Muffins: Although summer has not yet descended, apparently there is enough buzz about the much anticipated ascension that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decided to help us prepare. In the event that you are not “chosen” to rapture on Saturday – here are my picks for the best things to do with yourself. … Continue Reading
Muffins:
This is the time of year where everybody gets busy. Between the graduation parties,the outdoor events and concerts, the weddings and the trips you may find it hard to take time for yourself. Don’t fret! You don’t need to take it ALL in (as much as you may wish to). That’s where the Weekend Preview Plus comes in. I am trying to help get the word out on a few select opportunities so you do not need to be overwhelmed with the plethera of choices brought daily by Facebook and other social media sources. If you are an organizer and you wish to have your event featured on TheColu.mn drop me a line at Style@thecolu.mn!
Here’s this weeks line up.
Twin Cities Pride and The Art Institutes International Minnesota are pleased to announce that the work of 11 local artisans will be featured in the 2011 Twin Cities Pride Art Exhibition to be held May 7-June 10 at The Art Institutes International Minnesota located at 15 S 9th Street in downtown Minneapolis. Hours for the gallery are 8 AM-5 PM seven days a week. The exhibition is free and open to the public.
The exhibition is dedicated to supporting and showcasing the work of visual artists from across the region. Artists to be featured in the exhibition have created works in a variety of media including painting, photography, collage and illustration. Artist Kurt Hippauf, a BEST IN SHOW winner from the 2010 Twin Cities Pride Exhibition, will have additional pieces of artwork featured in the Gourmet Gallery restaurant at The Art Institutes International Minnesota located directly across from the Art Gallery. Artists featured in the 2011 Twin Cities Pride Exhibition include:
Rakhi Singh Bisen
Marc DeBauch
Amina Harper
Kurt Hippauf
Kay Hughes
Chase Lindberger
Drake McDougall
Jeffrey Morrison
George Roedler
Timothy Sylte
John Vasiliou
Red Ribbon Ride Fundraiser
9PM
MPLS Eagle
515 WASHINGTON AVE S
Minneapolis, MN
A Fundraiser for The MN RED RIBBON RIDE.
A fundraiser for two riders, Brent Fourre,, and Tom Kerby. We are both trying to raise $1500.00, So we are asking for your help. Our event is a beer bust from 9pm to 12 midnite,.. $10.00 suggested donation. the ride is a 4day event to raise awareness and support for people in MN, living wih HIV/AIDS. If you want to mak a donation, to either of us and cannot make it, www.REDRIBBONRIDE.ORG
THANK YOU!
KICK UP YOUR HEELS!!!!! A kick off event/show!!
8PM
Annex Theatre-Nick & Eddie-Alley Entrance!!
1612 Harmon Pl 612-486-5800 Entrance Through Back ALLEY!!!!
Minneapolis, MN
The Minneapolis Burlesque & Cabaret Social Club!
invites you to
Come KICK UP YOUR HEELS!!! at this Kick-off Event!!!!
This is an event to kick off:
…-Our new performance space!!
-Golden GRRRLS! A Drag history celebration and fundraiser for
The Aliveness Project!!
-AND New AFTER-BAR DRAG BREAKFAST!!!
Hosted by Polly and the Hot Buttered Crackers!!!
Brother Circle of Minneapolis – AIDS Walk Cookout
Sunday, May 15 · 11:00am – 2:00pm
Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, MN (4801 Minnehaha Ave – Smpls )
This year, we are going to take the BCM party to the walk. Join us for food, fellowship and feedback this coming Sunday morning/afternoon The New Brother Circle of Minneapolis (BCM612) V.2.0 –Shouts to everyone that turned out for the last BCM on Easter Sunday. We had a great turnout and hope we can get a bigger one this Sunday. As discussed at our last BCM612 meeting, we are now once a month, breaking out into the community to share space with other agencies and programs in which GLBT men of all races are comfortable and congregate. What better place to do this than the AIDS Walk!
Punk Rock Bowling
9:30
Memory Lanes & Flashback Cafe
2520 26th Ave South
Hey fellas and ladies 
Looking for something to do on a Monday night? Want to hangout with some cool guys, throw some balls and listen to some good music, while bathing in the ambient glow of black lights and disco balls?
Then join PrideAlive on Monday night May 16th 2011 at Memory Lanes for Punk Rock Bowling!(it’s only $5!!!) And we will see who bowls a “Gentleman’s 40″
Uptown: the Musical
Intermedia Arts, Uptown Minneapolis
2822 Lyndale Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN
Vegans and hipsters and baristas…oh my!
Box Wine Theatre presents “Uptown: the Musical” by Adam Sharp and Bethany Simmons with music by John McConville.
