SGN November 27, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Issue 48 Volume 48

FRIDAY November 27, 2020 FREE!

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Holiday Calendar

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Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’S L GB T Q

N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY

WORLD AIDS DAY 2020 Images courtesy of National AIDS Memorial

Powerful, inspirational voices on the frontlines of the AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics speak out on World AIDS Day, December 1

Visual AIDS

six international filmmakers commissioned to explore the impact of HIV/AIDS to commemorate World AIDS Day Jorge Bordello’s Ministry of Health – Photo courtesy of Visual AIDS

NEW YORK (November 16, 2020) – Visual AIDS, the only contemporary arts organization fully committed to raising AIDS and HIV awareness through dialogue, art exhibitions, and public forums,

announced its virtual “Day With(out) Art: Transmissions” launch event [on] November 30, as a prelude to World AIDS Day on December 1.

see VISUAL AIDS page 11

SAN FRANCISCO (November 20, 2020) – 2020 marks 40 years since the first cases of AIDS were reported in the United States, a pandemic that has led to nearly 700,000 lives lost and still no cure four decades later. This

year, our nation struggles through another pandemic – the fight against COVID-19 – where the horrific loss of life has surpassed 250,000 in a matter of months.

see WAD2020 page 10

Transgender pioneer Jan Morris dies at 94 Jan Morris in 1972 – Photo by Mike Segar / Reuters

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Transgender pioneer Jan Morris died November 20 at her home in Wales. She was 94.

Her son, Twm Morys, a Welsh-language poet, announced her death: “This morning at 11.40 at Ysbyty Bryn Beryl, on the Llyn, the author and traveler Jan Morris began

see JAN MORRIS page 5

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Seattle Public Library offers virtual arts programs for older adults in December SEATTLE (November 20, 2020) – This winter, The Seattle Public Library and Silver Kite Community Arts have partnered to offering online intergenerational workshops, talks, social hours, and performances for the community. These opportunities provide stimulating and creative engagement opportunities, as well as social connection.

“Older adults are facing unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nancy Slote. “We are working with community partners to offer virtual programs to help older adults navigate important decisions with physical and mental health, as well as fun programs that help them connect and learn.”

Arts schedule Visit the Library’s calendar at spl. org/fiftyplus to find and register for these upcoming events: 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4 Writing Fiction: The Hero’s Journey.

A widely used form for storytelling, the Hero’s Journey is highly adaptable and makes a useful structure to keep dramatic tension alive. Along with character development, the class will look at some ways to structure your fiction.

1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 - Pop-Up Holiday Cards. Transform flat pieces of paper into pop-up cards and scenes. Learn a variety of beginning paperengineering techniques that will dazzle your friends and pen pals.

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 7 - Bollywood Dance. Learn dances featured in films from Bollywood in Mumbai, the largest movie-making capital in the world.

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 11 - Music and Memories: Holiday Movies.

During this interactive holiday celebra-

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tion, we’ll watch clips from popular holiday movies from the 1940s [through the] 1970s, share personal holiday memories, and sing along to musical favorites of the holiday season.

1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 Holiday Paper Decorations. Brighten up the season by making festive paper ornaments and garlands.

1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14 - Dances That Light Up the Darkness.

Learn some new dances, including several inspired by winter traditions from around the world that feature lights.

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18 Drawing Portraits. Join us to learn some basic drawing techniques to create naturalistic portraits.

1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 - Sip and Paint Watercolors. Join us for a step-by-step watercolor painting workshop.

Grab a beverage of choice and spend an

hour talking and make art together.

More information The Library brings people, information, and ideas together to enrich lives and build community. We support universal access to information and ideas, and form strong partnerships with community organizations to offer classes and workshops that are accessible to all.

On Nov. 15, the governor announced new restrictions due to a surge in COVID19 cases. The restrictions do not impact libraries and our Curbside Pickup Service will continue for patrons. Find out more at spl.org/roadtoreopening.

For more information, call 206-3864636 or [go to www.spl.org/using-thelibrary/ask-us]. For ADA accommodations, contact leap@spl.org.

Courtesy of the Seattle Public Library

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OBITUARY

JAN MORRIS continued from cover

her greatest journey. She leaves behind on the shore her lifelong partner, Elizabeth.”

Morris, then James Morris, married Elizabeth Tuckniss in 1949. They had five children.

Morris began her transition in 1964.

Already a famous journalist, she was one of the first high-profile people to do so.

In 1972, Morris travelled to Morocco for gender-confirmation surgery, because doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something they were not willing to do at the time. They had to divorce later, when Jan was legally recognized as a woman, but remained together. On May 14, 2008, Morris and Tuckniss were legally reunited when they formally entered into a same-sex civil partnership.

Morris later detailed her transition in Conundrum (1974), her first book under her new name, and one of the first autobiographies to discuss gender reassignment. Later memoirs included Herstory and Pleasures of a Tangled Life. She also wrote many

A collection of Jan Morris’ works – Photo by MikeParkerWales via Twitter

essays on travel and her life and published a collection of her diary entries as In My Mind’s Eye in 2019.

As James Morris, she was a member of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedi-

tion, accompanying Edmund Hillary when he made the first ascent of the mountain.

She was the only journalist to accompany the expedition, climbing with the team to a camp at 22,000 feet on the mountain and

sending a coded message from the expedition’s base camp to the Times of London announcing the historic event.

By a happy coincidence the scoop was published in the Times on the morning of the coronation of Elizabeth II. Morris later reported from Cyprus on the Suez Crisis for the Manchester Guardian in 1956, documenting the first “irrefutable proof” of collusion between France and Israel in the invasion of Egyptian territory. Her interviews of French Air Force pilots established that they had been in action in support of Israeli land forces.

Morris also reported on the 1961 trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.

Morris wrote many books on travel, particularly to Venice and Trieste. She hated being described as a travel writer, however, insisting that she wrote about people and places, and not mere movement.

A volume of her diary entries is due to be published in January 2021. Allegorizings, a book of personal reflections written in and before the 2000s that she stipulated not be published in her lifetime, is also due to be issued in 2021.

An open letter to drag-queens Dear Editor: Please accept this as an open letter to drag-queens in the Pacific Northwest.

As the oldest surviving drag-queen in Seattle I wish to call attention to some disagreeable facts currently in evidence because of Covid-19. Naturally, being responsible citizens we have adhered to

all the tiresome restrictions and behaviors required of us.

But I wish to state unequivocally that it has been a far greater burden on us than on the so-called “normies” since being drab is often part of their religion – with the exception of African American church ladies – and we must carry the torch unaided.

I say unaided, or nearly so, as Seattle,

though a notably compassionate city, is nationally recognized as the most glitz and glamour impaired place in the country.

So, now I call upon all my sisters and quasi-sisters as well as other members of the LGBTQR2D2 community to gather together and toss restraint to the winds after this dreary virus is history.

So let us hope and pray (for sure) that this

curse will soon be history.

After all eyeliner gets dry and flakey when it is too old.

Health care, the economy, climate change, taxes and much more will all need to get through the Senate to fill the Biden/Harris agenda. And there’s no doubt Mitch McConnell will block all of them. He won’t even let them get to a vote.

There’s one other thing McConnell will do if he retains Senate control. Should Joe Biden have the opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court justice, you don’t even need to think twice that McConnell will simply block them. He will block a Democratic nominee so long as he is majority leader.

He, and other Republicans in the Senate, have already made that clear. There will

be no more Ruth Bader Ginsburgs under Mitch McConnell, plain and simple.

As soon as next May, the Supreme Court could strike down the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and along with it, protections for pre-existing conditions.

Do you want Mitch McConnell calling the shots on your new healthcare?

If not, then get involved and help the people of Georgia get out the vote. We have our chance to take majority control. We cannot let it slip away.

Putin’s government is considering a ban on Gay Pride parades. Activists protested by calling snap demonstrations and zoom meetings to spread awareness.

On brighter news, Bangladesh made history by becoming the first nation to open a Islamic college for transgender Muslims.

Angola decriminalized LGBT sex, something that happened in the U.S not that long ago, in 2003. And Norway banned hate speech against bisexuals and trans people.

Here at home, last year’s debate over Hallmark’s reaction to a lesbian commercial and lack of LGBT representation with

their holiday rom-com’s has led to a slew of holiday LGBT films on Lifetime, Netflix, Paramount channel and, yes, even the oncepuritanical Hallmark.

And right in our own backyard, organizations are finding ways to keep the community connected while we self-isolate.

Nothing can stop our march to equality, not a pandemic, not a right wing government, and certainly not Donald Trump.

November 27, 2020

Seattle Gay News 5

Yours, Teddy

MARK MY WORDS

Georgia on my mind

by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News This column could be filled with the names of those in the LGBTQ community who expect or should be considered for position in the Biden/Harris administration. But there’s something even more important at the moment that needs to be addressed. There are two runoff elections for the United States Senate in Georgia which will decide who controls the US Senate. The Democratic candidates in those elections are Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. We need to elect both of them on

January 5th.

At present, if we don’t win those 2 races, Mitch McConnell will continue to control the Senate, and that means no Equality Act. Even though Joe Biden said he would sign the Equality Act in his first 100 days, the Senate has to pass it first. In fact almost none of the policies that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaigned on can become a reality. All that legislation would be blocked at Mitch McConnell’s door. Literally, Mitch McConnell is standing in the doorway of full equality.

As all those TV commercials say, that’s not all you get with Mitch McConnell.

Courtesy of Mark Segal and Philadelphia Gay News

MARK MY WORDS

The world moves on

by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News While this country has been paralyzed by both the pandemic and the political circus we call the 2020 election (led by the lead clown Donald Trump) the LGBT movement towards equality goes on.

In China, the annual Gay Pride in Shanghai has been cancelled by the government, but the LGBT movement there has continued to fight for freedom in a number of ways, including taking the system to court

for marriage equality. A lesbian couple actually took to the courts over a desolation of their marriage from another country and the custody of their child while a student took her university to task for using outdated and homophobic text.

In Hungary, the right wing government has begun to crackdown on its trans community. The trans community is fighting back in creative terms like placing trans flags on public buildings.

The LGBT Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia was raided; police and health officials cleared out the building while

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HOLIDAY

Seattle’s missing holiday traditions are the ghosts of Christmas Present

by Tom Orr SGN Contributing Writer Christmas Time Is Here!

Ignorance and Fear!

One by One Our Yuletide Fun’s Begun To Disappear …

There are certain iconic institutions that are synonymous with Christmastime, especially here in the Pacific Northwest, those beloved holiday traditions and favorite cultural milestones that signify the start of the season and soothe our souls with the comfort of anticipated routine and nostalgic ritual.

The Parade of Lights in Ballard. Christmas Eve with the Seattle Gay Men’s Chorus. Dickens Carolers in Westlake Center.

A family outing to see Santa at Macy’s.

Taking a child to their first “Nutcracker” at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Witnessing the nonlinear Noel nonsense and surreal syntax of Dina Martina.

From mistletoe to cameltoe, they filled us with fond familiar feelings of food, fun, friends and family.

Now, however, thanks to the global COVID-19 pandemic and Washington’s newly revised stay at home restrictions issued Nov. 16 in Governor Inslee’s statewide mandate, many of the merry mainstays of our mothballed minds are becoming the mammoths and mastodons of misty modern memory.

Still, they say there’s no place like home for the holidays, and as we brace ourselves and our Elves on our Shelves for ongoing life under lockdown, here are a few attractions you can count on to bring you a little holiday cheer for a Stay Six Feet Away Solstice, a Hearthbound Hannukah, a Quarantine Kwanzaa and a Homeschool Yule.

BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon – Photo by Matt Baume

Seattle Center Winterfest – STARTS 11/27 (FREE!) Unable to host visitors for an in-person celebration this year, Seattle Center keeps the decades-long tradition of Winterfest alive with spirit-lifting virtual content and links to holiday activities by resident organizations and community partners, housed on the multi-faceted Seattle Center Winterfest page, www.seattlecenter.com/winterfest. Some of the Seattle Center Winterfest 2020 offerings include: Campus Luminata – Decorative LED tree lighting throughout the grounds to delight campus visitors and provide seasonal illumination and cheer, now through the New Year.

Virtual Student Showcases – Recorded performances of seasonal selections by school and training program participants in Winterfest Student Showcases.

Virtual Winterfest Festál – Seattle Center Festál community partners celebrate a diverse array of seasonal and holiday traditions through music, dance, cooking and craft demonstrations and storytelling. New content is added each Saturday throughout the Winterfest period.

Our Big Neighborhood Virtual Opening Day – OBN producing partner Northwest Folklife presents familyfocused performances by Dunava Balkan Women’s Choir and The Geoducks, along with a tortilla cooking demonstration with Francisca Garcia of Machtia. Nov. 27 to Dec. 31. To learn more, visit http://www. seattlecenter.com/events/virtual-events/ arts-at-home or call 206 684-7200.

THEATRE Release the Kraken! Music, mayhem, tentacles and fisticuffs in a rousing ArtsWest sequel – STARTS 11/27 Featuring five new songs from powerhouse playwright/composer/lyricist Justin Huertas, A Very Merry Kraken Tea Party follows the characters of Justin’s 2019 ArtsWest hit The Last World Octopus Wrestling Champion. As winter hits, the octopus Nia and Lee formed together has mysteriously separated and both have come ashore just as Todd and David are getting ready to celebrate their first Christmas together. With a new problem to solve, and with Grace away on tour in Thailand, all try to figure out how to celebrate holiday love with each other while they remain apart. Nov. 27 to Jan. 31. TICKET PRICES vary to match patron accessibility: $10 to $100. www. artswest.org

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Taint misbehavin’ & nostalgia in “Christmas of the Corn” – A Nordo Room Service experience – STARTS 11/27 It’s bawdy. It’s blasphemous. But you can count the swear words on your fingers and if your kid is laughing at taint jokes, don’t look at us! It’s “Christmas of the Corn”, a heart-warming murder in a box and Nordo’s fifth annual holiday collaboration with Seattle treasure Scot Augustson, a radio play comedy delivered in a parcel filled with presents to solve a murder in the quaint town of Drupe Fruit, Minnisconsan. The story has all the trimmings as it unfolds in Nordo-style cookies, crafts & cocktails. How it works: A handsome red box, bedecked with Nordo’s holiday best, arrives at your door. Attached is a train ticket back home to the cornfed Midwest

of multiple murders. A website provides access to a titillating radio play that tells the story of Becky-June Beasley-Jones, her romance with Carl Marlboro, the search for her missing father, and of course…a Christmas murder! While listening to the radio play, Becky-June prompts you to unpack your kit: decorate tree ornaments, frost holiday cookies (with the help of Nordo Executive Chef Erin Brindley), and play the game of Holiday Valley with illustrations by local artist Jed Dunkerley. Nordo’s Room Service provides addon options including a Holiday feast of Shepherd’s Pie with Rosemary Antipasto Wreaths and of course, WINE! Add-ons bring it all together for one lovely gift with home delivery and zero-contact. Nov. 27 to Dec. 27. *Delivery available between 1:006:00 p.m. Thurs-Fri or 1:00-5:00 p.m. SatSun. TICKETS: $118 to $250. http://www. cafenordo.com. 206-209-2002.

Sofa, so good! … Taproot shares yuletide cheer in innovative “Christmas At Home” – STARTS 11/27 The tradition continues as the Taproot Theatre family shares songs, stories and seasonal specialties in “Christmas At Home”, available for streaming Nov. 27 to Jan 3. Created by director Karen Lund with a cast of local audience favorites including Cayman Ilika, Kate Jaeger, Tré Cotton, Harold Taw, and the motherdaughters trio of Be Russell, Sarah Russell, and Faith Bennett Russell. “Christmas At Home” was recorded in living rooms across the country. TICKETS are available online and this year Taproot asks patrons to consider the number of household members who will be watching and

what they can afford based on their financial circumstances: $20, $35 or $50. Also new this year, “Give or Receive Christmas Cheer”. GIVE by purchasing an extra ticket for one who can’t afford to see the show. Or RECEIVE a free ticket by emailing the box office and requesting “Christmas Cheer” (no questions asked). https://taproottheatre. org/shows/2020/taproot-theatre-co-presents-christmas-at-home/. 206-781-9705.

From “RuPaul’s Drag Race” to sheltering in place... it’s “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special”! – STARTS 12/1 “Hold on to your sugarplums and get ready for a holiday drag spectacular that’s as magical as a flying reindeer and as unexpected as a virgin birth!” So say world-renowned drag artists and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alumnae, BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon, as they continue to sleigh the holiday season after their previous SRO holiday tours (“To Jesus, Thanks for Everything” and “All I Want for Christmas Is Attention”) with their new hard candy Christmas confection: “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special”. With the help of a chorus of dancers and DeLa’s deceased grandmother – whose spirit lives on in a glass of eggnog – DeLa tries her hardest to uphold the cheery Christmas traditions of her childhood, while Jinkx is much more interested in bawdy jokes and boozy libations. This original 60-minute musical special will be available via video on demand on Dec. 1 worldwide, while the digital soundtrack will be released on Dec. 11. PRE-ORDER: $13.99. Filmed safely under CDC guidelines in September on a Seattle soundstage, this marks the first film project directed, co-written and execu-

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Kitten N’ Lou’s “Jingle All the Gay!” – Photo by Jules Doyle

tive produced by BenDeLaCreme under her production company, BenDeLaCreme Presents. www.jinkxanddela.com.

Camp it up for Christmas as Kitten N’ Lou present “Jingle All the Gay!” – STARTS 12/4 “Jingle All the Gay” invites you to join our chosen family of fabulous fruitcakes online in a joyful and triumphant celebration of song, dance, burlesque, and holiday hilarity in a special cinematic edit of the production recorded in front of a live audience with phone calls, love letters, and midpandemic musings from all your favorite characters in quarantine! Featuring an allstar cast of luminaries!

Kitten N’ Lou, Cherdonna Shinatra, Markeith Wiley, Randy Ford, ilvs straus, Mr. Gorgeous (NYC), RedBone (San Francisco), The Luminous Pariah, Woody Shticks, Lola Van Ella (NOLA), Abbey Roads, Willy LaQueue (Chicago). Choose one of two ways to watch.

ON-DEMAND available to stream at your holiday leisure Dec. 4 to Jan. 2. TICKETS: Solo Viewer $15. Bubble of Two $30.

Super Patron Status $50. Virtual VIP Table $200. VIRTUAL Viewing Parties hosted

by Kitten N’ Lou! Dress up and celebrate in a festive online “room” with your fellow Queers and Allies! Purchase TICKETS for Dec. 11, 13, 19, or 20! Solo Viewer $20.

Bubble of Two $40. Super Patron Status $55. Virtual VIP Table $220. Virtual VIP Tables include a Jingle All The Gay goody bag that will arrive in the mail to make your experience extra festive! (Be sure to buy your tix at least one week in advance to receive it before your viewing.) https://btt.boldtypetickets.com/109544953/ jingle-all-the-gay

Sailor St. Claire. Originally shut down for obscenity after its successful 1926 Broadway run, The New York Times called SEX a “crude and inept play,” as it pushed passed the boundaries of Broadway by shedding light on sex workers’ lives. Following the story of a particularly successful lady of the night (originally played by West), this daring drama explores the Canadian red-light district through a uniquely feminine lens, where sex workers navigate how to move

Goodness has nothing to do with it…

Exploring the oldest profession with Mae West’s SEXˆ – STARTS 12/4 Play Your Part presents Mae West’s SEX, a play with music. Reimagined for the virtual stage under the direction of Isabella Price, this flapper-era drama features live performances from 17 actors from around the country, with original music by Perice Pope and burlesque choreography by

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up in a world dominated by men. Dec. 4 to Dec. 19. TICKETS: $20 general; $65 household; $15 industry/student/senior; pay-what-you can/play-it-forward. https:// www.playyourpartseattle.org/ Who’s fighting a “War On Christmas” and WHY? – STARTS 12/5 One new Christmas tradition that has survived from The Before Times is “Scott Shoemaker’s War on Christmas”. This

irreverent variety show by Freddy Molitch and Scott Shoemaker (co-creators of “Ms. Pak-man” and “PROBED!”) returns for a third year with a month of online viewing from Dec. 5 to Jan. 3. This year’s show features the same stellar cast of talented Seattle actors, singers and burlesque stars: Scott Shoemaker, Adé, Waxie Moon, Mandy Price, and Fageddy Randy and a bevy of new material. Featuring new song parodies, original songs, comedy, dance numbers, and partial nudity. “2020 has been a harrowing year, but Christmas is not canceled!” says Scott Shoemaker. “Treat yourself, your family, friends, or your whole COVID pod!” TICKETS: Stocking Stuffer $10; Date Night! $25 Two people watching the show? Please help support our production during COVID; Spirit of the Season! $50. Please choose this option if your household is watching, or you want to give the performers a little extra Christmas cheer! Tickets: https://bit.ly/32W8CPC Facebook event: https://bit.ly/2IRjiIh h t t p s: // b t t . b o l d t y p e t i c k e t s . c o m / events/109487234/scott-shoemakers-waron-christmas.

Sugar Plum Gary finds a whole new platform on Zoom – STARTS 12/17 Sugar Plum Gary used to not believe in Christmas, until one magical Christmas Eve Santa came to visit the orphanage he grew up in, and he was the only survivor becoming possessed by the holiday spirit.

For years he has wandered the planet searching for answers and visiting 18th & Union every December to share about the fun cosmic nightmare that is CHRISTMAS (in a body that is shaped somewhat like beloved storyteller and comedian Emmett Montgomery stuffed into footie pajamas with Santa Claus faces for the feet).

Performance dates and times are Dec. 17-19, 23 & 24 at 7:00 p.m.; Dec. 18 & 19 at 9:00 p.m. and Dec. 20 at 3:00 p.m. TICKETS can be purchased to be involved in a Fireside Chat with Gary, in which the audience will be on a Zoom call with Sugar Plum Gary. Gary will be able to see and hear them, they’ll be visible to the rest of

Sugar Plum Gary – Photo courtesy of 18th and Union

November 27, 2020

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HOLIDAY

The Supertonics – Photo by Conrado Tapado

CALENDAR

continued from page 7 the audience, and they’ll be able to participate in the discussion about the fun cosmic nightmare that is Christmas and ask questions about how to best survive the night.

Or TICKETS are available to just Peer Through a Window and watch the show on a one-way live stream. Gary won’t be able to see or hear this audience, but Santa will. He is always watching. All TICKETS are available on a sliding scale at https://18thandunion.org/sugar-plum-gary.

Each performance will be streamed live from 18th & Union.

