Xtra Vancouver #552

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#552 OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

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2 OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 XTRA!

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Published by Pink Triangle Press PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Brandon Matheson

#552 OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 CO.ERASGA/KIKU HAWKS

Roundup

XTRA VANCOUVER’S GAY& LESBIAN NEWS

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Editorial The Vatican two-step

By Natasha Barsotti E 4 Feedback E 4 Xcetera E 5

Upfront TWU grad proceeds with complaint Amaruk co-CEO says company legitimate, media out to discredit him E7 City gives 8x6 new licence E8 Council votes to ask staff to recommend options for Jim Deva memorial E9

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Out in the City Cover story Gettin’ Lippy East Van’s 24-inch drag sensation cuts a swath across town E14 Blitz & Shitz High heels & blood

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The Vatican two-step EDITORIAL NATASHA BARSOTTI

There’s no shame in admitting that your head is still spinning from the Vatican’s wild synod dance marathon.

If you were paying only a modicum of attention, the two-week confab on the family was no ordinary line dance.

For its opening act, we were treated to some provocative, mesmerizing twerking. “Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community,” we heard. And yes, same-sex relationships exist in which “mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners,” trumpeted a cajoling report halfway into the synod.

For all of five minutes, we almost sounded . . . human — as opposed to being objectively disordered or displaying “a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil.”

Hallelujah, raved the Human Rights Campaign. There is “a light in the darkness.”

“Stunning change,” Jesuit scholar James Martin rhapsodized.

“Almost-revolutionary acceptance,” wrote the Associated Press.

But in between the synod’s gyrations, you saw the familiar two steps to the side, one step back caveats.

The church — again — reaffirmed that gay relationships “cannot be considered on the same footing” as straight married ones. And anyway, it reiterated,

gay unions are morally fraught.

Then came the predictable conservative counterpunch, shoring up that unflinching doctrinal perspective: Francis was playing fast and loose with doctrine, he was not free to change the teaching about “the immorality of homosexual acts,” and such changes would cause a schism in the ranks à la the Anglican Church.

So the twerk gave way to the twist, and in the end we had to settle for a version of the running man: a hint of potential forward movement but essentially jogging energetically in place. The concluding report nixed the “welcoming” language, referred to our sexuality as a mere tendency and suggested that we be accepted with “respect and sensitivity.”

Gay-friendly Rome can’t be built in a day, the still-hopeful protest. But watching molasses go uphill is way more exciting than witnessing the verbal and written contortions of a church wrestling with dogma that a significant number of its faithful — never mind gay people — flout regularly, because it doesn’t even register on their dayto-day radar.

Really, what have we got?

A shift in rhetorical tone. Sure. At least they discussed the idea of welcoming gay people. And yes, even broaching that idea is opening up to public scru-

tiny the increasing rift between those who are trying to drag Rome kicking and screaming into the 21st century and the “hostile rigidity” — Francis’s words — of conservatives who won’t go gentle into that good night.

But while Pope Francis and his more progressive-minded bishops are still rhetorically and patronizingly musing whether the church is capable of guaranteeing gays “a fraternal space in our communities” or “accepting and valuing their sexual orientation without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony,” they should know that the world continues to turn with or without them.

The ease with which Catholic employers in the United States have seen fit to fire gay employees or force them to resign because they married their partners or some facet of their sexuality became public has rankled the faithful, both gay and straight.

In 2013, students of a Washington State high school marched after the Archdiocese of Seattle fired their muchloved vice-principal Mark Zmuda because he married his male partner.

Zmuda’s dismissal is not an isolated case. The New York Times’s Frank Bruni notes that in 2014, 17 people lost their Catholic jobs because of their sexuality.

The time for merely discussing incremental reform is rapidly running out. In the minds of many, it has long passed.

Natasha Barsotti is Xtra Vancouver’s staff reporter.

The outcome that we seek is this — gay and lesbian people daring together to set love free.

Xtra is published by Pink Triangle Press, at 2 Carlton St, Ste 1600, Toronto, M5B 1J3.

FEEDBACK Jim Deva tribute Your Jim Deva tribute issue [“We’re Not Going to Live in Shame,” Xtra #551, Oct 9] was the utmost, utmost best-ever publication while at the same time your utmost, utmost saddest publication. The mature read from beginning to end was exceptionally excellent.

Yes, Jim, thank you. You will be forever greatly missed by all. We dearly love you and you’ll remain forever in our hearts. You made history and changed all our lives for the better.

Look out, heaven, for you’ve got a true winner! Rest in peace.

PETER PERPAR VANCOUVER, BC

4 OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 XTRA!

Film fest and Israel When I read Maureen Orman’s letter [Xtra #550, Sept 25], where she asks rhetorically if it’s “okay to massacre innocent people,” I thought surely she was referring to the ongoing massacre of innocent Israelis by pro-Palestinian forces, which has been happening for decades now.

My heart sank, though, when she then said that she hoped that “next year the VQFF [Vancouver Queer Film Festival] declines advertising revenue from pro-Israeli groups.” How would that be fair? Did they decline advertising revenue from any pro-Palestinian groups? I don’t think so.

The filmmakers who stood by the misguided Queers Against “Apartheid”

were far from being courageous. They were simply being ignorant and gullible.

Anyone who has ever lived in Israel, as I have, knows that some measures have been forced upon the country by the unfortunate tendency of so many supporters of the mythical land they call Palestine to climb on city buses or walk into restaurants and bus stations carrying explosives, which they then detonate, killing innocent men, women and children.

Actually trying to pretend that such desperate survival measures are anything like the suppression of any legitimate race or cause is just inexcusably naive and ignorant.