Join us for a musical journey through Uptown as the locals fight to save that thing that makes them “Uptowners!”
Cast:
Kyler Chase, Andi Cheney, Sarah Frazier, Oliver Sharp, Cody Stewart, Jon Michael Stiff, and Milo Weil.
Live Band:
Anthony Bloch, John McConville, Jason Mclean, and Chad Sclavi.
PERFORMANCE @7:00 // THU 5/19
PERFORMANCE @7:00 // FRI 5/20
PERFORMANCE @7:00 // SAT 5/21
PERFORMANCE @3:30 // SUN 5/22 (pay what you can)
PERFORMANCE @7:00 // THU 5/26
PERFORMANCE @7:00 // FRI 5/27
PERFORMANCE @7:00 // SAT 5/28
PERFORMANCE @3:30 // SUN 5/29 (pay what you can)
Tickets: $10-$15 sliding scale
**Discount with Fringe button, student ID, or if you bike or take public transportation to the performance.**
Drag for Fun: A Fundraiser for Greg Glass
Friday, May 20 at 10:00pm - May 21 at 1:00am
The Bolt Underground
515 Washington Ave
As many of you know, Greg, one of Minneapolis’s best bartenders, has recently undergone heart surgery.
To show him support and love, a few wonderful friends and drag performers will be gathering for a fundraiser for him to help offset some of the medical expenses he’s incurred.
It looks to be a fun night of impromptu fun and song with all donations and tips raised going to Greg.
And you won’t believe it! Special Guest Emcee: Tinea!
If you’re a performer, and would like to do a number, please let me know.
Also, there will be an auction of one of Greg’s most prized possessions, considered by many to be an institution of The Eagle since he started working there in 1998: Greg’s Overalls!
Come and join in the fun in the Underground!
TGIFrybread* Presents: Minwaajimo (She/he is Telling a Good Story)
5PM
The Loft
1011 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Please join the TGIFrybread Native Writers’ Group for Minwaajimo, its first public reading, on Saturday, May 21, from 5 to 8 p.m.
The evening’s program includes:
• 15 talented writers reading from their stories, poems, and other writings
• An intermission with food and beverages provided
…• A Q&A session: an opportunity to learn more about the readers and their
writings
This event is free and open to the public and will take place at the Loft in the Target Performance Hall located on the second floor of
Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue
South in Minneapolis.
For more information please contact Ardie Medina at amedina@loft.org or 612-215-2582.
*TGIFrybread is a Loft-sponsored Open Writing Group. For information on other Loft-sponsored writing groups and other Loft events, please visit the Loft’s website at www.loft.org.
Muffins, I do apologize for having dropped the ball for the past several weeks. Between illness and injury I have had a bit of a rough go of it. I am back on the treadmill with you and bringing you my best picks of upcoming events. I am grateful that the weather does seem to finally be improving somewhat so get out and enjoy! … Continue Reading
CityPages released its “Best of the Twin Cities” list last week and several of Minnesota’s LGBT institutions made the cut.
Best place to people watch: Brass Rail
“The place recently underwent a renovation in an effort to class itself up a little. That effort was more or less successful, so now the stable of regulars is salted with after-work skyway types, disoriented tourists looking for a pre-theater drink, and of course the folks who are coming early to guarantee a seat for the Wednesday-through-Sunday go-go boys. It’s a friendly mix, and never boring.” … Continue Reading
With roots that go back to 1949, The Town House is St. Paul’s oldest LGBTQ bar and everyone knows it. Everyone but local historians consulting on the Central Corridor Light Rail project, who have suggested that the bar is an ineligible contender for the National Register of Historic Places. Without the Register’s protection, the Town House could very well fall to the wreckers in an effort to attract ‘family friendly’ businesses to University Avenue’s fancy new train in 2014. … Continue Reading
Muffins:
In the days ahead while we move into warmer weather there is plenty to pick from for getting out and socializing. No need to be stuck in a bar or club when there are so many alternatives. Consider being an ambassador for the upcoming Dining Out For Life – a benefit for the Aliveness Project. They still have plenty of options for people who want to volunteer as an ambassador for this very fun community-wide day of getting out and enjoying the company of good friends while supporting a worthy cause. It is also not too early to be thinking about the beach! If you are like me, that means shaking a little to get rid of those few extra pounds that accumulated over the winter. This Weekend Preview Plus is dedicated to health and well being. Whether that is supporting the work of organizations assisting in the health of others or participating in a healthy activity I hope you will find something in this post to your fancy. … Continue Reading
Muffins: I am happy to report that spring has sprung (finally!) I was walking into my office yesterday and saw two robins. What a welcome sight. That combined with the rain, green grass and buds bursting everywhere tells me that we are about to have a reprieve from this arduous winter! Along with the arrival of Spring comes a host of events to attend. And then we are headlong into another glorious Minnesota summer. Just last night I had a little birdie tell me that early summer will bring an event like no other this city has seen! Just you wait for the details to emerge about a night of one hundred drag divas gracing a single stage! … Continue Reading
Hello Muffins!