DANCE Pacific Northwest Ballet presents George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker – STARTS 12/11 Pacific Northwest Ballet’s favorite holiday tradition can now be enjoyed from the comfort of home. Stream this archival performance of George Balanchine’s classic rendition of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s immortal ballet The Nutcracker with the unique-to-Seattle scenery and costumes by Ian Falconer. Immerse yourself in a candyfilled dreamland and a superb cast of PNB’s stellar corps de ballet. TICKETS: Streaming for Digital Performance Plus $55 starts on Dec. 11 and Digital Performance $39 starts on Dec. 18 https://www.pnb.org/nutcracker/ Suites for the Sweet: Evergreen City Ballet presents dance film The Nutcracker Suites – STARTS 12/11 Evergreen City Ballet reimagines the traditional experience of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker with an exciting at-home dance film. Nutcracker Suites explores the origin and history of this popular ballet in a unique “docu-dance” film, drawing from

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Evergreen City Ballet’s 25+ year legacy of celebrating inclusion, artistry, and community through dance, and includes inspiration from Artistic Director Bennyroyce Royon’s Filipino cultural heritage. Partnering with the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra for the iconic “Waltz of the Flowers”; beloved Seattle performer Mx. Aleksa Manila will reprise her 2019 role of Mother Ginger; and two very special guest artists from New York City Ballet, Georgina Pazcoguin (Co-Founder, Final Bow Yellow Face) and Alec Knight. Gather your family or social pod, put on your finery, and join us for one of three versions of the film. Each week’s edit will feature a different chorus of talented local dance students. See the film any time during each week-long show period. Nutcracker Suites streams from Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. to Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. with Cast A. Nutcracker Suites streams from Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. to Dec. 25 at 6 p.m. with Cast B. Nutcracker Suites streams from Dec. 25 at 7 p.m. to Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. with Cast C. TICKETS: Ticket packages vary $30 to $75. https://www. evergreencityballet.org/ MUSIC Don we now our Gay apparel for “The Seattle Men’s Chorus Holiday Special” – STARTS 12/6 That’s right, Seattle! Nothing’s gonna stop the SMC from bringing you their 40th annual holiday concert: “The Seattle Men’s Chorus Holiday Special”. This year you can’t come to them, so they’re coming to you...a-caroling! In this holly jolly variety show, they’ve packed in their signature blend of classic choral splendor, familiar cheer, and zany hilarity. While they weave together beloved carols filmed from all across the region, host Nina West (with the help of her puppet friend, Holiday Herald) races against the clock to bake the perfect fruitcake before the show ends. Will

November 27, 2020

they make it? Featuring The Supertonics and certified ASL interpretation, the concert includes “Deck the Halls,” “Auld Lang Syne,” “Holiday Lament (The Fruitcake Song),” and many more seasonal favorites.

Special guest host Nina West appeared on VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 11, on which she placed sixth and won Miss Congeniality. Streaming available from Dec. 6 9 a.m. EST to Dec. 31 11:59 p.m. PST. TICKETS: $25-$1,025. https://www.seattlechoruses.org/attend/concerts-events/ holidayspecial/ Pacific Music Works spices it up with the Latin flavors of “¡Navidad!” – STARTS 12/12 Join the festivities with this new program of joyous Christmas music from 18th century Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Peru. Sopranos Tess Altiveros and Danielle Sampson join Stephen Stubbs and the Pacific MusicWorks Band for “¡Navidad!”, a delightful holiday treat of South American, African, memorable melodies and high-spirited Latin rhythms. It’s a PMW holiday tradition! Virtual release begins Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. TICKETS: $40 per household. https://pacificmusicworks. org/ Seattle ProMusica presents “Comfort and Joy” – Choral Music of the Season – a FREE virtual choir event – 12/12 & 12/13 (FREE!) Join us for a virtual concert of holiday music made distantly by our singers.

Though we cannot gather in person, we can still wear your souls with beautiful songs by composers old and new. To close our performance, conductor Karen P. Thomas will lead everyone in a holiday carol singalong. Get cozy and bring home the sights and sounds of choral music this December!

FREE online concert Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. https://www.seat-

tlepromusica.org/comfort-and-joy Y’all come Bach now, y’hear? But if it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it! – STARTS 12/27 (FREE!) Byron Schenkman & Friends Digital Concert Series presents the third premiere of their Eighth Season: “Bach & Baroque Virtuosity” with Rachell Ellen Wong (Violin), Andrew Gonzalez (Violoncello di Spalla) & Byron Schenkman (Harpsichord). The program takes us on a journey through joyful and amazing works by Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Marie Leclair, Johann Sebastian Bach (Partita in D Minor with the famous Chaconne), and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. This FREE digital premiere launches on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m., and will remain available for the foreseeable future on https://youtube. com/c/ByronSchenkmanFriends.

Last but not least … now that Rachel’s gone … The Kinsey Sicks present “Quarantunes” – A DIGITAL ALBUM! The Kinsey Sicks were poised to reprise their run for President in the hit show, “Electile Dysfunction”, with performances scheduled across the United States throughout the year. Instead, a pandemic got out of control, shows were canceled and Angel, Trixie, Winnie, and Trampolina were sequestered across the country. Left to their own demented devices, The Kinsey Sicks turned their energies to creating brand new Dragapella® ditties, outrageous videos, and now give the world an album they desperately need to endure these unprecedented times: “QUARANTUNES: A DRAGAPELLA® ODYSSEY 2020” – the year we avoid contact! https://kinseysicks.com /quarantunes.

DOWNLOAD: $12 or $0.99 a tune.

Celebrating 46 Years!

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Holidays dazzle with augmented reality, lights, and delights in downtown

SEATTLE (November 20, 2020) – Under the theme “Holiday Lights and Delights,” the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) is bringing new activities to downtown this holiday season, along with some tried-and-true traditions.

The annual tree-lighting celebration, emceed by WARM 106.9’s Shellie Hart, will be livestreamed on Facebook and broadcast on KIRO-TV on Friday, November 27 during the 5 p.m. news hour. Westlake Park will shine with holiday-themed light sculptures constructed with 80,000 miniature lights – perfect for a socially distanced stroll or selfie.

New this year, the DSA is bringing augmented reality to the heart of the city. From now through December, smartphone users can discover vibrant, three-dimensional holiday scenes digitally superimposed on

sidewalks, parks, and plazas throughout downtown Seattle’s retail core.

The experience is just one exciting element of the DSA’s reimagined and socially distanced slate of holiday activities in the heart of the city.

“While we have unique challenges this year, the DSA is creating ways for everyone to celebrate safely in downtown,” said DSA Vice President of Public Space Operations & Events Jenn Casillas. “Whether you live here, are on a shopping trip or just need a merry getaway, downtown Seattle has something for you.”

Holiday lights and delights in downtown • Augmented Reality: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, Nov. 27, 2020-Jan. 1, 2021 Created by Novaby, augmented reality

hotspots in and around Westlake Park lead to a hidden world of 3-D virtual installations for a holiday experience like no other.

All it takes is a smartphone and QR code scan.

• Holiday Lights and Delights in Westlake Park, Presented by Amazon: Nov. 27-Jan. 9 Following the Westlake Center tree lighting, we’ll flip the switch on largerthan-life sculptures of presents, arches, trees, and more, built from more than 80,000 lights. The DSA is also raising holiday lights in locations across downtown, including along Bell Street and First Avenue, Occidental Square, Pioneer Square, and more.

• Virtual Holiday Tree Lighting & Bon Marché Star at Westlake Center: Nov. 27, 5:10 p.m.

The DSA’s annual tree-lighting celebration will be broadcast live, with special thanks to our media partners KIRO 7, and streamed on the DSA’s and WARM 106.9’s Facebook pages. In addition, the new Bon Marché Star will make its spectacular debut during the show.

• Free Giveaways: Saturdays, Nov. 28-Dec. 19 Every Saturday from late November through Dec.19, the DSA will give free, locally sourced gifts to the first 100 visitors who visit our Westlake Park booth and show park staff they’ve followed the DSA’s Instagram page and liked the specific giftreveal social post from that week.

• Holiday Tree and Lights in Occidental Square Occidental Square will again host a 17-foot-tall orb tree covered in LED lights.

The tree will be lit throughout the month of December and will bring a glowing warmth to the park.

• Food Truck: Monday–Friday: 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

Treat yourself to sweet and savory snacks in Westlake Park daily.

Due to public health concerns posed by COVID-19, the Holiday Carousel will not return this year.

A complete list of these events can also be found at downtownseattle.org/holidays.

The Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) was established in 1958 as a member-based nonprofit organization with the mission of creating a healthy, vibrant downtown. By advocating on issues including transportation, economic development, and the urban experience, the DSA works to ensure that downtown remains a great place to live, work, shop, and play for all.

Courtesy of the DSA

Photos courtesy of Downtown Seattle Association

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November 27, 2020

Seattle Gay News 9

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WORLD AIDS DAY

Gay City hosts virtual Stronger Together: World AIDS Day event Dec. 1 Gay City will host a virtual Stronger Together: World AIDS Day event on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 9am-10am PST. Join us virtually as we commemorate World AIDS Day. Learn how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted HIV/STI testing, and challenges ahead in 2021.

This annual event celebrates Seattle’s ongoing leadership in the fight against

HIV and AIDS, the strides that have been made toward ending the pervasive stigma surrounding the virus, and how Gay City responds to the needs and trends throughout Washington state.

Gay City’s HIV/STI Testing and PrEP Advising Team – Dilpreet, Lector and Luis – a team of LGBTQ+ community health advocates who seek to increase knowledge

about sexual health, mindfulness, and peer advocacy – will be the keynote speakers. https://www.gaycity.org/meet-your-tester/ To REGISTER for this FREE event visit at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ stronger-together-world-aids-day-registration-129582834747

at Black Futures Lab and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network; Cleve Jones, co-founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt; and Kristin Urquiza, co-founder of Marked by COVID – will lead a conversation about activism during both pandemics and the ongoing struggle for social justice.

“These conversations are ones we must have together as a nation,” said John Cun-

force. Media partners include Hearst Newspapers, iHeart Radio/PRIDE Radio Network, the San Francisco Chronicle, POZ, The Advocate, and HIV Plus Magazine. A full list of partners is located at www.aidsmemorial.org/wad2020-sponsors.

During the event, the National AIDS Memorial will officially unveil the firstever virtual exhibition of the AIDS Memo-

ration, the virtual AIDS Memorial Quilt exhibition, how to participate, and ways to support the events through social media channels, please visit aidsmemorial.org/ wad2020.

Courtesy of Gay City

WAD2020

continued from cover This World AIDS Day, the National AIDS Memorial brings together powerful, inspirational voices who have been on the frontlines of both pandemics – leaders advancing science, research, the response and health outcomes – for an important conversation about the interconnectedness of both diseases. They will share their insights on the health outlook, the stigma and impact on marginalized communities, and help answer the questions of how a nation responds, how it heals, and what lessons can and must be learned for the future.

“World AIDS Day 2020 – A National Conversation” will be presented virtually on December 1, 2020 beginning at 10 a.m. PST at www.aidsmemorial.org. The event is free to the public. Through a distinguished list of guest speakers, video storytelling, and musical tributes, the forum [will allow] people to come together and honor the lives lost, the survivors, the activism, and the heroes from over four decades and two horrific pandemics.

Award-winning actor and long-time AIDS advocate Judith Light will host the day’s commemoration event, which will feature Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and David D. Ho, MD, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Columbia University. They will be honored with the memorial’s National Leadership Recognition Award. ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton will moderate the conversation.

The National AIDS Memorial, through the AIDS Memorial Grove, AIDS Memorial Quilt, and inspiring programs, helps

Images courtesy of the National AIDS Memorial

Mayors from cities that have been on the frontlines of both pandemics – Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio – will lead a conversation on the impact the two pandemics have had on marginalized communities and how HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 have disproportionately affected communities of color and the systemic barriers that compound poor health outcomes. ABC News’ co-anchor of GMA3, T.J. Holmes, will serve as moderator of the panel.

Activists who have helped spark change and movements – Alicia Garza, principal

ningham, executive director of the National AIDS Memorial. “By bringing together so many powerful voices who have been on the frontlines of both pandemics, we hope to inspire a movement toward greater health and social justice, while remembering those lost and inspiring hope for the future.”

The Presenting Partner for the World AIDS Day 2020 event is Gilead Sciences.