TOM TRUEMAN EMAIL

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VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Upfront

It was the best thing that could have happened to us in the end. Zoll Ruskin, 8x6 E8

TWU grad proceeds with complaint Amaruk co-CEO says company legitimate, media out to discredit him

Bethany’s experience reminds us that all minorities are in need of protection, and for that reason, I would hope the LGBT community would feel empathy for Bethany and her complaint.

HUMAN RIGHTS NATHANIEL CHRISTOPHER

The co-CEO of a company at the centre of a BC human rights complaint insists that Amaruk Wilderness Corp is a legitimate business and that he is the victim of an unfair media campaign.

Trinity Western University (TWU) graduate Bethany Paquette filed a human rights complaint Sept 30 alleging that Amaruk rejected her for a job, following a heated email exchange, because she’s Christian and attended a Christian university.

Christopher Fragassi-Bjørnsen says the emails were an exchange of opinion, not discrimination.

He says media are now trying to discredit him and Amaruk.

Paquette applied by email Sept 10 to work as an assistant guide intern for Amaruk. The next day she received a reply signed by Olaf Amundsen, the company’s hiring manager. “I do not understand the purpose of your application considering you do not meet the minimum requirements that are clearly outlined on our web site,” Amundsen allegedly wrote.

“Additionally, considering you were involved with Trinity Western University, I should mention that, unlike Trinity Western University, we embrace diversity, and the right of people to sleep with or marry whoever they want, and this is reflected within some of our staff and management,” the email continued. “In addition, the Norse background of most of the guys at the management level means that we are not a Christian organization, and most of us actually see Christianity as having destroyed our culture, tradition, and way of life.”

“I would say that in my experience at Trinity Western, I never heard of or saw any discrimination. And for me to simply apply for a job and to be attacked because of the university I went to is pretty hurtful, and I felt wronged,” Paquette tells Xtra. “It’s a very accepting campus, and all people are treated with respect. I also want to say minorities should be protected and shouldn’t be discriminated against by belief or stance in life.

The value of people is important and shouldn’t ever be belittled.”

TWU’s proposal to open a law school has met with mixed responses across the country, as law MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

— LAWYER GEOFFREY TROTTER

Bethany Paquette, a self-described “proud Christian” and graduate of Trinity Western University, has filed a human rights complaint against Amaruk Wilderness Corp. FACEBOOK.COM

societies grapple with the Christian university’s student covenant, which prohibits homosexuality and premarital sex and threatens to expel students for non-compliance.

Fragassi-Bjørnsen tells Xtra that his colleagues’ comments about TWU and Christianity had nothing to do with their decision not to hire Paquette.

“If a person applies for a job at an airline and they don’t have the proper qualifications, namely the pilot’s licence, any conversation that ensues afterwards is irrelevant to the hiring process. In order to be an assistant guide intern, you need a certified assistant guide certificate. When some-

one doesn’t meet requirements, we don’t look at their application anymore.”

Paquette’s lawyer, Geoffrey Trotter, disputes this. “The grounds for discrimination don’t need to be the main factor — they can just be part of the decision-making process,” he tells Xtra. “It’s not going to fly for them to say, ‘We didn’t hire for this reason,’ when most of the email filled up with things about her religion.”

CBC News reported Oct 10 that more job applicants came forward after hearing Paquette’s story, claiming they, too, had received rejection emails from Amaruk Wilderness. Futile efforts to

reach the company’s co-CEO left them questioning whether the business or jobs actually exist.

In a phone interview Oct 14, Fragassi-Bjørnsen tells Xtra that all employees listed on the company website are real but have signed a nondisclosure agreement. He also says the challenges to Amaruk’s legitimacy are baseless. “All the licences and registration and all the documents point to the fact that the company is real, yet everyone has ignored that,” he says.

Fragassi-Bjørnsen refers to a page on Amaruk’s website that includes links to the company’s various licences and registrations, including a licence to operate guided backpacking tours in Pacific Rim National Park, an outfitter licence for Kluane National Park and Reserve, and certificates of incorporation for Canada, British Columbia, Yukon and Ontario.

Trotter says his client’s complaint will proceed regardless, since Amaruk is legally registered in BC and Christopher Fragassi is listed on the corporate registration.

“Neither he nor the company have denied sending the emails to Bethany,” reads an Oct 10 press release from Trotter. “Whether or not some of the emails were sent under pseudonyms, or whether or not Mr Fragassi has exaggerated the size or capabilities of his company, both the company and Mr Fragassi himself will need to answer to the Human Rights Tribunal for their discriminatory decision. The true author of the ‘Olaf Amundsen’ emails will also need to answer for their harassing language. The fact that Mr Fragassi appears to be a BC resident will simply make it easier to enforce an anti-discrimination order from the Human Rights Tribunal.”

Read the full story on dailyxtra.com.

XTRA! OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 7

City gives 8x6 new licence What goes on inside club isn’t city’s business, officials say GAY SPACE NIKO BELL

Club 8x6 survived its first year with a winning strategy: plan carefully, keep your head down and know the rules. The result: a rare and coveted zoning permit.

A German flight attendant is the first customer to wander through the club’s unmarked industrial-brown side door on Haro Street one Friday night in mid-October. Zoll Ruskin, one of 8x6’s owners, is behind the bar, slinging Coke and ginger ale. There will be no liquor sold tonight; a selective system of liquor licences is part of Ruskin’s delicate strategy for the club.

Ruskin has deliberately avoided a primary liquor licence, which would prohibit the club’s main function: uninhibited sex. Instead, he acquires individual liquor licences for busy events, allowing him to welcome public sex (which bars and pubs cannot, because of their licences) while also selling booze

(which saunas cannot, because of water hazards). This niche allows him to pull in groups, such as the Pacific Canadian Association of Nudists and rubber fetish society Rubbout, that nearly fill his 200-person space.

Club 8x6 is a simple, immaculately clean, black concrete box — a refurbished parking garage where the old Denman Station club hid decades ago.

