Boston Spirit Sep | Oct 2020

SEP | OCT 2020

SUBSCRIPTION BostonSpiritMagazine.com FREE! DELIVERED

Autumn Getaways Off the traditional map On the Ballot

LGBTQ candidates

Rev. Irene Monroe

In Her Own Words

Plugged In

LGBT-centric podcasts

Time Out

Socially distanced sports

Spooky Movie ‘Death Drop Gorgeous’

COMING SOON

OPENS SEPT. 26

The Salem Witch Trials 1692

PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM

AN EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER

To view our full exhibition schedule, use your phone camera to scan this code or visit pem.org/whats-on

Salem Stories

Anila Quayyum Agha: All the Flowers Are for Me

Charles Sandison: Figurehead 2.0

OPENS SEPT. 26

ONGOING

ONGOING

Reserve your tickets in advance at pem.org/tickets

161 ESSEX STREET SALEM, MASS. 01970 PEM.ORG

@peabodyessex

The Salem Witch Trials 1692 is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Kate and Ford O’Neil, and Henry and Callie Brauer provided generous support. In-Kind Media Partner: WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station. Tompkins Harrison Matteson, Trial of George Jacobs, Sr. for Witchcraft (detail), 1855. Oil on canvas. Gift of R. W. Ropes, 1859. 1246. Peabody Essex Museum. Photo by Mark Sexton and Jeffrey R. Dykes. Salem Stories is organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard, James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes, Kate and Ford O’Neil, and Henry and Callie Brauer provided generous support. Parker Brothers, Inc., Monopoly, about 1940, Paper, paperboard and wood. Gift of the North Shore Children’s Hospital Thrift Shop, 1984. 136184. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM. Anila Quayyum Agha: All the Flowers Are for Me, 2015. Stainless steel and lacquer. Museum purchase, made possible by the John Robinson Fund, 2016. Photo by Kathy Tarantola/PEM. Charles Sandison: Figurehead 2.0 is made possible by the Nancy B. Tieken Memorial Fund and supporters of the Present Tense Initiative, including The Jeffrey P. Beale Fund for Contemporary Art and Matthew and Rebekah Gardiner. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard and Kate and Ford O’Neil provided generous support. Photo by Mel Taing/PEM. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.

MK685020463_Northshore Mag_September_FINAL.indd 1

8/13/20 9:39 PM

BOSTON

HEART WALK Walk where you are and share your experience with us on social media!

bostonheartwalk.org

OCT. 19-24, 2020

#BostonHeartWalk

Local Sponsors:

I T ’ S N OT J U ST W H E R E YO U L I V E IT ’ S H OW I N - P E R S O N O R V I R T U A L T O U R S AVA I L A B L E D E S T I N AT I O N L I V I N G C O N D O M I N I U M S P R I C E D F R O M $ 8 0 0s T O O V E R $ 5 M / I M M E D I AT E O C C U P A N C Y

6 1 7. 8 6 1 . 9 3 3 0 \ E C H E L O N S E A P O R T. C O M \

7

publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com

From The Publisher If you have ever read my introductory letter in Boston Spirit then you know that I typically highlight all of the great stories in the issue (and, by the way, we have some really great stories in this issue!). For example, I would typically write about how our piece on the intersection of race, gender and sexuality by the incredible Rev. Irene Monroe is a must read and our extended section on New England getaways this fall will make you want to drop everything, pack the car and go!

That said, we have an election coming up in a few months that will define the character, morality and soul of our country. And, for this letter, that takes precedence. This election, for me, is about more than policy. Do I disagree with the policies of the current administration? … Yes, I do. But that is nothing new; I have disagreed with many previous administrations as well. This time it goes far beyond “politics as usual.”

Look at what we have seen over the last three plus years. Emboldened racists and homophobes, attacks against immigrants, children separated from their families for political gain, increased isolationism from our allies and neighbors and a general decline in character and integrity from our supposed leaders. Enough is enough.

It is time to end the chaos and bring back civility, bring back maturity and lead by example. I have to admit, I am skeptical as to whether we, as a country, can reverse the tide of the past few years, but I know we must try.

The first step in that effort will be to VOTE. Somehow, some way…vote.

Forget about the tired old “my vote doesn’t matter’”excuse. Now is not the time for that. Put the remote down, hop in the shower (or not) and vote. Do you have children? Nieces, nephews? Do you want them to grow up seeing the President of the United States continuously attack people by using first-grade bully schoolyard names? Do you want them to learn that everyone who disagrees with them is “fake” and “nasty,” or do you want them to learn civility and tact and humility and empathy?

Make no mistake, policy is important, but this time around we are voting for more than policy. Much more.

So, just to recap our lesson today…we have some amazing and fun stories for you in this issue of Boston Spirit, and vote.

David Zimmerman Publisher

2 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Boston Spirit Magazine supporters American Heart Association

COVER

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

27

Brian Gerhardson - Ameriprise

21

Cambridge Savings Bank

11

Club Café

9

Coldwell Banker Cambridge

19

Comcast

5

Destination Salem

60

DJ Mocha

89

East Boston Savings Bank

81

Eastern Bank

7

Echelon Seaport

COVER

Fenway Health

47

Foxwoods Resort Casino

41

Frank Webb Bath Centers

75

J.S. Waterman Langone Chapel

25

John Hancock

13

Long's Jewelers

1

Lucia Lighting

34

Marriott Copley Place

74

Mohawk Valley

42

Nantucket Chamber of Commerce

67

Pann Home Services

85

Partners Healthcare

16

Peabody Essex Musem

COVER

Plymouth Tourism

50

Prep

28

Quincy Tourism

70

Robert Paul Real estate

24

Rockland Trust

77

Seasons Four

83

South County Tourism

64

The Boston Foundation

23

The Quinn

3

Tufts Health Plan

45

Vermont Tourism

57

Worcester Academy

55

MORE MAGIC

Extraordinary condominiums with services to a s t o u n d , d e l i g h t , a n d m a ke y o u w a n t t o j u m p f o r j o y.

QUINNTESSENTIALLY DIFFERENT

PRICED FROM $800K | 617.315.2457 | THEQUINN.COM VISIT OUR SALES GALLERY AT 460 HARRISON AVE., BOSTON, MA

Contribute your opinion: editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com

As We Go To Press Sixty-four days.

That’s how much time we have between September 1 and Election Day. Sixty-four days left to get out the vote and save the LGBTQ community from four more years of blistering attacks on our basic civil rights—from health care to housing, workplace protections to transgender service in the military, civility to safeguards against violent hate crimes.

All instigated by dog-whistles from those in positions of power we now have the opportunity to vote out.

The list of attacks on LGBTQ people— individuals, couples, parents, kids, families, workers, patients—stretches on.

Take the Republican party’s platform* statement on marriage equality: “Our laws and our government’s regulations should recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman. … We do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal.”

The list of attacks will stretch far into the future.

But only if we let it.

Take action As Former President Barack Obama put it in his speech at the Democratic National Convention, “I am asking you to believe in your own ability—to embrace your own responsibility as citizens—to make sure that the basic tenets of our democracy endure. Because that’s what’s at stake right now. Our democracy.”

The LGBTQ community can take some bittersweet comfort in the fact that we are not alone in having so much to lose in this election: With democracy at stake in this election for all Americans, we are truly all in this together.

4 | BOSTON SPIRIT

In her excellent article, “Shared Struggles, Common Foes,” in this issue, Rev. Irene Monroe recalls how the late civil rights icon and US Congressman John Lewis “saw the African American civil rights struggle inextricably tied to the LGBTQ+ civil rights battle.” She celebrates the common victories of the LGBTQ and Black Civil Rights movements. At the same time, she urges the LGBTQ community to confront our own history of systemic racism and “embrace our intersectional concerns and goals.” We are all stronger together.

Equitability Equitability is a common goal among the LGBTQ community and communities of color. Our coverage of New England’s LGBTQ candidates in the 2020 election, “Representing Us,” points out that while 4.5 percent of adults in the United States openly identify as LGBTQ, we hold only .17 percent of elected offices.

Proportionally, the difference is even greater for LGBTQ people of color. Just think of all the talent we’re missing out on here. Equity for all would make us much stronger together.

On a positive note, the LGBTQ Victory Institute found a 21 percent increase in LGBTQ elected officials since 2019. “Over the past year, LGBTQ elected officials have been on the frontlines—leading efforts to end racism, blocking bills targeting the trans community and passing legislation that moves equality forward for our community,” said the Institute’s Vice President Ruben Gonzales. “Allies are important, but LGBTQ representation in the halls of power is critical to the success of our movement.”

In this issue we cheer on the nearly 100 LGBTQ candidates in all six New England states running for offices ranging from city councils to state houses to Capitol

Hill. While some may not make it onto the general election ballot after the primaries on Sept. 1 in Massachusetts and Sept. 8 in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, we urge you to check out these civic leaders from your own states. Every one of these dedicated civil servants counts when it comes to equitability.

Autumn getaways Taking a breather from politics, we’ve put together nearly 100 ideas for autumn getaways. Wait—we’ve got an expanded travel section during a pandemic? Well, yes, mindful of social distancing, safety and state travel restrictions. Many of us haven’t gotten away since March, to say nothing of the need to catch a break from election-year stress. We’ve considered state-by-state travel restrictions and included options for both intrastate and interstate travel. All uniquely awesome places to stay, local delicacies to relish and things to do that can be reached on a day trip or overnight adventure right in your own state or one nearby. Make a plan, hit the road, take a deep breath of crisp, autumn New England air...and relax.

Or unwind at home. Plug into an LGBTQminded arts podcast, several choices of which you can read about in our Culture section in this issue. Or peruse any of the other fine stories in this issue.

And remember to vote by Nov. 3.

Rob Phelps Editor in Chief

* On June 10, 2020 the RNC’s executive committee voted to adopt the same platform they used in 2016. In late August, as their convention began, they announced support instead for a more ambiguous “president’s America-first agenda.”

Watch these titles and more with Xfinity On Demand.

Bring your loves together.

With Xfinity X1, easily find all the things you love. Enjoy the largest collection of diverse LGBTQ content at home or on-the-go with the Xfinity Stream app. Simply say, “LGBTQ,” into the X1 Voice Remote.

On X1, it’s Pride all year, only with Xfinity.

Visit xfinity.com/pride to learn more.

Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. Access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Pandora on Xfinity X1 requires an eligible set-top box with Xfinity TV and Internet service. Netflix streaming membership and Prime Video subscription required. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Pandora use your Internet service and will count against any Xfinity data plan. Call for restrictions and complete details. ROCKETMAN © 2020 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. © 2020 Comcast. All rights reserved. All marks are property of their respective owners. NPA231018-0004 NED LG 2MPD V11

8

33

Hit List

38

In My Own Words

Autumn Destinations

Contents SEP| OCT 2020 | VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 4

Spotlight

Hit List Raising Bloody Hell Entrepreneurially Hospitable All Smiles Senior Spirit Community-Based Care Go Figure From the Blog Newsmakers | Rhode Island Newsmaker s | New Hampshire Newsmakers | Connecticut Newsmakers | Vermont Newsmakers | Maine

Feature

Representing Us 8 10 12 14 15 17 18 20 22 24 26 30 31

Time Out

32

In My Own Words

33

LGBTQ+ sports leagues are navigating Covid-19 and providing some much-needed community Shared Struggles, Common Foes

76

Words and Music

New England’s 2020 LGBTQ Candidates

36

Seasonal

Autumn Getaways

Off the traditional LGBTQ map, these LGBTQ‑friendly destinations make great day trips or overnights for every New England state.

38

Words and Music

76

The Next Best Thing

78

Podcasts/streaming take over Broadway Baby

79 80

How ‘The Usual Unusual,’ about an LGBTQ bookstore, went from play to podcast

Stuart Brown streams the ‘Sounds of Broadway’ for show-starved fans

82

Preserving Jenni Olson

84

Bob Colacello’s photographs at Newport Art Museum capture bygone era Harvard Film Archive acquires LGBTQ film expert’s vast personal collection

Calendar

Culture

Boston Lyric Opera’s innovative digital programs find new audiences

A Time It Was

New England Events

87

Rockland, ME Pride WRJ Pride Queer Caravan RI Pride Black Trans Lives Matter Rally Black Trans Lives Matter March Noho

89 90

Down-low on ‘Hightown’

96

Scene

Coda

Starz TV series creator Rebecca Cutter returns to Provincetown to film Season 2

79

Preserving Jenni Olson

96

Down-low on ‘Hightown’

92 94

GOOD SPEAKS UP

Because silence is not an option.

Eastern Bank stands with the LGBTQIA+ community and condemns any form of intolerance, from implicit bias to quiet discrimination. This is why we advocate and defend LGBTQIA+ rights. And why we contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to LGBTQIA+ partners. And why we’ll continue to speak up until every member of the LGBTQIA+ community is heard.

Join us to make a difference at

easternbank.com

#JoinUsForGood

SPOTLIGHT Trending STORY Scott Kearnan

Hit List NEWS, NOTES AND TO-DOS FOR EVERY GAY AGENDA by gay, New Hampshire-based author Paul Boynton, whose previous tome, “Begin with Yes,” has helped him amass more than 2 million Facebook followers. In “Be Amazing,” Boynton—who is also president and CEO of a nonprofit supporting individuals with developmental disabilities— identifies the traits and habits of successful people to help readers apply them to their own lives. More: facebook.com/ beginwithyes

Majenta with a J.

PHOTO Ross Kavanagh

TUNE IN TO “FULL SPIN,” a

Vincent Turregano

ADJUST TO THE TENOR OF THE TIMES by listening to

a new podcast from the Boston Lyric Opera. “At Its (s)Core” is a biweekly series the organization launched as part of its larger initiative— dubbed “[insert: opera]”—to connect with audiences during COVID-19. The podcast has been highlighting LGBTQ voices and artists of color as part of its effort to underscore the need for more diverse on-stage representation, and recent guests have included gay opera singers Simon Dyer and Vincent Turregano, among others. More: blo.org/ at-its-score

series of virtual drag shows produced by Boston performer Majenta with a J. Each biweekly installment moves through a landmark album from start to finish, with a different drag artist providing an innovative performance for each song. Majenta, the inaugural winner of Boston’s “Drag Gauntlet” competition, has also used “Full Spin” to raise over $10,000 to date for social justice organizations, including Black Lives Matter.

Upcoming “Full Spin” entries will take on TLC’s “CrazySexyCool,” the bestselling album by an American girl-group (September 29), and trans singer Kim Petras’ Halloween-inspired album, “Turn Off the Light, Vol.1” (October 13), among

others. More: instagram.com/ fullspindrag

READ (AND LAUGH) your

IMPROVE YOUR LIFE by picking up a copy of “Be Amazing: Discover Your Purpose, Conquer Your Fears, and Fulfill Your Potential,” the latest book

way through “Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood.” The book, which recently landed on the “New York Times” best-seller list, is an irreverent sendup of selfhelp, beauty and advice books by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alums Trixie Mattel and Katya—the latter, whose off-stage name is Brian McCook, is a Boston native who cut his teeth at

PUBLISHER David Zimmerman EDITOR IN CHIEF Rob Phelps ART DIRECTOR Dean Burchell CONTRIBUTING LIFESTYLE EDITOR Scott Kearnan [lifestyle@bostonspiritmagazine.com] CONTRIBUTING ARTS EDITOR Loren King CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ryan M. Leach, Bob Linscott, Rev. Irene Monroe, Natalie Nonken, Alex Remier, Kim Harris Stowell CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Joel Benjamin COVER PHOTO Carolyn Bates ON THE WEB [bostonspiritmagazine.com] TALK TO US [feedback@bostonspiritmagazine.com] EDITORIAL CONTACT [editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com] PUBLISHING AND SALES CONTACT [publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com or 781-223-8538] THE FINE PRINT Boston Spirit magazine. A Division of Jake Publishing, LLC Published by Jake Publishing, LLC. Copyright 2020 by Jake Publishing, LLC. All

SEP| OCT 2020 | VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 4

rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written permission of Boston Spirit magazine. Neither the publishers nor the advertisers will be held responsible for any errors found in the magazine. The publishers accept no liability for the accuracy of statements made by advertisers.

Publication of the name or photograph of any person, organization or business in this magazine does not reflect upon one’s sexual orientation in any way.

Boston Spirit Magazine, 398 Columbus Ave. #395, Boston, MA 021 16

8 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Jacques Cabaret, the city’s long-running drag bar. In their “Guide,” the hilarious besties cover style, homemaking and relationships with their trademark wit (and a dash of wisdom too).

counterparts, as well as Andrea Lawlor, a Mount Holyoke College professor who shook the LGBTQ literary world with their debut novel “Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl.”

More: snapchat.com

LOG ON TO SNAPCHAT and discover new augmented reality experiences that educate users on LGBTQ activists. In conjunction with Pride Media, publisher of “The Advocate” and “Out” magazines, the social media platform recently debuted virtual galleries dedicated to “Champions of Pride,” allowing users to interact with the stories of heroes from around the country. New England is represented by Sandy Ho, a Massachusetts-based disability justice advocate and founder of Thrive, which matches young, disabled women with their elderly

LISTEN TO “HERRING COVE,” the

new album by jazz musician and vocalist John Minnock.

The South Boston resident, a rare out performer in the genre, has created a record that speaks to contemporary gay life. It also abounds with local references, from its title (a nod to the Provincetown beach) to its cover, which features the painting “Bridge at Provincetown” by Bostonnative painter Henry Botkin.

Lyrically, the introspective album touches on loss from AIDS, disowned youth and— in the song “After All These Years,” penned by EGOT winner David Shire—marriage

John Minnock

equality. Need more? Minnock even offers a touching cover of gay icon Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.” More: johnminnock.com

SUPPORT A LOCAL HISTORYMAKER in Vermont State

Senator Becca Balint, who is poised to become the first woman—and first out gay person—to become president

of the legislative body. At press time, Balint, who is currently in her second term, was running unopposed. She is already the first gay woman to serve in the Vermont Senate; to serve as its president would also make her third in line for the governor’s office, and give her the opportunity to shape the work of the chamber. More: beccabalint.com [x]

SEP| OCT 2020 | 9

SPOTLIGHT Cinema/Drag STORY Scott Kearnan [FROM LEFT:] Michael J Ahern, Brandon Perras-Sanchez and Christopher Dalpe

hunky detectives, the irascible owner of a struggling gay bar, and a posse of wellintentioned (if occasionally self-indulgent) young friends.

With no prior film credits to their name, the trio financed the project through an online crowdsourcing campaign and a handful of live fundraisers at the Dark Lady, a Providence bar featured in the film. The local cast also includes a number of actual Ocean State drag performers.

Among them is Michael McAdam, who typically hits area stages in the glittery guise of Payton St. James. Here McAdam gives a genuinely bravura performance as Gloria Hole, whose struggle to stay relevant in the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” era lends the overthe-hill queen both a hilariously withering bitchiness and a sincerely sympathetic vulnerability. McAdam, who previously headlined drag legend Charles Busch’s subversive stage play “Die, Mommie, Die!” for Rhode Island’s 2nd Stage Theatre, winds up emerging as a major acting talent.

Raising Bloody Hell PROVIDENCE FILMMAKERS’ DRAG/ SLASHER INDIE-FILM FEST FAVORITE RETURNS FOR HALLOWEEN Even for huge fans of splatter-heavy horror movies, there’s one scene in “Death Drop Gorgeous” that’s very difficult to watch.

What happens? Let’s just say it involves a glory hole, a meat grinder, and a whole lot of dyed-red corn syrup.

If you’re already covering your eyes (and your crotch) ... well, we can’t blame you. But trust us, you don’t actually want to miss this unabashedly queer slasher flick, the delightfully demonic love child of three friends and first-time filmmakers in Providence, Rhode Island.

Thanks to its monstrously effective mix of dark comedy, midnight-movie camp and clever commentary on gay culture—from hookup apps to the dying bar scene to the state of drag—“Death Drop Gorgeous” has been raising bloody hell on the indie film festival circuit. Its sellout screening during Wicked Queer, July’s LGBTQ Boston film fest, even earned it an encore presentation,and won the Audience Award;

10 | BOSTON SPIRIT

you can see it next via Salem Horror Fest in October.

The movie “holds up a mirror” to some of the less attractive aspects of contemporary queer communities, says co-creator Michael J. Ahern, who wrote and directed “Death Drop Gorgeous” with friends and fellow horror nuts Christopher Dalpe and Brandon Perras-Sanchez. “The idea is to reflect back some of the shortcomings in the community: ageism, racism, how we treat each other.”

“The whole thing is shade,” agrees Dalpe.

“The whole thing reads the community to filth, but in a fun way.”

In “Death Drop Gorgeous,” a mysterious killer uses a Grindr-like app to stalk and slice characters navigating the neon-lit world of Providence’s queer nightlife.

Among the scene’s more colorful denizens are aging drag queen Gloria Hole, her pert and younger rival Janet Fitness, some

Despite its small budget, “Death Drop Gorgeous” looks fabulous too. The blood-soaked scenes are bathed in hyper-saturated colors—electric pinks, blues and yellows—that recall Italy’s giallo films of the 1960s and ’70s: surreal, pulpy murder-mysteries by now-celebrated directors like Dario Argento and Mario Bava. Ahern, Dalpe and PerrasSanchez also took inspiration from sleaze king John Waters and deliciously morbid horror-comedies like 1992’s Meryl Streepand Goldie Hawn-starring sleeper “Death Becomes Her.” Ultimately, though, “Death Drop Gorgeous” fits right in with a recent wave of queer-made horror films that mine LGBTQ themes for inspiration: 2018’s French thriller “Knife + Heart,” starring Vanessa Paradis, for one.

On one hand, the pivot to virtual fests means that even more audience members across the country will be able to discover “Death Drop Gorgeous.” On the other, its filmmakers are still eager for folks to see it on the big screen in theaters—where the technicolor gore can be appreciated in all its glory, and the gallows humor is bound to cause contagious belly laughs.

“This type of movie shouldn’t be seen on a computer, it should be shown in a group of people,” says Perras-Sanchez. Bloody right. [x]

salemhorror.com

We’re here to help you now— SO YOU’RE SUPPORTED WITH WHATEVER COMES YOUR WAY. TALK TO US ABOUT HOW WE CAN HELP MAKE YOUR SAVINGS WORK FOR YOU.

888.418.5626

SPOTLIGHT Travel STORY Scott Kearnan Hidden Pond cottage distant getaways; the property is comprised of 16 separate units, each outfitted by a different Maine-based interior designer.

But Harrington has also added new overnight options to Sandy Pines Campground, a rusticcool retreat where guests can now snooze inside a retro-chic Airstream or VW bus that’s been outfitted with modern amenities.

Hospitality Entrepreneur TIM HARRINGTON’S RESORTS ARE TAILOR-MADE FOR SOCIALLY DISTANT GETAWAYS We’re in the middle of a pandemic, and America’s economy is in tatters. Maine tourism, a vital industry in the state, has been particularly hard-hit due to strict restrictions on visitors over the summer. Yet somehow, gay Kennebunkport-based hotelier, real estate powerhouse and serial entrepreneur Tim Harrington is still able to do what he does best: Stay positive—and stay focused on building new ideas for a brighter future.

“I’m an eternal optimist,” says Harrington, a Maine mogul who employs over 800 people across a variety of business ventures.

“That’s the true definition of an entrepreneur.”

It’s also an attitude that has served Harrington very well over the course of a storied career. Today, he’s founding partner of the Kennebunkport Resort Collection, an eclectic portfolio of elegant-cool hotels and restaurants that have been defining contemporary, casual luxury in the tony, touristfriendly seacoast town just 10 miles north of gay-friendly Ogunquit.

Harrington has been moving, shaking and making smart deals

Tim Harrington for a very long time. In fact, the Lexington, Massachusetts native launched his first commercial-leasing project when he was still a teenager: He cobbled together $500 to rent out the basement of a candy store, divided it into 15 workspaces, and leased each one for $200.

By the time he was 20, Harrington had already been made a partner in a Boston real estate company, and he dove headfirst into years of hard work as a shopping center investor and developer. He was driven, he says, by the desire to build a stronger financial foothold

12 | BOSTON SPIRIT

for his family; his father died when he was a child, and his mother faced all the attendant challenges of raising four sons on her own. His privileged life today is a far cry from what he knew growing up, he says.

Today, Harrington is proudly out in business sectors that tend to attract more traditional, straight-laced types, and he’s imbued the Kennebunkport Resort Collection with his own sensibility: inclusive, refined but not stuffy, and sprinkled with dashes of humor and whimsy.

