taught that if you step out of line, you will pay for it forever with a terrible after life.

That sort of thinking gives birth to a lot of awfulness. In my small home town in Indiana, most young people’s lives revolve around church and I grew up in the early 90s when there wasn’t internet or contact with the outside world. It was all I knew.

GC: Is “You Are Not Alone” a song to your teen self?

IQ: I guess you can say that. The song is about how we all impact one another. Whether we like it or not, we are in this together.

GC: You can’t expect country music will embrace the graphic homosexual scenes in the Summon without Sorrow film.

IQ: They weren’t going to embrace me anyway. I’ve been trying for almost two decades to be embraced by this town. There’s a song on the album called “Nashville Don’t Give A Damn” about my love/hate relationship with the city. At some point I just decided to do what I wanted to do without concern for Music Row. GC: Are you a real cowboy or is it simply your form of drag?

IQ: Maybe both. Most of the time, I do feel like an outsider and a loner, things we all associate with real cowboys. But I live in a condo with cats.

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Unleashing Garrett Clayton

King Cobra actor on becoming Brent Corrigan, his secret sexuality and learning to kiss like a gay porn star  Photos courtesy of IFC

By Chris Azzopardi “Do they like biting lips? Do they like using more tongue?”

To play former gay porn mogul Brent Corrigan, it was Garrett Clayton’s job to find out. So the 25-year-old ex-Disney star probed those very questions while poring over videos of the notorious twink teasing the camera at just 17, when Corrigan starred in a throng of high-profile porn videos that led to his storied, controversial adult-film legacy.

Corrigan’s past is the lurid centerpiece titillating every juicy frame of director Justin Kelly’s sexy and scandalous King Cobra, embodied by Clayton and his hypnotic come-hither gaze.

Christian Slater plays gay porn producer Bryan Kocis (renamed Stephen in the film), who gets tangled in a mess of controversy and murder after illegally jumpstarting Brent’s porn career.

James Franco, who co-produced the project, sustains his oftonscreen queerness, starring as a rival producer.

But who saw Clayton, who will star as Link Larkin in NBC’s Hairspray Live! in December, taking his post-Disney dive this deeply? Where there are orgies. And nakedness.

After his role in Teen Beach Movie, the 2013 Disney Channel Movie that saw Clayton’s squeaky-clean Tanner frolicking beachside while singing “surf, sun, sand; it’s a bikini wonderland,” Clayton laughs at his radical career shift like even he can’t believe it.

“It’s been kind of like a slingshot!” he says.

Read on for the ex-Mouseketeer’s thoughts on Corrigan’s criticism of King Cobra (“He opened Pandora’s box and he www.gaycalgary.com

let the movie get made”) and the vision Clayton had for his contractually agreed-upon butt shot.

GC: How does a Disney star go from Teen Beach Movie to a porn biopic?

Garrett Clayton: I was attached to a film by the same producer, Scott Levenson, that fell through. Then, he pitched me for this to Justin Kelly, the director. I read it, and we agreed on a lot of the same points that were vital to the movie, so I sent him my audition scene. Then, bam. A couple of weeks later I got the part. Obviously, I had nerves because coming from Disney, when any (former Disney stars) take that leap and are ready to do whatever adult thing, whether it’s a movie or music or anything, you hope it’s something that people will respect and see that you’re not just the person who portrayed that teenager on TV at one point.

GC: How much trepidation did you have taking on someone as controversial – in the porn world at least – as Brent Corrigan?

Garrett Clayton: I didn’t know what to expect at first because you don’t know if you’re going to have a team of people who will be really respectful and take care of you or a group of people who are there to exploit you and make money off of how good you’ll be. I couldn’t have asked for more, especially jumping into such a controversial subject.

GC: What kind of homework is involved in playing someone like Brent Corrigan?

Garrett Clayton: One thing I agreed with after Justin and I spoke: to separate the character from real life because to try to mimic him too much would come across like we were trying to make fun of his life, and that’s not what we wanted. We wanted

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a character who’s a little bit removed from him. I tried to have little things in there that reminded the audience of him, but a lot of it was trying to create a character that was separated enough to a degree that it just didn’t seem like we were mocking him. That was really important.