It is decorated only with red and black curtains and a few flat-screen TVs, on which plaid-shirted lumberjacks are enjoying a threesome as Ruskin shows me around. His co-owner, Peter Pavlovic, guards the door, where visitors have to buzz in through the fortress-like front entrance. A social room with chairs and tables extends past the bar, followed by a dancefloor, play rooms with swings and a wooden cross on wheels, and a hallway fitted with glory holes. In the back corner, the club has a medical station where a nurse does free STI tests on busy nights.

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The nondescript side door at 1775 Haro St marks the entrance to Club 8x6, which co-owner Zoll Ruskin describes as a “sex-positive play space.” NIKO BELL

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When 8x6 opened in summer 2013, city hall didn’t know where to fit Ruskin and Pavlovic’s application. The club ended up with a licence for a fitness centre. Ruskin knew the licence didn’t fit but kept his head down, strictly enforced the rules, made sure city hall and the police were happy, and waited for his patience to pay off.

Then, in September 2014, the National Post published a story on 8x6, gasping at its proximity to a library and a community centre and challenging city hall for its permissiveness. The city, however, stuck by Ruskin, telling the Post that it was none of anyone’s business what was going on in 8x6 and that there was no licensing problem.

Just a few weeks later, the city’s licensing office handed Ruskin and Pavlovic a private members’ club licence, a privilege held only by a handful of other clubs in the city. The licence not only gives 8x6 a tacit stamp of approval, but will allow Ruskin to serve drinks later, host dancing all night and advertise both liquor sales and sex parties at the same time.

Ruskin thinks the negative attention in the National Post, ironically, was partly responsible for a surge in support, from the city and his customers.

“It was the best thing that could have happened to us in the end,” he says.

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VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

The City of Vancouver’s 2013 West End plan includes this illustration of what the Davie and Bute intersection and plaza could look like.

CITY OF VANCOUVER

Jim Deva plaza?

City council votes unanimously to ask staff to recommend options GAY VILLAGE NATASHA BARSOTTI

Vancouver City Council unanimously passed a motion Oct 14 directing city staff to recommend a number of options for a site to be named after Jim Deva in recognition of his legacy of fighting for LGBT rights, social justice and freedom of expression.

The motion, brought forward by Mayor Gregor Robertson and seconded

by Councillor Tim Stevenson, states that staff will work with Deva’s family, the city’s LGBTQ advisory committee, the park board and the civic-assetnaming committee to identify an appropriate memorial site.

Deva, 63, died Sept 21 after a fall at his Haro Street home.

The motion states that Deva’s death led to “a remarkable outpouring of community reflection on his life and legacy” and that the city is grateful to Deva for his contributions both locally and nationally. It also states that the city “is committed to building on Jim Deva’s legacy by continuing and expanding its leading advocacy for LGBTTQ equality, rights, and inclusion.”

City staff have been asked to report back on “an enhanced, permanent plaza” at the Davie and Bute intersection, one of the areas being explored as a potential option for memorializing

Deva’s legacy.

The motion notes that the councilapproved community plan for the West End recognizes the Davie Village as an important historical and cultural hub for the city’s queer community and identifies Davie and Bute as the heart of the Village.

Brian Jackson, Vancouver’s general manager of planning and development, told council that a significant majority of people surveyed as part of the West End planning process indicated support for a permanent plaza at that intersection. “We’ll be presenting a number of options, both in terms of what could be considered as a permanent plaza, together with the costing on the various options,” Jackson said.

City staff would likely be ready to recommend memorial options to council by February or March 2015, Jackson tells Xtra. “We’re not going to let too much more time go by, because we do want to get the work done as quickly as we can,” he says.

Stevenson welcomed the city’s bid to honour Deva. “This seems very fitting.

We’re looking at various aspects that might be incorporated into this, [like] a museum-like plaza that talks about other people who have gone before us who also made huge contributions.”

Councillor Adriane Carr said it’s important for the city and council to honour in a public and lasting way the achievements and work of people who have made a significant, positive difference in citizens’ lives.

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The art of the party John Stevenson created a gay club empire in our city STILL QQ KEVIN DALE MCKEOWN

“Everybody down!” John Stevenson shouted from the front of the club. “He’s got a gun!” John, his righthand man Donnie, and drag artiste cum bartender Flo Flowing rolled to the floor as a shot rang out in the early-morning hours at Jonathan’s on Seymour Street.

John, just beginning to build a Vancouver club empire, no doubt had visions of the shooting a couple of years

earlier that had precipitated the closing of the B&B and left a legendary bullet hole in the front door of The Playpen South.

No doubt Donnie and bar wench Flo, who is now Vancouver parks board candidate Jamie Lee Hamilton, also wondered if they were reliving history.

The trio had been cleaning up after another late night at the second-floor boozecan when a drunk duo showed up at the entrance demanding admission. When John told them the club was closed, one of the drunks said, a bit

melodramatically, “You haven’t seen the last of us; we’ll be back” and pounded back down the stairs to Seymour Street.

Moments later he reappeared wielding a handgun, and that’s when the night turned frightening.

The gunman fired only one shot, then turned and ran back into the night.

Nobody was hit.

In a recent piece by my colleague Raziel Reid, we read about Matt Troy, a maestro of today’s party scene, whose business philosophy is right out of John’s playbook. “Partying is an art,”

Electrical (and plumbing) whiz kid Donnie Whittaker, seen here circa 1972, was responsible for the state-of-the-art sound at John Stevenson’s many clubs.

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Matt says. “Providing a service, not selling a product — that’s the new art model.”

Matt also reminds us that we have a history of innovative and creative play spaces, but I doubt he’ll ever have a story quite like that night at Jonathan’s.