Consider “Use Me,” the brand of hand sanitizer that Harrington quickly developed for the COVID era at Batson River Brewing & Distilling, the craft beer and spirits maker he cofounded. The distillery reopens its tasting room on September 10, but in the meanwhile, it’s coupled a booze-andpizza takeout program with cranking out sanitizer to sell, give to police and fire departments, and provide through the food pantry that’s recently taken over Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, another venue Harrington owns.

In fact, he’s been innovating all his businesses to adapt to the current normal. Granted, the Cottages at Cabot Cove, purchased by Harrington in 2005 and the first entry in his collection of hotels, were already tailor-made for socially

Then there’s the Yachtsman Hotel & Marina Club, which just partnered with preppy footwear brand Sperry to give guests their own boat shoes—perfect for wearing to the property’s new “Yacht Rock Bar,” a bow-shaped, alfresco cocktail setup. Over at Hidden Pond, an assortment of boutique bungalows tucked into 60 acres of Maine woods, new “treetop lodges” have been debuted, as well as a special suite created in partnership with menswear designer Todd Snyder.

There’s good stuff ahead, too: Kennebunkport Resort Collection was recently acquired by EOS Investors, a NYC-based firm, though Harrington remains a partner and creative director. He’s about to close a deal to purchase and renovate the Claremont Hotel on Maine’s resort-filled Mount Desert Island. In the spring, he’ll open a companion property to the Tides Beach Club in Kennebunkport. And he’s in the process of turning a 240,000-square-foot mill in Biddeford, Maine—a young and artsy city poised to become the “Brooklyn of Maine,” says Harrington—into the Lincoln: a luxury hotel and residential building with a rooftop swimming pool, Batson River bar, and another location of Quest Fitness, the health center Harrington first established in Kennebunk. And that’s just scratching the surface.

“People think I’m crazy, buying hotels when hotels are closed,” says Harrington, laughing. “But for an entrepreneur, this is just one more challenge. We’ll get through it, and with humor.” [x]

Love. Acceptance. Diversity. Pride.

That’s wealth.

SPOTLIGHT Health/Business STORY Scott Kearnan

All Smiles WITH CONCIERGESTYLE AESTHETICS AND A COVID-ERA SAFE ENVIRONMENT, BOSTON’S BRUSH & FLOSS IS THRIVING In November, Drs. Edward Wysocki and Matthew Manzi, friends since their days at Tufts Dental School, finally opened the doors to their practice Brush & Floss in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. The gay 30-somethings sunk sweat, tears and their savings into launching the unique space—a hip, high-end, and stylish spin on a dentistoffice setting that one could easily see as the start of a future franchise. The potential was palpable.

Then, boom: COVID-19 came. Only months after their young practice started seeing patients, the world was turned upside down—and dentistry, a discipline that hardly allows for social distancing, was suddenly a very scary thing to stake a new business on.

“We took a huge gamble at a young age, invested basically all the money to our name and just kind of went for it,” says Wysocki.

When coronavirus shut down the city, “we realized we could lose everything we’d worked to build.”

Somehow, though, Brush & Floss isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving. In terms of building up loyal clients, the practice is actually further ahead than initially projected, something that the dentist duo attributes to their pandemic response; although the office closed for routine appointments for a few months, the phones stayed manned and dental emergencies were attended to, much to the appreciation of any urgent care-needing neighbors in Nubian Square. Seeing dental emergencies also kept those cases from contributing to potential overruns at local hospitals.

Now that Brush & Floss is fully back in action, it employs reassuring pandemicrelated precautions: N95 masks and surgical masks are worn simultaneously, the office’s filtration system has been upgraded, and both dentists are tested for COVID regularly. (Neither has yet to show antibodies.)

In addition, only one patient is seen inside at a time. Not only does that contribute to safety, but giving patients a private experience actually feels entirely on-brand for Brush & Floss’s concierge-style approach to service, Wysocki explains.

Drs. Edward Wysocki [LEFT] and Matthew Manzi with Dental Assistant Madleen Mieses. PHOTO Mark James Dunn

Of course, even before COVID arrived, the friends had already found several ways to set apart their practice. It starts with the industrial-chic space itself: Outfitted with barn-wood dividers between treatment areas, exposed metal ductwork, and Edisonbulb pendant lighting, it feels more like the foyer of a sexy, Millennial-courting hotel or NYC loft than a dentist office. Indeed, aesthetics are a big part of Brush & Floss’s approach to business: Wysocki and Manzi have special experience in cosmetic procedures, including Invisalign and porcelain veneers, and they also provide Botox and dermal filler services.

Brush & Floss’s distinct sensibility goes beyond the surface level, though. In particular, Wysocki and Manzi pride themselves on an inviting, inclusive office culture that wears its Blue State progressivism on its sleeve.

“I talk to patients very casually, and kind of turn the gay on a bit, in an intentional way, to break out of the stereotypical mold of what people expect a dentist to be,” says Wysocki. Embracing a LGBTQ identity is also a way to upend the old-boys-club, conservative streak that can be found in the field of dentistry. “Our practice is a safe space for all our patients, but the liberal, open-minded environment also makes it a safe place for us to practice as gay clinicians.”

When it comes to building Brush & Floss’s identity, Wysocki and Manzi are also conscious of responding to the needs of a gentrifying neighborhood. While they’re happy to be among the spiffy new spots putting a shot of excitement into Roxbury’s small-business scene, they want to make a positive contribution to the socioeconomically diverse, inner-city neighborhood they’ve joined. For that reason, prices are kept as low as possible here in order to serve everyone, says Wysocki, who is separately a partner in a boutique firm in the affluent suburb of Wayland.

Manzi, meanwhile, points out Brush & Floss’s unique “membership plan”: Clients can elect to pay an annual fee that entitles them to a suite of services at a significant discount. It’s one way of providing an upscale-office experience that’s still accessible to most, and removes some of the barriers to health care that COVID-19 has brought into stark relief—especially as they relate to communities of color.

“We didn’t want to be the white gentrifiers coming in here and shoving people out,” says Wysocki. [x]

Brush & Floss Boston

14 | BOSTON SPIRIT

SPOTLIGHT Community STORY Bob Linscott

Proposed residential entrance view

Senior Spirit DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN PLANS ANNOUNCED FOR NEW ENGLAND’S FIRST LGBTQ SENIOR HOUSING BUILDING Thankfully, despite the global pandemic and forced closures all across the Commonwealth, the work toward New England’s first LGBTQ senior housing building hasn’t suffered any setbacks. One of the only changes was the move to an online public meeting hosted by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), which was originally scheduled to be in-person in Hyde Park.

The virtual public meeting on August 4, 2020 was an important step in the process of the building’s development, which began in November 2019 when Pennrose LLC, the project’s developer and LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc, the local nonprofit partner and codeveloper, received the developer designation from the Neighborhood Development Department. At this meeting the design plans were made public for the first time and all community members were invited to attend and ask questions or make comments.

Aileen Mountour, president of LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc, began the presentation with a warm welcome and a few words about the team’s commitment to create a senior living community where everyone can be their authentic self.

Charlie Adams, regional vice president at Pennrose, shared his excitement for doing this project in a “gem” of a community like Hyde Park with so many historical and cultural resources. Adams spoke of how the whole development team has fallen in love with Hyde Park since the project began.

Adams reviewed the mission of this project, which included three key areas: 1) to celebrate the history of William Barton Rogers School, 2) to repurpose a public asset that has been sitting vacant and provide 10,000 square feet of public space for community groups and 3) to create a welcoming and affirming mixed-income senior living community that is welcome to everyone including LGBT elders. Adams also spoke about how the development team has held over 30 meetings with local community groups, organizations and elected officials to find out what the community would like out of this project.

The design team’s lead architect, Philippe Saad of Dimella Shaffer, began the design portion of the meeting by highlighting the incredible location of the building which is in a great walkable neighborhood surrounded by the Menino Arts Center, YMCA, the library and two MBTA stations.

Jess Hamilton, the team’s landscape architect with Mikyoung Kim Designs, led participants through a virtual walk around the building’s exterior and highlighted one of the central features of the project—an outdoor courtyard with a design inspired by the school, a place of learning and activity.

The courtyard will feature a walking track, raised community garden beds, game tables, beautifully landscaped gathering spots and an outdoor deck with grilling space.

Saad continued the virtual tour with a walkthrough of the interior, which will have two separate entrances, one for residents and another for the community.

The community section of the building will feature two renovated classrooms, both with flexible and moveable seating and tables—one room dedicated to lifelong learning classes and the other an art room.

Guests entering into the building for community events or programs will walk through a gallery space designed for rotating artists, perhaps featuring art from the residents. There will also be office space for Massachusetts’ 54th Regiment and a gallery space to display many of their historical pieces.

Elevators will take guests down to the huge gymnasium, which will be repurposed as a multi-purpose space with a kitchen for large events and possibly a LGBT community meal program. Two offices near the multipurpose space will be for LGBT programming and for LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc.

SEP| OCT 2020 | 15

The residential side will feature 27 studio apartments (460–580 square feet), 35 one bedrooms (722–900 square feet), four with one bedroom and a den, seven two bedrooms (900–920 square feet) and two two-bedroom units with a den (1120–1190 square feet). All of the units have a very generous size which were designed to enable residents to live in their apartments as long as possible with extra room to accommodate additional mobility devices or support.

Each unit was originally a classroom, which also dictated the floor plans.

The entrance for residents will feature a warm and welcoming lobby with a fireplace, plenty of places to sit and socialize, a mail room and the management offices. Also on the main level are meeting rooms, bike storage and a gym and fitness room for residents.

The upper levels are mainly the residential units with many unique places to meet and socialize including a historically renovated tiered classroom on the top floor that can be used for film screenings or meetings for residents.

The second floor has an auditorium with a stage that will be renovated as a multi-use space for theater events or choir groups.

This space will be primarily for residents

Proposed courtyard and will also have a kitchen for catered events.

Nearly the entire project is designed to restore the historic building to its original grandeur. Currently there are no elevators, so two sets of elevators will be added, one primarily for residents. The only completely new element that will be added on to the existing building will be a centerpiece for the residents—a glass sunroom to capture the sunlight and provide a view of the outdoor courtyard. This warm, bright space will be the building’s “living room” for all residents to enjoy.

The public meeting was well received by the community and a big success. On August 13, Pennrose LLC and LGBTQ Senior Housing

Inc received BPDA board approval, sending the team on to the final phase with the zoning board.

This project, when completed sometime in 2023, will not only capture some of the rich history of the Boston’s past but it will also represent the rich diversity and inclusion of Boston’s future by modeling a senior community where everyone is welcome to live and gather together without any fear of discrimination.

For information about this project or to get on the mailing list for regular updates and leasing information please visit LGBTQSeniorhousing.org. [x]

Bob Linscott is assistant director of the LGBT Aging Project at The Fenway Institute

LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE MEANS CHOOSING THE BEST CARE. When you or a loved one have been slowed down by injury or aging, it can take you away from the life you love. Our mission is to ensure you receive the sensitive, expert care you deserve.

For outpatient services, call 1.888.SRN.4330 spauldingrehab.org16 | BOSTON SPIRIT

For home care services, call 1.844.PHH.4200 partnersathome.org

SPOTLIGHT Youth STORY Ryan M. Leach

Community-Based Care RI HEALTH’S POSITIVE PATHWAYS PROGRAM LEADS THE WAY

PHOTO @JusticeResourceInitiative

The Justice Resource Institute (JRI), through JRI Health, was recently awarded a one million dollar grant to support their Positive Pathways Program. The program, launching this fall, will include one-on-one interventions with young people, trainings and environmental strategies that address HIV and substance misuse prevention and linkage to care for racial/ethnic minority youth ages 13–29. The program will focus particularly on youth who identify as LGBTQ, people who inject drugs, people with HIV and youth experiencing homelessness, mental health issues and/or sexual exploitation.

“Our program’s health navigation services will connect individuals to affirming LGBTQ+ providers and social supports, housing stabilization resources and mental health services, and provide support around applying for health insurance or obtaining personal documents—anything we can possibly do to improve access to care,” said Mio Tamanaha, director of adolescent and youth health.

“Individuals in our priority population are at heightened risk for HIV and substance use, and may benefit from services that address their social determinants of health and barriers to accessing services, such as stigma, trauma history, separation from family or lack of health insurance,” Tamanaha said.

The organization acquired the important grant after responding to a funding opportunity from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It will be distributed over the course of five years and will allow JRI Health to provide a wide range of services.

“This grant will allow us to provide education and workshops focused on HIV and substance misuse prevention, on-site HIV/STI testing and counseling, on-site substance use screening, risk reduction counseling, distribution of educational materials and safer sex kits, support group facilitation, training and technical support for providers, as well as direct patient navigation to connect young people to services and assist them in staying engaged in care.”

JRI Health will also be designing and implementing public-messaging and awareness campaigns on the risk of substance misuse among individuals living with HIV and the

importance of seeking care and treatment, using nonstigmatizing language. The priority populations that are the focus of this grant are particularly in need of culturally responsive care.

“A unique challenge for LGBTQ youth of color is the discrimination and mistreatment they can experience in healthcare and service settings based on multiple aspects of their identity, whether it be sexuality, gender identity, class or race/ethnicity. It is challenging to find affirming environments that offer culturally responsive care and services. Beyond that, they may be experiencing similar discrimination and mistreatment within other spheres of their lives, whether it’s at school, at work, in their neighborhoods, or within their own families.” said Katie Johnson, program manager of PACT (Prevention and Access to Care and Treatment) at JRI Health.

JRI Health is also taking extra measures to ensure that this program connects with the intended communities.

“We have existing partnerships with community-based organizations and healthcare providers that we plan to broaden to offer these services at their sites as well as our own. We will tailor the program to fit the

needs of the community by conducting annual needs assessments and working closely with our Youth Advisory Board to get feedback on the design and delivery of the program. JRI Health has over 25 years of experience working with this target population, and we hope to draw on this experience and our existing programming that serves the needs of LGBTQ+ youth of color to inform our delivery of accessible and effective services.” Johnson said.

Anyone can connect with the program through the brick and mortar site at 75 Amory St., in Jamaica Plain. It can be reached at (857) 399-1920 or outreach@jri. org. They will also be partnering with several community-based organizations and healthcare providers where services will be available on-site.

The program is currently offering modified services due to COVID-19. Some interactions that used to be in-person are now happening virtually, through phone and video calls, Zoom meetings, or texting. However, in-person HIV/STI testing and PrEP services are offered on-site every Wednesday at the Boston location, and Monday-Friday at the Framingham location. Contact the program at health@jri.org to make an appointment. [x]

SEP| OCT 2020 | 17

SPOTLIGHT Statistics Compilation by Rob Phelps

Go Figure STATE OF REPRESENTATION

The number of LGBTQ elected officials has risen exponentially across the US over the past few years, but we’ve still got a ways to go before achieving equitability. (For a closer look at the ground game in New England for the 2020 election, see the story on page 36.)

THE GOOD NEWS

THE CHALLENGE

Growth in LGBTQ representation across US from June 2019 to June 2020—in an “off‑election” year:

LGBTQ parity is a work in progress:

+21%

Openly LGBTQ elected officials in US

843

Increase in all LGBTQ elected officials

4.5%

+35%

ME

VT

22 NH

30

US elected officials identifying as LGBTQ

Increase in bisexual elected officials

(22,544)

Increase in trans women elected officials

Increase in queer elected officials

9

0.17%

+53%

+71%

13

US adults identifying as LGBTQ

Increase in LGBTQ mayors

+41%

OPENLY LGBTQ ELECTED OFFICIALS IN NEW ENGLAND

More LGBTQ elected officials needed to achieve equitable representation in US

Source: “Out for America 2020: A Census of LGBTQ Elected Officials Nationwide,” Victory Institute, 2020

18 | BOSTON SPIRIT

MA

10 CT

9 RI

They take real estate seriously.

Themselves, not so much.

Gail, Ed and the team are hardworking, knowledgeable pros who always put your interests first. With over $1 billion in sales, they know what they’re doing and, yep, they have fun doing it. 617-245-4044 • gailroberts.com

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

From the Blog NEWS HIGHLIGHTS FROM BOSTONSPIRITMAGAZINE.COM

California are leading up the lawsuit.

The lawsuit is the latest among the cases filed against the administration’s ruling, including suits by the Human Rights Campaign, Boston-based GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders) and a broad coalition of health care advocates and providers including Bostonbased Fenway Health.

MAJOR GRANT FOR FENWAY INSTITUTE

Athena Vaughn. PHOTO Boston Celtics recognizes outstanding individuals making exceptional and lasting contributions to their communities and is usually presented at Celtics home games.

Here’s what the Celtics had to say about Vaughn in their press release announcing Vaughn as one of their most recent Heroes:

RANDY PRICE HOSTS ‘LGBT IN THREE’ Boston Spirit magazine launched a new, weekly, social media-based broadcast called “LGBT in Three,” hosted by news legend, and LGBT icon Randy Price, in early July. Price recently retired from a long and outstanding career as Boston news anchor on WCVB TV-5.

“Randy is such a legend within the New England news industry and in the New England LGBT community. Combining these two essential parts of Randy’s life make this the ultimate match,” said Boston Spirit Publisher David Zimmerman.

“In the course of our audience research we discovered that approximately 1.5 million people in New England are actively involved following LGBT issues through their social media accounts. My guess is that most, if not all, of these people know Randy through his work in Boston news or through his work in the LGBT community. Of that group I would also assume that almost all respect and enjoy his work,” Zimmerman said.

“LGBT in Three” airs every Friday morning as a three-minute video recap of the past week’s LGBT news affecting the community in the six New England states.

HEALEY-LED COALITION SUES TO KEEP ACA PROTECTIONS

Alex Keuroghlian. PHOTO The Fenway Institute

The Fenway Institute at Boston’s Fenway Health received a $1.9 million award from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Primary Health Care toward the ongoing work of its National LGBT Health Education Center.

Mass. AG Maura Healey. PHOTO @

MassAttorneyGeneral

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and two other AGs are leading a coalition of 23 state attorney generals — or “almost half of America,” as PinkNews put it — in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its ruling to remove anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ patients from the Affordable Care Act. “We need to focus on expanding access to care—not on rolling it back,” said Healey in a press statement. “We are suing to ensure our residents don’t face unnecessary or discriminatory barriers in accessing the health care services they need.”

Along with Healey, Attorney Generals Letitia James of New York and Xavier Becerra of

20 | BOSTON SPIRIT

The center provides educational programs, resources and consultation to health care organizations with the goal of optimizing quality, cost-effective health care for LGBTQIA+ people.

‘We are honored to continue providing national training and technical assistance in partnership with HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care, focused on improving care for LGBTQIA+ communities at 1,400 federally qualified health centers,” said Dr. Alex Keuroghlian, director of education and training programs at the Institute. “This work is more important now than ever.”

HERO AMONG US The Boston Celtics honored transgender activist Athena Vaughn of Dorchester as a Hero Among Us. The award

“In response to the recent outrage over Black Lives Matter protests, Vaughn stepped up for the often-overlooked Black LGBTQ+ community in a big way. As the Operations Coordinator for the Massachusetts Trans Political Coalition, she organized and led June’s “Trans Resistance Rally and March” in Boston to raise awareness of overseen issues in our communities and demand that changes happen.”

We join the Celtics in saluting Vaughn!

CALLING FOR TRANSITION A new organization, Boston Pride 4 the People, called for the board of Boston Pride to step down and proposed a transition plan to “help ensure continuity and stability during the transition to a more diverse board who will turn their focus on the lives of Queer and Trans, Black People, Indigenous People and People of Color,” according a June 30 press release from the group.

As Boston Public Radio station WBUR describes the situation, “Boston Pride 4 The People lists a number of grievances with the board of Boston Pride, including underfunding and racial microaggressions.

Boston Pride recently came under fire for what some view as their lackluster statement on police brutality and Black

Lives Matter. Boston Pride 4 The People claims the board revised the original statement the volunteer communications team drafted and omitted ‘Black Lives Matter.’”

The June 30 press release also lists examples they find of the board’s “poor relationship with LGBTQ+ communities of color” that has “worsened in the past decade.”

The new group consists of many former Boston Pride committee leaders and volunteers.

CALLING IN CONSULTANTS The Boston Pride Board brought in the consulting firm Dorrington and Saunders to work with them on “transformational changes regarding diversity and inclusion.”

“We have heard the voices from our community and we know that Boston Pride must take more substantive steps towards becoming more diverse

throughout our organization, including in our leadership,” said Boston Pride President Linda J. DeMarco in a June 24 press release.

MOST FRIENDLY STATES In a USA Today survey of the most-to-least LGBTQ-friendly states, New England’s came in close to the top.

“It is important for the community to know that Boston Pride supports the Black Lives Matter movement and the efforts to end systemic racism and police brutality against Black and Brown people including the LGBTQ+ community,” DeMarco stated.

PORTER ON THE BOARD Billy Porter, the openly gay Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-winning performer and current star of the hit TV series “Pose”—for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2019—has been named to Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company’s board of trustees.

First known by many for his iconic Tony Award-winning portrayal of Lola in Broadway’s “Kinky Boots,” Porter most

Billy Porter. PHOTO Huntington Theater recently worked with the Huntington Theatre directing “The Purists” last year.

At the Huntington, Porter has also directed the critically acclaimed productions of “The Colored Museum,” by George C. Wolfe, in 2015, and “Topdog/ Underdog,” by Suzan-Lori Parks, in 2017 along with the world premiere of “The Purists,”

by Dan McCabe, in 2019.

Your financial needs are unique.

Brian K. Gerhardson, CFP® Certified Financial Planner Private Wealth Advisor South End Wealth Management 546 Tremont St Boston, MA 02116 617.426.3416 brian.k.gerhardson@ampf.com SouthEndWealthManagement.com CA Insurance #0D35502 Ameriprise Financial is proud to be recognized with another perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

We do take these rankings with a grain of salt since some results were skewed a bit by factors like the Bay State’s relatively high number of reported hate crimes concerning sexual orientation and gender ID—Bay State police are required to record and report this info, which just doesn’t happen in many other states, so the Bay State gets lower marks for this than other states where such crimes go unreported. Other factors included legal protections, resources and the size of state LGBTQ populations.

Here’s how it all shook out: Vermont ranked #2, Maine came in at #8, Rhode Island #10, Massachusetts #13, New Hampshire #14 and Connecticut #16. [x]

Whether you want to provide for your loved ones, support the organizations that are important to you, or plan for your own comfortable retirement, I can help you plan for your goals. I’ll look at all aspects of your finances, then find solutions that are right for your unique needs. I’ll be there to adjust your plan as life unfolds.

When you have the right approach, life can be brilliant.

South End Wealth Management Ameriprise Private Wealth Advisory Practice

Investment advisory products and services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment adviser.

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2016 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. (8/16) SEP| OCT 2020 | 21

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Kim Harris Stowell

Newsmakers | Rhode Island This Just in from the Ocean State

CHANGES AT RI PRIDE Rhode Island Pride’s Acting President Tatiana Renders announced on July 21 that the organization’s board of directors has been undergoing changes amid allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of a member of the executive board.

Parentage Act bill signing. PHOTO Steve Alquist/Uprise RI

PARENTAGE ACT BECOMES LAW On July 21, Governor Gina Raimondo signed the Rhode Island Uniform Parentage Act into law at a ceremony on the south lawn of the statehouse. The law will take effect January 1, 2021.

The legislation updates the state’s 40-year-old parenting laws, to ensure that all Rhode Island children have equal access to the security of legal parentage. Among other benefits, it allows LGBTQ couples access to establishing parentage through a simple civil Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage, reducing the need for a difficult, expensive and lengthy co-parent adoption process. It also creates, for the first time in Rhode Island, an accessible path to parentage for children born through assisted reproduction, as well as protections for children born through surrogacy.

Championed by Rhode Islanders for Parentage Equality (RIPE) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), this legislation had come before the General Assembly for three years. Each year parents testified before the Judiciary committees of both the House and Senate, telling their painful personal stories about the fears and consequences of not having

a clear legal relationship to their children. This year it finally passed both the Senate and the House, allowing Governor Raimondo to sign a bill she has long supported.

GENDER-NEUTRAL DRIVER’S LICENSES

PHOTO Rex LeBeau Rhode Island residents can now select a gender-neutral designation on their driver’s licenses, the new option appearing on driver’s licenses as an X. The move aligns Rhode Island with neighbors Connecticut and Massachusetts as well as Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine..

Residents who want to change their gender designation on their driver’s license can fill out the appropriate forms and return them in person to a Division of Motor Vehicles site.

22 | BOSTON SPIRIT

“We are working on ourselves as an organization,” Renders said in a statement. “It’s important that we work on healing relationships with the community.”

The organization held a public meeting in late July on Zoom, giving many community members a chance to air concerns and grievances.