GC: What was your process for embodying Brent’s mannerisms during the porn scenes?

Garrett Clayton: You want to watch someone’s work and study the way they’re into somebody or not. How do they kiss?

Do they bite? Do they like biting lips? Do they like using more tongue? Are they more aggressive in their work? Does he play the victim? I tried to look at all those things. And even watching that YouTube channel that he wanted to have for a minute – those videos were interesting to watch just because there 48

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are little things in there too.

How is he when he speaks to his audience? What’s his body language like when he’s talking about something he’s comfortable with versus uncomfortable with?

At one of the film festivals somebody asked me and Justin what our favorite video of his was, and even though mine doesn’t sound as exciting, it’s the more fascinating one. It’s the first video he did with Bryan where he’s lying in the lawn. Nobody knew at that time that he was 17, and I was just surprised that there are so many sites that still have that video online. It’s crazy. And to see him as a 17-year-old doing this, and the fact that I can find it online – I literally just typed in “Brent Corrigan first video” and a bunch of different websites came up. I just think it was fascinating to watch somebody at that age doing what they’re doing. To me, that was the most interesting piece of work because, I mean, how could it not be?

GC: What’s it like being naked at home versus naked on camera?

Garrett Clayton: It’s a lot different being naked at home versus being naked on camera, in front of millions.

When I’m naked at home, I’m not worried about what I ate three hours before! And it was really hard because catering, for some reason, kept making these crazy, unhealthy (meals), like macaroni and chili. Every day it was chili and macaroni and hot dogs, and I’m like, “I am on a diet. I can’t have bread, I can’t have carbs, I can’t have sugar, I can’t have dairy, and all you’re doing is supplying all those things.”

GC: The struggles of being an actor who has to take his shirt off for the camera, right?

Garrett Clayton: No. The struggles of being an actor who’s only wearing underwear and maybe nothing else – not even underwear at some points.

GC: How was your nudity contract established for this film?

Garrett Clayton: I spoke to Justin about what I would agree to do, and it was: If you discuss with me first and I can understand logically why the nudity is a sexual act that can promote the plot in this scene, then I’ll do it. When I’m in the shower, it’s a sign he’s becoming comfortable with his sexuality.

The montage is showing him becoming a star. At the end, I have my butt shot and, funny enough, that was my idea because Justin and me kept talking, saying, “When are we going to do the butt shot?” because (Brent is) known for his butt. And I was watching and I said, “Why don’t we make him getting the tattoo www.gaycalgary.com

like ownership of self and being able to do what he wants to do with his body? If we show his ass at the end and we see there’s a tattoo on it, now he can do what he wants to do with his body and he has control over his life and where he’s going.”

GC: Brent Corrigan criticized you on Twitter, saying he looked “much younger.” He went on to say that you don’t “embody Brian’s preference for not legal boys.” He also took a dig at your “boxcut Speedos.” I imagine when you’re trying to give an honest portrayal of someone real like you are in this movie, that could really cause you to be self-conscious. Did it affect you at all?

Garrett Clayton: I think it almost started to affect me. But I made a little mantra: It’s not my place to judge; it’s just my job to tell the story. And the reason we could use his name and likeness was because he got paid and he signed off on his name and likeness, so to a degree he opened Pandora’s box. He let the movie get made, so obviously he didn’t mind if it got made.

GC: I guess he was just being critical of the outcome.

Garrett Clayton: As anybody would be. My thing is, would he have preferred somebody who spoke down to him and didn’t have any respect for doing what we’re doing here? Because if you look at any interview I’ve done, I completely shy away from judgment and being negative about his comments and how he feels about the movie.

GC: In the end, did you form an opinion about him?

Garrett Clayton: It’s not for me… if I start doing that now, it’ll taint my mindset about the movie.

GC: Because you’re playing gay in this movie, is there pressure to acknowledge your own sexuality? And how do you react to people who criticize you for not doing so?