John Stevenson was our Matt Troy of the 1970s and ’80s. From his beginnings in 1969 with Champagne Charlie’s, John created and ran more spaces for the art of partying than any other club-man then or since. To try to keep the names and dates in order is a hopeless task.

There was Basin Street in three different locations over the years, Jonathan’s in at least two, a Whittaker’s, a Downbeat, a Hungry Eye and a Cruel Elephant.

And the more we old-timers talk among ourselves, the more we remember.

John’s partner in mayhem through the years was Don Whittaker, fondly known (after years of running the various clubs at 23 West Cordova) as Donnie Cordova. A whiz kid who could handle the renovations, wiring and plumbing wherever the party went next, he could set up and run the sweetest sound system and made John’s many clubs known for state-of-the art sound.

Donnie is probably our best hope for ever getting the chronology of names and addresses straight, and we’re working on it. In the meantime, Donnie tells some stories that will, I’m sure, make Matt a bit dizzy to contemplate. I think there’s material for at least one or two more columns, so stay tuned. There’s a whole column to come on Donnie alone.

Unlike Matt, John and Donnie didn’t have the active cooperation of city of-

ficials. In fact, in those days the “art of partying” included the art of dodging police and all manner of health, liquor and building inspectors.

We partied on illegal booze, delivered in some of the most ingenious devices.

For as long as anyone can remember, John offered at his various establishments “special coffee” and “small orange” drinks as the specialty of the house. The coffee was special because of the whiskey; the orange included a healthy shot of vodka. To this day you can get a laugh from the Prime Timers crowd by asking if they’d like a special coffee.

Of course, all the above-mentioned inspectors were well aware that there was drinking going on. You had only to watch a few patrons as they staggered off into the sunrise. So keeping the booze out of sight was a constant challenge.

My personal favourite was the jerryrigged delivery system from a washroom cistern to the two-burner coffee machine at the bar. Coffee came out of one side of the machine, but if you flipped the switch for the other side, you got a pot of pure vodka. Did I say vodka? Sorry, I meant hot water for tea.

When John started to worry that cops were catching on to that dodge, Donnie, always the fixer, rerouted the vodka to the hot water tap over the sink.

Inspectors foiled again, and we partied on!

Kevin Dale McKeown was Vancouver’s first out gay columnist in the early 1970s.

Email him at stillqq@dailyxtra.com.

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

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XTRA! OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 11

12 OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 XTRA!

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

OutintheCity

You’ll feel it in your guts, and not just because she’s ripping them out of your body.

Raziel Reid E17

SHOOTING STAR A flaming teen lights up the screen in Raziel Reid’s debut novel IN PRINT PAT JOHNSON

In Raziel Reid’s first novel, protagonist Jude Rothesay makes both a remarkable debut and a haunting exit. The spectacular Jude may be one of fiction’s more captivating characters, yet he has some conspicuous similarities with the very real man who created him.

Throughout Reid’s just-published book, When Everything Feels Like the Movies, Jude swans through high school like the star of a dramedy in which everyone else plays a supporting role.

Rapid of wit and vicious of barb, Jude has designed for himself a role that buffers him from the consequences of being a spectacularly gay high schooler, a particular form of stardom that was not Reid’s reality.

“I would’ve liked to have been like Jude,” Reid says. “I think he was a lot braver than me.”

In Jude, Reid may have created an alter ego, of sorts, but the clamour for schoolyard stardom is definitely fantasy. “I was sort of shy,” he says. “I wanted to be under the radar. I didn’t want to be so visible because already I was tall, gay and recognizable, so I already stood out. And growing up in Manitoba — it’s not the most progressive province.”

Jude may not be an exact avatar of Reid, but Jude’s sharp tongue has Reid’s distinctive style.

And Reid, who also writes Xtra’s social column in Vancouver, has further blurred the lines between reality and make-believe by basing the fictional character loosely on a real person.

Reid’s impetus for the novel was the 2008 murder of 15-year-old California high school student Larry King. In front of a bunch of jocks, King asked 14-year-old Brandon McInerney to be his Valentine. A couple of days later, McInerney brought a .22 rifle to school and shot King twice in the head.

When Reid heard the news, he was that shy high school senior, skipping school and watching Ellen DeGeneres, who swapped her witty, dancy opening for a teary, defiant plea for tolerance.

Reid, too, was galvanized and moved to tears, and MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

For author Raziel Reid, his novel When Everything Feels Like the Movies (nominated for a Governor General’s Award) is ultimately about the queer imagination as defence mechanism.

ARSENAL PULP PRESS/ASH MCGREGOR

The theme of the book, ultimately, is the queer imagination as a defence mechanism, he says. Reid says Jude represents a larger phenomenon in the gay male experience.

“Every young gay guy I know wants to be famous, or thinks they are famous,” Reid says.

“It’s this weird thing; it’s like a cultural disease, almost, that we all have. Social media amplifies it, but I feel like it’s rooted in insecurity. A lot of gay people were not very popular in high school, and picked on, and so they dream of sort of showing everyone that they are special. That was certainly Jude’s goal — just prove all of his haters wrong.”

Is it a social disease, a need for fame or infamy, that drove Reid to craft When Everything Feels Like the Movies? Is the story of a fictional character who goes through life as if he is a movie star the vehicle that will drive the author into public adulation and celebrity? Reid deflects this too-obvious suggestion. “I’m already famous,” he says with a laugh.

Reid may have been joking, but days into his first cross-Canada book tour, When Everything Feels Like the Movies was shortlisted for the 2014 Governor General’s Literary Awards in the children’s book category. A nomination in Canada’s most prestigious literary competition is a stunning accolade . . . but is this a “children’s book”?