At an August 12 board meeting, they announced the formation of a nominating committee to begin the work of board development. Already in place are new policies regarding ethics and sexual harassment.

Plans also include audits of the organization, one to be done internally within the next six months, and possibly a larger external audit, not scheduled as of yet. It is not clear how far back in the organization’s history the larger audit will go.

DRAG HORROR FILM FEST WINNER It’s the story of a dejected bartender and an aging drag queen who try to survive the eccentric and hostile nightlife of a corrupt city as a masked maniac slaughters young gay man and drains them of blood.

And it all takes place in modernday Providence, The cast of “Death Drop Gorgeous” includes local queer talent, and there’s lots of nudity, several Providence clubs and revolting death scenes. It is

Scene from “Death Drop Gorgeous” the brainchild of Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe and Brandon Perras-Sanchez, all of Providence. Funded in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, it premiered at this summer’s Wicked Queer Film Festival in Boston, winning the coveted Audience Award.

More: deathdropgorgeous.com

GAY POLO LEAGUE

PHOTO @gaypololeague The world’s only LGBTQ polo association has moved its annual tournament from Palm Beach, Florida to Newport. The Gay Polo League’s event will be taking place September 12 and 13 at the International Polo Club.

Founded in 2006, the group has attracted national attention, welcomes LGBTQ players of all gender identities and prides itself on being an open and welcoming space.

The event will also be taking all the measures required by the CDC and the city of Newport for COVID-19 cautions. Crowd size will be limited, and extra sanitation measures will be implemented throughout the venue.

More: gaypolo.com [x]

A PRIDE MONTH LIKE NO OTHER. The Equality Fund at the Boston Foundation stands with Greater Boston’s nonprofit community in solidarity and support during these unparalleled times. Created in 2012, the Equality Fund was the first permanently endowed fund to support Greater Boston’s nonprofit organizations that serve and strengthen the LGBTQ community.

Fueled by generous, forward-thinking donors who have incorporated the fund into their estate plans, we make high-impact grants to nonprofits serving the constantly changing, diverse needs of the local LGBTQ community.

We traditionally award grants to our nonprofit partners in June, in honor of Pride month. But this year, we accelerated our timeline and announced more than 30 grants in April, the largest slate in our history. Our goal was to provide urgently needed resources to LGBTQ-led—and LGBTQ-serving—nonprofits to help them respond and endure at a time when they are being stretched to their limits.

The Fund’s grantmaking priorities, always informed by research, are guided by an Advisory Committee of community members and allies who possess a depth and breadth of understanding about the most pressing issues affecting LGBTQ people today.

Grants made from the Equality Fund will always go to benefit Greater Boston’s LGBTQ community. We invite you to join us.

Any individual, family or organization can contribute to the Equality Fund through planned and legacy giving options and outright contributions. Learn more at www.tbf.org/equality.

Newsmakers | New Hampshire Headlines from the Granite State PARENTING RIGHTS BILL SIGNED INTO LAW New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed into law a bill that expands access for adoption, notably for children of LGBTQ parents.

According to GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), the new law (HB 1162) ensures that unmarried parents can adopt children. For LGBTQ parents, it means they can confirm their parentage through adoption and that kids born through assisted reproduction can have their parental relationships secured through a court judgment of parentage.

GLAD worked with the ACLU of New Hampshire and State Rep. Ed Butler — a champion of LGBTQ legislation in the Granite State, notes GLAD — to move the bill through a legislative session made more challenging due to COVID-19.

“We appreciate so much the hard work of Rep. Butler to ensure this bill, which is so important to children and families, was still prioritized despite the difficulties of the pandemic,” said attorney Chrissy Hanisco, who also worked with the team to carry the bill into law.

“Parentage laws across the country are still catching up to the realities of how families are formed today,” said GLAD

Senior Staff Attorney Polly Crozier. “More and more states, including nearby Rhode Island, which just this week enacted comprehensive parentage reform, are recognizing the need to provide more fair and equal access to parentage. With HB 1162 now signed into law, New Hampshire fills some key remaining holes in protections for children and families in the state.”

LPAC, EMILY’S LIST ENDORSE PERKINS KWOKA If elected in November, Rebecca Perkins Kwoka would become the first openly LGBTQ woman to serve in the Granite State senate.

In late July, she received endorsements from the national

Rebecca Perkins Kwoka PHOTO @voterebeccanh political action committees LPAC and EMILY’s List.

“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive these endorsements,” Perkins Kwoka said in a press release. “The work these organizations do to build the political power of women and LGBTQ people knows no bounds, and I am so excited to be a part of the amazing networks these organizations have built.”

Perkins Kwoka would represent the district encompassing Durham, Lee, Madbury, Newfields,

508.648.6861 robertpaul.com

REPRESENTING THE FINEST HOMES

FROM DOWNTOWN TO PROVINCETOWN

a history of exceptional service.

Rural Outright, 2019 PHOTO @ruralnhoutright Newington, Newmarket and Portsmouth.

LGBTQIA MILITARY VETS GROUP

feel vulnerable and in a safe place that is outside of normal therapy with folks who have had a shared experience.”

Congressman Pappas is up for reelection on November 3.

More: vfrhealthcare.com

RURAL PRIDE GOES VIRTUAL

Congressman Chris Pappas PHOTO RepChrisPappas In late June, US Congressman Chris Pappas held a roundtable with CEO Eric Golnick and staff of the Manchester-based Veteran and First Responder Healthcare staff to discuss a new support group for LGBTQIA military veterans and first responders.

“For too long LGBTQ+ veterans haven’t had services tailored to meet their needs,” Pappas said. “LGBTQ+ veterans and first responders face unique challenges in their work, and Eric and his team at VFR Healthcare are helping to create a solution for that. I was glad to learn more about how this program is helping Granite Staters and about VFR Healthcare’s plans to expand this program nationally.”

“This is something we’ve been wanting to do for years,” said Golnick, himself an LGBTQ navy vet. “What we wanted to do in partnership with [the U.S. Veterans’ Administration] is create a group that is a safe environment where folks can

Pride celebrations everywhere—from the big urban centers to rural communities—are proving the spirit of the community prevails despite the pandemic by taking full advantage of the Internet’s ability to connect.

Take Rural Pride in Claremont, as Matt Moonshian, founder of Rural Outright— which organized the festivities, gone virtual in this, its third year—explained to New Hampshire Public Radio.

“You know for a lot of folks who come to Rural Pride, it might be the only time of year that they get connected with, you know, a company that has binders if they’re trans,” Moonshian said. “Or it might be the only time they get to see a drag queen out in public. Or it might be the only time that they get to talk to someone about affirmative sex ed.”

Since 1832, we’ve helped generations of Boston families create beautiful and meaningful tributes to those they love. We not only fulfill your requests, we anticipate them to orchestrate highly personalized life celebrations.

When you require a superior level of service, look no further.

The festival took place in late June and included a virtual flag-raising of the Progress Pride flag “just over the state border in Vermont,” plus two days of festivities, including a livestream variety show with “storytelling, makeup tutorials and a Queer Q&A session with LGBT leaders from across the state,” according to NHPR. [x]

A Service Family Affiliate of AFFS and Service Corporation International, 206 Winter Street, Fall River, MA 02720. 508-676-2454.

Newsmakers | Connecticut Articles from the Constitution State a proclamation, proclaiming June 26, 2020 as Pride Day in the town of Monroe, and urging citizens to “recognize the contributions made by members of the LGBTQ+ community and to actively promote the principals of equality and liberty.” A number of public officials from both sides of the aisle attended the ceremony to show their support.

PRIDE DAY IN MONROE

Kapoor said more people had wanted to be there, but the event was not heavily advertised to promote social distancing. —RP

RALLY FOR LGBTQ POC

Monroe, Conn. town hall Pride flags went up over city and town halls across New England to commemorate Pride month, albeit mostly virtual this year, and we salute them all. But we especially love to give a shout out to communities supporting their LGBTQ residents and neighbors for the first time.

Take the flag-raising celebration in Monroe, Connecticut.

“This flag raising today is another small step in the long journey that is achieving equality and universal civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community,” Ken Kapoor, a member of the town’s board of education, told The Monroe Sun. “Symbols have meaning and this flag being raised shows that our local government cares. It is awareness and education that can change hearts and minds and local events like this move that conversation forward,” said Kapoor.

At the ceremony, reported the Sun, “The first selectman read

PHOTO YvngBlackVoices/Instagram In July, protesters came together in Fairfield to stand up for Black LGBTQ rights. Protestors arrived at Sherman Green and marched to Old Town Hall.

Along with calling attention to the murders of Black trans women in this country, protestors called out issues around the rights of transgender athletes in schools.

Shoshana Mahon, one of the organizers of the protest, was inspired to put together the event following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent outpouring of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Among the protesters were State Rep. Brian Farnen,

26 | BOSTON SPIRIT

and State Rep. candidates Carla Volpe and Jennifer Leeper.

“BRIDGING THE GAP” DINNER CREATES OPPORTUNITY FOR DISCUSSION On September 9, the (B)MEN Foundation and the Transgender Emergency Fund are hosting the second event in a series that “highlights connection and dialogue between black men and Trans women of color,” according to bmenfoundation. org.

The event, “Bridging the Gap II, A Dinner Convo w/ Straight Black Men & Trans Women of Color,” includes icebreaking activities, dinner, conversations and an opportunity to break down barriers and dispel myths and misconceptions. “The goal of the event is for individuals to walk away with awareness and understanding of the issues that prevent open coexistence within our communities.”

(B)MEN is an inclusive group of Black men working to mobilize all Black men regardless of class, national origin, immigration status, age, sexual orientation, sexual identity, or gender expression. The Transgender Emergency Fund is the only organization dedicated to supporting low income and homeless Transgender individuals in Massachusetts.

More: bmenfoundation.org; transgenderemergencyfund.org

TRIANGLE COMMUNITY CENTER CONTINUES PROGRAMMING WITH COVID-SAFE VIRTUAL EVENTS Norwalk’s Triangle Community Center normally delivers many

in-person programs, groups and activities for local LGBTQ youth. During the COVID-19 pandemic, TCC has moved their programming to Zoom, and that includes youth groups, peer support groups, game nights and more.

For example, on the first and third Tuesday of each month, the TCC hosts their Coffee Talk Daytime Social. The coffee hour is geared towards older adults and is a chance to chat about ideas and current issues, and even engaging in art projects from home.

The LBTQ Women’s Social is hosted via Zoom on the first and final Thursday of each month, including September and October. The event is a chance for women to make new friends, connect with old friends and feel a sense of community.

Every Friday, TCC hosts their Young Adult Chat, a space for those age 18 to 25 to discuss LGBTQ-related topics.

Also on Friday nights, the center hosts GAYmes Night, where attendees (virtually) play games in a sober and LGBTQ-friendly environment.

In addition to their many groups and events, the Triangle Community Center also continues to offer free mental health counseling. In addition, they offer case management to those who may need assistance finding housing, employment, or benefits during the pandemic.

They also offer support to young adults who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The center has truly adapted to the virtual world we are now living in. [x]

FIND A LIFE-CHANGING CAREER – JOIN BIDMC We at BIDMC are committed to advancing an equitable environment in which all people are respected, their voices are heard, and they can work to their potential. Only then can we deliver fully on our mission: To Provide Extraordinary Care, Where the Patient Comes First, Supported by World Class Education and Research.

Learn about our life-changing career opportunities: jobs.bidmc.org EOE M/F/VET/DISABILITY/ GENDER IDENTITY/SEXUAL ORIENTATION

with DESCOVY for PrEP® DESCOVY for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a once-daily prescription medicine for adults and adolescents at risk of HIV. It helps lower the chances of getting HIV through sex.

DESCOVY for PrEP is not for everyone: • It is not for use in people assigned female at birth who are at risk of getting HIV from vaginal sex, because its effectiveness has not been studied.

• You must be HIV-negative before and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP. DESCOVY® is the smallest pill approved for PrEP. Actual size: 13mm x 6mm

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT DESCOVY (des-KOH-vee) This is only a brief summary of important information about taking DESCOVY for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DESCOVY FOR PrEP Before starting and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP: • You must be HIV-negative. You must get tested for HIV immediately before and at least every 3 months while taking DESCOVY. If you think you were exposed to HIV, tell your healthcare provider right away. They may want to do more tests to confirm that you are still HIV-negative • Many HIV tests can miss HIV infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or while taking DESCOVY. • DESCOVY does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to reduce the risk of getting STIs. • DESCOVY by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. Do not take DESCOVY for PrEP unless you are confirmed to be HIV negative.

DESCOVY may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking DESCOVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking DESCOVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check or give you HBV medicine.

28 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Ask a healthcare provider if DESCOVY for PrEP is right for you.

To learn more, visit AboutDescovy.com.

ABOUT DESCOVY FOR PrEP DESCOVY for PrEP is a once-daily prescription medicine for adults and adolescents at risk of HIV who weigh at least 77 pounds. It helps lower the chances of getting HIV through sex.

DESCOVY for PrEP is not for everyone: • It is not for use in people assigned female at birth who are at risk of getting HIV from vaginal sex, because its effectiveness has not been studied.

• You must be HIV-negative before and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Do NOT take DESCOVY for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV infection or if you do not know your HIV status. If you have HIV-1, you need more medicine than DESCOVY alone to treat HIV-1.

If you have HIV-1 and take only DESCOVY, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat now and in the future.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY FOR PrEP DESCOVY can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About DESCOVY for PrEP” section.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with DESCOVY. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking DESCOVY. • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

Eligible patients may pay as little as a $0 co-pay.*

Actor portrayals

HOW TO TAKE DESCOVY FOR PrEP POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY FOR PrEP (cont’d) Common side effects in people taking DESCOVY for PrEP include diarrhea, nausea, headache, fatigue, and stomach pain.

These are not all the possible side effects of DESCOVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking DESCOVY for PrEP.

• Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.

• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking DESCOVY for PrEP.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with DESCOVY for PrEP.

• Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. If your partner is living with HIV, your risk of getting HIV is lower if your partner consistently takes HIV treatment every day.

• Get tested for other STIs. Some STIs make it easier for HIV to infect you.

• Practice safer sex by using latex or polyurethane condoms.

• Talk to your healthcare provider about all the ways to help reduce HIV risk.

BEFORE TAKING DESCOVY FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis.

• Have any other medical conditions.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with DESCOVY for PrEP.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

• Go to DESCOVY.com/prep or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit DESCOVY.com/prep for program information.

*Advancing Access® co-pay support is available for commercially insured eligible patients only. Subject to change; for full terms and conditions, visit GileadAdvancingAccess.com.

DESCOVY FOR PrEP, the DESCOVY FOR PrEP Logo, the DESCOVY Blue Pill Design, DESCOVY, the DESCOVY Logo, STEP UP. PrEP UP., ADVANCING ACCESS, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. ©2020 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. DVYC0171 02/20 SEP| OCT 2020 | 29

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

Newsmakers | Vermont Green Mountain State Update

Eldert-Moore, focused on countering racist policies throughout the Mill River Unified Union School District, according to a report in the online independent news source VTDigger.

The proposal included raising the Black Lives Matter flag.

Upon accepting the proposal back in June, the school board added the Pride flag to be raised over the schools as well, to support its LGBTQ students.

“When I attended Mill River, students would use hateful terms and slang constantly, whether they knew it or not,” Mill River Union High 2015 graduate Christian Brand told VTDigger. “Imagine how I and others would have felt if we saw a Pride flag wave across the school grounds? How we could have been given the chance earlier to be ourselves and thrive.”

QUEER CARAVAN Taylor Small. PHOTO @taylorsmallvt

TRANSGENDER CANDIDATES In the August 11 primary, three transgender women ran to represent their districts in the state where Democrat Christine Hallquist made history as the first transgender woman to win a major party’s nomination for governor two years ago.

Taylor Small, director of health and wellness at Pride Center of Vermont, ran to rep Winooski in her Chittenden district at the statehouse. Ember Quinn, a substitute teacher, ran to rep Milton, and small business owner Jamie Dufour ran to rep Manchester.

And on Aug. 11, Small won her race. Quinn also advanced to the general election. If elected on Nov. 3, they’ll be among the first transgender legislators in the state.

Small received the endorsements of both Hallquist and current LGBTQ State Rep. Diana Gonzalez, who was not running for reelection. Even Small’s opponent, Jordan Matte, had kind words for her, telling VTDigger he “thinks it’s ‘great’ that Small is bringing her perspective to this race.”

“I am definitely proud that there are three trans women running for office,” Hallquist told VTDigger in early August. “It’s nice to know that when you give up everything and commit to something that it has some level of impact.”

PRIDE, BLM FLAGS FLY OVER SCHOOLS

White River Junction celebrated its first-ever Pride parade despite the COVID-19 pandemic that’s forced so many other Prides, from big cities to smaller communities, to go offroad and online.

And White River Junction Pride did it all from the socially distanced safety of an all-mobile “Queer Caravan” of decorated vehicles rolling through downtown to the beat of LGBTQ+ performing artists playing over radio 93.9 The River.

Anna Guenther, chair and founder of the town’s Pride planning committee, told Valley News, “One of the key things motivating me to move forward is it’s not just about this year.

It’s about the next five years and

the next 10 years. White River Junction is my home and I want us to have a Pride celebration and I think other people want us to have it too. I think a lot of us just passionately love our town and it’s a town that already loves parades.”

NEW HIRE FOR GLAM Pride Center of Vermont and its GLAM Vermont program have a new health and wellness coordinator and his name is Richard A. Elliott.

“Richard brings with him a very welcoming and inclusive approach to public health that is truly invaluable for the work we do in this program,” stated Taylor Small, the center’s director of health and wellness, in a press release. “As we continue to push for expanded healthcare access for LGBTQ+ Vermonters, his experience and perspective in doing that work will only strengthen our abilities.”

Elliott has had five years prior experience in the LGBTQ health care system not only as a client, but as community health outreach educator at Project REAL, a Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey program.

He earned his undergraduate degree in special education from Kean University.

“I’m heartened to be a part of the family at Pride Center of Vermont,” said Elliott.

“This work is meaningful and powerful, and I’m excited to be an advocate and educator for LGBTQ+ Vermonters and their health.”—R. Payne [x]

PHOTO millriverschools.org After careful consideration by a school board in Vermont, the LGBTQ Pride flag and Black Lives Matter flag will fly over all public schools in Clarendon, North Clarendon, Shrewsbury, Wallingford and Tinmouth, Vermont.

The proposal, put forth by high school senior Reese White River Junction Queer Caravan PHOTO≈@WRJpride

30 | BOSTON SPIRIT

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

Newsmakers | Maine

News from the Pine Tree State HRC ENDORSES GIDEON

Sara Gideon PHOTO saragideon.com The Human Rights Campaign endorsed Maine’s Speaker of the House Sara Gideon for US Senate in her race against incumbent Senator Susan Collins.

HRC, the largest LGBTQ advocacy and political lobbying organization in the country, made its announcement immediately after Gideon won her state’s Democratic primary with over 70% of the vote on July 14.

Said Gideon, “Every Mainer, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, deserves a seat at the table in discussions about our future and I’m honored to have the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign in this race.”

“In the State House, we passed landmark legislation banning conversion therapy and strengthening the Maine Human Rights Act to protect LGBTQ Mainers from discrimination based on gender identity.

I look forward to bringing the same dedication to full equality to Washington, and will always fight for the right of all Mainers to live without fear of discrimination,” she said.

NONBINARY BIRTH CERTIFICATES Maine became one of the few states in the country so far to recognize nonbinary people on their birth certificates. The ruling allows for a “X” gender

designation for those identifying as neither exclusively male or exclusively female.

Twelve states (plus Washington DC and New York City) currently offer the nonbinary birth certificate option, according to the Movement Advancement Project; these include Rhode Island, Connecticut and now Maine in New England.

Since 2019, Mainers could obtain or change their X gender markers on their driver’s licenses and state IDS; now these documents can match their birth certificates.

“These changes are really exciting and will make a significant difference in the lives of transgender folks like myself, and people whose gender identity is neither exclusively male nor exclusively female,” said Gia Drew, program director for EqualityMaine, in a press release. “We’ve heard from so many people, as well as from parents of trans and gender expansive youth, who’ve become so frustrated with the outdated process. I hope the news of these necessary and affirming changes bring some light to people during these unsettling times.”

Services and would help veterans get their discharges upgraded to receive state and potentially federal benefits.

“Between the end of World War II and the 2011 repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, it is estimated that over 100,000 veterans nationally were involuntarily discharged from the services because of their sexual orientation,” David Richmond, director of the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, told the Bangor Daily News, “No one knows how many Maine veterans received lessthan-honorable discharges from military service because of their sexual orientation,” reported BDN, but [Richmond] believes it is a significant number.”

The new office would help veterans get their discharges upgraded so they can access state-provided benefits. The office also will help them get the discharges upgraded at the federal level to qualify for federal benefits.

ROCKLAND’S GOOD TERN Customers at Good Tern Co-op of Rockland, Maine raised $891.23 in June through a Pride month drive for their neighbors at OUT Maine, the youth support nonprofit also based in Rockland.

“OUT Maine works toward a welcoming and affirming Maine for all rural young people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions and gender identities,” notes a Good Tern press release. “In partnership

with their allies and families, OUT Maine supports, educates and empowers these youth in their journey from adolescence to adulthood.”

Good Tern Natural Foods Co-op is a member-owned food and health store founded in 1980 to provide healthy food and wellness choices at reasonable prices for our local community.

Its stated mission is “to provide a high-quality, fairly priced, cooperatively owned and democratically controlled source of food and health products; to educate and inform members and the community on whole food, health and nutrition, food sources, and food preparation; and to help further cooperative principles, democracy, and self-reliance.”

RAINBOW CROSSWALKS The city of South Portland, Maine, showed some Pride with a trio of crosswalks painted in the colors of the rainbow flag, painting them at an intersection near City Hall, at the corner of Anthoine Street and Broadway and in front of South Portland High.

“I am proud that South Portland is a city where we can show this display of support during Pride Month for our LGBTQ+ community members,” City Manager Scott Morelli told the Portland Press Herald.

Said City Councilor Katelyn Bruzgo, “We want to make sure the LGBTQ community knows that we see them, and we support them, and make sure they feel that.” [x]

LGBTQ VETERANS Maine lawmakers recommended the creation of a new office to help LGBTQ veterans involuntarily discharged due to their sexual orientation. The new office, envisioned by the state’s committee on veterans and legal affairs, would be part of Maine’s Bureau of Veterans

Good Tern Co-op PHOTO Good Tern Maine

SEP| OCT 2020 | 31

FEATURE Sports STORY Alex Reimer

Time Out

Gay Kickball Boston, 2019. PHOTO @GayKickballBoston

LGBTQ+ sports leagues are navigating Covid-19 and providing some much-needed community As commissioner of Boston’s LGBTQ+ flag football league, Jonathan Fenelon was cautiously optimistic about the prospect of holding a season this fall. He followed the daily coronavirus updates and kept in regular contact with Boston’s Chief of Health and Human Services, Marty Martinez, a FLAG Flag Football veteran himself. But as the summer wore on, it became apparent the call would be out of the league’s hands.

The City of Boston categorizes football as a “high-risk” activity, even if tackling isn’t involved. That means practices wouldn’t even be permitted until later in the city’s reopening plan—the second step of Phase 3—which has been delayed indefinitely. Without the ability to secure permits, the FLAG Flag Football board was left with no choice but to cancel its signature fall season, which typically attracts well over 300 players.

“We were looking for little loopholes to be able to play, and play safely,” Fenelon said. “But it would’ve been totally irresponsible. If one person tests positive for Covid, that eliminates four teams immediately.”

LGBTQ+ weekend warriors are facing another barren sports calendar this fall, with most leagues around New England canceling their seasons. Boston’s LGBTQ+ soccer club, the Strikers, also canceled

32 | BOSTON SPIRIT

their season, along with Providence’s flag football league. The Boston Gay Basketball League typically runs its lucrative pick-up season in the fall, but that won’t happen either.

The lack of activity is devastating for LGBTQ+ people, many of whom participate in sports leagues for the socialization and opportunities to connect with likeminded members of the community.

Kevin Quincy, commissioner of The Boston Gay Basketball League, says the weekly sports leagues have been a godsend for him.

“I can honestly say the sports leagues saved my life,” he said. “I was a lost young soul. It’s great to play the games—I’m a competitive person and love sports—but afterwards just being with friends and talking about sports. As a gay person, sometimes that’s not the easiest thing to do with other gay people. When you’re with people that share the same belief and same passion that you do, it makes a huge difference in your life.”

As a longtime member of FLAG Flag Football, I can attest to Quincy’s testimonial. The prospect of going an entire calendar year without sharing post-game pints at the Blarney Stone is downright depressing.