Garrett Clayton: I mean, they probably would feel a lot differently if people were calling them and saying, “So tell me: What you do in your bedroom every day?” This is my job. And I’m happy to promote my work. And I’m happy to stand up for things I believe in. If people can’t see the positivity in that, then I think that’s up to them. You can have Mother Teresa giving food out and somebody will find something negative to say.

I moved out to LA to have a career where I got to play characters and focus on work and do all these awesome things, and I’m getting to do that now. I just don’t think it’s pertinent to talk about my personal life. I don’t think it adds to the work; it just distracts from it.

I’m supportive of an open-minded lifestyle and letting people do what they want to do with their lives, so it’s nice to be able to do another, different type of role. Acting is about stepping out of body and getting to see different lives and experience different things, and I got to do that in this movie.

One thing I even took away from this: I gained a lot more sympathy for people who work in the adult industry. A lot of times society is so harsh on people who do work in porn, and they’re so judged and scrutinized, and yet they’re so accepted because porn drives the internet, and people watch it so consistently, and it’s a multi-billionaire dollar industry. When you’re done working in it, though, people shun you. They just treat people who work in this industry poorly, and yet they’re watching them alone in their bedroom, supporting them. You can’t pick and choose. You either are open-minded, or you’re not.

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The Artful Elegance of Kristin Chenoweth

Iconic Star Release New Album

By Jason Clevett

To say I was excited to have the opportunity to speak to Kristin Chenoweth would be an understatement. Whether you caught her in Hairspray Live as Velma Von Tessel, remember her hilarious turn as April Rhodes on Glee, or will always remember her as Glinda in Wicked, the diminutive beauty has left an impression during her lengthy career on stage and screen.

It almost seemed like we would not connect, leading me to feel like Chenoweth felt when James Corden abruptly dropped her to the ground during a duet on his show so he could duet with Beth Behrs. If one of us was lucky enough to sing with her, that would never happen.

“That’s the right answer my darling. You should definitely tell him that. Thank god it was Beth Behrs, she’s one of my best friends. The universe was trying to keep us apart (from our interview), but it’s not happening,” Chenoweth said, her laugh as musical as the songs on her new album of standards The Art of Elegance.

 photos by Gian Andrea di Stefano

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“It was hell because there are so many (standards) I wanted to do! I started out with a list of 480 songs. As I listened and whittled it down to about 25 and we knew I had to make some cuts. I was working with my producer Dave Koz and he just said Kristin you can do part 2 if you want to. Let’s pick these songs for content and theme and where you are at in your life. That is exactly what we did. There are a lot of heartbreakers on this as you know. Having had some great men in my life and some turkeys it seemed easy to sing this music. They call them classics for a reason, they still stand the test of time.”

Chenoweth sings her way through songs like Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered, Smile and Let’s Fall In Love. Still there were songs that didn’t make the album that she wishes would have.

“If I Had You is a really fun song, I loved the orchestration it was very swing and simple in nature. It felt like something I could put in a show and dance too. Hopefully its one I will come back too.”

Chenoweth has been incredibly busy, including a run of concerts in NYC called My Love Letter To Broadway.

“I am pushing myself in such a way. Whenever I play a theatre I want it to be special, it’s an event. I am never going to be the kind that phones it in. One of the hardest aspects of the show but most fun is I am doing a different show every night. There are songs that are in each show but there are slots that I move different songs in and do that I have never performed before or it’s been 30 years for me that I haven’t sung in a long time. I have some cool guest stars coming in on nights.

I took this opportunity and make it my personal best.”

Casual mention that it would be amazing to have her tour Canada brought about excitement for Chenoweth, who has spent time in Calgary before.

“I spent 3 months in Calgary shooting the movie 12 Men of Christmas. I have spent months in Toronto and Vancouver.

Would really like to do that. This show I am doing I would love to do in Canada for my fans. I www.gaycalgary.com

almost feel like an honorary Canadian. I was just there shooting American Gods. I love me my Holt Renfrew, I love my Tim Hortons. The Stampede so fun! It’s a good idea to tour I would love it.”