The book is classified as young adult fiction, Reid explains, “because we had to pick a label, and I chose that one.” It may not seem WHEN EVERYTHING FEELS LIKE THE MOVIES like conventional young adult ficRaziel Reid tion, but he says most gay YA titles Arsenal Pulp Press are sugarcoated. This book, with its arsenalpulp.com VANCOUVER BOOK frank discussions of both sexuality LAUNCH and violence, categorically is not.

Sat, Nov 8, 8–11pm So what does it mean that a novel 303 Columbia 303 Columbia St that moment was the seed of like this is acknowledged as one of the novel. the best Canada has to offer?

For Jude, the world of the mind, of imagination “We are getting braver and getting with the and fantasy, is a refuge, though one that proves times and understanding youth better, perhaps,” fatally ephemeral. “He’s eternally delusional,” Reid says, acknowledging that the judges will Reid says. “I think Jude always saved himself ultimately decide. through his imagination, so even when horrible “They’re either going to be for it because it’s things were happening, he twisted them around, sort of innovative and revolutionary or against manipulated things to suit what he wanted it to be, it because it’s kind of shocking and outrageous,” or what he thought it should have been or could he says. “It doesn’t walk the line.” have been. That was his saving grace. That was The recipients of this year’s awards will be anwhat got him through every day.” nounced on Nov 18.

XTRA! OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 13

h c in 4 2 ’s n a V t s a E sa t u c n io t a s n e s g a dr n swath across tow

’ N I T T E G

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East Van Cross

a s has been st Van cros The iconic Ea ulture in this rc te un co of l s it proud symbo des. Word ha city for deca n Lum, the part of the Ke o. to it, e ics lik that Cathol onument signed the m artist who de enue, Av h xt Si st Ea at Clark and of hope n sio es pr ex calls it “an nny, e.” Well, Ke and defianc my outfit here’s hoping ity. defies grav

TRONG-MORRIS

BY GREG ARBMESRT-JOHN FARROW PHOTOS BY RO theless critical

, she is none municipal election ally livwalk through policies. “I’m liter tle n’s lit a sio Vi ke of ta , e er m so of ges of pa e m th “This summ fro th it at ase lined wi e and have a look ing out of a suitc while an pl us y #EastVan with m Th lit bi d.” da he or ac aff . no strings att or Robertson’s ay over M ke ta an , rs my perspective . . er sto m m reign inve ow ’s East Van Su developers and fo ia . ed began Lippy Will es l-m ip gr cia e so sh d, t,” on-forwar the housing marke ge re m ai ns educational, fashi lture r pa te rn al lin ea the city’s newest cu he by d le hi ste W ho e ur nt other is the adve m r he n. , ry ow te t-t grrl-abou hing of a mys et m so iland multir commentator and W ite er, songwr ths of ag e, Miss notable entertain r In a br ie f At just three mon . he If ow . ill fic W oli y pr ss s as she is m en ta list Pu ru st in y e is proud sh wh low is as precociou if d an I ask Pussy to be believed — phone interview, ic ph Facebook page is ra og ot ph n irrefutable of her daughter. ross would we questio that? I’m not a ? — she tramped ac pe of question is ok ty bo t ce ha Fa se “W on e nc evide etching rist’s sake. Of cour of Main Street, str ster mom, for Ch e on th m e’s Sh r. . ve ita the entire city east Ri iqu my darling Ch let to the Fraser of In d rd ou pr rra ll ta Bu I’m e nd th t from vemen She’s learned to sta ly astounding achie fruit of my loins. ith no This is a particular ll. rld on her own. W ta wo es e ch th in 24 and take on n ca for a woman just u Yo ty. au be so much strings attached.” e senior “East Van has got ething t Lippy’s father, th aces and see som pl t ies tin When asked abou e th e Troyin lik des look un m so na le ow hi eh W m s. tells me, so Willow demur iss M ndied ba e en th interesting,” she be in l ve nklage ha and self-referentia er, DeVito and Di sophical ilo ing both modest ph e or m is e sh about in the media, iliar same breath. er’s DNA. ur readers are fam yo all k in th about her daught n’t e ever do k “I sh of every man I’v ldof its every croo fle ets e cr th se is e py th , ip ea “L ou m d It an . t with the ar ed ou or it pl up and sp needed to be ex slept with, chewed ate little s on ge and nanny, and it rti an po ch ro rn sp tte di t pa d-usageed into a somewha was a study in lan d with ars — coordinate ye 0 10 t las creperson.” e th over d her impressive ask Lippy if she an I og ot ph , st er ali beautiful outfits.” ag rn an jou — Tim Old (m easy for a lesser be am te uld al ive wo on at it e rs hil pe g W eekin nsultant and the mere publicity-s r, pher, wardrobe co ito ra ed to an ho to pass this over as th (p w wi t uld-be celebutan Robert-John Farro ), wo er y t in tin lis tra a sty of ir nt ly stu t on fluffer) and ha ar that Lippy has no s ld assistant and an fie pl ve t ha bu , — outsized ego, it is cle ) od lon ho ffalo (Union Sa in the neighbour t Bu es n to ter res in te ly Pr en lar ic ho a sc bourhood-specif as well. for future neigh her suma political agenda hang out on to e lik oroughly enjoyed I th — g re vin he Ha s? ise pr ady to e w “I live and work d mak y says she’s no re th my girlfriends an er adventure, Lipp m ne to yo er t ev ou Franklin Street wi es ab vit ed in ther afield and I’m a little chok d far e an ur — rs nt sh ve lou ca Co tle ll a lit t Vancouver Fa issue,” she says. to llow her new Wes fo ito gn n co in sio the homelessness Vi tle lit rs a gh she may go phatically prefe ou (th ur To Although she em san As of fans). over the Non-Parti dodge her legions Vancouver’s slate e Nov 15 th to up nru e th sociation (NPA) in 14 OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 XTRA!