Fortunately, it looks there will be some athletic outlets for those who feel

comfortable enough to venture out this fall. There are a few sports that expect to play on. Boston’s Gay Kickball league opened up fall registration, and Varsity Gay League, which operates in at least 18 cities, also intends to run a fall kickball season in Providence. The national organization has crafted extensive Covid safety measures and guidelines, outlining strict social distancing and hygiene requirements.

Will Hackner, the founder of Varsity Gay League, says he will do everything in his power to try and run his programs during these dystopian times. “Social sports become ingrained in people’s social calendars,” he said. “Varsity Gay League has become my career, my social life, my workout life, my sports life, my competitive life. So to be without is almost like stripping away all the pieces of humanity that I’ve built up for myself over the last 13 years.”

The Beantown Softball League doesn’t typically have a fall season, but commissioner Kevin Collins says he’s been inundated with requests to try. Softball started its season in mid-July, and though the planning process was strenuous, the result was worth it. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen our players more enthused,” Collins said.

[CONTINUES 35]

FEATURE Politics STORY Rev. Irene Monroe Rev. Irene Monroe

into Julius’ Bar, located a block northeast of the Stonewall Inn. They handed a waitress their statement that announced: “We are homosexuals. We believe that a place of public accommodation has an obligation to serve an orderly person, and that we are entitled to service so long as we are orderly.” The sip-in’s success resulted in the following year with the New Jersey Supreme Court rule stating “well-behaved homosexuals” could not be barred from a drink.

Reinforcing love

In My Own Words Shared Struggles, Common Foes When civil rights icon US Rep. John Lewis’s hearse made a lengthy stop at a rainbow crosswalk in downtown Atlanta, it was his last symbolic gesture to LGBTQ+ Americans to keep fighting, albeit posthumously. Lewis’s decadeslong jeremiad invited Americans to get into “good trouble” meant advocating for LGBTQ+ civil rights, too. His advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights was informed and shaped during his formative years in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, understanding all human rights need protection.

Moreover, Lewis saw the African American civil rights struggle inextricably tied to the LGBTQ+ civil rights battle because both have a shared history of struggle, violence and police brutality. However,

we have not been staunch allies of one another. And, it is an ongoing heartbreak for me and others who intersect both communities. The LGBTQ+ liberation movement has piggybacked on the strides and gains African Americans have made against discrimination. The playbook of the 1960s Black Civil Rights Movement profoundly shaped and informed the LGBTQ+ movement from street protests to courtroom battles.

Before the Stonewall Rebellion, the Mattachine Society staged a “Sip-In” in 1966, modeling the Civil Rights Movement’s sit-ins that challenged segregated lunch counters in the South. Dick Leitsch, thenchairman of the New York Mattachine Society, and other gay activists walked

Marriage equality was a hotly contested issue for evangelical and conservative ministers throughout the country. The loudest opponents in Massachusetts were African American ministers. As a counterpunch to homophobic Black ministers in Greater Boston on marriage equality, Lewis penned an October 23, 2003 op-ed in the Boston Globe titled “At a crossroads on gay unions.” His statement highlighted the connection between black and LGBTQ+ civil rights struggles: “I’ve heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry.”

On May 17, 2004, marriage equality became legal throughout the Commonwealth. Also, on that day was the 50th anniversary of the historic US Supreme Court case of “Brown v. Board of Education,” a ruling that upended this country’s “separate but equal” doctrine, adopted in the “Plessy v. Ferguson” decision of 1896.

The day was chosen to signal to other states that offering same-sex couples civil unions was a “separate and unequal” system of domestic partnership. And, it was not only blatantly discriminatory, but unconstitutional, too.

This June was the fifth anniversary of “Obergefell v. Hodges,” the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states. The case was built on the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia in 1967, which struck down anti-miscegenation laws as unconstitutional. The Lovings were indicted by a Virginia grand jury in October 1958 for

SEP| OCT 2020 | 33

violating the state’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924. Lending her support to the marriage equality battle in 2007, a year before she died, Mrs. Mildred Loving wrote the following: “I am proud that Richard’s and my name are on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight, seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving and loving, are all about.”

Upending antidiscrimination Also, this June, the passing of Title VII of the 1964 civil rights act prohibiting discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity came as a welcoming surprise for us. One of the most crucial legislation passed was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, upending many discriminatory statues that once targeted African Americans are now going after LGBTQs.

In Jim Crow America, restrooms were a hot-button issue as today. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on national origin, race, hue, gender and religion. The law mandated desegregation of all public accommodations such as lunch counters, water fountains, libraries, gas stations, theaters, including bathrooms. Signs that read “whites only” prohibited entry. Black and white bathrooms were outlawed with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But the struggle for bathroom rights put transgender rights front and center.

The Obama administration expanded the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect LGBTQ Americans. However, Trump’s administration revoked federal guidelines permitting transgender students from using “gender-appropriate facilities,” which aligned with their gender identity. His base, mostly white evangelicals, have always been a demographic group obsessed with policing this nation’s genitals. They feel comfortable with ordinances that mandate what they do, how we use them, what body orifices they enter and—now with transgender

Americans—where they go relieve theirs.

Sex-segregated public toilets are not banned in all 50 states. However, Massachusetts voters upheld transgender rights, including bathrooms with the Yes on 3 campaign in 2018.

One of LGBTQ’s earlier battles for inclusion is the military. It strains incredulity, knowing that a segregated military existed since the American Revolution up until 1948. In 2017 President Trump’s ban on transgender service members to the present was eerily reminiscent of the military’s racially segregated ranks. In his inimitable style of communicating the order, it came in the form of a tweet. Ironically, Trump’s tweet came on the 69th anniversary of President Harry Truman’s executive order racially desegregating the U.S military in 1948.

Confronting systemic racism With such similarity in both LGBTQ+ and African American’s battles for civil rights, what keeps the internecine

bright ideas begin at lucía lighting. furniture. accessories.

shop lucialighting.com

311 western avenue, lynn, ma 01904 (781) 595-0026 www.lucialighting.com

lighting & design

store hours: mon-sat 9am-5pm / weds 9am-8pm

arguments among us persistent and seemingly impenetrable?

My answer: Persistent racism.

Unchecked white privilege. Single-issue platforms.

In the battle for LGBTQ+ equality, people of color are nonessentials except for photo-ops, highlighting diversity. When Proposition 8 passed, the white LGBTQ community blamed California’s black community for its win at the ballot box, despite the fact the black community was less than 10 percent, and its white population was approximately 60 percent. When white LGBTQ+ coined the catchy phrase “Gay is the new black,” they ignored their privilege to do so. As Boston Pride revs up each June, the fault lines along race, class and gender identity emerge, too.

The continued distance between the white LGBTQ+ community and LGBTQ+ a of color has a historical antecedent: Stonewall and the white community’s continued dominance and control of its history.

That event and today’s protests illustrate how Black and LGBTQ+ civil rights are tied to a shared history of police brutality. As a child of the 1960s Black civil rights movement, I went with a crowd from Brooklyn to Greenwich Village, the first night of the riots at the request of my friend Birdie’s father. Birdie was the lead vocalist at our church choir. That night, when we got the news that white cops were beating up Black gay men at a bar called Stonewall, Birdie’s father, Nate Sr., asked us to help find me. It’s those brown and black LGBTQ people, like me, who are absent from that night’s photos, but are also bleached from the written history.

This June, Pride took place in the midst of a global pandemic and protests against police brutality and racial inequality.

“ As a community, we have racked up an impressive list of civil rights victories since Stonewall. The infighting that goes on in our LGBTQ+ communities is all symptoms of what’s broken in us. Change is our shared responsibility.

Moving forward in the aftermath of [George] Floyd’s death, I hope the entire LGBTQ+ community embraces intersectional concerns and goals to best address systemic racism and police violence, which both communities — African American and LGBTQ+ — share. ” Rev. Irene Monroe George Floyd’s death appears to be an inflection point and wake-up call for white America. Instead of a Pride parade in Boston, the Trans Resistance Vigil and March stood in its place. The death of George Floyd, a cisgender male, symbolizes the new face of anti-black violence, as Matthew Shepard’s face came to symbolize homophobic violence after his murder in 1998. However, black trans death—two occurring since Floyd’s death had been murdered—is disproportionately higher than any marginalized group. For the first time ever, this Pride month, LGBTQ+ communities and organizations across the country elevated the voices and faces of its black communities. For some LGBTQ+ people of African descent, however, the gesture was at best too late, and at worst, a clear sign of tokenism—seizing the moment to be politically correct.

As a community, we have racked up an impressive list of civil rights victories since Stonewall. The infighting that goes on in our LGBTQ+ communities is all symptoms of what’s broken in us.

Change is our shared responsibility. Moving forward in the aftermath of Floyd’s death, I hope the entire LGBTQ+ community embraces intersectional concerns and goals to best address systemic racism and police violence, which both communities—African American and LGBTQ+—share. [x] Rev. Irene Monroe

and FLAG Flag Football, whose members typically perform an average of 1,500 community service hours each year, intends to perform charitable work as well. “We’re not just looking at how we can help our fellow players, but also the community we’ve built a relationship with over the years,” Fenelon said.

Still, there’s no true substitute for in-person competition, and more importantly, in-person contact. Even those who do participate in the limited sports offerings

this fall will face a tenuous landscape.

Quincy thought he would be spending his late-summer weekends playing softball, but thanks to a new travel ban on Rhode Island residents, he’s stuck at home.

“Not having (sports) right now, and having to deal with it virtually, is really a huge transition that none of us ever thought we would be in,” he said. “Who would’ve ever thought that you would be banned from a state?” [x]

Can be heard on the podcast and standing Boston Public Radio segment “All Rev’d Up” on WGBH (89.7 FM), the Boston affiliate of NPR. Monroe’s syndicated religion columns appear in Bay Windows, Cambridge Chronicle, Dig Boston, Curve and in several cities across the country and in the UK and Canada. Monroe is the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail and History UnErased. Also, Monroe is a founder and now member emeritus of several national LGBTQ+ Black and religious organizations. As an activist Monroe has received numerous awards. Her papers are at the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College’s Research Library on the History of Women in America. Monroe’s book on the reported topic will be published in 2021.

[SPORTS LEAGUES FROM 32] These sports leagues provide community for their members, and during these times, we need connection more than ever. It is one of the cruel ironies of the coronavirus, which leagues are trying to mitigate with virtual events and volunteerism.

Providence’s gay flag football league, for example, plans to focus its efforts around voter registration drives and community service engagements.

Boston’s Gay Basketball League has partnered with Boston Black Lives Matter,

SEP| OCT 2020 | 35

FEATURE Politics STORY Rob Phelps

Representing Us New England’s 2020 LGBTQ Candidates A record number of LGBTQ candidates are running for office in 2020 across the US. The numbers are looking strong right here in New England—just take a look at all of our regional incumbents and challengers right here.

One big challenge moving forward, though, is equitability.

While LGBTQ people make up some 4.5 percent of US adults (4.75 percent of adult New Englanders*), we hold just .17 percent of elected offices, according to a 2020 report from Victory Institute, the national organization devoted to bringing LGBTQ people into all levels of government through training, professional development and advocacy.

“While LGBTQ people are running for office in historic numbers, we remain severely underrepresented at every level of government—and that must change,” says Mayor Annise Parker, Victory’s president and CEO. “We know that when LGBTQ people are in elected office and in the halls of power, they change the hearts and minds of their colleagues and it leads to more inclusive legislation.”

Aside from the feel-good factor of seeing someone like oneself in a position of power, “Hundreds of antiLGBTQ bills were introduced in hostile state legislatures in recent years”—not to mention steady attacks from certain quarters of our federal government— “while progressive state legislatures are leading the way in LGBTQ rights and inclusion,” notes the recent Victory Institute report “Out for America 2020: A Census of LGBTQ Elected Officials Nationwide.”

Fortunately, in New England, our elected officials have been among those leading the way, especially over the past few years.

Currently, Victory Institute counts 93 openly LGBTQ elected officials in New England from local to national office holders—with 30 in Massachusetts, 22 in New Hampshire, 13 in Maine, 10 in Connecticut and 9 each in Rhode Island and Vermont.

Here are our region’s 2020 LGBTQ candidates, some incumbents, others hoping to add to the ranks already representing us, plus some key straight allies endorsed by the national LGBTQ advocates at Human Rights Campaign.

36 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Massachusetts

Constitutional office

Bay State primary day is September 1 this year, a couple weeks after this issue went to press, so some of this line-up may have winnowed down by the general election, but keep on the lookout for these names out and about in your communities, at the polls on Nov. 3 and doing great things in the future, even if they don’t all wind up on the ballot this year (though we’re rooting for them):

Local offices

National stage

Eileen Duff (D)—Mass.

Governor’s Council, District 5 (incumbent). Eileen is the first openly LGBTQ person elected to a Bay State Constitutional office.

Marcony AlmeidaBarros—Everett School Committee (incumbent) Julie Flowers—Beverly City Council (incumbent) Evan Ross—Amherst Town Council (incumbent) E. Denise Simmons—Cambridge City Council (incumbent)

HRC-endorsed allies

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse—US House of Representatives. If elected, Alex would be the youngest openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress.

State House Jo Comerford (D)—State Senate; Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester (incumbent) Julian Cyr (D)—State Senate, Cape and Islands (incumbent) Natalie Higgins (D)—State Rep, 4th Worcester District (incumbent) Kate Hogan (D)—State Rep, 3rd Middlesex District (incumbent) Jack Patrick Lewis (D)—State Rep, 7th Middlesex District (incumbent) Elizabeth Malia (D)—State Rep, 11th Suffolk District (incumbent) Jordan Meehan (D)—State Rep, 17th Suffolk District Sarah Peake (D)—State Rep, 4th Barnstable District (incumbent)

Ed Markey—US Senator (incumbent) Katherine Clark—US House of Representatives, District 5 (incumbent) Bill Keating—US House of Representatives, District 9 (incumbent) Stephen Lynch—US House of Representatives, District 8 (incumbent) Jim McGovern—US House of Representatives, District 2 (incumbent) Seth Moulton— US House of Representatives, District 6 (incumbent) Richard Neal—US House of Representatives District 1 (incumbent) Ayanna Pressley—US House of Representatives, District 7 (incumbent) Lori Trahan—US House of Representatives, District 3 (incumbent)

Vermont Vermont held its state primary on August 11, so here’s who on the Nov. 3 ballot:

State House Gretchen Van Ness (D)—State Rep, 4th Suffolk District

Becca Balint—State Senate, Windham District (incumbent).

Becca could be the next State Senate Leader Brian Cina (Progressive Party)—State Rep, Chittenden 6-4 (incumbent), identifies as “multi-spirited” Kathleen James (D)—State Rep, Bennington-4 (incumbent) William (Bill) Lippert Jr. (D)—State Rep, Chittenden 4-2 (incumbent) Ember Quinn (D)—State Rep, Chittenden 10 (incumbent).

Ember could be one of the state’s first openly trans legislators.

HRC-endorsed allies

State Speaker of the House Sara Gideon (D)—US Senate Jared Golden (D)—US House of Representatives, ME-2 (incumbent) Chellie Pingree (D)—US House of Representatives, ME-1 (incumbent)

New Hampshire

Taylor Small (D)—State Rep., Chittenden 6-7. Taylor could be one of the state’s first openly trans legislators.

Maine Maine held its state primary on July 14, so here’s who on the Nov. 3 ballot:

State House Kyle Bailey (D)—State Rep, District 27 (incumbent) Justin Chenette (D)—State Senate, District 31 (incumbent).

Justin is youngest openly gay legislator elected in the US.

Ryan Fecteau (D)—State Rep, District 11 (incumbent) Laurie Osher (D)—State Rep, District 123 (incumbent) Lois Reckitt (D)—State Rep, District 31 (incumbent) Charlotte Warren (D)—State Rep, District 84 (incumbent) Barbara Wood (D)—State Rep, District 38 (incumbent)

Local office Clare Davitt—Bangor City Council Chair

The Granite State primary takes place September 8 after this issue went to press. Some candidates may not have made it to the general election, but keep an eye out for these names in the future if you don’t see them on the Nov. 3 ballot.

National stage Chris Pappas (D)—US House of Representatives (incumbent; HRC-endorsed). Chris is the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from New Hampshire, and cochair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.

State House Joe Alexander (R)—State Rep, Hillsborough 6 (incumbent) Lisa Bunker (D)—State Rep, Rockingham 18 (incumbent). Lisa is one of the first trans people elected to the state legislature.

Gerri Cannon (D)—State Rep, Strafford 18 (incumbent). Gerri is one of the first trans people elected to the state legislature.

Jim MacKay (D)—State Rep, Merrimack 14 (incumbent) Sue Mullen (D)—State Rep, Hillsborough 7 (incumbent) Andrew O’Hearne (D)—State Rep, Sullivan 3 (incumbent) Henry Parkhurst (D)—State Rep, Cheshire 13 (incumbent) Joshua Query (D)—State Rep, Hillsborough 16 (incumbent) Linda Tanner (D)—State Rep, Sullivan 9 (incumbent) Joyce Weston (D)—State Rep, Grafton 8 (incumbent) Constitutional office Kelly Boyer (D) – Executive Council. Kelly would be the first openly LGBTQ woman on the Council.

Connecticut Connecticut held its state primary on Aug. 11, so here’s who on the Nov. 3 ballot:

National stage Mary Fay (R)—US House of Representatives, District 1

State House

HRC-endorsed ally

Jeanne Shaheen—US Senate (incumbent)

Rhode Island Rhode Island’s state primary is on Sept. 8 this year, a few weeks after this issue went to press; if some of the candidates here don’t make it to the general election, keep your eye on these names out and about in your community and in future races.

National Stage

David Cicilline (D)—US House of Representatives (incumbent; HRC-endorsed). David Cicilline is cochair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.

State House

Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D)—State Senate, District 21. If elected, Rebecca would become the first LGBTQ woman to serve in the Granite State senate.

Local offices Alex Kithes—Woonsocket City Council (incumbent) Timothy Sweeney—Bristol Town Council (incumbent)

Sam Bell (D)—State Senate, District 5 (incumbent) Rebecca Kislak (D)—State Rep, District 4 (incumbent) Tiara Mack (D)—State Senate, District 6 Melissa Murray (D)—State Senate, District 24 (incumbent) Deborah Ruggiero (D)—State Rep, District 74 (incumbent) Moira Walsh (D)—State Rep, District 3 (incumbent)

Raghib Allie-Brennan (D)—State Rep, District 22 (incumbent) Jeff Currey (D)—State Rep, District 11 (incumbent) Shaun Mastroianni (R)—State Rep, District 43 (incumbent)

HRC-endorsed allies Rep. John B. Larson (D)—US Congress, CT-1 (incumbent) Rep. Joe Courtney (D)—US Congress, CT-2 (incumbent) Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D)—US Congress, CT-3 (incumbent) Rep. Jim Himes (D)—US Congress, CT-4 (incumbent) Rep. Jahana Hayes (D)—US Congress, CT-5 (incumbent) We apologize to anyone we may have missed—our aim for this story is to include openly LGBTQ candidates in New England; if we’ve missed you, we’d love to hear from you and help get the word out about all that you do. [x]

*LGBT Data & Demographics, The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, 2019.

SEP| OCT 2020 | 37

SEASONAL Travel STORY Scott Kearnan

Autumn Getaways Off the traditional LGBTQ map, these LGBTQ‑friendly destinations make great day trips or overnights for every New England state No doubt venturing out this year has never been more challenging, making many of us stir crazy for a break from familiar environs, even if just for a day trip or overnighter.

Lucky for us, our region has just the ticket. Pristine parks and reservations beckon with miles of unsullied trails and scenic wonders within each state or right over the borders of our New England neighbors (depending, of course, on the latest state precautions and our personal comfort zones). Unusual venues for entertainment and culinary satisfaction are open for business and working overtime to keep things safe and fun. How about an overnight glamping experience or comfy treehouse accommodations? Here’s almost 100 ideas for putting together a little autumn getaway of your own. And don’t forget to do a little research, like checking out each state, park or business’s travel and safety precautions before you hit the road.

38 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Northfield Drive In

Drive-In Theaters Like a moribund film franchise suddenly given a reboot, drive-in movie culture is enjoying a resurgence. If you’ve ever visited the beloved Wellfleet Drive-In during a Provincetown visit, you already know how fun a socially distanced screening under the stars can be. Here are a few less-famous options that deserve equal billing.

Northfield Drive-In HINSDALE, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Given that the property actually falls across two states (New Hampshire and Massachusetts), it’s appropriate that the Northfield Drive-In often books doublefeatures: “Spaceballs” with “Three Amigos,” “Jumanji” with “Grease,” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation” with “Christmas Vacation” are among the combos shown so far this season. Bringing a kid? There are a few pieces of playground equipment to tucker out your tot so they sleep through the second flick. And since the Northfield also straddles the Vermont borderline, it’s perfectly situated for exploring three different states. Every movie fan loves a trilogy, after all.

STAY: The Latchis Hotel and Theatre in nearby Brattleboro, Vermont offers starlet-level accommodations right inside an Art Deco, multiscreen movie palace. It’s a dream overnight for any cinephile

PLAY: You’re a forked tail-length away from the eerily named Satan’s Kingdom Wildlife Management Area in Northfield, Massachusetts. Its 3.2-mile, unmarked hiking path through dense woods is spooky fun.

EAT: At Black Cow Burger Bar in quaint Turners Falls, Massachusetts, you can build your own patty from a toppings list that includes Sriracha ranch sauce, feta cheese and fried eggs; slurp boozy “adult” milkshakes; and choose chocolates from a glass case that nods to the space’s former life as a Black Cow Burger candy shop.

Fairlee Motel & Drive-In Theater FAIRLEE, VERMONT

You could watch a drive-in movie without even going outside at this motel-theater hybrid in rural Vermont. Built in 1960, the motel has a dozen rooms—each adorned with a different movie poster—that are fairly bare-bones, though some have windows that look out to the rear drive-in’s screen. Still, we know you’ll want to join the other cars for a truly unobstructed view, and to hit up the snack shack for beer-battered French fries and onion rings.

What’s playing here? Mostly funny, family-friendly fare, like “Shrek” or “Happy Gilmore.”

[CONTINUES 40] Fairlee Motel & Drive-In Theater

SEP| OCT 2020 | 39

[FROM 39] STAY: The motel is a very homespun operation, so don’t expect elegance—just charm, and the chance to spend the night in a truly unique environment.

Need nicer accommodations? The lovely Lyme Inn, minutes away in New Hampshire, has an elegantcountry-house aesthetic.

Stephen King’s Bangor home

PLAY: Dartmouth College’s boathouse on the Connecticut River had a cameo in the 2000 thriller “The Skulls.” It’s reserved for students, but you can always rent inexpensive kayaks, canoes and paddleboards at nearby Storrs Pond Recreation Area and make a home movie on the water.

EAT: Movie geeks, indulge your music-nerd side at Molly’s Restaurant & Bar in Hanover, New Hampshire.

The friendly tavern has great pub fare, from spicy Buffalo wings to Oreos-crusted mid pies—but we’re also in love with the menus, which use different vinyl record sleeves for covers. Anyone order Donna Summer?

Bangor Drive-In BANGOR, MAINE

Though today it’s Maine’s third-largest city, Bangor—high up in the northern canopy of the sprawling Pine Tree State—has a long history in the lumber industry. You can really feel those rustic roots during inky-dark nights at the drive-in, where two screens each show a double-feature of mostly retro flicks (and yes, “Friday the 13th” is even scarier when you watch it in the woods). Recently, they’ve also been getting creative with socially distanced events like “Social Disco-ing at the Drive-In,” a 1970s-themed affair with a live band and “quaran-tailgating.”

STAY: Glamorous photos from the Golden Age of Cinema adorn the Hollywood Casino Bangor, where you’ll sleep like a movie star after striking it rich (or trying, anyway) on slot machines and table games.

Need a nosh before bed? Hit up the casino’s Take 2 Snack Bar. PLAY: Hop on board SK Tours of Maine, a three-hour guided ride through local sites made famous in horror icon Stephen King’s books and movies. You’ll see the graveyard from “Pet Sematary” and end the tour outside the gargoyle-topped iron fence of King’s Bangor home.

Hollywood Casino Bangor

AT: The Bangor waterfront’s 31-foot-tall statue of an ax-swinging Paul Bunyan is pure kitsch. Sitting in its shadow, though, is Timber Kitchen and Bar, a sincerely stylish, lodge-like restaurant offering farmer’s boards of artisan meats, camp kettles filled with smoked seafood chowder and brick ovenroasted chicken.