She is such a diverse talent between TV and Film, being on Broadway, and performing concerts. What motivates her to do so much?

“I call it show business ADD. I can’t tell you how much enjoy a good character and a beautiful theatre and music.

I really do love delving into different parts. I am one of the lucky ones that makes money in theatre.

Concertizing is a great way for me to make a living as is being on Broadway. For me it is about where am I having the most fun? Whenever there is people in the room I am having fun. I love an audience. I don’t know if that means I should be in therapy more times a week or what but I love an audience so that is when I am happiest.

The problem I am having now is I am really tired. I am working so hard going from one thing to another. I just launched this album and will be supporting it for the next year. I was on tour for a year, before that I was on Broadway, before that I was on TV. I am doing Hairspray live and then December 8th I am having a vacation with a whole lot of nothing. I am going to refuel, recharge and revamp. I haven’t done that in a long time. Part of being an artist is recharging yourself and letting your brain release.

I love what I do but I am going to have about a month off.”

Chenoweth and co-star Idina Menzel both have varied careers; however they will always be tied to the original Broadway cast of Wicked. As a young Glinda, Chenoweth created a character that regardless of who plays her in the future will always be remembered as the original.

“I really wanted to be in a show that people had heard of. I won a Tony in a show that closed the next day (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.)

My Broadway debut was in a show called Steel Pier. My favourite role I’ve ever done was The Apple Tree. These aren’t shows that are Les Mis. I got that show, and if it ended tomorrow I have a show

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and encouragement. I feel lucky that I have spoken to a specific community that I feel very akin too. I love them and they love me and they can’t take that away from us baby!”

Kristin Chenoweth The Art of Elegance available now http:// www.officialkristinchenoweth.com http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5378

View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments that globally people know. I am proud of that. I am proud of us for setting a tone and creating these characters and had the opportunity to do it. I am happy. Some people are like oh curse me! I don’t want to sing a song anymore. I will be singing Popular until I am dead and that’s fine.”

With plans underway for a film version, Chenoweth would not be interested in reprising Glinda, but would love a different role.

“There is a youth and specificity in the show of the evolution and changing and growing from girls to women and I would want that to be part of it. Idina and I are in our 40’s. I don’t know that I would be the right age to be Glinda. I would love to play a different part like Madame Morrible. I did Glinda and I was young.”

When Chenoweth looks out from the stage, she sees a variety of people of ages, genders and sexualities. She takes pride in how diverse her audience and career have been.

“I love it because I never know what they know me from.

Everyone assumes it’s Wicked but I’ve had people tell me they saw me in Pushing Daisies or The West Wing. I’ve done so much work before and after Wicked. I love that the work that I have done is not just Wicked which is a huge part of my DNA of course but I’ve done a lot of television. I love it.”

Part of that diverse audience is the LGBT community. In 2010 she wrote a rebuttal to a Newsweek article stating that gay actors like Sean Hayes Jonathan Groff were unable to play straight characters. She’s worked with many gay actors and has been an outspoken advocate for the community. The emotion is clear in her voice when asked what her gay fans mean to you.

“First of all thank you for saying that and remembering.

Obviously I love my fans, but I feel very strongly about humanity and where we are at. Gosh even 6 years ago I had no idea where we would be in our country right now which is a very scary time. I think that my gay fans though, they have said to me that I have brought them joy and pleasure and happiness. It is the same for me they have brought me joy and happiness and love 52

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Photography ISCWR Kick Off to Reign 41 at Mama’s Gin Joint, Edmonton photos by the ISCWR

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Photography Banff Pride 2016 at Wild Bill’s Saloon http://gaycalgary.com/pa1262

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Photography Halloween Monster Bash at Backwards, Calgary http://gaycalgary.com/pa1265

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News Releases Manifest a superpower… or be nothing

From Toronto author Steven Bereznai (Queeroes, Queeroes 2, The Adventures of Philippe) comes the all-new novel I WANT SUPERPOWERS.... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n2307

Camp fYrefly’s Documentary “Over The Rainbow” premieres in the YEG area

Camp fYrefly YEG with the University of Alberta, ISMSS and Calgary Sexual Health Centre will be screening their documentary film...