Powell Street

one n Eastside is ds The Downtow ighbourhoo ne t es or po st of the e of the olde on d an da yearin Cana These 100r. ve ou nc parts of Va ings stand stained build old graffitieimer Park, nh pe Op e opposit en home July had be which since ting the es ot pr y cit to a tent g. dable housin lack of affor ing out, ep sle ed at I contempl arity. too, in solid

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Tecumseh Elementary

h t at Tecumse School’s ou enue, East 41st Av on ry ta en Elem eak for me to sn just in time ra mnasium fo gy e th nd behi thol smokes en m of le coup ary game of after a solit hopscotch.

Franklin Street

Franklin Stre et, notably the stretch between Cl ark and Vict oria north of Hastings , has got to be one of th most neglec e ted streetsc apes in East Van. Some might see it as bleak, treeless and littered with abandoned lots (or idea l places to co nduct clandestine business). Bu t from my pe rspective, I see overgrown nooks worth y of investigat ion.

Crows

2400 Motor Court

of the 2400 e neon sign t Unlike me, th c motor cour ni ico e th idtowers over ument to m on m a , ay sw les’ on the King re. The X-Fi ltu cu r ca ry to 20th-centu drawn here Scully were e Mulder and , and even th al rm no ra the pa r, Ahmed investigate be m Bo um enni real-life Mill ce in one of ok up residen Ressam, to make an to 99 19 s in the bungalow rport. ai ’s LA b m bo explosive to — us rio to no d It’s creepy an e it! just how I lik

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If you live in Vancouver, and especial ly in East Va n, you’ve likel y experienc ed the wrath of th e crows if yo u’ ve ventured too close to their young.

I never learn, which is why this photo of St Francis of Assisi Ch urch on Napi er Street was ruined (as was my hair) after I taunted an over-protect ive bird.

I think maybe Francis him self had somethi ng to do with my folly.

XTRA! OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 15

ENTER TO WIN!

Undivided gender Dance collaboration explores traditional Asian movements ONSTAGE HANNAH ACKERAL

Xtra and PV Events bring you a chance to win a grand-prize package to the Vancouver Health Show, Nov 8 and 9 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The package includes a pair of tickets to the show on Saturday; a Preferred Nutrition gift basket (worth $130), which includes Brad King’s latest book, Dirty Diets; and two reserved front-row seats for King’s 1:35pm talk on Saturday.

To enter, send your name and phone number to contest@dailyxtra. com, with “Contest: PV Events” in the subject line, before Wednesday, Nov 5. Some restrictions apply. Only winners will be contacted.

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

ENTER TO WIN!

Xtra and Co.Erasga Dance bring you a chance to win a pair of tickets to Undivided Colours at The Roundhouse, 181 Roundhouse Mews, on either Saturday, Nov 8 at 8pm or Sunday, Nov 9 at 2pm.

To enter, send your name and phone number to contest@dailyxtra.com, with “Contest: Undivided Colours” in the subject line, before Wednesday, Nov 5. Some restrictions apply.

Only winners will be contacted.

Xtra and Western Gold Theatre bring you a chance to win a pair of tickets to Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women at PAL Studio Theatre, 581 Cardero St.

16 OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 XTRA!

The tickets are good for any performance Wednesday to Saturday, Oct 29 to Nov 1, or Saturday and Sunday matinees Nov 1 and 2.

To enter, send your name and phone number to contest@dailyxtra.com, with “Contest: Three Tall Women” in the subject line, before Tuesday, Oct 28.

Some restrictions apply. Only winners will be contacted.

“Is there gender in movements? Who makes the decision that this is a male movement, this is a female movement?’” asks dancer and choreographer Alvin Erasga Tolentino.

Tolentino is the force behind one of Vancouver’s most original dance companies, Co.Erasga, which launches its 14th season this November with Undivided Colours, a collection of dance works that explore, challenge and celebrate gender as defined by both traditional and contemporary Asian culture.

The show will feature acclaimed international performers Peter Chin, Pichet Klunchun, William Lau, Didik Nini Thowok and Alvin Erasga Tolentino. It will be the first time these performers have collaborated, and each brings a unique Dancer and choreographer cultural perspecAlvin Erasga Tolentino reaches tive to the project. for the body’s “in-between For Tolentino, that place” in his collaborative means combining his Filipino heriproject on gender fluidity, tage with the contemporary dance Undivided Colours.

CO.ERASGA/ KIKU HAWKS movements that have earned him widespread acclaim. His performance will feature the malong, a multipur- restrictive. There is possibility, there pose garment worn by both men and is variety, there is a range,” Lau says. women in the indigenous cultures of “Even within one culture, there’s a the Southern Philippines. It’s that lot of division; there’s a lot of complexduality that Tolentino wants to share ity,” he notes. “Sometimes it’s because with his piece. of class; sometimes it’s because of “There’s no context on what’s male social status — there’s many factors or female there — in Asia, that’s just that can influence how one’s gender is very much part of the tradition — so expressed. Even though we’re all from I wanted to encounter what that is more southeast Asian cultures, I think like in the dance and to it will be fascinating to UNDIVIDED COLOURS see the body in that insee the diversity, and Dance and symposia between place,” he says. to see some similarity.”

Fri, Nov 7–Sun, Nov 9 For William Lau, UnThe dance perforScotiabank Dance Centre 677 Davie St divided Colours repremances will be accomRoundhouse Community sents an opportunity to panied by a weekend of Centre challenge strict expecsymposia that feature 181 Roundhouse Mews companyerasgadance.ca tations of gender. Lau not only members of specializes in the dan the dance community, — female roles traditionally played but scholars and artists with backby male actors in the Peking Opera. grounds in theatre, music and the His experiences as an actor have chal- visual arts. These gatherings will give lenged the way he performs gender. both the artists and the audience the “Through our show, through the opportunity to discuss how their work expression in theatre, we can inform informs the notion of identity and contemporary society that it’s not that gender, on- and off-stage.