Weirs Drive-In Theatre LACONIA, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Something about a getaway to Lake Winnipesaukee feels quintessentially New England—and this beachside drive-in theater is a big part of that. After an early evening stroll through the sights (flashing neon lights!), sounds (boisterous bars!), and smells (fried dough!) of the boardwalk, settle in to a movie on one of four (!) outdoor screens. So far this year’s lineup has included “The Goonies,” “Footloose,” “American Graffiti” and other fun yet wholesome fare that feels perfectly suited to environs as pretty as a sun-bleached postcard from childhood summers.

STAY: “On Golden Pond,” the 1981 Oscar winner for Best Picture, was filmed on the glittery shores of Squam Lake—where today the Manor on Golden Pond, an English Manor-turned-inn, would be regal enough even for Katharine Hepburn.

PLAY: Billed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest arcade in the world, Funspot has hundreds of 1970s and 1980s video games (as well as candlepin bowling, indoor mini-golf and more activities) that’ll have you jerking a joystick like you’re a kid again.

EAT: Hit Hermit Woods Wine & Deli to pick up a bottle—or try a tasting flight—of fabulous fruit wine that is made on-site from wild blueberries, strawberries, rhubarb and apples. Pair with a fine sandwich to enjoy on the spacious deck.

40 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Take a break from your usual routine with a Foxwoods Daycation. Race down the track on Monza Monday, grab a drink at happy hour on Thirsty Thursday or even experience your favorite adventures on Sunday Funday.

There are different deals every day of the week, so we have a little something for everybody. Every day is a great day for Foxwoods. Please visit foxwoods.com/daycation for all information and details on promo.

FOX WOO DS .CO M

8 0 0 . 3 69.96 6 3

SEP| OCT 2020 | 41

Mohawk Trail Bridge of Flowers

Experience the drama.

Spend a day in Old New England

white wAter rAfting

Zip lining

www.wtfestival.org 413.458.3253 Marisa Tomei in The Rose Tattoo, photo by Daniel Rader

hiking

MohawkTrail.coM . 413-743-8127 Arts & Culture, OutdOOr Adventure, dining, lOdging & shOpping

Like us!

www.facebook.com/mohawktrail

Follow us!

twitter.com/mohawktrail instagram.com/mohawktrailofmass

CAsuAl & elegAnt dining

More than a trail...a journey

A Short Drive To A World Away

To experience a unique mix of natural beauty and world-renowned cultural and historic attractions, blaze the “Highway of History” and discover the four-season vacationland along the famous Mohawk Trail, Route 2. Stretching from the Massachusetts-New York state line to Shirley in Central Massachusetts, the 100 miles of East-West highway is a vestige of early American life when people traveled by foot or on horseback. The Mohawk Trail provides the traveler of today with well over 100 attractions: country inns, world-class museums, gift and antique shops, hiking trails, and public and private camping areas nestled amid the seasonal changing beauty of the Berkshire Hills, the Connecticut Valley, the Johnny Appleseed Trail and the Quabbin Reservoir.

The Mohawk Trail helps you take a break from your everyday life. As you drive along its meandering roads beside crystal clear streams, and over forested mountains you will arrive at places that will change how you see the world, from the perfectly preserved history of Historic Deefield to the latest contemporary art displayed in the spectacular factory setting of MASS MoCA.

Staying overnight There are a variety of lodgings in the

Mohawk Trail Region ranging from the comfortable and well-priced motels to quaint bed & breakfasts to unique inns with a European flair. There are accommodations set on the edge of rivers, in 100-year-old historic structures and in settings that let you step out the door to breathe in a wide vista of the Berkshire hills.

Enjoying food Out here in the wilderness of western

Massachusetts we are very close to locally grown produce. Many restaurants in the Mohawk Trail Region satisfy the locavore with farm-to-table specialties. In the growing season the roadside farm stands and farmers’ markets are teeming with fresh produce: crisp apples in a bushel basket, the smell of fresh cider, pumpkins stacked in a tall orange pile, pick-your-own berries. Local wineries offer fun tastings in any season. During Maple Sugaring season, usually around the month of March, the sugaring houses are boiling down sap to produce the amber delight that sweetens many dishes.

atre to internationally acclaimed musicians, dancers and performance artists.

Historic sites The Mohawk Trail offers opportunities to trav-

el back in time. Historic Deerfield is a village of perfectly preserved pre-Revolutionary houses.

Western Gateway Heritage State Park in North Adams focuses on the railroad and industrial heritage of North Adams, and in particular, one of the great engineering wonders of the world, the Hoosac Tunnel.

Historic Deerfield Deerfield, MA

Natural beauty, Art, music & theater outdoor adventure Perhaps no other road in the world can and family fun match the amount of great art that can be Hike the spectacular trail system on Mount seen in the museums along the Mohawk Trail: from Renoir, Degas and the Old Masters of Europe...to the most evocative and provocative art being made today. With exciting new exhibitions each season, these museums are not to be missed.

The Trail also offers first-rate performances year-round, from Tony Award-winning the-

North Adams, MA

Mohawk Trail Region of Massachusetts

Greylock, the highest mountain in the state and other glorious peaks along The Trail.

Admire the stunning views at the Eastern, Whitcomb and Western Summits on the Mohawk Trail. At Salmon Falls, on a nearly dry river bottom, are ancient potholes eroded in granite by gyrating stones of the Glacial Age. And at the Natural Bridge State Park, you will find the only water-eroded marble bridge in North America, a 550 million-yearold geological wonder.

River-lovers have particular reason to explore the Mohawk Trail. Rafters and kayakers get their thrills on the Deerfield River, a major whitewater rafting course, while a leisurely excursion down the Connecticut River on the river boat Quinnetukut offers a different perspective on river fun.

Towns to stop at, places to shop, studios to visit Located in the small towns along The Trail

are the shops, studios and galleries of many very talented artisans. Potters, quilters, metalworkers, glass blowers, and jewelry makers offer a unique shopping experience.

Candle-making and candle shopping are important attractions to the region.

Bridges to cross, monuments to view A covered bridge, a former trolley bridge

converted to a garden and a bridge built by the builder of the Golden Gate and the George Washington Bridges cross three rivers in the region. A unique memorial to the Native Americans, who were the first to cross the Mohawk Trail, stands in a park at the edge of The Trail. A bronze Elk stands near the highest point of the Trail erected by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Bridge of Flowers Shelburne Falls, MA

www . mohawktrail . com

SEP| OCT 2020 | 43

Dream Away Lodge

Destination Dining Dream Away Lodge BECKET, MASSACHUSETTS

Its kitsch-filled, campy-roadhouse interior recalls the B-52s’ famous “Love Shack,” so it’s no surprise that Dream Away Lodge, a 200-year-old farmhouse on the edge of October Mountain State Forest, is reputedly a former brothel. Since 1997, though, it has been home to former theater artist Daniel Osman, whose radical faerie philosophy informs the vibe of his eclectic eatery. Weekending Brooklyn hipsters and queer crowds converge for fabulous farm-to-fork dining from chef Amy Loveless: Think crispy salmon with seasonal fruit chutney, or chicken tagine laden with Moroccan spices. There’s also funky cocktails for sipping around a glowing fire pit, and the lodge’s history of live music continues on thanks to the occasional pop-up performance for diners by local artists. Wearing its quirks on its sleeve, this whimsical hideaway is a total gem hidden in the thick of western Mass’s mountains. Get there before all the leaves fall, though: Dream Away Lodge is seasonal, closing in late November.

44 | BOSTON SPIRIT

STAY: Speaking of the legendary queer band the B52s, they’ve been spotted staying at Pittsfield’s boutique Hotel on North, where Berkshires bohemia meets industrial chic.

Guest rooms have cloudlike beds and Victorianinspired furnishings with exposed brick accent walls, while Eat on North, the hotel’s restaurant, is now hosting rotating food trucks and lawn games in its parking lot.

Hotel on North

PLAY: Jacob’s Pillow, the Berkshires moderndance campus founded by pioneering choreographer Ted Shawn, well-known for his romances with male performers, went virtual for this season’s series of performances. But the grassy grounds—dotted with buildings and the only dance site in America to be designated a National Historic Landmark—are still open for exploring; you can download a self-guided tour and then enjoy a picnic on the provided tables.

The Nordic CHARLESTOWN, RHODE ISLAND

The statue of a horned helmet-wearing swashbuckler that stands sentry outside this wood-shingled lodge says it all: Only Viking-sized appetites need enter. The Nordic is a lakeside destination in the Ocean State that’s achieved a certain kind of infamy for its over-the-top, all-you-can eat seafood buffet—a feast that Poseidon himself might have trouble polishing off. Plunk down the right price ($106 for adults, $58 or less for kids) and you’ll have two hours to stuff your hull full of lobster, Alaskan king crab, fresh-shucked oysters and little neck clams, stuffed sole and shrimp, and much, much more; they’re yours by the platter. (Landlubbers, fear not: All the prime rib and St. Louis short ribs you desire can be yours.) If it all sounds like a silly exercise in over-indulgence—well, that’s exactly the point and the charm. It’s an experience, though. And more reasonable appetites now have a reason to visit too: Lakeside dining, accompanied by live music, is now offered with an a la carte menu, so you can stick to cocktails with shrimp cocktail, bacon-wrapped scallops, or something sweet from the dessert cart.

The Nordic

[CONTINUES 46]

Celebrating spirit in our communities

From your friends at Tufts Health Plan, where diversity and inclusion are celebrated and honored every day.

tuftshealthplan.com SEP| OCT 2020 | 45

[FROM 45] The Lost Kitchen

Farnsworth Art Museum cell service. Only about 700 people live in Freedom, the place where French grew up and taught herself how to cook using whatever comes from local farmers. Today, her dining destination has earned her the kind of national notice normally reserved for the best big-city chefs. In fact, seats are so coveted, wannabe diners must mail in postcards to request reservations months in advance; the lucky few are selected via lottery. While dinner is on hold for now, French is instead hosting outdoor lunches for those who move fast enough to book a spot: Weekly reservations go live every Wednesday morning at 8 a.m., and if you nab one in time, you’ll be all set to hit the road and make a foodie pilgrimage most can only dream about.

STAY: After a seafood spread like that, you’ll want to spend your food coma somewhere within the sound of crashing waves. Head to the Break in beachy Narragansett, where the retro-chic, surf-hotel vibe comes with tubular amenities: a year-round saltwater pool and loaner beach bikes, backpacks and chairs, to name a few.

STAY: You’ll feel like you’re living in Peyton Place when you head to your hotel in Camden, Maine, the charming seaside village that stood in for the 1957 film’s titular town. There you’ll find the Elms of Camden, a historic, gay-owned bed and breakfast with super cute, Colonial-style rooms.

PLAY: Enjoy a peaceful nature walk through Burlingame State Park and Campground, where hiking trails wind by a freshwater beach with canoe rentals and eventually connect to Kimball Wildlife Refuge, a peaceful 29-acre woodland sanctuary known for its nesting birds.

The Lost Kitchen FREEDOM, MAINE

If you’re willing to make the trek, pandemic-time has made it (slightly) easier to snag one of the most coveted reservations in the country. Erin French’s fabled restaurant the Lost Kitchen is tucked inside an old river mill deep in the woods of northern Maine, the kind of place you’re lucky to have

46 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Elms of Camden PLAY: Once you’ve explored Camden, check out the culture scene in neighboring Rockland, home to the fabulous Farnsworth Art Museums, now exhibiting “Andrew Wyeth: A Maine Legacy,” and the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, where “Erin Johnson: Unnamed for Decades” explores the queer body through photography, video and sculpture through September 20.

Essex Culinary Resort & Spa

Essex Culinary Resort & Spa

ESSEX JUNCTION, VERMONT

For the ultimate foodfocused getaway, visit this “culinary resort and spa” that attracts the glamorous gourmand set. It’s nestled amid the Green Mountains beside Burlington, Vermont’s largest city and home to the state’s annual Pride celebrations in September. Though there’s a 10-room spa, award-winning tennis courts and the region’s only executive golf course, the main attraction at the Essex is its Cook Academy, offering a huge spread of a la carte culinary classes daily: Think course names like “Pasta Workshop” and “Knife Skills.” Courses recently resumed with smaller class sizes to allow for social distancing— but you can also sit back and let pros do the work at Junction, the resort’s restaurant, where guests watch tasting menus prepared at an open kitchen and interact directly with the chef. Bonus: The Essex is pet-friendly, so if your wedding happened to include a four-legged ring bearer, feel free to bring them along.

STAY: After a cooking class and big meal, you can hit the hay right upstairs. The Essex’s rooms have luxurious linens, handmade Vermont soaps in the bathroom, flat-screen TVs and—if you’re in a suite—stovetop-equipped kitchenettes so you can keep practicing some of your new skillet skills.

PLAY: Hop aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen for a cruise of Lake Champlain, New England’s largest lake. Even if you don’t spot Champy, the monster that supposedly lurks under the surface, you’ll definitely spy stellar sunsets and delightful fare on various themed dinner cruises.

Thank You for Making the Fenway Health Virtual Gala a Success!

We’d like to thank the all the community members who took part in our first ever Fenway Health virtual gala on June 24! THANK YOU for caring about Fenway Health, the Dinner Party and Men’s Event, and LGBTQIA+ health care.

Thank you to our corporate sponsors, Dana Goldberg, DJ Mocha, Jon Richardson, Dr. Susan M. Love Award recipients Rev. Irene Monroe and Dr. Thea James, and Fenway Health LGBTQIA+ Impact Award recipient FLAG Flag Football League!

Platinum Sponsor:

We’d like to give a huge THANKS to our hard-working 2020 Dinner Party and Men’s Event Co-Chairs Mary Beth McInerney, Jennifer Petter, Ali Robinson, Taylor Brown, Tom Evans, and Taylor Harris. We’d also like to thank our 2020 events planning committees and, of course, all of the amazing Table Captains who have stuck with us as we pivoted to an online event.

We are so grateful for you all!

With your help, we raised $105,000 in donations and auction sales to support the life-saving services and programs at Fenway Health!

Media Sponsor:

Gold Sponsors:

FEO -40

SEP| OCT 2020 | 47

Treehouses and Cabins Unleash your inner lumberjack—or free your inner child—by retreating to these whimsical woodland escapes. Whether you want to hunker down in a luxurious-feeling cabin or touch the sky from a getaway lodged in a treetop, they’re all fabulous, fun ways to explore rustic corners of New England.

Moose Meadow Lodge & Treehouse DUXBURY, VERMONT

Husbands Willie Docto and Greg Trulson first met at a log home bed and breakfast in West Virginia in 1992. So naturally, when they moved to Vermont and opened their own B&B, they decided help others revel in the romantic spirit of woodland-chic surroundings.

The result is Moose Meadow, a property that includes a four-guestroom luxury log cabin overflowing with antlers, wildlife taxidermy and various backwoods brica-brac (including many twig furnishings handmade

by Trulson). Probably the most coveted housing on the 86-acre property, though, is the two-story treehouse with 31 wide windows offering glorious views of Mother Nature. When you’re not hanging in the hot tub, you may even care to chitchat with your hosts, both of whom are active in the local LGBT community. Docto is founder of the Vermont Gay Tourism Association, and Trulson, a Justice of the Peace, officiated the Green Mountain State’s first gay wedding here.

PLAY: Before snow bunnies descend on Stowe for ski season, hit the trails in Mount Mansfield State Forest by foot. Vermont’s highest peak can be climbed in whole or part through a number of paths, including via the aptly named, 273-mile Long Trail, which runs the entire length of the state.

Moose Meadow Lodge & Treehouse

48 | BOSTON SPIRIT

EAT: Shelves full of vinyl records line the wall at Doc Ponds, a hip little eatery and popular après-ski spot in Stowe. It’s all about upgraded pub food here, so dive into dry-rub wings served with Alabama-style white barbecue sauce, then slurp down a root beer float of Vermontmade soda spiked with boozy fernet.

Doc Ponds

Winvian Farm

Winvian Farm MORRIS, CONNECTICUT

Maybe you’re not the type to want to “rough” it in a “real” cabin. In that case, get thee to Winvian Farm, a meticulously maintained luxury property that happened to host the first gay wedding ever featured in “Martha Stewart Weddings” magazine. It’s made up of multiple, high-end themed cottages, several of which will give you a woodsy escape without, well, the woods. The two-floor “Treehouse,” lofted 35 feet above the ground, has two gas fireplaces, jacuzzi, and lounge equipped with a full bar.

The “Woodlands” cabin of rough-cut pine has a doublesided wood fireplace, upturned tree trunks repurposed as sinks, and views of a natural waterfall. Real trees grow inside the “Beaver Lodge,” and the “Camping” cottage replicates a night in the wild via forest murals on the wall and a color-changing sky on the ceiling; wide windows look out to the actual great outdoors. No matter where you stay, you have access to the property’s serene, glassy pond and lush, 4000-acre forest for hiking and horseback riding.

Stonewall Lodge

PLAY: Want to see the Connecticut countryside from a totally different perspective?

Hitch a ride with New Canaanbased Spirit Ballooning and float above the foliage-filled treetops aboard an equally colorful hot air balloon. They’ll even provide the Champagne.

Spirit Ballooning

EAT: Truly unique and totally charming, RSVP is an intimate BYOB restaurant, hidden behind a covered bridge in nearby West Cornwall, that serves a single multi-course dinner every night. There are only two staffers: Chef Guy Birster and co-owner Charlie Cilona, who personally delivers each Frenchinspired plate to your table. It’s an ultimate hidden gem.

Stonewall Lodge BARNARD, VERMONT

In 1969 at New York City’s Stonewall Inn, the throwing of a brick launched riots that would forever change the LGBTQ equal rights movement.

At the Stonewall Lodge in Vermont, though, logcabin environs provide the perfect place to get away from the fracas of modern life: somewhere to find peace, quiet and comfort amid 10 acres of rolling hills. This is the getaway home of husbands (and dads) John Lam, a Boston Ballet principal dancer, and real estate lawyer John Ruggieri—and [CONTINUES 52] SEP| OCT 2020 | 49

1620

•

•

Learn the Mayflower Story Immerse Yourself in the Arts Dine by the Sea Short Coastal Trips, Safely Distanced

See Plymouth SeePlymouth.com

50 | BOSTON SPIRIT

2020

Explore...

Plymouth County offers scenic routes with serene and interesting places to explore. Stop and shop, listen, learn, and dine.

PLYMOUTH 400 Commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower at the Maritime Festival, happening in June of 2021.

PLIMOTH PLANTATION Plimoth Plantation is a living history museum that includes you in the 17th century English Village of Plimoth as well as a Native Wampanoag Homesite that teaches how Native peoples lived before the Mayflower Pilgrims arrived. Visit craft centers and museum shops.

SITES & WALKING TOURS Visit a corn grist mill, walk along Town Brook and take in the sculptures, walk with spirits on a ghost tour on Burial Hill, or learn about Pilgrim history on a faith-based tour.

WATER EXCURSIONS Watch for whales or sharks on one of Captain John’s excursions, take a pirate cruise with the kids, or board a ferry to Provincetown to see the Pilgrim Monument on Cape Cod. ACTIVITIES FROM YOUR CAR Throughout Plymouth County you will see colorful cranberry bogs. Go on a harvest tour where you can pick your own cranberries, visit a pumpkin farm, or take in fall colors.

SHIP MAYFLOWER A reproduction of the original Mayflower, climb aboard at State Pier on the Plymouth waterfront. It’s a stone’s throw from Plymouth Rock, the steppingstone of the Pilgrims when they came ashore.

THE ARTS Art and culture is a highlight throughout the town and county of Plymouth. You’ll find the oldest museum in the country, the only craft museum in New England, a living history museum, America’s first trial museum, and plenty of historic houses of Pilgrims, U.S. Presidents, and 16th, 17th, and 18th century artifacts. A place where artists gather, you’ll find theaters, galleries, and music galore.

MONUMENTS Walk or drive by picturesque historic monuments in Plymouth including the National Monument to the Forefathers, the Wampanoag Sachem Massasoit, Pilgrim William Bradford, Pilgrim Mothers & Maidens, the Plymouth Immigrant Memorial and more.

HISTORIC TRAILS & BURIAL GROUNDS Wind on foot through the historic lanes and byways of Native peoples and Mayflower Pilgrims. Hike through historic grave yards and climb to the top of Burial Hill and read fascinating grave stones that date back to the 1700’s.

Destination Plymouth

Town of PLYMOUTH SEP| OCT 2020 | 51

Plymouth County Convention & Visitors Bureau

Hidden Pond

[FROM 49]

now the couple has opened it up to rentals for others who want to escape to the Green Mountain State’s pastoral charms. It’s no gay bar, but you can certainly entertain yourself with the player piano, wet bar and gourmet kitchen (where Lam, an avid home chef, gets to indulge his non-dance passion all year round). When the autumn chill sets in, warm up by the grand stone fireplace stretching to an 18-foot ceiling, or in the sunken hot tub on the deck.

Killington Bike Park Play: Put the rubber to the rugged downhill slopes at Killington Bike Park, where three high-speed lifts service 30 miles of mountain biking trails. Whether you’re an adrenaline junkie or just getting your training wheels on, you’ll find something spectacular to match your skill level.

Eat: The Ransom Tavern, a cozy-chic spot inside South Woodstock’s Kedron Valley Inn, serves fantastic Neapolitan-style pizzas topped with local cheeses and other artisan ingredients; there’s even a Nutella-stuffed pizza for dessert, which pairs well with some of the kicky craft cocktails.

52 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Hidden Pond KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE

Gay entrepreneur and hotelier Tim Harrington, founding partner of the Kennebunkport Resort Collection, chose this property in his portfolio to host his own wedding. Just minutes from the LGBTQ-friendly destination of Ogunquit, home to beaches, boutiques and bars, Kennebunkport’s Hidden Pond is a rustic-chic escape with luxurious cottages an bungalows nestled in the jade majesty of the Maine beach woods—and this year, the property is offering exclusively five- and seven-day reservations, making it the perfect place for a truly immersive week away. Also new: 10 “Treetop Lodges” that recreate a lofted experience on the ground. (They’re raised on posts, and boast screened-in sleeping porches if you want to catch Z’s closer to the trees.) All the lodges exude rustic sophistication and fabulous design, from the furnishings of reclaimed Russian pine to the wall art of locally foraged twigs and stones. But there’s also one special suite—the “From-Away Lodge”— personally outfitted by acclaimed menswear designer Todd Snyder, swathed in the finest and most fashionable appointments, such as L.L. Bean plaid-upholstered chairs.

PLAY: Snyder worked with Kennebunkport’s Sea Love Candles to create scented signatures for his suite. Visit the maker’s local studio, and you can pour your very own candle and create a personal fragrance by blending over 60 different oil options.

EAT: Make sure you dine at Earth, Hidden Pond’s Sea Love Candles acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant. And spend the earlier side of the day at Mornings in Paris, a lovely Kennebunk café offering hand-roasted coffee, baked goods like macarons, and to-go “beach picnic boxes” filled with baguette sandwiches, quiche or croque monsieur.

Sandy Pines Campground

Camping/ Glamping Listen up, campy queens: Recent months have proven how invaluable outdoor-time is. So before a New England winter sets in and keeps us cooped indoors, soak up all the fresh air you can by unfurling a sleeping bag under the stars.

Sandy Pines Campground KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE

You’re “not a camper,” you say? We hear you: Warring with mosquitos and rubbing sticks to start a fire isn’t for everyone. But don’t dismiss a weekend getaway to Sandy Pines—although the property does have plenty of spots to set up a tent, it also offers RV hookups and “glamping” accommodations for those who require just a few more creature comforts. They range from A-frame wood-and-canvas “hideaway huts” with fine bed linens to luxuriously decked out Airstreams, and there’s even mini-cottages with basic lighting, AC units and individual firepits out front. Don’t feel like foraging for food? The on-site general store has groceries, beer and wine, and some prepped options like sandwiches and lobster rolls.

PLAY: Even more than a place to sunbathe by day, nearby Old Orchard Beach is fun to stroll at night, when the old-fashioned oceanside strip of boardwalk is alive with neon lights announcing arcades and clam shacks. Bonus: a Ferris wheel, perfect for romantic rides hand-in-hand.

EAT: Camping can bring out the barbecue lover in us. So tear like a bear into the pulled pork, St. Louisstyle ribs, and smoked chicken at the Garage BBQ in Pine Point. Housed inside a former auto shop, the place also offers full “lubrication service”—read: whiskey-revved cocktails.