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Tony Moran and Jason Walker “Say Yes”

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Kitty 911 on OUTtv

Gay Country Artist Mixes Folk with FETISH

OUTtv announces the premiere of Kitty 911, a new half-hour docu-series airing on Sunday evenings at 8pm ET/PT. Following the...

QUEER FOLK PROJECT ‘INDIANA QUEEN’ RELEASES STUNNING NEW VISUAL ALBUM “SUMMON WITHOUT SORROW” Vintage 4-track tape...

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Gay Comic Book Author Says Donald Trump Would Make a Great Villain in New Graphic Novel Reality TV Star Andrew Shayde, from the Emmy award-winning The Amazing Race, will be releasing his first 96-page graphic novel... http://www.gaycalgary.com/n2313

Celebrate Hanukkah with Delicious Recipes from Kosher Taste Cookbook

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New Cookbook Brings Simple Elegance to Holiday Tables

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The Cornerstone of Tradition is Style: Menswear as Unique as the Men Who Wear It

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News Releases NSFW - Underwear Innovator Jack Adams™ Announces New LUX Drift Collection

NSFW - Bruno Gmünder - Book News in December 2016

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The fast-growing company strips down with a new premium line of men’s modal underwear.

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NSFW - Steam Room Stories: Friendsgiving for Thanksgiving!

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One Voice Chorus presents FOOD: THE CONCERT

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Directory & Events DOWNTOWN CALGARY

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10 12

2

6

3

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15

1 8

4 5

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

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

FIND OUT!

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

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

 http://www.cowboysnightclub.com

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

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

 http://www.dickenspub.ca

 403-233-7550

13 The Pint-----------------------Bars and Clubs 15 The Blind Monk--------------Bars and Clubs 16 Backwards / Six 2 Eight------Bars and Clubs

Apollo Calgary - Friends in Sports

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

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

 http://www.flamescentral.com

• Western Cup

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

 http://www.localtavern.ca

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

14 Night Owl

 213 10 Ave SW

 http://www.vinylandhyde.com

 587-224-5200

16 Six 2 Eight ---------------------------------  628 8th Avenue SW  587-352-2582

 http://www.628stage.com 12 Ten Nightclub (closed)

 1140 10th Ave SW

 403-457-4464



http://www.westerncup.com

• Badminton (Absolutely Smashing) • Boot Camp

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

• Bowling (Rainbow Riders League)

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

• Curling

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

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

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

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

• Golf

http://www.gaycalgary.com/Directory Browse our complete directory of over 750 gay-frieindly listings!

13 The Pint

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

 http://www.thepint.ca/calgary

• Outdoor Pursuits

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

Bars & Clubs (Mixed)

Bathhouses/Saunas 5 Goliaths

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

Community Groups

These venues regularly host LGBT events.

7 Broken City

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

 http://www.brokencity.ca

 403-262-9976

 403-384-9777

Alberta Society for Kink

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

N

 golf@apollocalgary.com

• Lawn Bowling

 lawnbowling@apollocalgary.com

 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

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

63

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

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

• Tennis

 tennis@apollocalgary.com

• Yoga

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

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.

1 Calgary Outlink

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

• Peer Support and Crisis Line

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

 1st

See 1 Calgary Outlink

 2nd

See 1 Calgary Outlink

At 5 Goliaths

 3rd

At 1 Calgary Outlink

 4th

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

 1st

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

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

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

 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

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

 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

Girlsgroove

 http://www.girlsgroove.ca 2 HIV Community Link----------------------  110, 1603 10th Avenue SW  403-508-2500  1-877-440-2437  http://www.hivcl.org

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

64

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

At 5 Goliaths

 Calgary Contd.