The week ahead is so jam packed I am exhausted even putting the Weekend Preview Plus together for you. Whenever there is additional infomation available for any of the events I have included it is simple to find – click on the associated image! More often than not it is a Facebook event page that you will be brought to. No Facebook profile – what are you waiting for? If you end up in a pickle without enough info to attend the event of choice feel free to email me at style@thecolu.mn
ENJOY!
Saucy Salsa Lessons
Thursday, February 24 · 7:00pm – 8:00pm
3405 Chicago Ave, Minneapolis, MN
Queer and Trans friendly Salsa dance lessons
Every Thursday, 7-8pm
Starts February 24th, 2011
Taught by Jae Haile Phillips in our fabulous shared, queer space.
All ability levels welcome!
$10 a lesson OR
$50 for a 6 class series
Contact Jae Haile Phillips at Jae.phillips@hotmail.com or 612-709-8003 for more detailed information.
SHAZAMORAMA
Friday, February 25 · 7:00pm – 11:00pm
Second Foundation School
1219 University Ave. SE
DISTRICT 202 & SECOND FOUNDATION SCHOOL present
A YOUTH DANCE PARTY: SUPERHERO THEME !!!
(FOR AGES 12-19)
*P.V.O.
$3/door
$2/in costume
$1/with pre-registration (info on that soon!)
A superfun, sober event with food, music, & amazing dancers (you)!
All GLBTQ youth & friends/allies welcome!
*Positive Vibe Only, please.
Fitness Boot Camp
Saturday, February 26 · 10:30am – 12:30pm
“Out to change mindsets on exercise, Switch & Sweetpea offer group fitness ‘P4P BOOTCAMP!’ classes that mix and vary styles for cross-training, for fun, for life!’
In addition to basic cardio, strength-training, and flexibility foundations, you’ll experience everything from boxing drills and muay thai sequences to ballet, hip-hop, pilates, and burlesque combinations.
Classes are for all fitness levels. Wheather you are new to exercise, an advanced athlete, or coming back from an injury, you will get an incredible workout and have a great time doing it.
$10 suggested donation
(nobody turned away for inability to pay)
Brought to you by Rainbow Health Initiative and sponsored in part by The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board.
FIERCE Love: Stories from Black Gay LIfe
Saturday, February 26 · 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Rarig Hall- The Thrust Theater
330 21st Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
“FIERCE LOVE: Stories from Black Gay Life” by the Pomo Afro Homos
Directed by Harry Waters Jr.
Location: The Thrust Theater in Rarig Hall at the University of Minnesota.
FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY
Feb. 26 2011 7:00pm. Admission: (CASH ONLY) $7 without a Student ID/present your student ID and pay what you can.
SOY New Year
Buasavahn Banquet Hall
7324 Lakeland Ave N
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428
$10.00 admission
$5.00 After Party Only
* Doors, open at 3 pm
* Program starts at 4 pm
* Pageant follows that and throughout the night
* Dinner at 6 pm
* Entertainment during dinner until 7:30
* Pageant continues until 9pm
* Open Mic and After party starts at 9 pm
Shades of Yellow (SOY) is a nonprofit Hmong LGBTQ organization that provides support, education, and advocacy to Hmong LGBTQ and allies. We are committed to creating a community that is aware of the issues that Hmong LGBTQ face. We are base out of the Twin Cities, MN. While we have capacity here, we are committed to providing support and education all across the nation if needed. Please do contact us if you and/or anyone you know need(s) our support.
Loring Theater presents Mimosa Movies: “The Breakfast Club”
Sunday, February 27 · 2:00pm – 5:00pm
Loring Theater
1407 Nicollet Avenue S
Minneapolis, MN
HOLLYWOOD’S BIG NIGHT
Sunday, February 27 · 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON
1625 West End Blvd.
Hosted by MyTalk (Jason Matheson and Alexis Thompson) & Twin Cities Live (John Hanson)
Benefiting Twin Cities Film Fest
$15 suggested donation to the Twin Cities Film Fest
RSVP at the following website to reserve your tickets:
http://mytalk1071.com/promotions/hollywoodbignight/
Receive the Red Carpet treatment on Sunday, February 27th as we celebrate the best movies of 2010! Dress up or come casual, either way you are in for a good time with myTalk 107.1′s Jason & Alexis and Twin Cities Live’s John Hanson. There will be appetizers, drink specials and great giveaways all night long!