Joe’s Hideaway

Joe’s Hideaway

WASHINGTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE

If you want to get away from it all, Joe’s Hideaway is the perfect place to do it. The private, members-only campground in the woods of southern New Hampshire is a rare, clothing-optional retreat for gay men who want to pitch tent together and spend the night—or longer, as seasonal spots are available to reserve. There are about 50 camping sites on as many acres, some with electric and water hookup, as well as a single cabin and a couple tricked-out RVs to rent, if you’ve always wanted to go that route but don’t have your own. Rates are super low, and so is the pressure to socialize: If you’d like to mingle with others, Joe’s tends to host drag nights, pajama parties, antique car shows and more; otherwise, you can just lounge by the pool and indulge.

Use this hideaway to seek out some much-needed alone time.

[CONTINUES 54]

SEP| OCT 2020 | 53

[FROM 53] PLAY: It’s easy to find meditation on your mat at nearby Bethel Farm in Hillsboro, a “yoga and living arts center” that hosts day classes for all skill levels in a spacious, window-filled studio with views of the gorgeous green grounds. Some classes are followed by farm-to-table vegetarian dinners, and dorm-like accommodations if you want to fully immerse yourself in a personal yoga retreat.

Vibes Gourmet Burgers

EAT: When you’re sick of sizzling your own burgers over a campfire, jaunt over to Concord, New Hampshire’s largest city, and let the experts do the work. Vibes Gourmet Burgers makes inventive patties like the Concord’s Own, a beefy favorite topped with sliced apple, Applewood smoked bacon and maple syrup drizzle.

Connecticut—and its gay cast member, Glen North. Queer campers come from all directions for an annual LGBTQ-oriented weekend in August, but you can also still expect some at September’s “Camp John Waters,” a three-day getaway (September 11–14) built around the wonderfully subversive gay filmmaker behind sleazy classics like Pink Flamingos.

This year’s event includes a costume contest judged by Waters himself (who will also perform a one-man show for guests) as well as cameos from “guest counselors” Kathleen Turner, Patricia Hearst and Mink Stole—yes, really. Expect Hairspray karaoke and other fun, themed activities; and if you’d prefer a more mixed crowd, Club Getaway has plenty other, non-Waters-related weekends to sign up for too.

PLAY: If the notion of a John Waters weekend unleashes a craving for all things counterculture, make a daytrip to Woodstock, New York just 90 minutes away. There you can explore all the trinket-filled shops, crunchy cafes and art galleries you’d expect to find at the East Coast’s epicenter for free love and open minds.

Club Getaway

Kent Falls Brewing Co.

Club Getaway

Club Getaway KENT, CONNECTICUT

Okay, reality TV fans: Here’s your chance to go stargazing on the set of an actual show. If you’ve seen Camp Getaway, which premiered on Bravo earlier this year, you’re already familiar with the similarly named summer camp for adults in a beautiful corner for

54 | BOSTON SPIRIT

EAT: Hopefully, by the time you head that way, Kent Falls Brewing Co. will be able to reopen its tasting room, which is located on a 50-acre farm that raises pasture-raised poultry and pork. If not, you can at least get “barn-side pickup” of beers like Glitter Rainbow, a bright and hoppy IPA.

Vermont Freedom Adult Only Campground GREENSBORO BEND, VERMONT

When partners in love and work Jeff Jensen and Craig Geisler established this clothing-optional campground last summer, their goal was to create a place where everyone felt free to be themselves. “We do not care if you are gay, straight or any-sexual or nonsexual,” says the Vermont Freedom website. “As long as you are

Great Vermont Corn Maze sexual identity. Once the clothes come off, after all, we see that we’re all the same.

PLAY: We wouldn’t normally suggest getting lost in the woods on purpose— but that’s exactly the point at the Great Vermont Corn Maze in Danville. The amazing attraction covers 24 acres and three-plus miles of trails; it’s a challenge, but you’ll also find some amazing new memories along the way.

human and get along with others, you are welcome here.” So go ahead, book a site through the end of October and liberate yourself—not just by disrobing (which is hardly mandatory), but by exploring the forested acreage and connecting with others who share your sensibility whether or not they share your

EAT: Enjoy a pizza slice with a side of social responsibility at Positive Pie in Hardwick.

The stylish restaurant makes artisanal pizzas topped with locally raised ingredients—the Vermonter, for instance, is covered in spinach, apple slices, white garlic sauce, bacon, maple syrup and mozzarella. Plus it makes eco-friendly choices, Positive Pie even converting its used oil into a clean burning domestic fuel.

SEP| OCT 2020 | 55

Block Island

Rock River

Hidden Gem Beaches Summer is turning into fall, but it’s not too late to hit the beach—in fact, some would argue that September, in particular, is one of the best times to soak up New England’s final few warm weekends without having to deal with highseason crowds. So grab a towel, hit the road and let’s get some sand in your shorts.

Rock River NEWFANE, VERMONT

Funny enough, New England’s totally landlocked state happens to be home to one of the best gay beaches in the region. Rock River in southern Vermont is something of a Shangri-La for gay men, in particular—especially those who find a certain kind of sensual, spiritual energy at the place, which since the 1970s has lured pilgrims to its rock-and-sand shore for nude sunbathing (and occasionally some erotic extracurriculars in the surrounding woods). Although the beach was technically located on private property,

58 | BOSTON SPIRIT

the progressive family who owned it recently sold the land to a gay-run preservation society for a song— ensuring that the heritage of the space will last for years to come. Nearby parking lots are closed during COVID-19, but if you can make other arrangements, the swimming holes are still available by a short hike from the main road.

STAY: Jump over to Frog Meadow Farm, which—if COVID cases continue to decline—will reopen in September. The clothing-optional bed and breakfast, owned by husbands Dave King and Scott Heller, is a gay men’s retreat in gorgeous rural environs, frequently hosts workshops on topics like sexual energy massage, and has a wonderful wood-fired outdoor hot tub to keep you toasty even on crisp fall nights.

PLAY: For a pleasant ride through quintessentialfeeling Vermont countryside and woods, the Retreat Trails in Brattleboro are hard to beat. The 9-mile network abuts a landmark farm, takes you up hilltops, around a pond and by a 64-foot-tall stone tower in a historical rural cemetery.

EAT: Enjoy mouthwatering barbecue at Brattleboro’s Top of the Hill Grill, a roadside shack in Brattleboro with a handful of picnic tables, river views and menu staples like hickory-smoked pulled pork and Sloppy Joe sandwiches that are listed on colorful paper plates tacked to the façade.

PLAY: Ride over to Island Bike and Moped to score some wheels. After all, biking or motoring along the scenic coastal roads of Block Island is a huge part of the fun here—and it gives you a way to easily explore every nook and cranny of the island, which is only seven miles long and three miles wide at its furthest points.

EAT: Everyone love’s Eli’s Restaurant, one of the few woman-owned eateries on the island, thanks to chef Erika Monat’s New American menu that includes lots of vegetarian options—think cauliflower steak marinated in brown butter and served with tarragon polenta.

Top of the Hill Grill

Walnut Beach

Block Island NEW SHOREHAM, RHODE ISLAND

Everyone seems to overlook Block Island—which, to be honest, is one of the best parts about it. While tourist droves descend on other New England destinations, this dot of land nine miles off the coast of the Ocean State remains comparatively undiscovered despite all it offers: fantastic opportunities for riding bikes on coastal roads; miles of hiking paths; horseback riding; and beautiful beaches for swimming, sailing, kayaking and parasailing. We’re partial to the Mohegan Bluffs, high clay cliffs that provide amazing views from the top and a fabulous spot for secluded sunbathing if you descend the 140-plus steps to the sandy beach below. It’s also the place to see the Southeast Light, a lighthouse designated as a US National Landmark for its sophisticated architecture.

STAY: The posh Hotel Manisses is a regal Victorian property mere steps from the ocean; it’s loaded with luxe appointments, comfortable common spaces—including an outdoor lounge with firepit and Adirondack chairs—and add-ons like gourmet picnic boxes for bringing to the beach.

Walnut Beach MILFORD, CONNECTICUT

Hotel Manisses

Southeast Light

Thanks to social media, this Connecticut beach has recently hosted some impromptu gay beach days that saw rainbow flags unfurled across its sand. Now, even when there aren’t organized gatherings going down, it’s not uncommon to find LGBTQ crowds hanging at this beautiful stretch on the Long Island Sound, which abuts Silver Sands State Park for exceptional bird-watching opportunities. Walnut Beach also happens to be home to one of the longest boardwalks in the Constitution State—that’s because the place was once known for its amusement parks, though now the neighborhood is considered an up-and-coming artist community thanks to outfits like Artfish42 a shop-slash-gallery offering works by area talent.

[CONTINUES 62]

SEP| OCT 2020 | 59

Everything in Salem now fits in the palm of your hand!

Find special events, restaurants, activities, shopping, lodging, maps and more with this free app!

FACE ARE

COVERINGS REQUIRED

Kimberley Driscoll, Mayor

SALEM

DESTINATION

HAUNTED

dining

DESTINATION

DESTINATION

shopping

exploring

Happenings

Plan for a new kind of Haunted Happenings in 2020.

Find everything you need to safely make your destination Salem at HauntedHappenings.org.

DESTINATION

Salem

CONNECT WITH US! @HAUNTDHAPPNINGS #SALEMMA

Salem is committed to the health and safety of employees, visitors, and residents and we ask everyone to follow the required guidelines when visiting. Learn more at salem.org/salemtogether.

Just 16 miles north of Boston, Salem is perfect for a day or a stay /// Create your own adventure SALEM.ORG

Haunted Not Happenings The Local’s Time to Be a Tourist in Salem Fall has always been the peak season for visiting Salem, Massachusetts. But this year, things are going to be a little bit different.

Fewer people will be visiting from faraway places, there won’t be any large events, and everyone, everywhere will be wearing a different kind of mask than usual.

wharves at Salem Maritime National Historic Site. Each site is rich with history, sea breezes, and breathtaking views to take in.

Tours are also a great idea for socially-distant outdoor fun.

There are plenty of ghost tours, historical tours, food tours, and trolley tours to choose from, so you can get the full Salem experience in a way that works for you.

Many Haunted Happenings events may be cancelled, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still get out and have fun this year— safely and responsibly, of course. And while there won’t be the typical jam-packed fairs, parties and parades that Salem Haunted Happenings is known for, there is a lot that is still happening.

Shops of all kinds

As always, everyone is welcome to come explore Salem’s local shops. Whether you’re interested in history, geology, wine, cheese, Witchcraft, home goods, gifts, books, candy, or clothing, you’re bound to find something you love.

And since the local businesses are missing out on a lot of foot traffic this year, they could really use your support.

Stellar eats and delicious drinks

Love brunch? Come to one of Salem’s fabulous restaurants, where you can order fancy doughnuts, cereal-themed drinks, sweet and fruity crepes, huge pancakes, delectable coffees, egg burgers, and more.

Safety first

Want something more savory? Visit a decked out ramen restaurant, sit down for the best Mexican you could imagine, have a giant burger, or enjoy some fresh seafood, sushi,

from others. Stores are limiting how many people can come in at a time, cleaning regularly, and providing hand sanitizer at the door, and all open restaurants have outdoor seating.

What about some sweets? With hand-made ice cream, local bakeries, candy stores, a hot chocolate shop, and even a pop-up cookie experience on weekends, Salem is pretty sweet, indeed.

Of course, safety is a top priority everywhere this year, and it’s no different in Witch City. Masks are required in all public places, and it’s encouraged to keep at least six feet away

Mask-wearing and proper safety measures are required by law throughout Salem, and enforced by friendly guides around town. So if you remain aware, act responsibly, and wash your hands as much as possible, you can still have an enchantingly good time.

Ample outdoor activities

What many don’t always realize is that Salem has several beautiful parks to spend time at. Winter Island has a beach, lighthouse, and light hiking trails. Salem Willows is nearby with a boardwalk, picturesque scenery, incredible popcorn, and even kayaks for rent. Forest River Park has walking trails, a beach, and a cement slide you can go down on a sheet of cardboard. And Salem Common has lots of grass, making it a great place to sit and enjoy the town.

There are also many historic and cultural sites you can see, from gardens at The House of the Seven Gables, to the

pizza, and more.

Thirsty? There’s outdoor seating available at our two breweries, cidery, and several restaurants with some crazy cool cocktails. So you can get your boos on.

Planning your visit

With fewer people travelling from out of state, more parking than ever will be available for visitors — meaning less traffic, and less stress. The ferry is also always a great option, with multiple departures a day from Long Wharf in Boston, and the ability to stay outdoors and keep your distance. The commuter rail is running on a normal schedule, as well.

Visit Salem.org for more updates and guidelines, and to request a free guide.

[FROM 59]

Miacomet Beach—Nantucket, Massachusetts Maybe it’s the all the Izod polo shirts, salmoncolored pants and lobster-embroidered belts, but Nantucket has a reputation for being a buttoned-up place. That’s hardly unwarranted, although you will find a freer crowd hanging

by Miacomet Beach. Not to be confused with Miacomet Pond, a popular spot for families with kids, Miacomet Beach is relatively wellknown among nudists who come here to shrug off the more conservative side of the moneyed Massachusetts island; unsurprisingly, you’ll probably find it to be a gay-friendly hangout too.

The dune-backed beach affords good privacy, and it also abuts popular Surfside Beach, if you’d rather make your way to more modest environs.

The Blake Hotel

STAY: You’re a stone’s throw from queer-friendly New Haven, so end your beach day with a city night spent at The Blake Hotel. The modern, boutique property—named for Alice Blake, the first female graduate of Yale Law School—has super-stylish guest rooms (all with kitchenettes) and a rooftop bar with awesome skyline views.

PLAY: Batting cages. Mini-golf. A virtual golf range for grown-up swingers. Year-round ice skating at a double-decker rink. Whatever activity you’re in the mood for, you can probably find it among the array offered at SportsCenter of Connecticut.

EAT: Barracuda Bistro & Bar is a lesbian-owned Latin restaurant that culls Spanish, Colombian and other influences, combines them with American comfort food and comes up with bright ideas like seafood paella and Peruvian chicken, plus creative cocktails made with fresh juices.

21 Broad STAY: 21 Broad is a boutique property that appeals to those of us who don’t want to leave modern, urbane taste on the mainland. Its 27 guest rooms, outfitted with crisp whites and pops of punchy citrus colors, boast in-room amenities like iPads and “Vitamin C showers,” which use vitamin C-infused showerheads to neutralize any chlorine and leave skin feeling softer and looking more radiant.

PLAY: It may be named Cisco Brewers, but there’s something for beer, wine and spirit lovers alike at this year-round courtyard filled with tables, live music and food trucks; it’s also home to Nantucket Vineyards and Triple Eight Distillery, which is all run by the same team.

EAT: You’ll find fabulous modern Mexican food at Club Car—think grilled oysters with chili butter, or fish tacos with kohlrabi slaw. But equally delightful is the live piano, which always encourages singalongs of show tunes and standards.

Barracuda Bistro & Bar

62 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Leaf Peeping Drives Nowhere else in the country experiences such vibrant foliage as New England does—consider it a consolation prize for the rough winter ahead.

So go ahead: Pull on your coziest sweater, pick up a hot cup of something pumpkin-spiced and hit these routes that are perfect for leaf peeping.

The Mohawk Trail MASSACHUSETTS

The bright red, orange and gold hues covering treetops along this 55-mile route will make it hard to keep your eyes on the road. But don’t get too distracted because the Mohawk Trail—named for a former Native American trade and travel route— has quite a few hairpin turns as it winds along Massachusetts’ northwest border. By the time you follow Route 2 (as your GPS will better know it) all the way into the Berkshires, you’ll have passed countless possible detours for hiking, fishing or simply pulling off for a stunning photo opp.

STAY: The Guest House at Field Farm in Williamstown is a six-room, 1948-built bedand-breakfast built in the striking, Bauhausinfluenced style of architect Edwin Goodell, Jr. The 316-acre property is now managed by the Trustees of Reservations, the largest private holder of conserved land in Massachusetts, and features beautiful bronze sculptures scattered across four miles’ worth of footpaths through forest and wetlands.

Guest House at Field Farm

PLAY: It’s hard to compete with Mother Nature’s visuals, but the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is up to the task.

Amazing exhibitions at the industrial-sleek institution include Boston-based Joe Wardwell’s “Hello America: 40 Hits From the 50 States,” a political work of post-apocalyptic landscape imagery MASS MoCA commenting on the state of the union.

EAT: Gay-owned North Adams restaurant PUBLIC Eat + Drink is the perfect place to refuel with gastropub fare like smoked gouda mac ’n’ cheese with pancetta, coconut milk-braised pork belly tacos and goat cheese and lemon cheesecake covered in blueberry compote.

View on the Mohawk Trail

SEP| OCT 2020 | 63

EAT EXPLORE

PLAY

CHILL

Northeast Kingdom

PLAY: Thrilling ski resort Jay Peak hosts a weekend for gay snow bunnies every year. But even before the first flake falls, you can still check out its yearround indoor “pump house,” a water park filled with slides, lazy river tubing and indoor surfing.

EAT: Pack a picnic of locally made meats and cheese, especially the signature bleu from Jasper Hill Farm, regarded by fromagers as one of the best in the world. Beer geeks, meanwhile should pilgrimage to Hill Farmstead Brewery, whose hard-to-find beers are among America’s most acclaimed.

White Mountains NEW HAMPSHIRE

The Northeast Kingdom VERMONT

There’s a reason this noble nickname has stuck to a northeast swath of rural Vermont: The region is truly majestic. Sparsely populated and extremely rural, even

by Green Mountain State standards, it’s made for long drives through winding roads with stunning foliage views. One suggested itinerary: Follow Route 5 from St. Johnsbury to Newport, stopping at quaint general stores where local-made cheese and other groceries highlight the amazing artisanship of area farmers. Take the time to visit pristine lakes and ponds too; at Lake Memphremagog you might spy “Memphre,” the Loch Ness-like monster said to swim under its surface.

STAY: The midcentury-inspired rooms and cabins at the Highland Lodge, right by the loonspotting paradise of Caspian Lake, are absolutely adorable—and so is the cozy house bar and restaurant, from which you can take a cocktail to enjoy on the beautiful front porch.

White Mountains covered bridge Tourists treat a cog railway-guided ascent to the famously windy summit of Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern US, as the top draw to this gorgeous part of the Granite State—and admittedly, it’s a bucket-list experience. But honestly, you’ll have just as much fun by carving a car-path through the rolling mountain range with fabulous foliage and endless options for day-hikes. Route 302, which passes through Crawford Notch State Park, is stunning; Route 112, meanwhile, better known as the Kancamagus Highway, is a spectacularly scenic drive connecting the touristy towns of Lincoln and Conway.

STAY: The Highlands Inn in Bethlehem is the perfect place to disconnect from the world, a 13-room property with a separate dog-friendly cottage for your whole quarantine pod. The Highlands hosts a wonderful folksy Women’s Concert series, now performed pool-side for social distancing-related safety.

PLAY: Leaf peeping doesn’t get better than ziplining over colorful canopies at Bretton Woods resort, which also offers mountain biking, golf and more.

Highlands Inn

66 | BOSTON SPIRIT

EAT: Kick back with the chill crowds at One Love Brewery in Lincoln, where you can sample craft beers like the Czech Your Head Pilsner and Up in Smoke Porter while inhaling gravy-covered poutine, duck tacos or rotating cheesecake-of-the-day slices.

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park MAINE

Want to reach new heights this fall? Drive to the summit of Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park, the highest point on the East Coast of the US (Heads up: Cars require a reservation to park during the October peak season.) You’ll find unbeatable foliage views and, if you get there early, the first sunrise in the country from October to March. Acadia covers over 49,000 acres, with plenty of paved roads if you want to leaf-peep out the window—but do hop out, because it’s also full of some of Maine’s most picturesque walking and hiking paths.

STAY: The gay-owned, 11-room Harbour Cottage Inn is an elegant, 1870-built property adorned with antiques and adorable niceties, like fruitstuffed crepes served for breakfast on the pretty front porch.

PLAY: ‘Tis the season for getting goosebumps with Bar Harbor Ghost Tours, a walk through town that stops at the historic old burial ground, palatial 1932-built theater and other locales with supernatural stories attached.

EAT: Through September, the restaurant at Beal’s Lobster Pier serves up the most succulent fresh-caught crustaceans around. Visiting later? You can still get your claws into some at The Upper Deck at the Marina, which also has delish fried seafood and fantastic ocean views.

Nantucket Island Eat. Play. Stay.

Katie Kaizer Photography

R. Cheek

Emily Elizabeth Photography

Plan your next trip today at nantucketchamber.org/plan

Camden, Maine

Hikes and Bikes Camden Hills State Park CAMDEN, MAINE

If you want to see stellar vistas without having to endure a terribly strenuous hike, follow your GPS to Camden Hills State Park. The 5,700-acre park has about 30 miles of trails, most of which have relatively moderate inclines and won’t totally turn your glutes to jelly. And yet, thanks to Camden Hills’ location overlooking Penobscot Bay, you’ll still find majestic sea and foliage views while ascending Mount Megunticook, the highest point in the park, or Mount Battie, where you’ll find a 26-foot-tall stone tower waiting at the summit—as well as a bronze plaque honoring the poem “Renascence” by sapphic poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who was inspired by the views here. The Maiden’s Cliff Trail is another popular option, affording views of the ocean, woodlands, and Megunticook Lake from the top of an 800-foot-high rocky ledge.

STAY: The gay-owned Camden Harbour Inn offers peace, tranquility and four-diamond dining. You’ll find European-style elegance in tranquil ocean-side rooms decked in cheery yet calming hues of cream and violet; truly luxe is the Royal Dutch Suite, with its own Finnish spa.

Camden Harbour Inn

68 | BOSTON SPIRIT

PLAY: Come winter, the community-owned Camden Snow Bowl is a fabulous ski area that offers Atlantic Ocean views from the slopes—but visit in the fall, and you’ll find a whole other network of picturesque hiking and mountain biking trails.

EAT: Suzuki’s Sushi Bar is beloved by the community for its fantastic Japanese cuisine and eye-catching presentations. The all-women team of chefs, including owner Suzuki Steinberger, a multi-time James Beard award nominee, sources seafood straight from the Gulf of Maine.

Hapgood Wright Forest CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS

Many Bostonians think they have to hit the northern New England mountains to find secluded-feeling spots for taking in the great outdoors. But for a nature walk that’s close to the Hub, yet feels wonderfully removed, head to Hapgood Wright Forest in historic Concord.

Abutting beloved Walden Pond, these storied woods are home to lovely paths that wind through old-growth pine, around enchanting Fairyland Pond, and lead to a peaceful clearing—the secluded Reflection Circle—where granite stones are inscribed with inspiring quotes about nature by luminaries such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Rachel Carson. Other sites of interest include the Brister Freeman Homesite, which marks the site where one of Concord’s first freed slaves raised his family.

Hapgood Wright Forest wildflower-lined trail delivers you to the summit of Mount Olga, where a climbable steel fire tower affords 360-degree panoramas of the Green Mountains and Berkshires.

STAY: Grand enough for Cleopatra herself, the Four Chimneys Inn in nearby Bennington has hosted Elizabeth Taylor among its guests. Today, the historic mansion-set bed-and-breakfast is a romantic getaway with a gas or wood fireplace in nearly every room.

PLAY: Trot on over to Kimberly Farms in North Bennington, where you can find super-affordable half- and full-hour horseback riding lessons that’ll get you saddled up in no time.

STAY: Concord’s Colonial Inn has quite a history— built in 1716, it was used to store arms during the Revolutionary War. Maybe that’s why the hotel, once featured on the television show “Ghost Hunters,” is widely said to be haunted.

PLAY: The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in neighboring Lincoln opens a fascinating new exhibit in October, “Visionary New England,” which explores the region’s deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum history of fostering leaders in utopianism, animism and other progressive spiritual movements. If you’d rather not spend time inside, its contemporary sculpturecovered grounds are wonderful for wandering.

EAT: If you love wine and cheese, the Concord Cheese Shop may just be the best place in the state to find award-winning fromage from all over the world. Planning a picnic for your hike? The shop’s experts are always eager to help guests pair gourmet sandwiches to-go with wonderful wines.

Crosstown Trails WEST DOVER, VERMONT

In the warmer months, before it winds up covered in fluffy white stuff for skiing, Vermont’s Mount Snow typically functions as an epic bike park. Due to COVID19, two-wheelers haven’t been able to hit those mountain biking trails this year—but you can still get an adrenaline rush at this tight, 6-mile network of varied-level trails located just outside the resort. The groomed main way splinters into thickly forested side excursions, which are as enchanting as trail names like Sherwood Forest and Nottingham would suggest. You can even make a loop by a rural, single-runway airport for prop planes. If you want to fold in a hike as well, you’re close to Molly Stark State Park; there, a 2-mile,

EAT: The cozy, brick-lined Allegro Ristorante in Bennington serves an eclectic menu of Italianinspired food made with New England farmraised ingredients—say, meatballs of rabbit from Rhode Island’s Wanabea Farm and ricotta from Vermont’s own Maplebrook Farm.