The co-sponsors are Chevron and Quest Diagnostics. Additional sponsors include Vivent Health, Wells Fargo, Aon, BioMarin, Blue Shield of California, the Excelerate Foundation, Morrison & Foerster, the Murray Reese Foundation, the National Hemophilia Foundation, Nestle, and Sales-

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November 27, 2020

rial Quilt on its website that features nearly 10,000 quilt panels representing all 50 states and US territories, using the power and beauty of the Quilt to help the nation heal during these difficult times.

Each year, World AIDS Day brings people together to unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS, show their support for people living with HIV, and commemorate lives lost. The National AIDS Memorial is looked upon as the organization within the national landscape to remember, honor, and help ensure that the stories of the AIDS pandemic are never forgotten.

To learn more about the National AIDS Memorial World AIDS Day commemo-

ensure that the story of AIDS and the AIDS movement is known in perpetuity so that never again will our national conscience allow a community to be harmed because of fear, silence, discrimination, or stigma.

The memorial relies solely on funding from personal donors, foundations, and corporate partners to support its mission and programs. Learn more at www.aidsmemorial.org.

Courtesy of the National AIDS Memorial

Celebrating 46 Years!

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An annual event that began in 1989, [the] “Day With(out) Art” will [this year] transition to a digital model as a result of COVID restrictions and bring together artists working across the world: Jorge Bordello (Mexico), Gevi Dimitrakopoulou (Greece), Las Indetectables (Chile), Lucía Egaña Rojas (Chile/Spain), Charan Singh (India/UK), and George Stanley Nsamba (Uganda) in a livestream premiere of new short films about the divergent and overlapping experiences of people living with HIV. On November 30, the filmmakers will unite in a free virtual panel discussion moderated by Jih-Fei Cheng.

As this year’s programming gives faces and personalized stories to the global AIDS epidemic, the launch event provides a compelling platform for voices from beyond the United States to discuss a broad range of subjects[, from] the erasure of women living with HIV in South America to ineffective Western public health campaigns in India, and the realities of stigma and disclosure for young people in Uganda.

George Bordello’s Ministry of Health exposes adverse effects of pharmaceuticals on four men living with HIV in the city of Tlaxcala, Mexico, through a silent and horror movie aesthetic, while Gevi Dimitrakopoulou’s This is Right: Zak, Life and After, is a sobering portrait of Zak Kostopoulos, a well-known queer AIDS activist who was publicly lynched in Athens in 2018. The collective Las Indetectables will premiere the provacative Me Cuido (I take care of myself/ I’m careful) to explore the relationship between colonial paradigms of health, religious guilt, and the stigmatization of people living with HIV [under] Chile’s capitalist and neoliberal regime, while Lucia Egaña Rojas’ Female Disappearance Syndrome challenges gendered representations of HIV and AIDS, and the impacts of “female disappearance syndrome,” the erasure of women living with HIV from conversations about the epidemic. Charan Singh’s They Called it Love, But Was it Love? depicts scenes from the lives of those who have been reduced to a “risk group” by public health campaigns – and their search for fulfillment and love.

Lastly, George Stanley Nsamba’s Finding Purpose reflects on the experience of producing a film about teens born with HIV in Uganda and the pervasive stigma that surrounded the project.

Each film will be available in in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, Portuguese, and Polish.

Originating as a response to the worsening AIDS crisis and coinciding with the World Health Organization’s second annual World AIDS Day on December 1 1989, Visual AIDS organized the first Day Without Art, calling for more than 800 museums, galleries, and art organizations nationwide to shroud artworks in black cloth or close their doors as a gesture of mourning. The national project began as a way to recognize the loss of artists, colleagues, and friends to the burgeoning AIDS pandemic. As the nature of the pandemic changed over time, “Day With(out) Art” transitioned to providing information about HIV and safer sex through exhibitions, programs, readings, memorials, rituals, and performances. Now a day to highlight artworks focused on the AIDS pandemic, and to encourage programming of artists living with HIV, the organization has recoined the initiative “Day With(out) Art” and has solidified its mission by working with artists and filmmakers to internationally distribute newly commissioned videos to museums, art institutions, schools, and AIDS organizations, with inperson panel discussions and workshops to further support their message of advocacy.

Due to COVID restrictions around the country, partner museums, art institutions, and schools will also drive traffic to these films virtually in a unified effort to maintain the impact of the event.

“While we are living through the AIDS

pandemic and the COVID pandemic simultaneously this year, we took extra care to safeguard the legacy of this annual project to transition to a digital event with a true global voice,” explains Esther McGowan, executive director of Visual AIDS. “This project is our mission at work, both providing support for artists impacted by AIDS and HIV, while raising awareness, educating the public, and standing up to stigma.

We are proud to partner with the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles to raise the visibility of this project as well as a number of other institutions who champion advocacy through art.”

Event information “Day With(out) Art: Transmissions” will premiere online Monday, November 30, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Pre-registration is required at visualaids.org/transmissions to gain event access and is free to join.

Beginning December 1, World AIDS Day, the video program will be available to view online at visualaids.org/transmissions.

“Transmissions” will also screen in numerous locations around the world, both online and in-person. For the growing list of screening locations, https://visualaids. org/events/detail/dwa2020 The online premiere of TRANSMISSIONS is presented in partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and supported by the Arts Research Center (Berkeley, CA), the David Bethuel Jamieson Studio House and Archives at Walbridge (Washington, DC), the Esker Foundation (Calgary, AB), the Florida Department of Health (Tallahassee, FL), the Freedman Gallery, Albright College (Reading, PA), Georgetown University Art Galleries (Washington, DC), Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA), the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA), the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (New York, NY), Light Work (Syracuse, NY), the Mead Art Museum (Amherst, MA), the Museum of Arts and Design (New York, NY), the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (San Diego, CA), Public Space One (Iowa City, IA), the Queer Resource Center of the Claremont Colleges (Claremont, CA), the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Galleries (Chicago, IL), SchwulesMuseum Berlin (Berlin, Germany), the Stamp Gallery at the University of Maryland (College Park, MD), Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX), the Grand Cinema (Tacoma, WA), University Galleries (Normal, IL), University Museums, Colgate University (Hamilton, NY), Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College (Davidson, NC), the Victoria Arts Council (Victoria, BC), and Video Pool Media Arts Centre (Winnipeg, MB).

Founded in 1988, Visual AIDS is the only contemporary arts organization fully committed to raising AIDS awareness and creating dialogue around HIV issues today.

Through producing and presenting visual art projects, exhibitions, public forums, and publications, while assisting artists living with HIV/AIDS, its work drives forward the efforts to preserve and honor the work of artists living with HIV/AIDS and the artistic contributions of the AIDS movement. By embracing diversity and difference in staff, leadership, artists, and audiences, the organization draws from a deep history of art activism, with art as its weapon of choice to combat the ongoing AIDS pandemic.

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Courtesy of The PR Social

(From top) Las Indetectables’ Me Cuido, Charan Singh’s They Called it Love, But Was it Love, Gevi Dimitrakopoulou’s This is Right; Zak, Life and After, Lucía Egaña Rojas’ Female Disappearance Syndrome, George Stanley Nsamba’s Finding Purposebeside her and a man leans – Photos courtesy of Visual AIDS

November 27, 2020

Seattle Gay News 11

17 MINUTE STORIES Solo Shows Streamed Live December 4 — Ancestral Trauma and Healing for Dummies

by Maddy Nibble & Christine O’Connor December 18 — Dancing Beyond the Veil by Parmida Ziaei January 8 — In the Crosshairs by Roz Cornejo January 22 — All the Tracys by Tracy Leigh

Opening November 20 Tickets: $17 machatheatreworks.com/tickets

Happy Holidays!

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November 27, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

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November 27, 2020

Seattle Gay News 13

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Celebrating 46 Years!

€420 billion per year is spent on public sector purchasing in the European Union.

The EU welcomes bids for tenders from companies outside the EU. BBIT SPRL is your Brussels-based guide to EU purchasing.

Let us help you expand your business across the ocean.

Want to learn more? beau@procurementeurope.com Visit us online www.sgn.org

November 27, 2020

Seattle Gay News 15

16 Seattle Gay News

November 27, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Give your in-lawssomething to talk about this year!

Unique and spooky wares all year round since 1992 ~ Home decor, unusual gifts & accessories with an emphasis on local artisans.

Monthly art exhibits every third Friday, find us on Facebook & Instagram.

4550 UniversityWay NE Seattle,WA 206-632-4940 www. gargoylestatuary.com

Happy Holidays!

We’re with you!

We’re a welcoming church congregation that would love to see you on Sundays!

Bring your partner/spouse, friends, family, children; we have room for everybody!

Come join us for worship on Sundays at 10:30 am.

We look forward to meeting you!

7706 25th Ave NW in Ballard Call Ann at 206-784-0883 for more information

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November 27, 2020

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Seattle City Council passes budget SPD cut by 20%

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Seattle City Council passed a 2021 budget package on November 23, by a vote of 8 to 1. District 3 Council member Kshama Sawant was the only “no” vote.

The $6.5 billion budget tried to compensate for COVID-19 holes, increase funding for homeless residents, revive Seattle’s Green New Deal, and cut the Seattle Police Department (SPD) budget by around 20%.

The budget passed this week is a step back from councilmembers’ commitments to defund the SPD by 50%. The new budget probably will not lead to reductions in the size of the police force. The council also passed on a police hiring freeze that would have resulted in a $9 million savings to the City.

However, the new budget does not provide for any net increases in SPD person-

nel. In a last-minute amendment, Budget Committee Chair Teresa Mosqueda cut an additional $2 million from police salary funding.

About $40 million of the cuts in the SPD’s budget came from moving departments – like parking enforcement, the 911 call center, the emergency management department, and victim advocates – out of the SPD. The council reduced another $20 million by cutting funding for vacated positions. The council also recommended 35 “out-of-order” layoffs for the SPD, in other words, reductions in force that don’t follow seniority.

In addition to cutting the SPD’s budget, the council did the following: • Allocated $132,000 for the Office of Sustainability and the Environment (OSE) to restore the Green New Deal advisor posi-

tion overseeing Green New Deal Programs • Allocated $150,000 for “energy benchmarking” to increase the energy efficiency of commercial buildings • Allocated $800,000 to convert homes from gas or oil heating to electric heating • Allocated $140,000 for the Climate Policy Advisor position at the OSE • Allocated $100,000 to Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) to fund 63 new Street Sinks across the city • Allocated $286,000 to SPU to expand the encampment trash pick-up program to 13 more homeless encampments across the city • Allocated $7 million to fund tiny home villages • Allocated $30 million in Mercer Mega Block funds to equitable development projects • Allocated $30 million to Mayor Dur-

kan’s Equitable Communities Initiative task force • Increased car tab fees by $20, bringing the total fee to $40, to fund more transit service or bridge maintenance • Allocated $30 million to the participatory budgeting process • Allocated $254,000 to the Seattle Fire Department and $222,975 to the Human Services Department to scale up the Health One program “I’m really proud of the work we’ve done together,” Mosqueda said as the council voted.

“We know there is tremendous work that needs to be done together. We need to be bold. We need to be courageous, and we need to keep pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones.”

Shelter Open House: a month to make a difference BELLEVUE (November 23, 2019) – Pawsitive Alliance will be hosting the 9th annual statewide Shelter Open House throughout December 2020. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of homeless animals and to help those pets find forever homes. Animal shelters and rescues in every region of the state are participating in this exciting event.

The Pawsitive Alliance website, www. pawsitivealliance.org/shelter-open-house. html, shows a full list of participating organizations. Eighteen Washington state animal shelters and rescues will be highlighting the great work that they do.

“We are very excited about this year’s Shelter Open House,” said Tereza Marks, executive director of Pawsitive Alliance, “New shelters are participating, and this year, because most shelters are operating on an appointment only model, we are inviting rescue groups as well. Check out your local shelter or rescue to meet your new best friend.”