Monday, February 28 · 6:00pm - 8:00pm
The time is NOW! It is time that the Anoka Hennipen School District takes agressive action to ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment for LGBT students (and of course, ALL students).
Since last July parents, students, teachers and community members have requested the school remove the discrimantory sexual orientation curriculum policy. This policy forbid teachers from talking to students about issues, topics and concern…s about sexual orientation. They call it the “nuetrality” policy, but by definition it is not.
This policy is a major obstacle in addressing the causes of LGBT bullying and harrassment that has lead to at least four of the nine suicides in the last 18 months in this district. If you can’t talk about the homophobia that clearly exists in these schools, how do you get rid of it?
COME SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING ON MONDAY THE 28TH. We want to fill the boardroom, so bring your friends, family and anyone that will come. Wear bright colors!
If you are concerned about transportation, please meet us at Metropolitan State’s Midway campus at 5:30. There will be a bus and people willing to carpool up to Coon Rapids and back.
Meeting information:
Time: 6:30pm
Address:
Anoka Hennepin District Office
11299 Hanson Blvd NW
Coon Rapids, MN 55433
Txuj Ci Showcase “An evening of Hmong Queer and Allies talents”
Wednesday, March 2 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
U of M Twin Cities Coffman Union: The Whole Music Club
Come join us on March 2, 2011 for some amazing performances by artists such as Tou Saiko Lee, Artist Activist MR SOY 2010 Linda Hawj, Oskar Ly, Chong Moua, Pada Lo and more!!!!
*Free Food*
*Open to the public*
*Awesome Performances!*
For more information please contact us at:
glbta@umn.edu
Thursday, March 3 at 3:00pm - March 6 at 2:00pm
Superior Wisconsin / Duluth Minnesota
RUN PASSES /FLEE COLLARS – $60.00
PURCHASE AT WWW.NCBEARS.COM
(you need a Run Pass to get into ALL hotel events and all drink specials)
http://www.ncbears.com/ncb/
Loring Park Community Center
1382 Willow St.
Minneapolis, MN
Celebrate The Final Days Of Winter
Come early for fitness boot camp. Mix and mingle with Pounds4Pride sponsors and spokespeople. Join in the lighted balloon parade at dusk.
Loring Park Community Center
3:30-4:30 Fitness Boot Camp
4:30-6:00 Meet & Greet Social
6:00 5K Luminary Winter Walk
The Winter Walk is brought to you by the Rainbow Health Initiative – Pounds4Pride Campaign
RuPaul’s Drag Race premieres tonight on LOGO and one contestant, Manila Luzon, hails from the Twin Cities. It’s not the first time a Minnesotan has made good on the campy drag queen reality show. In its first season, the show crowned Minneapolis resident Bebe Zahara Benet as America’s Drag Superstar.
In an interview with Seattle’s Gay Scene, Luzon recounts her beginnings as a Minnesota drag queen:
Manila Luzon, where are you from?
I’m half Filipino and half German/Swedish born and raised in the Twin Cities of Minnesota! But the second I graduated from college, I packed my good wig and a pair of stilettos and moved to New York City to become an artist!When was your first time in drag and what did it feel like?
I honestly cannot remember – I’ve been sneaking into my mother’s and my sister closets on since I was a child! But the first time I became Manila Luzon was the summer I came out in college. I thought, if I’m going to be coming out as gay, I might as well go ALL THE WAY and be a drag queen!!!
Benet, the shows first queen from Minnesota, will host a party for the show in New York on Friday.
Celebrity judges for the upcoming season are Margaret Cho, Eliza Dushku, Carmen Electra, Susan Powter, Amber Rose, Rita Rudner, Sara Rue, Chloë Sevigny, Cheryl Tiegs, Lily Tomlin, Alessandra Torresani, Aisha Tyler, Jody Watley, and Vanessa Williams.
Unfortunately for Twin Citians, there doesn’t appear to be any viewing parties for the show.
Gay House at its Ridgewood address: (Sitting) Mike McConnell, Lena Hardin and Cynthia Hanson; (Standing) Darrel Johnson, left, and David Christian. Photo by John Crfot of the Minneapolis Tribune. Courtesy of the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
Young activists, political radicals, and University of Minnesota graduates took over a rundown single-family home on Ridgewood Avenue (now demolished) in 1971 to create a first in the state. Gay House was literally a house of, by, and for gay people—selected for its close proximity to the former nucleus of Minneapolis’ “gay ghetto,” the structure served as an office building, meeting space, and crash pad for young people in need of help as they struggled to come to terms with their identity. Led by Jim Frost, a group of volunteers set up a telephone hotline to counsel troubled youth in the Twin Cities.