• Squash

 2nd

See 1 Calgary Outlink

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

See 1 Calgary Outlink

By

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

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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

DevaDave Salon & Boutique (closed)

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

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

Wild Rose United Church

Ellen Embury

 1317-1st Street NW

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

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

Hardline

 Calgary: 403-770-0776

 Edmonton: 780-665-6666  Other Cities: 1-877-628-9696  http://www.hardlinechat.com Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

16 Six 2 Eight --------------------------------- See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).

13 The Pint See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).

Hot Water Pools & Spas

Retail Stores

 2145 Summerfield Blvd  403-912-2045  http://www.hotwaterpoolsandspas.ca

Adult Depot (CLOSED)

Lorne Doucette (CIR Realtors)

 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

 206A 2525 Woodview Dr SW  403-281-5582  besthealthcalgary@hotmail.com  http://www.besthealthcalgary.com

EDMONTON

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

Bars & Clubs (Gay)

MFM Communications

6 Evolution Wonder Lounge

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

 Suite 27, Building B1, 2451 Dieppe Ave SW

 403-471-0204  780-922-3347  nrg@shaw.ca  http://www.nrgsupportservices.com

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

FLASH (CLOSED)

 10018 105 Street  flashnightclub@hotmail.com

UpStares Ultralounge (CLOSED)

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

• Centre of Hope

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

Pushing Petals

 1209 5th Ave NW  403-263-3070  http://www.pushingpetals.com

• Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre

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

Services & Products

• Safeworks Van

6th and Tenth - Sales Centre

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

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

 M-W: 12-6pm, R: 2-7pm, S-N: 12-5pm

Wheel Pro’s

 4143- Edmonton Trail NE  403-226-7278  http://www.wheelpros.ca “Experts in Everything for Wheels”

Barry Hollowell

 403-819-5219  http://www.bcbhcounselling.com

Calgary Civil Marriage Centre

Theatre & Fine Arts

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

ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects

 403-294-7402

Christopher T. Tahn (Thornborough Smeltz)

 http://www.ATPlive.com

Fairytales

 403-808-7147

These venues regularly host LGBT events.

Hooliganz Pub (CLOSED)

 10704 124 St NW

7 The Starlite Room

 10030 102 St contact@starliteroom.ca  http://www.starliteroom.ca 8 Yellowhead Brewing Co.

 10229 105 St  info@yellowheadbrewery.com  http://www.yellowheadbrewery.com

Bathhouses/Saunas 5 Steamworks

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

Community Groups AltView Foundation

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

 403-398-9968  info@altview.ca  http://ww.altview.ca For gender variant and sexual minorities.

See Calgary - Community Groups.

One Yellow Rabbit--------------------------

 Big Secret Theatre - EPCOR CENTRE  403-299-8888  www.oyr.org

Courtney Aarbo (Barristers & Solicitors)

 3rd Floor, 1131 Kensington Road NW  403-571-5120  http://www.courtneyaarbo.ca GLBT legal services.

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

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

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

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

 780-488-6557

Bars & Clubs (Mixed)

• Calgary Drop-in Centre

Book Worm’s Book Club

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

Buck Naked Boys Club

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

Camp fYrefly

 7-104 Dept. of Educational Policy Studies Faculty of Education, University of Alberta

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5  http://www.fyrefly.ualberta.ca

Edmonton Expo

 http://www.edmontonexpo.com

Edmonton Pride Festival Society (EPFS)

 http://www.edmontonpride.ca

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.

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.

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--------

4 Mama’s Gin Joint

 11725 Jasper Ave

Free and confidential HIV/AIDS and STI testing.

Priape Calgary (CLOSED)

 780-938-2941

 4th Floor, Jasper Ave and 107th Street

SafeWorks

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

www.gaycalgary.com

Webster Galleries Inc.

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

 T-S: 10am-6pm, N: 1-4pm

3 Buddy’s Nite Club (CLOSED)

 11725 Jasper Ave  780-488-6636

NRG Support Services

La Fleur (closed)

 403-266-1707 Florist and Flower Shop.

Cruiseline

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

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

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

Best Health

 403-703-4750

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

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

Adult Source--------------------------------

 Calgary: 403-777-9494

 Edmonton: 780-413-7122  Other Cities: 1-877-882-2010  http://www.cruiseline.ca Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

Third Street Theatre

 #3 306 20th Ave SW 

http://www.thirdstreet.ca

Interactive Male

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

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

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

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

 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.