Last year’s 8th annual Shelter Open House had over 400 animals adopted in just one day. This year’s event should be larger than ever because it has been extended to

Litter, Natural Balance Pet Food, Taste of the Wild Dog Food, and Gentle Giants Dog Food for the donations in these bags.

Special thank you to our sponsors!: Martha Faulkner, RSVP Real Estate; Canine Behavior Center; Darwin’s Natural Pet Products; and DML Insurance.

Pawsitive Alliance is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to help end the euthanasia of cats and dogs in Washington by increasing adoptions, supporting spay and neuter programs, and improving pet retention. The organization’s vision is a healthy and happy home for every cat and dog in Washington. Pawsitive Alliance is best known for its #WhyNotMePets program, which works with shelters and rescues throughout the state to find homes for animals that have been homeless more than two months or have barriers to adoption, such as age or disability. To learn more about Pawsitive Alliance, visit the website at www.pawsitivealliance.org an entire month. As supplies last, adopters will receive goody bags with helpful items to get them and their new four-legged

friend off to a great start. A special thanks to Nylabone, Wacky Walk’r Wonderball, Fluff and Tuff, Kong, Naturally Fresh Cat

Courtesy of Pawsitive Alliance

As COVID cases surge, Seattle Pride grows grant funds and extends application deadline to Dec. 1 for LGBTQIA+ serving nonprofits As COVID-19 cases climb once again in Washington state, many area nonprofit organizations are trying to serve more people despite drop in donations.

In response, Seattle Pride has extended its fall grant application deadline from Nov. 1 to Tuesday, Dec. 1, and is offering an additional $25,000 in grant funding for LGBTQIA+ serving organizations focused on COVID relief – increasing its total available funds to nearly $70,000.

“We know that LGBTQIA+ and undocumented communities are more likely to work in jobs in highly affected industries, often with more exposure or higher economic sensitivity to the pandemic,” said Seattle Pride Executive Director Krystal Marx. “With COVID on a rampant surge again, we want to do our part to support the local nonprofit organizations which are

contributing in such meaningful ways to the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond.”

Seattle Pride plans to review the applications the day following the application deadline, in order to award the funds by mid- December. “The quick review of the applications is intended to remove barriers to getting the much-needed funds in the hands of nonprofits at a time of urgent need,” added Marx.

The grant application is available on the organization’s website, SeattlePride.org.

Earlier this year, Seattle Pride announced a special round of grantmaking totaling an additional $25,000 to organizations providing direct COVID-19-related services, including El Centro de la Raza, Entre Hermanos, FEEST, Ingersoll Gender Center, PFLAG, COVID-19 Relief Fund for Undocumented People, UTOPIA

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November 27, 2020

Seattle and Ventures. For a complete list of Seattle Pride grants by year, totaling nearly $150,000 since 2017, visit Seattle Pride’s website.

About Seattle Pride/ Seattle Out & Proud Foundation Seattle Out & Proud/Seattle Pride is a 501(c)(4) not-for-profit organization which produces the Seattle Pride Parade, Seattle Pride in the Park and other priderelated events and promotions, as well as, year-round statewide advocacy in support of diversity, inclusivity and equal human rights for all.

The Seattle Out & Proud Foundation is Seattle Pride’s 501c(3) non-profit foundation which provides grants and sponsorship support to community-based LGBTQIA+ organizations statewide, educates mem-

bers of the public about the LGBTQIA+ community and the rights of its members, to eliminate discrimination against and further the civil rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and to connect, inspire and strengthen the LGBTQIA+ community by promoting the arts and supporting leadership development.

To learn more about the Seattle Pride and Pride-related events, grants and advocacy visit www.seattlepride.org, subscribe to its e-newsletters and advocacy alerts, and follow on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @SeattlePride; and on Twitter @OurSeattlePride.

Courtesy of Seattle Pride

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Astro’s keynote speech at Transgender Day of Remembrance commemoration in Seattle Nov. 20

Image courtesy of Second Best Pictures

My name is Astro, and I use they/them pronouns. I am a Queer man-of-color, a social worker, a community organizer, a journalist, a student, a sex-worker advocate and a trans rights activist. I founded my own Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) event 3 years ago in 2018, because, quite frankly, no one else in central Seattle was holding one, and I couldn’t sleep because it bothered me so much. So, I did something about it. 3 years later, and with the help and support of a lot of amazing people, even a global pandemic hasn’t stopped me from making this event happen, and I am so honored that folx decided to push through their Zoom fatigue and emotional exhaustion to join us Friday night in holding space for this solemn but necessary occasion.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was first observed in 1999; organized

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith to memorialize the murder of Rita Hester. This event has evolved from a web-based project to an international day of action. This event, which commemorates and memorializes the transgender individuals who have died as a direct result of violence against trans individuals, has grown into an international call to action from trans rights groups and allies.

This day is spent honoring those lost to trans violence, making it our best opportunity to fully contemplate how devastating these losses are.

The annual event, which celebrates the lives of trans individuals lost, falls on November 20th each year, and seeks to combat trans violence, stigma, and erasure, and has for over 2 decades in a variety of different ways. Activist groups such as Trans Lives Matter, Human Rights Campaign, and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and many others offer education, history, and ways to get involved in ground level activism through their websites. The most important function of Trans Day of Remembrance is to restore dignity; the direct opposite of a hate crime.

Here are the statistics and other data that we have compiled to share with you regarding TDOR. Since 2010, more than 220 transgender and gender-expansive individuals have been killed in the United States. Even in the face of this physical danger, hatred and discrimination, transgender Americans live courageously and overcome unjust barriers in all corners of our country. But until we as a country collectively address and dismantle these barriers, transgender people will con-

tinue to face higher rates of discrimination, poverty, homelessness and violence. While it’s tempting and common to pursue largely reactive and temporary solutions, we must address the root causes of this violence to make our communities safer for everyone. It is unacceptable that transgender and genderexpansive people are killed simply because of who they are. It’s not enough to grieve the loss of victims of anti-transgender violence.

We must honor their memories with action.

2020 has already seen at least 41 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means in the United States, the majority of which were Black and Latinx transgender women.

We say at least because to often these stories go unreported – or misreported. As is too often the case in the reporting of anti-transgender violence, many of these victims are misgendered in local police statements and media reports, which can delay our awareness of deadly incidents.

It is horrifying to have to tell you that this is the deadliest year of trans violence since recordkeeping began. Gathered data shows an alarming trend of a gradual increase in murders of trans and gender-diverse people per year between 2008 and 2020. However, these figures are not complete. Due to data not being systematically collected in most countries, added to the constant misgendering by families, authorities, and media, it is not possible to estimate the number of unreported cases. To put it in perspective, last year’s total of the names we read was 31, and 2018 was 27.

These victims, like all of us, are loving partners, parents, family members, friends and community members. They worked, went to school and attended houses of worship. They were real people – people who did not deserve to have their lives taken from them.

These victims were killed by acquaintances, partners or strangers, some of whom have been arrested and charged, while others have yet to be identified. Some of these cases involve clear anti-transgender bias. In others, the victim’s transgender status may have put them at risk in other ways, such as forcing them into unemployment, poverty, homelessness and/or survival sex work.

While the details of these cases differ, it is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color – particularly Black transgender women – and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia

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and unchecked access to guns conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities.

The TDoR 2020 international update reveals a total of 350 trans and genderdiverse people murdered between 1 November 2019 and 31 October 2020, representing a 6% increase in reported murders from the 2019 update. The majority of the registered murders occurred in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States (41), adding up to a total of almost 3,700 reported cases in 75 countries and territories worldwide between 1 January 2008 and 31 October 2020.

Behind the statistical representation of numbers and percentages, there are real people whose lives we value and who we, as societies, failed to protect. Aggregated data indicates that Black and migrant trans women of color are more vulnerable and frequently targeted. Social stigma and criminalization of sex work expose trans sex workers to abuse, exploitation, and violence.

At the same time, those groups are repeatedly silenced and underrepresented within our communities and societies.

Although COVID-19 affects us all, social differences and inequalities are deepened by the pandemic, emphasizing gaps in lack of legislation and systemic protection of trans and gender-diverse people. The Trump administration has been responsible for over 50 different policies, laws, revocations and overturnings that directly and negatively impact the trans population, leaving them more vulnerable to systemic discrimination and abuse. Those who strongly oppose the concept of trans people – and decry their very existence – are much more likely to act upon their prejudice with violence, feeling that they have been given permission to do so by those in power.

A climate of micro-aggressions, systemic barriers, and hostility toward trans and gender diverse people is also connected to disproportionately high rates of suicide; homelessness; housing, employment, and medical discrimination; poverty; mental health issues; and substance use disorders.

I wish that it was enough to just show up to TDOR each year to love and support our trans brothers and sisters, but it is not. Love is nothing without actions. We, all of us, trans or not, must all remember that we are still here because we as a Queer and allied community stood up and fought for our rights. And we did it by being united.

Even though TDOR is a time to honor and remember those we have lost, it is also

a time to honor and remember our resilience as a community, to look forward together with hope and pride, and to unite as one in the healing of our collective wounds. Our community is unbreakable because we stand together and stay true to who we are, no matter what. We must keep going. For all the other days of the year, I encourage you to evaluate the ways in which you can elevate, support, and empower our trans community members to live out loud. To each and every one of my trans brothers and sisters, thank you for being beautiful, brave, and resilient you.

To my fellow trans allies: Outspoken, visible trans allies are more important now than ever – if you see or hear something anti-trans, speak up, speak out! Violence is a product of fear, and fear is a product of ignorance. We allies have an obligation to educate and lead by example to erase the ignorance, one person at a time.

Because silence equals death.

I also want to take a moment to honor the life and memory of a local trans activist powerhouse that has left us too soon, Constance Blakeley. Constance passed away in the early hours on the morning of October 2, 2020. She was a board member of the Lavender Rights Project and Black Trans Task Force, a Community Organizer at Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network, an influential leader at U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, a case manager at both People of Color Against AIDS Network and King County Department of Children, Youth, and Family, and much more.

Constance was authentic, calm yet fierce, humble, wise, motherly, candid, beautifully human, and colorfully nuanced. She tirelessly served trans and femme BIPOC sex workers, the homeless, and Trans Women of Color, just to name a few. She was passionate about mental health and community, and our community will miss her dearly. As Constance’s friend and U.T.O.P.I.A community organizer, Fania Sipili, said of Constance’s passing, “While the world has become a bit darker with her departure, there are some who bring a light so great to the world that even after they have gone, the light remains.

As our spiritual guardian, her light shines brighter than ever before. We will continue the work we do, in her honor, in hope that we can touch lives the way she touched ours and everyone else’s.”

November 27, 2020

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AHF reminds HIV patients care is ‘Just a Call Away’ during pandemic LOS ANGELES (November 20, 2020) – As rates of COVID-19 escalate in the US – with a reported 60,000 hospitalized as of earlier this week and more than 100,000 new infections logged daily over the past week – the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is rolling out a new nationwide public service billboard and transit advertising campaign to remind HIV and AIDS patients that medical care is “Just a Call Away” and can be arranged through telemedicine appointments by the AHF via its www.HIVcare.org website.

The goal is to help the AHF’s patients – as well as to encourage other HIV or AIDS patients who may be out of care – to embrace and maintain their health and well-being during the coronavirus pandemic with care provided by a medical provider via telemedicine. Since March, after COVID-19 reached its first crescendo, the AHF has been providing patients care via telemedicine. Telemedicine reduces the number of times patients have to actually physically go to a clinic facility – most often, if they need any blood testing. However, with patients who are already in care and successfully on antiretroviral treatment (ART), blood tests are routinely only taken

from a patient two or three times a year.