Beavertail State Park JAMESTOWN, RHODE ISLAND

Everyone ought to check out Newport’s famous Cliff Walk at least once; it’s a truly special experience to watch waves crash along the craggy coastline while standing in the shadows of the landmark mansions.

But to see a different side of the Ocean State shore, one that gets a bit more back to nature, visit Beavertail State Park just across Narragansett Bay. The seaside park has lovely hiking paths, winding mainly through flat and grassy fields, that’ll take you to its namesake lighthouse—from here, you can see three other lighthouses dotting the landscape in different directions. Unlike the Cliff Walk, here you can clamber down onto some of the rocks. (Be careful!) And don’t miss Lion’s Head Gorge, a natural chasm where waves roar dramatically.

STAY: The 23-room, gay-owned Architect’s Inn in Newport is known for three-day “Murder Mystery Weekends” that immerse guests in interactive whodunits. Next up: the spooky-sounding “Trail of Bones” event over Halloween weekend.

PLAY: Poke through the amazing antiques at The Drawing Room, a gay-owned shop filled with a wide array of museum-quality pieces and curios, plus a room dedicated to gay culture—from LGBTQ-oriented books to homoerotic paintings and reproductions of pre-Columbian pottery.

EAT: The multi-level Jamestown restaurant Simpatico has several different indoor and outdoor spaces for dining, including the florafilled “Green Room,” an al fresco patio that has a massive beech tree as its centerpiece, and the charming, semi-covered pergola. The calamari with hot peppers, olives and Italian meats is a must-try.

SEP| OCT 2020 | 69

DiscoverQuincy.com

Welcome to Quincy

Minutes from Boston the “City of Presidents” and “Birthplace of the American Dream”, awaits you. Quincy is the birthplace of the second and sixth U.S. Presidents, John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams.

Home to Adams National Historical Park, the United First Parish Church and Adams Crypt, Marina Bay, the largest marina in the Northeast, with incredible dining views of the Boston skyline. And so much more!

Quincy Pride 2020

Quincy dining options are endless, offering a culinary experience and an adventure that will take you around the world, so many options, so little time.

Quincy Pride a 501c3 organization, is very fortunate to have the support of Mayor Koch’s office as well as local businesses to promote LGBTQ inclusive programming. We were sad to cancel Q Pride Day Festival 2020 – our third year – but we kept the spirit of Pride alive with online events. Additionally, United First Parish Church partnered with us to display Pride flags on their lawn throughout the month of June. Together as a community, we light Quincy up in the spirit of love and pride.

For more information about our organization, to get involved or to donate, please visit www.quincypride.com.

Sheika Babin, President

Quincy outdoors and recreation, offering 27 Miles of Coastline and Beaches, Acres of beautiful parks, rock climbing and hiking at the Blue Hill Reservation, and World Class Golf Courses.

The City of Quincy also has an LGBTQ Commission. To learn more email lgbtqcommission@ quincyma.gov.

Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum

A Little Something Spooky When you think of fall in New England, what comes to mind? Applepicking, sure. Pumpkin carving, absolutely.

Things that go bump in the night—one hundred percent, because our region is full of roadside attractions that double as spooky settings. Here are some worth a trip.

Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS

Believe it or not, you can sleep in the same bedroom where one of America’s most famous murders occurred. Ghostly energy is purportedly imprisoned in the home where Lizzie Borden—whose possible lesbian identity was depicted by Choe Sevigny in the 2018 film “Lizzie”— allegedly axed her father and stepmother. (Borden was acquitted in one of the country’s earliest media-spectacle murder trials, though the verdict went largely unaccepted by the community.) Stay overnight, and you’ll have free reign of the first floor and basement to do all the ghosthunting you like. The morning brings a macabre touch: You’ll be served a breakfast similar to that which was served on the day of the murders—scrambled eggs, Portuguese sausage, johnnycakes and pineapple. Day tours are also available, if you want to learn the history of the haunt in the daylight.

72 | BOSTON SPIRIT

PLAY: Feeling brave? Go for a hike in the Freetown-Fall River State Forest, which is perhaps the most infamous point of the Bridgewater Triangle. As explored in a same-named 2013 documentary film, it’s a 200-square-mile swath of southeastern Massachusetts with a storied reputation for supernatural occurrences, including a famous phantom trucker cruising the countryside of nearby Copicut Road.

EAT: Fall River has a vibrant PortugueseAmerican community, and Caldeiras Restaurant is where to go to find tasty favorites like broiled, sun-dried codfish or Azorean beef slow-roasted in a clay pot with red wine, bacon, and bay leaves.

Holy Land USA WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT

Let’s be honest: For many LGBTQ people, religious zealotry is just about as scary as it gets. And that just compounds the creepiness of Holy Land USA, a now-abandoned, 1950s-built religious theme park that has become a bizarre curiosity since it closed in 1984. Once upon a time, the park boasted various Biblically-inspired buildings and statues of religious figures—but now only ruins remain, including massive, Hollywood sign-inspired letters that spell out “Holy Land USA” across the Connecticut hillside.

In recent years, renovation efforts have attempted to mediate the vandalism that has overtaken the site, including the installation of a new, 65-foottall, color-changing LED cross. But for the most part, Holy Land USA continues to exude a kind of post-apocalyptic eeriness, attracting lookyloos and amateur shutterbugs who find the derelict destination too irresistibly odd to ignore.

STAY: After investigating the wreck that is Holy Land, retire to the posh surroundings of the Ethan Allen Hotel in nearby Danbury, a luxury property that is outfitted entirely with the furniture company’s work, from the sumptuous designer mattresses to the elegant Queen Anne chairs in its restaurant.

PLAY: The Garden of Eden probably didn’t have more tempting apples than those at Blue Jay Orchards, a pick-your-own farm in Bethel. After you’ve plucked some Granny Smith and Honeycrisp varieties to bake a pie, pick up some prepared treats from the on-site bakery. (Bonus: there’s a pumpkin patch, too.)

Blue Jay Orchards

EAT: The eclectic, Mediterranean smallplates menu at Ibiza Tapas in Danbury is full Ibiza Tapas of flavorful surprises, like spicy piquillo peppers stuffed with shrimp and speckled with saffron aioli. Best of all? Loads of amazing vegan options that even carnivores will crave.

America’s Stonehenge

elaborate hoax started by a 1930s landowner. There are reports that influential horror writer H.P. Lovecraft based “The Dunwich Horror” on a visit here, and tales abound of unexplainable drumbeats and frightening eyes staring back from the woods surrounding Stonehenge. Similar stories swirl around Gilson Road Cemetery and Pine Hill Cemetery (nicknamed Blood Cemetery after wandering specter Abel Blood) in nearby Nashua and Hollis, respectively, often cited as New England’s most haunted graveyards.

STAY: The only full-service, year-round hotel on the Granite State’s short seacoast, Ashworth by the Sea has hosted BB King, Johnny Cash and other stars in its plush, balcony-equipped guest rooms steps from Hampton Beach and its star-studded casino ballroom.

PLAY: Hopefully this Halloween won’t bring a zombie apocalypse. (The coronavirus has been bad enough.) But just in case, practice your hatchetslinging skills at RelAxe Throwing in Manchester, where guests at indoor lanes learn how to safely toss real axes at targets.

EAT: All businesses are suffering now, which could spell trouble for New England’s few remaining gay bars. Show your support by grabbing dinner at Doogie’s Bar and Grill in Manchester, a homey LGBTQ hangout serving steak subs, coconut shrimp, loaded nachos and other pub grub.

International Cryptozoology Museum PORTLAND, MAINE

SALEM, NEW HAMPSHIRE

It may not be the home of those famous witch trials, but

Mystery Hill this sleepier Salem in New Hampshire contains a cool, spooky secret: America’s Stonehenge (aka Mystery Hill), a 30-acre archeological site and roadside attraction with astronomically aligned rock walls, caves and supposed ceremonial sites that are, depending on who you ask, mysterious pre-Columbian constructions or an

International Cryptozoology Museum

It’s a small museum, but this wacky attraction in the Pine Tree State is dedicated to none other than Bigfoot—as well as the Loch Ness Monster, sea serpents, mermaids and other “cryptids,” or animals that have been purported, yet never proven, to exist. Of course, even if you do believe in such things, it’s best to not

[CONTINUES 74] SEP| OCT 2020 | 73

T:3.556”

[FROM 73] take the place too seriously; after all, the exhibits include supposed hair samples from the Abominable Snowman, fecal samples from various monsters of lore and models and props from cryptid-starring movies. Still, it’s a hugely entertaining diversion, especially with the arrival of a new traveling exhibit, “Sasquatch Revealed,” which claims to be one of the largest collections of related artifacts in the world; among the items included are footprint casts and a nine-foot-tall skeleton that may or may not belong to the “Missing Link” in question.

T:9.875”

B:10.125”

I D E A L L O C AT I O N .

U N RIVALED SERVI CE .

STAY: Discover the Chadwick Bed & Breakfast, a charming property owned by husbands Scot and Jason Fuller-Beatty. The intimate, ecofriendly inn has only four thoughtfully decorated guestrooms, and Chadwick Bed & Breakfast works with fellow Portland-area business owners—like century-old Haven’s Candies and contemporary floral shop Fiddleheads—to craft indulgent amenities.

Our hotel is always thinking of ways to make your stay more brilliant. Start by checking in via mobile app. Relax and recharge in our luxurious rooms featuring wireless high-speed Internet. Get energized in our fitness center and indoor pool.

Or just take advantage of our premier Back Bay location with easy access to top attractions, local transportation and connections to over 200 shops and restaurants.

TO R E S E RV E YO U R R O O M , C A L L 6 17. 2 3 6 . 5 8 0 0 O R V I S I T C O P L E Y M A R R I O T T. C O M .

BO TON MA BOSTON MARRIOTT COPLEY CO Y PLACE PL 110 0 HUNTINGTON HU GTON AVENUE BOSTON, N, MA 02116 021 617.236.5800 617 2 6.580 COPLEYMARRIOTT.COM OPL COM

© 2018 018 Marriott International, nternat , Inc Inc.

The Holy Donut

PLAY: Miss seeing live drag shows in crowded clubs? Gather up some socially distanced neighbors and book 2 Queens 1 Driveway.

Performers Cherry Lemonade and GiGi Gabor will take their family-friendly show on the road and bring their party truck right to your front door (or hotel parking lot).

EAT: So good it’s sinful, The Holy Donut has two Portland locations serving hand-crafted donuts that blow mass-market baked goods out of the water. Flavors like chocolate sea salt, blueberry lemon, vegan pomegranate, and sweet potato coffee cake are just a few of the hits.

This is the place for you. Imagine hundreds of exceptional bath, kitchen and lighting products from trusted brands, in settings that help you envision them in your own home. You’ll find classic styles alongside the newest trends. A friendly, accessible staff offers guidance and detailed coordination to ensure that your project goes smoothly.

Find details and hours for more than 40 showrooms at frankwebb.com.

SOUTH BOSTON, MA 307 Dorchester Avenue MALDEN, MA 700 Broadway Street BEDFORD, MA 160 Middlesex Turnpike NEEDHAM, MA 100 Highland Avenue PLYMOUTH, MA 39 Prestige Way

CULTURE Music STORY Loren King

Soprano Brianna Robinson. PHOTO BLO

Baritone Simon Dyer. PHOTO Nile Scott

Words and Music Boston Lyric Opera’s innovative digital programs find new audiences “At its core, opera has the opportunity to blow your mind,” says British bassbaritone Simon Dyer in the third episode of the first season of the Boston Lyric Opera’s podcast series “At Its (S)core.”

During the 30-minute podcast, Dyer and fellow performer Vincent Turregano talked about their roles in the BLO’s 2019 production of the gay-themed opera “Fellow Travelers,” their lives as gay opera artists and the importance of representation onstage.

While audiences may not be able to attend live BLO performances right now, the six episodes that make up the first season of “At Its (S)core” provide listeners with a rare and candid glimpse into the workings of the BLO with lively conversations among artists centered on a single piece of music.

All six episodes in Season One are available at BLO.org/at-its-score and through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher. Season Two will also be available this fall.

“We are 100 percent highlighting members of our BLO community who are part of the LGBTQ and BIPOC communities,” says series producer Melanie Bacaling who shepherded the project from its inception. She added that Season Two of “At Its (S)core” will highlight not only BLO “singers and conductors but also people who work backstage.”

The BLO launched “At Its (S)core” as well as other digital programming, all of which is available on its website shortly after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the BLO’s spring 2020 performance of Bellini’s “Norma” back in March. Bacaling, the opera’s assistant director, says the company was already thinking about how to create better digital content when the pandemic forced the shutdown. She laughs when she recalls how she expected the closure to be short-lived. “We did a video spoof of everyone washing their

Director Sarna Lapine. PHOTO Liza Voll 76 | BOSTON SPIRIT

hands to one of the songs from ‘Norma,’” she says.

But uncertainty quickly turned to the need for audience engagement, and the BLO made a quick pivot to enhancing its digital content. “I had been inspired by the [PBS series] ‘Variety Studio: Actors on Actors’ so I thought, what if we create conversation-based programming that gets artists talking?” says Bacaling. “At the time, I didn’t realize the impact it would have, to give a voice to people or a platform to share voices and speak truth to the many issues that currently exist.”

She stressed that the BLO’s podcasts are uncensored, with no agenda. “All guests have complete autonomy to talk about whatever they want,” she says.

Conductor David Angus in rehearsal. PHOTO BLO

Baritone Vincent Turregano. PHOTO BLO For Bacaling, who earned her masters degree in performance and vocal pedagogy in 2015 from Boston Conservatory before joining the BLO, producing the podcast provided the chance to flex new creative muscles. “I taught myself how to record, edit and produce this. Since [guests] talk about current events, it was therapeutic, an opportunity for them to share what’s on their hearts and minds.”

Bacaling started as a performer but soon found herself enticed by the workings “on

the other side of the table,” she says. “I was performing in a show but I was worrying about what was going on with everyone else.” So she took on roles at the BLO starting with working as a rehearsal room assistant for “Carmen” in 2016 and later stage managing and assisting the director.

“The BLO let me grow in this really amazing way. It’s been an exciting journey,” she says.

As with many arts organizations, the pandemic forced the BLO to be innovative. “I would never have imagined at the beginning of this year that producing a podcast would be what I ended up doing.

But what enlivens me about it is getting to decide what music we listen to, and to be able to give a platform to my colleagues,” says Bacaling. “It feels really empowering just having great conversations with really amazing people. It’s a way of healing in this time of uncertainty. It’s also been great to show myself that I can do anything if I’m willing to learn. It’s a different muscle of creativity. It’s an art to make a podcast and do it well.”

Other notable Season One episodes include a conversation between

African-American soprano Brianna J. Robinson who sang the role of Lucy in “Fellow Travelers” and Cuban-American mezzo-soprano Zaray Rodriguez, an incoming Emerging Artist at BLO and a graduate of the University of Miami and Boston University’s Opera Institute. They talked about growing up with music, their career paths and their work as artists of color in a traditionally white-majority art form.

Episode six featured theater director Sarna Lapine and Grammy Awardwinning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor who worked together as stage director and title-role star for BLO’s acclaimed 2019 production of Benjamin Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia.” Other “At Its (S)core” Season One episodes feature violinist and BLO Concertmaster Annie Rabbat; and BLO Music Director David Angus and 2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid (“Prism”) discussing a mutual love for Maurice Ravel’s 1912 symphony/ ballet score “Daphnis et Chloé.” [x]

BLO.org/at-its-score

Where each relati nship matters.

Member FDIC

SEP| OCT 2020 | 77

CULTURE Stage STORY Loren King

The Next Best Thing How ‘The Usual Unusual,’ about an LGBTQ bookstore, went from play to podcast Playwright MJ Halberstadt never intended to script a podcast. His new play “The Usual Unusual,” which takes place in an LGBTQ bookstore amid changing times and generational clashes, was set for a June staged reading. But COVID-19 changed all that.

So Halberstadt and his production team pivoted. Over one intense week in July, they recorded the entire play in seven episodes as a podcast.

Halberstadt admits to a “moment of despair” when he found out that the reading, like all live stage events, was off the table because of ongoing concerns about the coronavirus. Not just that, but the enormity of the pandemic made him question his play’s vitality and relevance.

He credits the play’s director Megan Sandberg-Zakian who had helped develop “The Usual Unusual” over its two-year incubation with “talking me off the ledge.”

“She convinced me that the play mattered even more because of what it says

78 | BOSTON SPIRIT

about our community’s relationship to physical space,” says Halberstadt, who after 13 years in Boston moved in July to Northampton with his husband. “Her comments helped me recognize the function of the story and what I can presume to call its relevance.”

“The Usual Unusual,” he says, was inspired by a playwriting conference where Halberstadt listened to a lively exchange between award-winning stage director Scott Edmiston and performance artist and activist Black Venus of The Theater Offensive’s True Colors OUT Youth Theater Troupe about the future of queer theater. Halberstadt substituted a scrappy LGBTQ bookstore similar to Boston’s Calamus or Glad Day, both once-thriving community centers now sorely missed, but kept the familiar debate between generations about history, community and purpose.

Halberstadt, who teaches dramatic writing at Emerson College and Northeastern

University, was part of SpeakEasy Stage Company’s Boston Project, the initiative supporting the creation and development of new plays set in Boston that had commissioned the June staged reading of “The Usual Unusual.”

Since “The Usual Unusual” was written to be performed live, it needed input from the actors and director for its transition to a recorded play; a hybrid form that’s more than traditional podcast, says Halberstadt.

“This was an adaptation out of necessity,” he says. The multi-character cast is headed by veteran actor Will McGarrahan as older bookstore owner Penn with Eddie Shields as his younger employee Charlie.

“This is a community experience so it helps that it was constructed in a collaborative way,” says Halberstadt. “We made changes and additions that would not have happened otherwise.”

The process of taping the podcast had each actor with a personal microphone “in makeshift sound booths in their homes,”

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus’s “The Power of Protest.” PHOTO BGMC

Podcasts/streaming take over Playwright MJ Halberstadt PHOTO Nile Scott Studios [OPPOSITE-LEFT] Cast member Han C. Park [OPPOSITE-RIGHT] Director Megan Sanberg-Zakian [ABOVE]

record their lines and then email the audio files that were edited together with sound effects, says Halberstadt. Although he admits that he missed hearing his words spoken live on a stage where “it comes to life when you hear reactions from the audience,” Halberstadt says the audio recording was “the next best thing.”

“The stars aligned, and each actor went out of their way to learn new skills sets,” he says. It may not be a substitute for the immediacy of a live performance but there were times, thanks to the vocal and acting skills of the actors, that it came pretty close.

“At the end of the first act, there is a moment when Penn and Charlie say goodnight to one another in a lovely, gentle way,” says Halberstadt, “and for the first time I realized that even in a simulation, I believed that Will and Eddie were in the same room, creating intimacy.” [x]

The pivot from fully realized stage productions to podcasts (see story on the Boston Lyric Opera’s podcasts on page 76 and Stuart Brown’s “Sounds of Broadway” on page 80.) have become the norm for theater and performing arts companies during this unprecedented time.

One steady source of inspiration during this challenging year has been the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus and the way they’ve stepped up to deliver one powerful, thoughtful, timely video after another — seven in all since the pandemic forced the cancellation of their spring concert. You can catch them all at bgmc.org.

Among the region’s most popular programs, the Celebrity Series of Boston continues its “Celebrity Series at Home” this fall with paid and free digital concerts and events. Highlights include renowned pianist and Celebrity Series veteran Jeremy Denk who performs a livestream concert from WGBH’s Fraser Performance Studio on September 20 at 7 p.m. The

tentative program is Robert Schumann, Kinderszenen Op. 15 “Scenes from Childhood”; Clara Schumann, Romances, Op. 21; Missy Mazzoli, “Bolts of Loving Thunder”; and Brahms Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119.

Another local favorite and Celebrity series regular is Rob Kapilow who is back with another music master class, this time “What Makes It Great? The Music of Cole Porter” on October 4 at 7 p.m. in a streamed concert from the Kaufman Music Center in New York City. Kapilow will break down Porter’s sublime rhymes and imagery in his lyrics as well as the music underlying those lyrics. Kapilow will present plenty of Porter tunes that show how his music is essential to understanding his genius.

Broadway stars Sally Wilfert and Michael Winther join Kapilow for a musical tour through Porter’s life and career. [x]

For more on the “Celebrity Series at Home” events, go to celebrityseries.org/athome.

mjhalberstadt.com (episodes currently at speakeasystage.com)

SEP| OCT 2020 | 79

CULTURE Song STORY Loren King

Broadway Baby

Stuart Brown in his studio

Stuart Brown streams the ‘Sounds of Broadway’ for show-starved fans With Broadway still dark due to COVID19, many musical theater aficionados are desperate for a hearty helping of belters and ballads, Merman and Martin (Mary or Short). One of the easiest and best ways to satisfy a craving for musicals comes courtesy of a small studio nestled in the West Hartford, Connecticut home of Stuart Brown The New Jersey native and longtime Connecticut resident hosted a weekly radio program, “On Broadway,” on WRTCFM, Trinity College, in Hartford for 25 years. Brown last year launched the 24/7 online program “Sounds of Broadway” at soundsofbroadway.com. Listeners can stream the music of Broadway hits, flops, obscure show songs and off-Broadway and London cast recordings.

Not just that, but theater geeks can test their musical acumen with Brown’s challenging weekly multiple-choice quizzes.

Each quiz features eight regular questions

80 | BOSTON SPIRIT

plus two challenger ones, all on a particular theme like musical collaborators, song lyrics, Broadway flops and all things Andrew Lloyd Webber. The quizzes are posted or emailed Tuesday nights as a way to keep listeners engaged and to have fun.

There’s also “On Broadway,” Brown’s companion podcast for “Sounds of Broadway.”

Quizzes and trivia come naturally to Brown. “In my real life, I am director of student services at one of the UConn campuses. I’ve been in higher ed for 40 years so part of it is the educator in me,” he says.

“I want to feature both well-known and popular shows along with obscure ones and even flops. They all have great songs.

I just uploaded songs from the musical sequel to ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ called ‘Bring Back Birdie.’ It was a flop, but there are a couple of good songs.”

“Sounds of Broadways” boasts one of the most diverse playlists on terrestrial or online radio, says Brown, which he’s

culled from his 800 to 1,000 CDs, “a couple hundred LPs” and the digital files that he downloads. From 8 to 10 p.m. EST nightly, listeners can reach the database and select songs during an all-request time slot.

“You can’t get bored. I curate 18 hours a week of music,” Brown says. This includes both familiar and obscure material. “I’ll mix in songs from ‘The Music Man’ and then maybe ‘Louisiana Purchase’ from Irving Berlin or the British musical ‘The Card’ with Jim Dale that most people have never heard of,” he says.

He does research in order to provide background information for his shows.

This leads to ideas for his quizzes. For example, he recently discovered a recording for a 1986 British musical called “Time” written by Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five that featured vocals by Clark’s close friend Freddie Mercury of Queen fame.

Brown vividly remembers his first Broadway show—as any high schooler dropped in the middle of early-1970s Times Square would. He and a friend took the bus from central New Jersey with once-common discount coupons called “two-fers” for the show “Twigs.” But when they got to the box office, there was a notice that the show had closed. They ended up with Saturday matinee orchestra seats that cost a whopping eight dollars a ticket for “Grease.” It was a life-changing show, he says, because the original “Grease,” pre-movie and pre-phenom, was earnest and so it was funnier.

“It’s still on my top 10 of all time,” says Brown who says that, to this day, he “can’t bear” to sit through any new production of “Grease” because “songs have been taken out” and the musical “has become a parody of itself.”

Brown stopped going to shows in early March once the pandemic forced the shutdown of theaters.

“I am president of the Connecticut Critics Circle; I see 60 to 70 shows a year,” he says. He’s most disappointed that he may not get to see the much-anticipated,

“ You can’t get bored. I curate 18 hours a week of music. This includes both familiar and obscure material. I’ll mix in songs from ‘The Music Man’ and then maybe ‘Louisiana Purchase’ from Irving Berlin or the British musical ‘The Card’ with Jim Dale that most people have never heard of. ” gender-swapped revival of Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking 1970 musical comedy “Company,” which was staged in London, starring Tony winners Patti LuPone and Katrina Lenk. It was to be directed by British director Marianne Elliott, Tony Award winner for “War Horse” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and who directed last year’s Tony-winning revival of “Angels in America.”

“I saw [Lenk] in Paula Vogel’s ‘Indecent’ at Yale Rep. It was an incredible show.

I hope Lenk and the rest of the cast and crew stay together” for an eventual run, he says.