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

High heels & blood Showgurlz 2 started the Halloween party early this year BLITZ & SHITZ

RAZIEL REID

“You are all going to die” is my new favourite party tagline. Showgurlz 2 took over The Rio, and unlike the first edition, which saw drag queens and kings in cosplay dressed up as your favourite Saturday morning cartoons, there was nothing child-friendly about this night of wigs, makeup, high heels and blood — which, coincidentally, is how I would describe my last date.

The show was inspired by your favourite horror films and iconic scary movie characters, like It as played by Beardoncé. Girl didn’t need contacts to have crazed clown eyes; she just took a sip of Filipina Colada!

Filipina was magnificent as Maleficent, but the spookiest performer was Kiki LaWhore as Elvira. I remember back in the day everyone would give shit to Kiki for not knowing her words,

MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

but being Empress 43 has taken her to the next level, because the mistress of the dark was on point.

Watching LaWhore got me thinking about Sharon Needles. When I interviewed her a couple of years ago, everyone (especially her) thought she was going to be the biggest drag queen since RuPaul. During our interview, she listed Elvira as one of her greatest influences.

But Needles has recently forsaken her deathly roots for a more glamorous persona with her latest single, “I Wish I Were Amanda Lepore,” and I say good riddance, because watching LaWhore embody Elvira was way more entertaining and original — even if her wig didn’t stop shedding throughout her entire number.

Lady Jem was there, but I don’t think she got the memo that she was supposed to dress as a horror villain because she didn’t show up as her boy self . . . Oh sorry, she’s not Lady Jem anymore; it’s Thanksjem now. I didn’t ask her why,

Within moments of greeting Thanksjem (right) backstage, Raziel got punched in the balls.

Thanks, Jem! ASH MCGREGOR

but I’m assuming it’s because she’s such a cray bitch and everyone is always sarcastically thanking her for her verbal degradations. Within 30 seconds of saying hi to her backstage, she had punched me in the balls for not going to the last Cool Moms (but I’ll be at the next one on Halloween, Oct 31 at Café Deux Soleils, showtime 9pm sharp), asked me if I had just finished eating curry and squeezed my ass only to tell me that it’s getting flat. Thanks, Jem! Peter Breeze hosted, and he is absolutely hilarious on the mic. If I didn’t have memory loss from smoking so

much pot, I’d fill this column with his one-liners. He’s definitely in his element onstage with a big black thing near his mouth . . .

Unfortunately, two queens who were set to perform weren’t able to make it to the show. Shanda Leer was sick, “which I assume means really hungover,” Breeze quipped, and Junita Werk was having an anxiety attack, “which I assume means she did too many drugs,” Breeze said. Since the show was missing performers, the winner of the Sassword game — which sees audience members try to guess a word that a drag queen

is describing to them — won a chance to shine.

Good thing the winner was James Goranko, because he’s had some experience onstage as one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Sister Alma.

Alma gave an impromptu performance of Lady Gaga’s “Applause” and killed it.

Of course, the highlight of Halloween is always Vancouver’s top creep Bloody Betty, who brings the horror yearround and is one of the most visceral performers our scene has to offer. You’ll feel it in your guts, and not just because she’s ripping them out of your body.

The faithful Jonathan Kol and Ikue Ueno of House of La Douche were also part of the show. Those two are so dedicated to their craft that they’d dance backup for a rotting carcass (aka Thanksjem) if there’s an audience and a paycheque in it for them!

There are a lot of Halloween parties to look forward to this season. The Vancouver Pride Society is throwing The Haunting II at The Commodore Ballroom following a successful event last year, The Emerald is hosting Skin Game for some gorlesque, Liberace’s Evil Queen Halloween ball at Celebrities Nightclub will bring out the dressed-up divas, and the all-night rave Backdoor: Halloween at the Art and Leisure Centre will have the dead living straight into November.

Happy tricks, hookers!

XTRA! OCT 23–NOV 5, 2014 17

WHAT'S ON FOR MORE LISTINGS, GO TO DAILYXTRA.COM

Thurs, Oct 23

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31

Poetry reading

MIDNIGHT SHOWING

Jane Eaton Hamilton reads from her new book, Love Will Burst into a Thousand Shapes.

7pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main St. cottage-bistro.com

Tickets $5.00 100% proceeds to

There Goes the Gaybourhood?

1025 Davie St. (604) 687-2222

UBC professor Amin Ghaziani reads from his new book on the evolution of gay neighbourhoods. 7pm. Little Sister’s, 1238 Davie St. Free. littlesisters.ca

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Ghost Light’s take on John Cameron Mitchell’s 1998 off-Broadway cult sensation runs until Sat, Nov 1. 7pm.

The Cobalt, 917 Main St. $30 at brownpapertickets.com. ghostlightprojects.com.

Fri, Oct 24 AJ’s CafÊ Join other HIV-positive gay men every Friday for this free social gathering/support group sponsored by Positive Living BC. 3–6pm. The Junction Pub, 1138 Davie St. positivelivingbc.org

Timberline Get your hoe-down with free country, two-step and linedancing lessons. 7–11pm.

PumpJack Pub, 1167 Davie St. pumpjackpub.com

Heartwood Turns One The Heartwood CafĂŠ celebrates its ďŹ rst birthday with a community soup pot and performances. 7–10pm.

Heartwood CafĂŠ, 317 E Broadway. Pay what you can. heartwoodcc.ca

4Play Fridays Lux presents a new weekly lesbian event with rotating DJs.

! "

Hedwig and the Angry Inch — The Cobalt, opens Thurs, Oct 23

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GHOST LIGHT PROJECTS

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18 OCT 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;NOV 5, 2014 XTRA!