“Like many in the medical field during this pandemic, we’ve found that telemedicine is an increasingly important tool for the successful care and treatment of our patients,” said Michael Wohlfeiler, MD, JD, chief medical officer for the AHF. “Telemedicine allows patients the convenience of continuity of care for management of their disease. And as a very basic form of social distancing – with patients remaining in their homes or apartments – telemedicine also is a critical means to reduce possible infection with COVID-19, another viral infection that has wreaked such humanitarian and economic devastation across the country and around the globe. We urge all our patients, as well as those who may have fallen out of care, to reach out and find out that we are ‘Just a Call Away.’”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 has infected 59.1 million people globally and claimed over 1.3 million lives.

The devastating effects of the pandemic on all aspects of human activity cannot be understated. The impact of the virus on public health, the global economy, politics, and civic institutions will likely be felt for generations. Amid this crisis, the possibil-

ity of an effective vaccine for COVID-19 holds a hopeful promise for a gradual end to the pandemic. However, until that time, our best course of action is to deploy simple yet effective measures, like mask use and social distancing to prevent new infections.

Over the past few weeks (from late October to early November) four different versions of “Just a Call Away” billboards, bulletins, bus bench ads, interior cards, and/ or transit ads have [been] posted in 25 cities in 12 states and the District of Columbia.

“Just a Call Away” public service messages are up now in California (Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland), Florida (Ft. Lauderdale, Homestead, Orlando, Pensacola. and St. Petersburg), Georgia (Atlanta), Illinois (Chicago), Louisiana (Baton Rouge), Maryland (Baltimore), Mississippi (Jackson), Ohio (Cleveland and Columbus), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Texas (Dallas and Houston), Washington State (Seattle), and the District of Columbia.

The artwork for the AHF’s “Just a Call Away” public service message features an image of a hand holding up a phone with an image of two people on the phone screen – one a medical provider, the other a patient.

A headline reads “HIVCare.org” with a

subheadline reminding viewers that care is ‘Just a Call Away.” The four different versions of the campaign differ in that they feature different medical providers and with one image, a patient holding up a pill bottle – underscoring the crucial role medication plays in the care of HIV and AIDS patients.

“We want to strongly encourage both our own AHF patients as well as other HIV or AIDS patients who may have fallen out of care to seriously consider exploring telemedicine as an efficient, social distanced way to receive their medical care,” added Michael Weinstein, president of the AHF. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/ or services to over 1.4 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/the Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific region, and Eastern Europe.

To learn more about the AHF, go to www. aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aidshealth, and follow us @aidshealthcare Courtesy of the AHF

Victory for HRC-backed Capt. Mark Kelly PHOENIX (November 3, 2020) – Tonight, Human Rights Campaign (HRC)– endorsed candidate Mark Kelly won the US Senate special election in Arizona. This is the second straight election cycle that the HRC has played a large role in flipping a US Senate seat in Arizona, first doing so in 2018 when the organization made significant investments in support of America’s first-ever openly bisexual US Senate candidate, Kyrsten Sinema.

Mark Kelly has been a steadfast ally for the LGBTQ community throughout

his life and in his work with Giffords [Law Center], an organization dedicated to helping protect Americans from gun violence.

Kelly committed that should he be elected, he would co-sponsor and vote in favor of the Equality Act, crucial federal legislation that would finally guarantee explicit nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people under our nation’s existing civil rights laws.

“Mark Kelly’s victory proves that the march toward equality in Arizona is not a moment but a movement,” said Human

Rights Campaign President Alphonso David. “Arizonans know that the fight for equality is not over. Arizonans know that the fight for equality is not over. With Mark Kelly in office, we may finally have the opportunity to pass the Equality Act in the Senate and send it to a pro-equality president’s desk, enshrining legal protections from discrimination for LGBTQ people across this country. This election, voters, volunteers, and pro-equality leaders like Mark Kelly came together to make their voices heard, knowing that we must finally

deliver on our founding promise of full equality for all.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.

The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

Courtesy of the HRC

Lambda Legal takes Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois to court over anti-Transgender policy TACOMA (November 23, 2020) – Today, Lambda Legal and Sirianni Youtz Spoonemore Hamburger PLLC filed a federal lawsuit challenging Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois’s (“BCBSIL”) administration of a blanket exclusion of genderaffirming care in an employer-provided health insurance plan provided by Catholic Health Initiatives Franciscan. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma on behalf of a 15-year-old transgender boy, “C.P.,” and his parents, and argues that the exclusion is in direct violation of the nondiscrimination provisions under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“My son needs the medical care that will allow him to live, be healthy, and to thrive. However, because he is transgender, I have to fight and jump through hoops for him to have access to the care that he needs, is legally entitled to and that he deserves,” said Pattie Pritchard, C.P.’s mother and the primary beneficiary on the employerprovided health benefit plan that BCBSIL administers. “This denial also sends a message to my son and all transgender people, that their health care needs aren’t real or they’re not worthy of care. I won’t accept that.”

BCBSIL is a “covered health entity” under the ACA, which means BCBSIL cannot, and it has represented that it does not, discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, sex, age, and disability. The ACA’s Section 1557, which BCBSIL agrees it must abide by, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity, such as in the provision of transition-related care.

As such, BCBSIL cannot administer the discriminatory terms of the health plan provided by Pattie Pritchard’s employer, St. Michael Medical Center in Bremerton, Washington, which is part of the Catholic Health Initiatives Franciscan Health System, now known as CommonSpirit Health.

“The law is clear, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois cannot deny C.P., or any transgender person, the health care that he needs,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior attorney and health care strategist for Lambda Legal. “Section 1557 of the ACA expressly prohibits categorical bans on gender-affirming care because it is discrimination on the basis of sex, plain and simple.

BCBSIL cannot adopt or administer discriminatory terms on behalf of others. As a covered entity under the ACA, BCBSIL has to play by the same rules as everyone else, no exceptions.”

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November 27, 2020

“BCBSIL cannot hide behind a defense that it was ‘just following orders’ when Pritchard’s employer told BCBSIL to apply the illegal exclusion,” said Eleanor Hamburger of Sirianni Youtz Spoonemore Hamburger, who has worked with C.P. and his parents during the past three years to prepare this case for litigation. “BCBSIL has a separate legal, contractual and fiduciary duty to C.P. and others in the health plans it administers, to comply with the anti-discrimination law.”

C.P. is a dependent on his mother’s employer-provided health insurance plan and began receiving medically necessary gender-affirming care three years ago.

Recently, however, C.P. and his family were informed that some of his care would not be covered because of an exclusion of any care “for or leading to gender reassignment surgery,” including the same care and medical interventions that other cisgender patients receive without question or problem. C.P.’s family has had to pay out-of-pocket for his care, causing unnecessary financial stress.

“Although it is a heavy burden on our family, we are lucky that we can pay for C.P.’s critical health care while we fight, but I shudder to think of the families that cannot,” added Pritchard. “What is a family

who cannot afford this very expensive care for their child supposed to do? This is a matter of life and death for many transgender people and children, and I hate to think of the difficult and scary decisions families are forced to make; it’s not fair, and it’s not right.”

The case is C.P. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and is being litigated by Lambda Legal Senior Attorney and Health Care Strategist Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Law and Policy Director Jennifer C. Pizer, and Eleanor Hamburger of Sirianni Youtz Spoonemore Hamburger PLLC, in Seattle, WA. Read the complaint [at www.lambd a lega l.org /i n- cou r t / lega l- docs/cp_ wa_20201123_complaint].

Learn more about C.P. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois [at www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/cp-v-bcbsil].

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.

Courtesy of Lambda Legal

Celebrating 46 Years!

NBJC mourns the loss of Asia Jynaé Foster

Image courtesy of NBJC

WASHINGTON, DC (November 23, 2020) – The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) mourns the loss of Asia Jynaé Foster.

Asia, a 22-year-old Black trans woman, was found dead due to multiple gunshot wounds in Houston, Texas, on Friday, November 20. She was a client of Montrose Grace Place, a drop-in shelter for unhoused LGBTQ+ youth. They memorialized her on their Facebook page, saying she was outgoing and funny. A candlelight vigil was held in Asia’s honor on Sunday.

“It should be lost on no one that Asia passed away on Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day meant to honor the trans members of our community whose lives have been stolen due to anti-trans violence,” said Executive Director David J. Johns. “I hope we honor Asia by ending the violence experienced by trans members of our community. I know that one way to do this is to follow the direction of Sage Dolan-Sandrino, who called for us to do more to shift from remembering our trans siblings in times of tragedy and crisis to celebrating and supporting them while they are able to smell their flowers.”

According to the NBJC, 44 trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people have been lost to anti-transgender violence this year, far surpassing any prior year on record.

“Like Asia, a majority of the victims have been Black women, and many have been killed by a firearm,” continued Johns.

“We know, in part because we continue to issue releases mourning these murders, that not enough is being done to stop the horrific

epidemic of violence facing our trans communities. It is time for leaders at every level to acknowledge and address this epidemic of violence, including by advancing legislation that protects the trans community and ensures they receive the justice they deserve. We all need to fight the stigma and transphobia we see in our daily lives.

We must focus on what we can do to ensure our trans siblings are safe, and can live in a world where they are not targeted for being their authentic selves.”

“When I see Asia’s face, I am reminded of my sisters, my cousins, my aunts, and so many other Black women in my life. I know that if any of them were murdered, I would fight with everything in me to see justice and to see that it never happened to anyone else’s family. We need us all to see our family in Asia’s face. Fight for her like you would your sister or your mother.

At the NBJC, we will and we call on everyone, especially other Black community members to do the same,” said Deputy Executive Director Victoria Kirby York.

Anyone with information on the murder of Asia Jynaé Foster is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is America’s leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and same-gender-loving (LGBTQ/SGL) people, including people living with HIV. Courtesy of the NBJC

Transgender woman sues Georgia Dept. of Corrections after repeated sexual assaults and denials of medical care ATLANTA (November 23, 2020) – Today, Ashley Diamond, a Black transgender woman represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center, sued the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) for the second time for its failure to protect her from sexual assault and provide her with adequate healthcare while incarcerated.

In February 2015, Ms. Diamond filed a lawsuit challenging the abusive conditions facing incarcerated transgender people in Georgia prisons, which led to a historic settlement agreement and rebuke of the GDC from the federal court and the US Department of Justice. But despite the policy changes her lawsuit created, Ms. Diamond was met with similar unconstitutional conditions when she re-entered GDC custody in 2019.

Today’s lawsuit argues that the GDC failed to protect Ms. Diamond from sexual assault and knowingly put her in danger, in violation of the 8th Amendment and 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause to the US Constitution, by denying her protection from sexual assault the GDC affords others, simply because she is transgender.

As a result of a technical parole violation, Ms. Diamond, who was released on parole in August, 2015, re-entered GDC custody in October 2019 and has once again been housed in men’s prisons, where she has been sexually assaulted more than 14 times in the past year by other incarcerated people and GDC staff.

According to the complaint filed today, she also has been subjected to relentless sexual harassment and denied necessary treatment for her gender dysphoria. Her experience has been so traumatic that Ms. Diamond recently attempted suicide.

“Being a woman in a men’s prison is a nightmare,” said Ms. Diamond. “I’ve been stripped of my identity. I never feel safe.

Never. I experience sexual harassment on a daily basis, and the fear of sexual assault is always a looming thought. I’m bringing this lawsuit to bring about change on behalf of a

community that deserves the inherent dignity to simply exist.”

The lawsuit details some of the experiences Ms. Diamond has endured throughout her reincarceration over the past year, including a period of three days during which Ms. Diamond was sexually assaulted four times by different people. It also describes an incident in which an officer locked Ms. Diamond in an office two days in a row and sexually harassed her for hours on end.