Stuart Brown Don’t we all?

Brown’s other favorite shows or cast albums are a decidedly eclectic list.

“I love the cast albums for ‘Li’l Abner’ and ‘It’s a Bird ... It’s a Plane... It’s Superman,’ a huge flop [in 1966],” he says. His favorite shows are tied to particular productions. “I saw ‘The Producers’ with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. No way could there be better chemistry,” he says. “Or the 1987 Lincoln Center revival of ‘Anything Goes” with Patti LuPone. I remember sitting there during the overture and getting goosebumps.” [x]

soundsofbroadway.com

Let’s work together.

40 Greater Boston locations.

Member FDIC, Member DIF. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

AA/EOE/M/F/Disabled/Veterans and LGBTQ+ inclusive employer and value the strength that diversity creates.

SEP| OCT 2020 | 81

CULTURE Photography STORY Loren King [AT LEFT]

“Andy’s Room Service Breakfast, Naples, 1976,” Bob Colacello.

Bob Colacello. PHOTO David Shankbone

A Time It Was Bob Colacello’s photographs at Newport Art Museum capture bygone era Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine, especially in its early days, was the ultimate insider/outsider look at popular culture with its focus on celebrities, artists, musicians and writers.

If founder Warhol was the inspiration, Bob Colacello, Interview’s editor from 1971 to 1983, was the perspiration.

Colacello was at the center of art openings, ribald cocktail and dinner parties, charity balls and the rise of starstudded New York nightlife

in clubs like Studio 54 and Xenon, covering the scene in his monthly column called “Out.” Colacello’s sophistication, sense of fun and very gay sensibility gave Interview its identity as much as his photographs. He took hundreds but Interview ran only a small number of them. A sampling of Colacello’s work capturing high society parties and the celebrities of the day at play is now at the Newport Art Museum and worth a visit to

82 | BOSTON SPIRIT

this charming and first-rate art museum on historic Bellevue Avenue.

“Private Moments: Photographs from Another Era by Bob Colacello,” which runs to September 27, is a small but representative sampling of Colacello’s black-and-white candid photographs of the nightlife scene from the late 1970s and early 1980s. His signature mix of lightness and drama, intimacy and voyeurism is present as he documents the heyday of the New York and international party scene of the era. There’s a small case in the center of the museum’s room with several scattered copies of Interview—an illustration of Nancy Reagan adorns one cover; a sketch of Liza Minnelli peeks from another.

Colacello took photographs for Interview with a tiny Minox 35 EL camera, small enough to fit inside his jacket pocket. He was part of the scene but also apart, too; he was Warhol’s personal friend and professional colleague but wasn’t nearly as recognizable and so was able to be more the observer.

Fittingly, it’s the peerless Diana Vreeland who jumps from one of the larger-scale

photographs, her extended arm and painted nails dominating the frame as she’s in mid-sentence next to Countess Consuelo Crespi at a party in 1978.

The shot is full of energy and pizazz as captures a moment in time that encapsulates the entire time. Another definitive image is New York nightlife legends Carmen d’Alessio and Odile Rubirosa, arms thrown into the air, partying at Xenon in 1979.

“Colacello’s MFA in film criticism from Columbia University may have informed the unique cinematic quality of his images,” writes NAM director Norah Diedrich in her introduction to the exhibition.

“Colacello’s black and white photographs call to mind the work of revered street photographers, such as Henri CartierBresson, Weegee, Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand. Yet Winogrand typically photographed strangers. In most instances, Colacello took pictures of friends and colleagues, in both public and private settings.”

Colacello, whose 1976 self-portrait as a 29 year old is part of the exhibit, brought portfolio to the party. The native New Yorker, now 72, graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign

“Diana Vreeland and Countess Consuelo, Crespi, New York,” Bob Colacello. PHOTOS courtesy the artist

and Vito Schnabel Projects.

Service at Georgetown University in 1969, then earned his degree in film criticism from Columbia University

Graduate School of the Arts.

It was his review while still a student of Warhol’s 1970 film “Trash” —Colacello hailed it as a “great Roman Catholic masterpiece”—that caught the attention of Warhol and director Paul Morrissey. They asked Colacello to write for Interview, launched in 1969 as an underground, audacious mix of high and low art. Colacello became editor the following year and Interview quickly morphed into the must-read chronicle of the jet set and the taste arbiter of New York’s culture scene.

Colacello and Warhol became friends, which Colacello documented in his 1990 book “Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close Up.” Colacello went on to contribute extensively to Vanity Fair and wrote other

books that captured the political, social and cultural climates of the ’70s and ’80s including “Ronnie and Nancy: Their Path to the White House 1911–1980” and “Studios by the Sea: Artists of Long Island’s East End.” Warhol appears in several of the images in the Newport Art Museum show. In one from 1976, one of Colacello’s few “morning after” shots, he’s sitting barelegged on a sofa in a Naples hotel eating from a lavish breakfast tray. In another, his eyes are shut as he sits next to Rupert Smith on the Fire Island ferry in 1979.

There are other iconic LGBTQ figures everywhere: Nona Hendryx and Divine looking gorgeous at a table in 1979; Warhol, Andre Leon

Talley and Steve Rubell carousing in New York in 1981.

People occupy the frame on nearly all the images but not all. “Polly Bergen’s Closet, Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, c. 1978” is a large print with blocks of clothing neatly lined on either side and a huge section of shoes in the center.

“Fred Hughes, Hotel Excelsior, Naples, 1976” features the nude figure of Warhol’s business manager for more than 25 years who ran Warhol’s Factory standing in a small bathroom with a wet towel at his feet. Colacello is there and not there; his striking images capture a time and make us wish we were part of it all too. [x]

newportartmuseum.org

Ooh La La! Great selection Available!

IN STOCK AND SPECIAL ORDER FURNITURE- GREAT INVENTORY AND DISCOUNTS NOW!!!

• Outdoor Furniture • Home & Garden Décor • Trees & Shrubs • Statuary • Pottery

• Tableware • Firepits • Sunbrella Cushions • Fountains • Annuals • Perennials

1265 Massachusetts Ave. Lexington, MA 02420 Tel 781.861.1200 www.seasonsfour seasonsfour.com

THE OUTDOOR LIVING STORE

BEST RETAILER OF OUTDOOR FURNITURE IN THE COUNTRY

DESIGNERS WELCOME

selection

value

service

CULTURE Film STORY Loren King

Preserving Jenni Olson Harvard Film Archive acquires LGBTQ film expert’s vast personal collection Over her three decades as a filmmaker, curator, archivist, historian and collector, Jenni Olson earned a reputation as one of the world’s leading experts on LGBTQ cinema.

But that lofty status is tempered by one of Olson’s trademarks: her equal passion for serious cinema and camp.

Olson’s curiosity and breadth of knowledge span LGBTQ culture highs and lows—from edgy experimental and obscure films to a vintage TV commercial featuring Jodie Foster.

Now future generations of cinephiles will get a glimpse of Olson’s unique perspective and her prescient collector’s sensibility. The Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge has acquired the Jenni Olson Queer Film Collection, a complete archive of Olson’s work over 30 years. It includes her own experimental films such

as “The Joy of Life” (2005), “575 Castro St.” (2009) and her award-winning, poetic meditation “The Royal Road” (2015).

The collection also includes Olson’s writings on LGBT film history and research materials from her more than 30 years in the LGBT indie film world including her founding of the pioneering LGBT website PlanetOut.com and co-directing the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Another key component of the archive is Olson’s personal treasure trove of rare prints from feature films and television movies, commercials and trailers. The collection will be open for research in 2021.

“It’s a big deal for me and incredibly validating of my work as a queer film historian which goes back some 30 years and also my work as a

84 | BOSTON SPIRIT

[LEFT]

Jenni Olson Olson filming “The Royal Road”

[ABOVE]

filmmaker,” says Olson, a longtime San Francisco resident who recently moved to Berkeley with her wife of 25 years, human rights activist Julie Dorf, and their two children.

“Obviously, the HFA is one of the most respected institutions in the country, if not the world. It’s a perfect match in a bunch of ways.” Olson is particularly pleased that her own films are now in the HFA’s collection alongside influential American experimental filmmakers such as Warren Sonbert and George Kuchar.

“The other exciting thing is that [the HFA] has always been an exhibition venue for LGBT work. They will work with me and show some of my collection of 35, 16 and some super 8 prints from a wide, eclectic array of feature films, ephemeral shorts and commercials,” she says. “And, of course, I look forward to coming to Boston.”

At 57, Olson may seem young to be already bequeathing her life’s work, but there were practical reasons for it.

“I have to say it’s a huge relief to know it will all be taken care of and stored properly.

I’ve been collecting LGBT films since 1987 and it’s a lot of stuff and a lot to keep track of

literally and physically. There were many years when I had everything in our house, in the pantry. My wife was very happy when I finally shipped everything off,” she says.

Legacy was also on Olson’s mind as the result of her recent project of preserving and re-releasing the films of late gay indie filmmaker Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. Besides Bressan’s landmark films “Gay USA” (1977) and “Buddies” (1985), Olson more recently worked to restore and release his “Passing Strangers” (1974) and “Forbidden Letters” (1979), which had been unavailable.

“They are both such beautiful and amazing films,” she says.

(For more on the Bressan Project go to https://bressanproject. wixsite.com/website). “I had been looking for a home for his papers,” Olson says. “Then it occurred to me that I should be looking for a home for my stuff.”

For LGBT cinephiles, it is the “stuff” of dreams. Olson’s personal collection runs the gamut from 35mm and 16mm feature films such as “That Tender Touch” (1969), “Dallas Doll” (1994) and The Gay Deceivers (1969) to clips important to LGBT history.

Still from “The Royal Road” These include news footage of anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant getting a pie in the face in 1977 and a “Batman” TV episode with Eartha Kitt as Catwoman and featuring Mattachine Society cofounder and fashion designer Rudi Gernreich.

“My ethos as a collector and an archivist has been to collect things no one else thought were important and having an instinct that they were exactly what is important or that will come to be important; the most fleeting, ephemeral, mundane or just random things that no one cares about,” says Olson.

Olson’s love for film trailers became an entertaining “crash course in LGTB film history” when in the 1990s she released several featurelength compilations from her collection of hundreds of trailers: “Homo Promo” and “Neo Homo Promo,” “Trailer Camp” and “Bride of Trailer Camp” and others screened at film festivals and art houses.

Olson amassed her collection the old-fashioned way. “I bought all of it through the film collectors’ network at the time, all pre-Internet. There was a monthly newspaper called ‘The Big Reel’ with a hundred pages of listings … everything from a ‘Star Wars’ print for, like, five thousand dollars to

‘Here’s a 16mm Jodie Foster McDonald’s commercial from the ’70s.’ Of course I was like, ‘I’ll take that.’”

One of Olson’s prized finds was a 1969 dykesploitation movie called ‘That Tender Touch.’ It was never written about in any LGBT film iteration. I discovered it by reading back issues of Variety while [researching] my BA thesis on lesbian filmography. No one heard of it. It was so obscure as to be lost to history,” Olson says. “‘That Tender Touch’ turned out to be public domain so I curated it at festivals and then much later [while VP of e-commerce and consumer marketing for Wolfe Video for 10 years] we did a DVD release.”

Her other major discovery was “Queens at Heart,” a 1967 short documentary about trans women in New York City. “It’s probably the most important thing I unearthed. There was no awareness of it at all, these trans women talking about their lives in 1967, two years before Stonewall.”

Her “ethos as a collector” has also been driven by a simple credo: “It brings me joy,” she says. The HFA acquisition means that contemporary and future audiences will also share in Olson’s joy. [x]

Picture this. A dazzling new bathroom or kitchen. The deck you’ve always wanted, built to perfection. A heating or air conditioning system so efficient, you’ll bask in the savings.

Greater indoor comfort, convenience, and beauty to surround you. And always with an added touch of safety.

That’s what we’ve been up to since 1952.

All these years later we’re still up to the challenge. Call us – we won’t disappoint.

www.pannhomeservices.com

247 Salem Street, Woburn, MA 01801 126 Inman Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

(617) 864-2625

Paula Ferrari & Michael Pann, Co-owners

º

Calendar ‘The Judy and Varla Show’ Pride Vermont Week On one hand, it’s disappointing that so many LGBTQ Pride events have had to pivot to virtual versions this year—we can’t wait until we’re back out there at live parades, concerts and parties. But there is one silver lining: By taking to cyberspace, these Pride events can reach even more queer folks. Take Pride Vermont, which is partnering with a local CBS affiliate to broadcast to Vermonters and stream online reimagined versions of its events, according to Justin Marsh, communications and development manager for Pride Center of Vermont. The organization is also producing a ’zine to accompany the show, filled with submissions of stories, art, poetry and other artworks from LGBTQ Vermonters. Even as we endure a pandemic, the creativity of LGBTQ Pride planners continues to impress.

WHEN

September 8–13 HOW

pridevt.org

86 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Comedian and author Judy Gold and drag legend Varla Jean Merman have one thing in common: a contagious sense of humor—and luckily, we can still experience it in the COVID-19 era. Though Provincetown has gone without the usual lineup of live shows this season, the duo is still sharing their sharp stand-up, song and storytelling at a socially distanced delight—“The Judy and Varla Show”—held at the Crown and Anchor’s new poolside stage. Need even more entertainment?

Varla Jean Merman’s “Superspreader,” the diva’s solo show, also plays at the Crown through September 12.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

through September 12

Crown & Anchor, Provincetown

onlyatthecrown.com

Boston AIDS Walk and Run The world’s attention may be turned to a very different pandemic right now, but the LGBTQ community knows that we can’t afford to sit out a moment in the fight against AIDS. That’s why the annual AIDS Walk and Run is going virtual this year, allowing individuals to fundraise for AIDS Action—New England’s largest provider of services to people living with HIV/AIDS—by tracing their own solo route, or even just taking to the treadmill. Organizers will still host an online iteration of the opening ceremonies, as well as live performances. So while we may not be in step as a group this year, we’ll still be making strides together toward a better, brighter future for those living with HIV/AIDS. WHEN

HOW

October 18

walk.aac.org

Outright Vermont: Push, Pull or Drag!

Every year, the team at Outright Vermont raises $100,000 for its work to support LGBTQ youth by staging a Fire Truck Pull: costumed teams haul an engine up historic Church Street in Burlington. Nothing can compete with that spectacle, but the organization is sure going to try with its virtual “Push, Pull or Drag!” During the month of September, individuals and teams will compete—via video or photos—in categories such as Most Money Raised, Best Costume and Favorite Guest Appearance to win the coveted Golden Fire Truck Awards. Learn more about the evolving approach and everything it entails on the organization’s website.

WHEN

HOW

through September

outrightvt.org/firetruckpull

Swim for Life, Paddler Flotilla Feel like going for a quick swim around a local lake? How about doing some stationery breaststrokes in your bathtub? However you want to take part, there’s a place for it during this year’s Swim for Life. The annual fundraiser for various Cape Cod health care organizations typically involves a 1.4-mile swim in Provincetown Harbor. This year, since it’s unclear (at least at press time) whether public health regulations will allow for a live swim, this annual effort will definitely be running a “Swimming in Place Challenge,” encouraging individuals and teams to perform and share their own interpretation of the challenge—from a doggy paddle in a pool to even nonswimming efforts, like bike rides or dance marathons—in order to fundraise pledges. So dive in, and do it your way.

WHEN

HOW

through September 12

swim4life.org

SEP| OCT 2020 | 87

º

Harbor to the Bay It’s pretty impressive, how many large-scale fundraisers have managed to adapt their formats for these socially distanced days: Firetruck pulls, harbor swims, and AIDS walks have all launched virtual efforts—just check out some of the other initiatives on these pages. Harbor to the Bay, meanwhile, is no exception; now the annual bike ride from Boston to Provincetown is encouraging participants to join by doing it “your way.” Sure, you could hop on a bike for an outdoor excursion or take a stationery spin. But you can also opt for a jog, jumping jacks or just go for a long walk—whatever it takes to raise pledges that will ultimately support AIDS Action Committee, AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Community Research Initiative and Fenway Health.

WHEN

HOW

through September 26

harbortothebay.org

VGL PVD: Queer+ Kickball League Looking for a way to break a sweat—and make some new social connections in the process? With tennis, soccer volleyball, and other sport teams in cities across the country, the Varsity Gay League is a popular outfit connecting LGBTQ athletes of all experience levels. Players in Providence will kick off a new kickball season on September 12; registration is open until the prior day.

(And organizers say there will be a COVID-responsive safety plan to follow.) Start a team or join as an individual, and have fun hitting the field.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

September 12– October 31

Providence, Rhode Island

varsitygayleagueprovidence. leagueapps.com

Gardner Museum: ‘Boston’s Apollo’ Hartford Pride CLARO (Connecticut Latinos Achieving Rights and Opportunities), the parent organization of Hartford Pride, is moving the event online for 2020. Rather than flood the streets, revelers will surf the web to find live performances and other special Pride events that celebrate the LGBTQ community in the Constitution State’s capital city. It may not be quite as lively as the annual block party on Pratt Street, but it’s still a great way to stay connected with other Connecticut gays and queers.

WHEN

HOW

September 7–12

hartfordpride.org

When great American portraitist John Singer Sargent met Thomas McKeller, an elevator attendant at a Boston hotel, he became—it’s fair to say—infatuated. In fact, McKeller wound up Sargent’s muse for 10 years, posing for nude sketches and paintings; McKeller, who was Black, also modeled for works in which his body was painted into white gods and goddesses.

“Boston’s Apollo: Thomas McKeller and John Singer Sargent,” a new exhibition at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, uses art and historical documents to explore the subjectpainter relationship between McKeller and Sargent—as well as the likelihood that they were paramours. These works that resulted from their intimately personal creative partnership, meanwhile, open nuanced conversations around identity, race and homoeroticism.

WHEN

HOW

through October 12

gardnermuseum.org

SCENE Pride PHOTOS OUT Maine

Rockland, ME Pride Rockland, ME | June 2020

Last year, a group of demonstrators who gathered outside Rockland’s courthouse with signs and flags were hailed as the town’s first Pride. This year, community members hoped to expand with picnics and a dance but then the pandemic happened. Not to be deterrred, locals decorated their porches and yards, businesses flew rainbow flags and the spirit of Pride prevailed.

LET’S DANCE!

www.mochadj.com INFO@MOCHADJ.COM

SEP| OCT 2020 | 89

SCENE Pride PHOTOS Gabrielle Varela

WRJ Pride Queer Caravan White River Junction, VT | July 23, 2020

White River Junction Pride in Vermont celebrated its firstever Pride parade despite the COVID-19 pandemic that’s forced so many other Prides, from big cities to smaller communities, to go off-road and online. And WRJ Pride did it all from the socially distanced safety of an all-mobile Queer Caravan of decorated vehicles rolling through downtown to the beat of LGBTQ+ performing artists playing over radio 93.9 The River. For more on WRJ Pride, go to @WRJpride on Facebook.

PHOTO Karen Liott Hill

90 | BOSTON SPIRIT

presented by

LGBT in Three is your place for a

LGBT in Three and can be seen on

weekly video recap of New England-

the Boston Spirit Facebook page,

centric LGBT news. Hosted by New

Facebook.com/BostonSpiritMagazine

England news legend (and LGBT icon)

or bostonspiritmagazine.com.

Randy Price, LGBT in Three will air every Friday morning as a 3-minute video recap of the past week’s LGBT news affecting the community in the six New England states. Topics will include political issues and legislation, news from the business world, the non-profit world, entertainment, and

Hosted by Randy Price

more.

SEP| OCT 2020 | 91

SCENE Demonstration PHOTOS RI Pride

RI Pride QTPOC/Trans Black Lives Matter Providence, RI | June 20, 2020

Crowds of peaceful protesters for social justice joined Rhode Island Pride’s Resistance and Resilience Rally for QTPOC/Trans Black Lives Matter. Taking the same route as the state’s very first Pride march held on the same date back in 1976, participants began with a rally at Cathedral Square before marching on to a second rally at the State House.

92 | BOSTON SPIRIT

SEP| OCT 2020 | 93

SCENE Demonstration PHOTOS Ellery Berenger

Black Trans Lives Matter March Noho Northampton, MA | July 18, 2020

Hundreds gathered in a peacful, powerful protest march from Sheldon Field through Downtown Northampton to City Hall. Through the protest, organizers and marchers alike shared a common goal of celebrating and supporting the Black Trans and LGBTQ+ community inside and outside the city of Northampton by rallying to honor the lives and accomplishments of their foremothers. Proceeds collected at the march are being donated to the Trans Asylum Seekers Network and the Nipmuc tribe. More: @transasylumsupport.

94 | BOSTON SPIRIT

SEP| OCT 2020 | 95

CODA Television Scott Kearnan Rebecca Cutter [SPIRIT] Representations of LGBTQ sexuality are often neutered by television. That’s certainly not true of how Jackie is depicted.

Was that a conscious choice?

[CUTTER] I’m a very sex-positive person, and the whole show tries to be very intentional in the way it portrays sex. That goes for all the characters. It was never, “Now you have sex to have sex.” It was always about the power dynamic in the scene. What are the acts we’re portraying? Who has an orgasm and who doesn’t?

Jackie is someone who acts tough, like she has no fear.

But I think anyone familiar with addiction knows there’s a little core of insecurity and fear of intimacy. She’s comfortable being sexual with many people, but she really can’t get close to people.

there’s an admission to yourself and others. I’m having my own coming-out moment by talking about recovery while doing press for the show.

But I don’t mind. If it’s an opportunity to be an example for someone, that’s great.

[SPIRIT] What were some of the early influences that led you to this type of storytelling?

[CUTTER] Around the time I was applying to film school, I was obsessed with the movie “Welcome to the Dollhouse.”

It showed me what a movie can do, in terms of showing a real person and their pain, and I thought it was revolutionary in that it doesn’t get better at the end. That blew my mind, because growing up in the ’80s and watching “The Brady Bunch,” everything got fixed Starz TV series creator Rebecca Cutter at the end. I love true crime; [SPIRIT] Besides LGBTQ I grew up reading Robert B. representation, viewers also returns to Provincetown to film Season 2 Parker’s “Spencer” novels. I get a glimpse inside substanceabuse recovery communities. loved “Harriet the Spy,” and What was important to you I’d take my notebook around to get right about that?

“I remember boobs,” says the it’s important to Cutter and spy on people. There was Cambridge, Mass. native and to strike the right balance [CUTTER] I really wanted to avoid “Wifey,” an adult novel by creator of the Starz television between unabashedly express- making an after-school special, Judy Blume about a cheating series “Hightown.” The gritty ing Jackie’s raw sexuality and for one thing! [Laughs] I’m very wife with explicit sex scenes. sex-and-crime drama, filmed not letting her queerness define allergic to earnestness. I never Also, my mother was a social and set in P’town, was just her. For one thing, she’s glad worker, and she saw clients want to be corny about it, but renewed for a second season— that Raymund and “Hightown” I wanted people to feel hope in our house like a therapist. I meaning fans will continue to director Rachel Morrison, both about change being possible. would eavesdrop. I love hearing follow its lesbian lead characqueer women, have embraced scandal and gossip and all the I also wanted the actual nuts ter Jackie (played by Monica the greater complexity of the crazy shit that humans do. and bolts of an AA meeting to Raymund), an alcoholic and character.

That’s something I love about feel real. For instance, there’s federal fisheries agent, as she “The story is not just about AA meetings too. You realize all often dark humor in them. At dives into the seedy, drugher being a lesbian,” Cutter the crazy ways we’re actually an AA meeting, someone will riddled underbelly of the Outer says. “And she doesn’t have our own worst enemies, and tell the darkest story of their Cape. to be a perfect specimen of how human nature is so fucked life and people are laughing; Cutter first started coming to representation: She gets to be up and amazing and beautiful. that’s something I’ve never Provincetown as a child, during a full, 3D character who’s very I love those stories. If I wasn’t really seen done right, and a storyteller I’d be a therapist summer getaways with her flawed, but dynamic at the it was important to me. because I love communicating family, and its topless beaches, same time. Her sexuality is just our stories to each other. It’s men in short-shorts and one side of that.”

[SPIRIT] You’ve spoken about my favorite thing to do. [x] parades of leather gear were With season two slated to film recovery being part of your own story. Have you ever felt some of her earliest glimpses at in Provincetown this winter, like you had to “come out” queer culture. Now that she’s Cutter gave “Spirit” the downabout that part of your life?

Down-low on ‘Hightown’

executive-producing a show with an LGBTQ protagonist,

low on “Hightown.”

96 | BOSTON SPIRIT

[CUTTER] Certainly there’s a moment of clarity that is a parallel, in terms of recognizing that something has to change now. And in going to meetings,