4 5 2 4 ! ' 67*,8 %7%.90%,

9pmâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;2am. Lux Lounge, 1180 Howe St. $10. luxlounge.ca

Truckerdisco Third Anniversary Celebrating all kinds of disco with all kinds of disco lovers.

9pmâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;2am. Heavenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Door, 1216 Bute St. $5 at eventbrite.ca.

Sat, Oct 25 Healing Our Wounds A six-week closed group for guys to heal both emotionally and physically from their circumcision experiences.

10amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;noon. HIM Office, 1033 Davie St. Register via email at register@checkhimout.ca or call 604-488-1001.

A Nightmare Before Halloween Come dressed in your favourite Tim Burtonâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;inspired outďŹ t for a chance to win prizes. 9pmâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3am. Celebrities, 1022 Davie St. $20 advance at celebrities. electrostub.com.

drag, live singing and a movie.

7pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St, New Westminster. $10. theheritagegrill.com

Wed, Oct 29 Connect with HIM The Health Initiative for Men hosts a weekly discussion group open to all gay men (ESL and students of all ages welcome). 6:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8pm. HIM Office, 310-1033 Davie St. checkhimout.ca

Absolutely Badminton This friendly club welcomes everyone, including beginners and spectators. 7pm. King George Secondary School, 1755 Barclay St. Drop-in $6, annual membership $130. absolutelybadminton. wordpress.com

Bute St. $30 at hdhalloween. eventbrite.com.

Vintage Circus Freak Show DJ Drew and Mandy Camp promise to scare your socks off. 9pmâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;4am. The Junction, 1138 Davie St. $12. thejunctionpub.com

Backdoor Halloween Vancouverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hot and sweaty pop-up party is back. 10pm.

Vancouver Art and Leisure, 35 E 3rd Ave. $25 at the door; Stratosphere Salon, 1259 Granville St; or kck.st/Z2em6x. artandleisure.ca

Fang Bangers Club 8x6 invites you to a Halloween after-glow party.

2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;6am. Club 8x6, 1775 Haro St. $30. 8x6.ca

Bingo for Life: Halloween Edition

Sat, Nov 1

Scotiabank will match every dollar donated tonight, up to $1,500, to support Friends for Life. 8â&#x20AC;&#x201C;10pm. Celebrities, 1022 Davie St. $10 donation at door for bingo cards. celebritiesnightclub.com

November Mosh Join the pups and their handlers as they socialize, with or without gear. 2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4pm.

PumpJack Pub, 1167 Davie St. No cover. vanpah.com

Thurs, Oct 30

Club 8x6 presents a no-holesbarred sex party on the ďŹ rst, second and third Saturday of the month. 8pmâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;3am. Club 8x6, 1775 Haro St. $10, two for one before midnight. 8x6.ca

Gay Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Summit

The Junk Yard

The Vancouver Pride Society hosts a Halloween party with DJs Quest, Karsten Sollors and Tracey Draper. 10:30pm. The Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville St. Tickets $25.50 at ticketmaster.ca; Little Sisterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, 1238 Davie St; and Top Drawers, 809 Davie St. vancouverpride.ca

This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summit asks how well gay men and their health providers navigate the explosion of health knowledge in the digital era. Runs today and tomorrow, starting at 8am. SFU Harbour Centre, 515 W Hastings St. Free registration for those with ďŹ xed or low income. Event details at cbrc.net/summit.

Space Out

Anonymous

Monroe: Post Mortem

An all-night party in a newly renovated warehouse space.

11pm. Vancouver Art and Leisure, 35 E 3rd Ave. $10. artandleisure.ca

A mask-mandatory event for men only, where whom you meet is a mystery. 8pmâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; midnight. Club 8x6, 1775 Haro St. $10, includes locker. 8x6.ca

Sun, Oct 26

Liberace: Shokra

TFD presents Cassandra Moore, Raye Sunshine, DJ Zach Shore and a special Halloween edition of Drag Roulette. 9pm. Heavenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Door, 1216 Bute St. $15 door, $10 advance at monroehalloween. eventbrite.com.

The Haunting

Little Shop of Horrors The Vancouver Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence team up with Mz Adrien for a night of

Shokra brings her stage presence to Vancouver.

10pmâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;3am. Celebrities, 1022 Davie St. $10 at celebrities.electrostub.com.

Fri, Oct 31 Rapture Paranoia TFD presents DJ Grind, Valynne Vile, Joan-E, Raye Sunshine and Jane Smoker in a Halloween event not to be missed.

8pm.

Heavenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Door, 1216

Sin City Fetish Halloween Performances, two rooms of DJs, dancing, bondage demos and a kinky play dungeon make for the kinkiest party in town.

9pm. The Imperial, 319 Main St. $25 at ticketzone.com.

Bananas for Gwen Stefani Shanda Leer hosts a playful tribute to Gwen Stefani. 9pm.

The Cobalt, 917 Main St. $10 before 10pm, $12 after. thecobalt.ca

Tues, Nov 4 Dirty Talk @F212 This four-week discussion group will be ďŹ lled with raunchy, kinky, dirty talk between like-minded men.

Tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s topic: ass play and ďŹ sting. 8pm. F212, 1048 Davie St. checkhimout.ca

Submit your event listing to oitc.vancouver@dailyxtra.com.

Deadline for the Nov 6 issue is Wed, Oct 29.

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Health Dr Aaron Van Gaver BSc ND 604-629-1120

Health & Wellness The Health Shows 888-999-1761

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PRAIRIE FAIRIES FOWL SUPPER Everybody’s favourite Prairie-born aunty, Linda Fillmore, hosted her 15th annual community dinner and fundraiser at a packed Hellenic Community Centre on Oct 18.

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Mail Box Plus 604-683-1433

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