The Gay House hotline and its positively gay volunteers became immeasurably successful; the center received 50,000 phone calls and provided counseling services to well over 5,000 by 1975.[i] Thematic similarities in the callers’ problems surfaced; clients frequently desired basic information about sexuality, and they sought perspectives from others who shared their pain. With the help of Michael McConnell, a librarian fired by the University of Minnesota for gay activism—Gay House offered the first-community-run queer library in the Upper Midwest. Organizers reached out to new gay and lesbian publications in larger cities, including The Los Angeles Advocate, and contacted librarians for bibliographies. Barbara Gittings—founder of the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis and editor of its magazine, The Ladder—sent Gay house a bibliography and a message to “keep on gay-ning.”[ii]
To Steve Endean, the future founder of the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., Gay House was a brave first step towards self-acceptance:
“…I was straightlaced and was somewhat taken aback by the ‘early Salvation Army’ look of the drop-in center. Inside, I met several outrageous counterculture queens who seemed to personify every stereotype I’d heard about. But since it was basically clear that my sexuality wasn’t just a phase but a reality, I was incredibly anxious to meet people that might assist in helping me develop a positive self-image as a gay man.”[iii]
The differing personalities of “counterculture queens,” straight-laced activists, and troubled youth often produced conflict. Gay house’s “rap sessions” inspired everything from genuine synergy to complete dissension. Meetings occasionally devolved into a series of “loud, angry, and seemingly pointed requests…for participation in some activities.”[iv] One anonymous participant complained “the house was basically run by kids above 18 for kids below 18.”[v] Four years and a move to south Minneapolis later, these and other interpersonal issues forced the center to close in 1979.
Ultimately, the legacy of our first community center offsets its negative end. Some of our most important institutions, such as OutFront Minnesota, the Twin Cities Pride Committee, and the All God’s Children MCC have roots in Gay Houses’ seat-of-the-pants activism. Without it, the Twin Cities would have likely been much less livable.
[ii] Barbara Gittings Letter, OutFront Minnesota Collection, Box 1. Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.
[iii] Steve Endean and Vicki Lynn Eaklor, Bringin Lesbian and Gay Rights Into the Mainstream: Twenty Years of Progress (New York: Harrington Park Press, 2006), 11
[iv] Sic.
[v] “Open House-Meeting at Gayhouse [sic]” Hundred Flowers, 10/1/71. Page 11.
In a poll released by SurveyUSA and KSTP on Monday, 52 percent of Minnesotans said they agreed with President Obama’s position that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. 42 percent said they disagreed with the president and 6 percent were not sure. It marks the first time a survey …
The Southeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted on Friday to oppose the proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution that would limit marriage to heterosexual couples only. It joins the Minneapolis and Northeastern synods in opposing the amendment. The St. Paul area synod is expected to …
The city of Golden Valley voted to support a resolution Tuesday night that opposes the anti-gay marriage amendment that will be on the Minnesota ballot in 2012. The vote was 4 ayes, zero nays and one abstention. Golden Valley will become the 7th Minnesota city to reject the amendment. The …
The Northeast Minnesota synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America passed a resolution on Saturday to oppose the anti-gay marriage amendment that will be on the Minnesota ballot in November. It became the second of six synods in Minnesota to oppose the amendment. About one in four Minnesotans are …
Already being slightly enlightened about sexual identity and gender expression, the burning question I had going in to this year’s BECAUSE conference was this: “What is Pansexuality?” After dialog with many individuals my take away is this: Pansexuality for many individuals relates to the attraction to and potential for sexual …
Muffins: We are never at a loss for great entertainment in Minneapolis! This weekend my top two picks go to low budget options. Both Box Wine Theater’s production of Tom and Kelly Adopt and Asian Baby and Durang Durang starring Julie Dafydd as Sister Mary Ignatius are well worth venturing out …
On the Second Ward blog, Minneapolis City Council member Cam Gordon announced his support for a fair, transparent and speedy trial for CeCe McDonald, a transgender woman accused of murder. Many in the community view her case as one of self-defense against a hate crime and are concerned that, CeCe, …
Minnesotans United for All Families is out with a web-ad campaign and petition to put pressure on the National Organization for Marriage to disclose its donors in Minnesota. NOM is notorious for shielding its donors through lawsuits and other legal action in at least a half-dozen states.
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