InQueeries

 inqueeries@gmail.com Student-run GLBTQ Alliance at MacEwan University.

Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose

 http://www.iscwr.ca

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 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.

• Counselling

 780.488.3234 Free, short-term counselling provided by registered counsellors.

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

65

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 Mama’s Gin Joint-------------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

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

Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton

 780-474-8240

 tuff@shaw.ca

Team Edmonton

 Ed’s Rec Room (West Edmonton Mall)

 bowling@teamedmonton.ca $15.00 per person.

 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.

• Cross Country Skiing

• Badminton (Mixed)

• Cycling (Edmonton Prideriders)

 crosscountry@teamedmonton.ca

• Curling with Pride

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

 dragonboat@teamedmonton.ca

• Women’s Social Circle

 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.

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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

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

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

• Golf

 golf@teamedmonton.ca

• 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

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

• Martial Arts

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

• Outdoor Pursuits

 outdoorpursuits@teamedmonton.ca

• Running (Arctic Frontrunners)

• Slo Pitch

• Badminton (Women’s)

A support and information group for all those who fall under the transgender umbrella and their family or supporters.

Team Edmonton

• Dragon Boat (Flaming Dragons)

• Queer HangOUT: Craft Night

• TTIQ

See

 Kinsmen Sports Centre  running@teamedmonton.ca All genders and levels of runners and walkers are invited to join this free activity.

 St. Thomas Moore School, 9610 165 Street

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

Come and watch ALL the anime until your heart is content.

Team Edmonton

Sundays

 2nd

• Bowling (Northern Titans)

Come OUT with your game face on and meet some awesome people through board game fun.

• Queer HangOUT: Anime Night

See

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

 Dawson Park, picnic shelter  cycling@teamedmonton.ca

Come OUT and embrace your creative side in a safe space.

 2nd

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

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

Buck Naked Boys Club

 Edmonton Contd.

• Knotty Knitters

 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

 hockey@teamedmonton.ca

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

• Snowballs V

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

• Soccer

 soccer@teamedmonton.ca

• Spin

 MacEwan Centre for Sport and Wellness 109 St. and 104 Ave

www.gaycalgary.com

Directory & Events Red Deer Events Wednesdays

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

CAANS

 1st

Friday, August 15th

 Edmonton Contd.  Wednesdays, 5:45-6:45pm Season has ended.  spin@teamedmonton.ca 7 classes, $28.00 per registrant.

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!

bring a dish to share that will serve 4-6 people, and your own beverage.

• Swimming (Making Waves)

• Soul OUTing

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

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

• Film Night

• Friday Mixer

 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 Mama’s Gin Joint 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

 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

www.gaycalgary.com

 Bi-monthly, contact us for exact dates.

• Book Club

 Monthly, contact us for exact dates.

Theatre & Fine Arts Exposure Festival

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

The Roxy Theatre (closed)

 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

• Support Line

Gay & Lesbian Integrity Assoc. (GALIA)

Community Groups Jasper Pride Festival

 PO Box 98, 409 Patricia St., T0E 1E0

 contact@jasperpride.ca  http://www.jasperpride.ca

LETHBRIDGE

 Room C610, University of Lethbridge

Gay Youth Alliance Group

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

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 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.

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.

GALA/LA

• Monthly Dances

Theatre & Fine Arts Alberta Ballet

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

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.

Pride on Campus

 rdcprideoncampus@gmail.com A group of LGBTQ persons and Allies at Red Deer College.

MEDICINE HAT Community Groups

Community Groups

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

 galia@uleth.ca

• Movie Night

Whistlers Inn

 105 Miette Ave  1-800-282-9919  info@whistlersinn.com  http://www.whistlersinn.com

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.

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

 University of Lethbridge GBLTTQQ club on campus.

ALBERTA

HIV Community Link

 356 - 2 Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB  403-527-5882  1-877-440-2437

• Telephone Support

 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

GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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GayCalgary Magazine #155, November 2016

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