The first assault against Ms. Diamond occurred days after her placement in the maximum-security men’s prison where she was originally housed by the GDC, despite the nonviolent nature of her offenses. One day before Ms. Diamond moved into the dorm in a second men’s prison [to which] she had been transferred, an officer called a dormitorywide meeting and announced Ms. Diamond’s transgender status, disclosing confidential medical information and describing her as “a freak,” “he,” and “it.” Shortly after this meeting, Ms. Diamond was – predictably – assaulted.

Ms. Diamond developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of past sexual assaults she endured while in GDC custody. Her recent experiences, along with the department’s failure to provide her with adequate treatment for her gender dysphoria, have exacerbated her PTSD and devastated her mental health, causing her to try to harm herself.

“I never thought I would be partnering with Ashley Diamond to sue Georgia for a second time. However, little has changed since 2015 when it comes to the abuse and neglect of transgender people in GDC custody,” said Chinyere Ezie, attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, who brought Ms. Diamond’s original lawsuit in 2015 while working at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The lawsuit also alleges that the GDC continues to provide unconstitutionally inadequate medical care to incarcerated transgender people. While Ashley’s first lawsuit

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reversed the GDC’s policy of refusing to provide hormones to transgender people, inconsistent access to hormones are all the GDC now provides to a few transgender people – a far cry from the minimum standard of care required. Today’s filing states that the GDC’s failures have resulted in a flare-up of severe gender dysphoria symptoms such as anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.

“We sued Georgia prisons on Ashley’s behalf before and, unfortunately, we’re having to sue again to end the abhorrent treatment of transgender people, particularly transgender women of color, in Georgia’s prisons,” said Beth Littrell, senior attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Five years after changing its policies in response to our first lawsuit, the GDC tragically continues to flout its legal obligations to protect transgender people in its custody. The assaults and threats that Ashley continues to face on a daily basis are based on the fact that she is a woman in a men’s prison – it’s intolerable and inexcusable.”

The Georgia Department of Corrections is fully aware of its legal responsibility to properly evaluate, treat, and protect all incarcerated transgender women, yet its systemic failures and targeted mistreatment of Ms. Diamond continue. By naming officials and staff at the GDC as defendants, the lawsuit demands that the GDC fulfill its legal obligations to provide Ms. Diamond, and all transgender people, with medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria and protection from sexual assault.

2020 is on track to be the deadliest year on file for trans people, specifically Black trans women, with a documented number of 36 violent deaths in the US. This number is likely higher, as trans and gender-nonconforming people are often misgendered.

Attorneys say Ms. Diamond’s case is illustrative of the experiences of many transgender people in Georgia prisons and nationwide.

A social justice and prisoners’ rights activist, Ms. Diamond is fighting for their safety,

health, and dignity. She filed her case on the heels of Friday’s Trans Day of Remembrance/ Resilience and last week’s Trans Week of Awareness to place it in the larger context of the work society must do to guarantee safety and a world where trans people can thrive, and to recognize the crucial work towards justice and safety being done by trans organizers themselves.

“My hope is that the future is brighter for people like me,” Ms. Diamond said. “I hope this lawsuit forever changes the way transgender people in Georgia are treated. This fight is not just my fight; it’s our fight.”

More information about the case can be found [at https://ccrjustice.org/home/whatwe-do/our-cases/diamond-v-ward-et-al].

November 27, 2020

Seattle Gay News 21

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.

More at www.splcenter.org, or search for “SPLCenter” on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications.

Since 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice. org. Follow the Center for Constitutional Rights and SPLC on social media: Center for Constitutional Rights on Facebook, @ theCCR on Twitter, and ccrjustice on Instagram.

Courtesy of the Center for Constitutional Rights

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Celebrating 46 Years!

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FILM

Stewart and Davis wrap Happiest Season in comforting holiday cheer

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer HAPPIEST SEASON Hulu That Happiest Season is as breezily entertaining as it turns out to be is a testament to the film’s talented cast and director Clea DuVall’s (The Intervention) confident handling of the material. Even with its LGBTQ bent, this Christmas-themed romantic comedy follows a standard playbook. DuVall and co-writer Mary Holland’s screenplay walks a patently familiar path, and if not for the presence of an all-star ensemble featuring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Mary Steenburgen, Dan Levy and Victor Garber, this picture could easily be confused with a Lifetime Channel holiday programmer and not a major Hollywood studio production.

Nevertheless, DuVall’s sophomore motion picture is easy to enjoy. Stewart and Davis have captivatingly luscious chemistry, Plaza steals scenes with seductively understated glee and the remainder of the cast have enough winning moments to make the treacly superficiality of this tale almost feel innovative and unique. This heartwarming trifle is agreeably paced, and while the movie evaporates into the ether before the end credits have even concluded, a lingering hearty smile still sat on my face long after it was over.

Abby (Stewart) is planning on asking her girlfriend Harper (Davis) to marry her on Christmas Day. She’s excited about this, and it would be a holiday miracle if she can keep from inadvertently revealing her surprise before the big day. But Harper throws a wrench into Abby’s plans when she invites her to spend Christmas with her family, a happy-go-lucky clan under the mistaken belief that both women are straight.

Do I need to say anything more? Not

Mackenzie Davis and Kristen Stewart in Happiest Season – Photo courtesy of Hulu

really. It’s apparent from the jump where all this is headed. Abby gets nervous about keeping her beloved’s secret. Harper starts to wonder if she should just come clean with her close-knit clan and deal with the repercussions. That’s all there is to it.

The supporting cast is aces across the

board. Steenburgen excels as the family matriarch Tipper, Holland swipes several scenes as middle sister Jane, Brie is coldly efficient as terse older sister Sloane and Plaza is a dynamic wildcard whose performance as Harper’s ex-girlfriend Riley is an exhilarating blast of adrenaline.

Visually inventive Croods sequel full of prehistoric charm

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer CROODS Rodeo Drive-In Theatre (Bremerton) Nov. 27-29; double feature with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom PVOD Dec. 25 I liked 2013’s The Croods an awful lot.

It’s amusingly weird and superbly cast, Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener and Cloris Leachman as Grug, Eep, Ugga and Gran Crood the clear standouts.

Thanks to visual consultant Roger Deakins the film was also visually inventive in several surprising ways, while Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders’ script offered up just enough whimsy coupled with genuine warmth to make spending time with this prehistoric family worthwhile.

Can’t say this was one DreamWorks’ effort that I felt warranted a sequel. Yet seven years later here we are with The Croods: A New Age. De Micco and Sanders have turned over directorial duties to newbie Joel Crawford (a veteran animator who worked on all three Kung Fu Panda adventures as well as helming the “Trolls Holiday” television special), while their original story was reworked by four credited screenwriters. It’s far more of a slapdash effort than its prede-

The Croods: A New Age – Photo courtesy of DreamWorks

cessor was, and as such doesn’t cast the same intoxicatingly goofy spell.

Still, this second chapter in the Croods family journey often brought a gigantic smile to my face, and I frequently laughed out loud. There are a number of ingenious bits, and strictly from an animation perspective I’m tempted to say this sequel is

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even more extraordinary than the first film was, and that’s no small thing. Additionally, the vocal cast is still perfect, the addition of Peter Dinklage, Kelly Marie Tran and especially Leslie Mann to the ensemble icing on the prehistoric cake.

see CROODS page 25

November 27, 2020

Thing is, all of them are almost typecast in their respective roles and aren’t doing anything outside their familiar wheelhouses.

There’s little that’s challenging about the material and it never feels like the cast is being asked to take a risk and do something unexpected. It’s almost as if DuVall and Holland thought to themselves that adding a hint of queerness to what is otherwise essentially a tried and true holiday rom-com scenario was dangerous enough by itself, and as such they decided not to push for anything more when crafting their script.

I could be asking for too much, or at the very least holding DuVall to a higher standard specifically because she has added a lesbian love story to this common yuletide mixture. Maybe having Kristin Stewart and Mackenzie Davis fill roles that in the past would have gone to the likes of James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan or Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is all the envelope-pushing that’s required? I honestly do not know.

Granted, it helps that she has Stewart and Davis in those two central roles, because as strong as the rest of the talented ensemble might be this film would likely not be worth talking about at all if they weren’t in it. Their chemistry leaps off the screen, the pair so fully engaged with one another just the sight of them giving doe-eyed glances of affection to their counterpart was enough to set my heart aflutter. Stewart, in particular, is outstanding, and much like she did last year in Charlie’s Angels the actress reminds us all how terrifically loose, unpretentious and lively a comedic performer she can be when given the opportunity.

All of which goes to say that I think Happiest Season is worth unwrapping.

What’s hidden in this box might not blow anyone’s socks off, but it’s not like it’s a lump of coal, either. DuVall has delivered a comfortingly romantic present almost guaranteed to bring its recipient joy, and all things considered, in a year overflowing with humbug, this small gift of holiday cheer is more than enough to satisfy.

Seattle Gay News 23

Allyship - an organization of LGBTQ individuals fighting for economic and social justice. www.LGBTQAllyship. org, allyship@yahoo.com, (206) 279-8169.

American Veterans for Equal Rights - www.aver.us Another Gay Social Club! - www.meetup.com/AnotherGay-Social-Club/ Bellingham/Whatcom County - www.theslowlane. com/guide.html BiNet Seattle is a mixed gender, social group for Bisexuals, their partners & other Bi-friendly folks - www. binetseattle.org.

Bremerton/Kitsap County - www.outwestsound.org Capitol Hill Alano Club - www.chacseattle.org Cascade Rainbow Community Center (Mount Vernon) - (360) 840-8499 and on Facebook.

Central Washington University GALA Hotline: (509) 963-1994.

Channel Q 103.3 FM - LGBTQ+ Talk Radio Network News and information, pop culture and music. radio.com COLAGE unites people with LGBTQ parents and caregivers into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities - www.colage.org DIFFA/Northwest (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). (206) 763-8885; www.diffanorthwest. org DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: Crisis Clinic, (206) 461-3222 (24 hour line); King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) - 24-hour crisis line for information, support, & medical & legal assistance: 1-888-99-VOICE; Northwest Network support & advocacy for Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse & Dating Violence, (206) 568-7777 (voice), 517-9670 (tty), www.nwnetwork.org; Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: Teresa, (253) 798-4166; Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities - offers on-going support groups for men: 323-1768; Seattle Police Dept Domestic Violence Unit, (206) 684-0330; State Wide Domestic Violence Hot Line, 1-800-562-6025. In an emergency call 911.

Report domestic violence and sexual assault.

Equal Rights Washington - (206) 324-2570; www. equalrightswashington.org Everett/Snohomish Cty - www.gaysnohomish.org Freely Speaking Toastmasters - www.freelyspeaking.org Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Gay City Health Project’s Wellness Center provides anonymous & confidential HIV/STD testing. 517 E Pike St. More info or to schedule an appointment, (206) 860-6969. www.gaycity.org Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (GLNH): 1-888-THEGLNH (1-888-843-4564). Non-profit, peer-counseling, information & local resources telephone hotline for GLBT people across the country.

Generations Aging With Pride empowers elder LGBTQ adults to live with pride and dignity by promoting, connecting, and developing innovative programs and services that enhance belonging and support, eliminate discrimination, and honor the lives of older members of our community - (206) 393-3400; info@gapseattle.org; gapseattle.org GLSEN/WA - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa.org Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) - (206) 363-9188; www.thegsba.org HIV/AIDS Program, Seattle/King County Dept of Public Health, provides confidential/anonymous information about & testing for HIV/AIDS. (206) 205-7837. For a comprehensive list of HIV/AIDS service organizations see the GSBA Guide or visit www.thegsba.org or call Lifelong AIDS Alliance, (206) 328-8979.

Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com Lambert House - (206) 322-2515; www.lamberthouse. org LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. A wide range of fiction and non-fiction for the LGBT community and allies can be borrowed free of charge.

LGBT MS Connection - (425) 785-8593; lgbtmsconnections@comcast.net. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers.

Sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Lifelong AIDS Alliance - (206) 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org Lion’s Main Art Collective - www.lionsmain.org MEN: Gay City: (206) 860-6969, www.gaycity.org; Knights of Mantra: (206) 329-0886, www.jetchapterkofm.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Northwest Bears: www. nwbears.com; The Olympians: www.TheOlympians. net; POZSeattle: www.pozseattle.com; Q-Squared: www.qsquared.org; Rain City Jacks: www.raincityjacks. org; Seattle Gay Couples: www. seattlegaycouples.org; Seattle Men in Leather: www.seattlemeninleather. org; Seattle Prime Timers: Gay & Bi men 40 & over, www. seattle primetimers.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

MUSIC: Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; Rainbow City Band: 1-866-841-9139 ext 2126; rainbowcityband@onebox.com; www.rainbowcity band. com; Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus: (206) 388-1408, (206) 323-0750. www.seattlechoruses.org.

Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project - gayhistnw@aol.com

24 Seattle Gay News

community resources Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org Olympia/Thurston County - www.RainbowCenterOly. org Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies, including Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, Deloitte, Macy’s, Microsoft, Russell Investments, Safeco Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, Xerox. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle Out & Proud Grays Harbor Coalition - http://outandproudgh.org PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption & provides a network of safe placement agencies, training, support & resources: (206) 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: (206) 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proudand-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: (206) 568-7777, qpnd@nwnetwork.org, www.nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: (206) 325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and www.pflagseattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: (425) 483-6642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community. pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington State Council: www.pflagwsc.org.

Peer Seattle (formerly Seattle Area Support Groups) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. Our work is done in a spirit of safety, trust, inclusiveness, and celebration of individual differences.

(206) 322-2437; www.peerseattle.org PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), (206) 850-2070, www.aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, (206) 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, (206) 461-6910, www.multiculturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, (206) 322-7700, www.entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, (206) 781-3565, iya@ilelailai.org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), (206) 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo.com, www.macctsea.org; Northwest Two Spirit Society, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/nw2spiritsociety/, Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, (206) 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; QBASS - Queer Black Alliance of the South Sound, (253) 256-1846, weareqbass@gmail. com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, (206) 322-7061, (206) 255-8951; Somos Seattle, somosseattle.org; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, www.utopiaseattlewa.org; VietQ Greater Seattle, vietqorganization@gmail.com Pierce County AIDS Foundation - (253) 383-2565; www.piercecountyaids.org Pride Foundation - (206) 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org Pride Lives - www.facebook.com/PrideLives/ Pride Radio 93.3 HD2 Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. (206) 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - (206) 682-6711; www.q-law.org Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - (206) 235-7235.

Queer Geek! - queergeekseattle.org Rainbow Center - Resource Center for Tacoma/Pierce County LGBTIQA community. Through education, advocacy and celebration, the Rainbow Center expands resources, and safe space for the LGBTQIA community.

November 27, 2020

Sponsors Tacoma Pride Festival. (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. www.voteseamec.org Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) i- SEE LISTING for Peer Seattle.

Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network - BiSeattle.wixsite. com/SBWN and on Facebook.

Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families providing comprehensive mental health services on a sliding scale. (206) 323-1768.

Seattle LGBTQ Commission - (206) 684-4503. www/ seattle.gov/lgbtq Seattle Out & Proud - (206) 322-9561; www.seattlepride.org Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org Sex Workers Outreach Project - https://seattle. swopusa.org Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - (206) 860-3666; www.theabbey.org Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays.

(425) 339-5298.

South Sound Q Calendar - LGBTQ events in Tacoma, Olympia & Sound Puget Sound area; www.SouthSoundQCal.com Spokane/Inland Northwest - www.outspokane.com; www.stonewallnews.net SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flag Football: www.cascadeflagfootball.org; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby.com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emeraldcitysoftball. org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www.puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LGBTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance.org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefrontrunners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www. seattlegaybasketballassociation.com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam.org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www. seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@aol.com, www. teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www.theprideleague. com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies.org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, (206) 367-4064, www.teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@ camptrc.org, www.camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934.

Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org Three Dollar Bill Cinema - TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival; Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival; Outdoor Cinema at Cal Anderson Park. www. threedollarbillcinema.org TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www.

SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www. genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www.genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & Foreign-Born

Support Group: (206) 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: (206) 329-6651, www.ingersollcenter.org; Lion’s Main Art Collective: www.lionsmain.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/ Olympia-Trans-Discussion-Group/262449878114; [trans] ACTION: Trans* & Gender Non-Conforming Sex Workers’ Support Group - a safe, peer-led space. mail@utopiaseattle.org; TRANSform Washington: transformwashington.com; Trans Resource & Referral Guide: kctransguide.org; Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network: Funding the collective liberation of Trans women of color – https://m.facebook.com/ TWOCSolidarityNW/; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www.washington genderalliance.com WOMEN: Aging Ballard Lesbian Exchange (A.B.L.E.): We are Lesbians 60 years (generally) and up, living (mostly) in the north half of Seattle. The purpose of the group is to connect, socialize and support each other. ruthemilyvogel@gmail.com; Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS) - Lesbian Group at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center. This is a gathering primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. (206) 720-5566, 1-888-292-1912; Coming Out Women Support Group of Tacoma: www. comingoutwomen.org; Festival of the Babes: www. festivalofthebabes.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Puget Sound Old Lesbian Organizing for Change: http:// psoloc.org, (253) 777-3357; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www.oloc.org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www.pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol. com; Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network: BiSeattle. wixsite.com/SBWN; Seattle Girls of Leather: www. sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www.tacomalesbianconcern.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot.com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks. org, (206) 461-4493. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

YOUTH: B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group): Youth Eastside Services offers many programs for GLBT youth, including B-GLAD, (425) 747-4937; Coyote Central: www.coyotecentral.org; Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; GLSEN/Washington State (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) & Washington State GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network: GLSEN works to create safe schools for LGBT students. WA GSA Network supports youth-led GSA’s to fight harassment & homophobia in Washington state schools. (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa. org; www.wagsa.org. GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): a support group & HIV/STD prevention program for GLBTQ youth, 14-20, in Everett, (425) 263-2908, www. globeyouth.org; It Gets Better Project: www.itgetsbetter.org; Lambert House: an activities & resource center for LGBT youth, 14-22, 1818 15th Ave @ E Denny Way, with additional support groups organized in smaller towns throughout King County, (206) 322-2515, www. lamberthouse.org; Lifelong HEYO (Health Education Youth Outreach): for LGBTQ youth, ages 16-24: (206) 957-1665; www.llaa.org/HEYO; www.MatthewsPlace. com; The Mockingbird Society: (206) 323-KIDS (5437), www.mockingbirdsociety.org; New Horizons: social services and shelter for homeless youth, 2708 3rd Ave (in Belltown), (206) 374-0866, http://namin.org; Oasis Youth Center: for GLBTQ youth, ages 14-25, in Tacoma, (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter. org; OKAY! LGBTQ+ Outreach for Kent Area Youth: (253) 859-0699 ext 3034. OKAY! is an open support group for youth ages 13-19 who identify as LGBTQ+. A program of Kent Youth & Family Services; OUT There Adventures: www.outthereadventures.org; Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)/ Puget Sound: (206) 325-7724, www.seattle-pflag.org; Pizza Klatch: weekly lunchtime support groups for LGBTQ youth in Thurston County, www.pizzaklatch. org; Prism: for LGBTQ youth, 14-21, in Puyallup Cherise.Alexander@ multicare.org; www.facebook. com/PuyallupPrism; Proud Out Wonderful (POW!): for LGBTQ youth, 13-21, in South King County, (206) 326-9112, www.facebook.com/proudoutwonderful; Q Youth Resources: in Kitsap County - (360) 698-3335; www.kchaf.org; Roots Young Adult Shelter: 1415 NE 43rd St., (206) 632-1635; www.rootsinfo.org; Safe Schools Coalition: www.safeschoolscoalition.org; (206) 451-SAFE, (206) 451-7233 (non-emergency), 1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) (crisis line); Seattle Young People’s Project (Queer Youth Resource Board): (206) 860-9606, www.sypp.org; Street Youth Ministries (SYM): (206) 524-7301 ext 111; www. streetyouthministries.org; Teen Link: (206) 461-4922, 1-888-431-TEEN; The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor; www.thetrevorproject.org; True Colors - Connecting LGBTQ Teens: in Shoreline, (206) 362-7282 x 8018, lbagley@chs-nw.org; The Vera Project: fuels personal & community transformation through collaborative youthdriven engagement in music and art. (206) 956-8372; theveraproject.org; Vista Youth Center: for LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth, ages 14-21, in Kennewick, (509) 396-5198, www.vistayouthcenter.org; YouthCare/ Isis Program (Transitional Living Home for LGBTQ Young Adults, 18-22): (206) 522-8412; YouthCare/ Orion Center Young Adult Shelter: 1828 Yale Ave @ Stewart St. (206) 622-5555; Youth in Focus: (206) 723-1479; www.youthinfocus.org; Youth Suicide Prevention Program (OUTLoud-GLBTQ): (206) 297-5922, ext 116, 1-800-273-TALK, www.yspp.org

Celebrating 46 Years!

www.gofundme.com/f/seattle-gay-news-needs-your-support-now • VISIT SGN.ORG

FILM

Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s Kathleen Mullen invited to teach Film Festival Management at universities in both the US and Canada On Tuesday, November 24, Three Dollar Bill Cinema emailed the following statement to the SGN and the rest of their email subscriber list: Thank you for joining us for a wonderful 25th Anniversary celebration with Seattle Queer Film Festival and our encore series!

There is important news to share with you: Our fantastic Interim Executive Director, Kathleen Mullen, will be moving on in the new year to pursue new opportunities.

Kathleen has been invited to teach Film Festival Management at universities in both the US and Canada.

In January of 2020, we welcomed Kathleen as our Interim Executive Director.

Kathleen started with Three Dollar Bill Cinema in 2014, as Festival Director of the Seattle Queer Film Festival, and has continued to impact our organization. In 2020, she took on the difficult task of moving our programming online resulting in multiple successful virtual events. Kathleen worked with the Board of Directors, volunteers, and community to create a wonderful 15th anniversary of Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival and the milestone 25th anniversary year of the Seattle Queer Film Festival.

After leading us through the unprecedented times of 2020, Kathleen is wrapping up The Seattle Queer Film Festival and working with our two new team members to ensure a smooth transition to 2021.

Maddy Szmidt, our Seattle Queer Film Festival Coordinator is moving into the role of Programs and Operations Coordinator.

She will be coordinating our programs to ensure our organization continues to provide the quality programming it’s known for, and continue its growth. Alanna Francis, who joined Three Dollar Bill Cinema as Development Associate, is moving into the Development Manager position. She will be further aligning the organization’s

CROODS

continued from page 23 Set an undisclosed time after the events of The Croods, the story picks up with the family, now with the energetic Guy (Ryan Reynolds) as a firm member of their pack, still chasing the daylight looking for their tomorrow. Coming across a massive wooden wall, they are shocked to discover what exists on the other side. It’s an eyepopping paradise featuring an abundance of food, plenty of cool, clean water and apparently no carnivorous creatures looking to eat all of them for lunch. Only one rule: Don’t eat the bananas.

That edict is courtesy of the Bettermans, Hope (Mann) and Phil (Dinklage).

They and their inquisitive teenage daughter Dawn (Tran) are a bit more evolved than the Croods, and they appear to be the only ones living behind the wall. They’ve constructed a massive treehouse home with ample modern amenities, including a mesmerizing box called a “window” that Thunk Crood

Image courtesy of Kathleen Mullen

mission, vision, and heart for both long and short term impact. Both are invested in taking Three Dollar Bill Cinema into 2021 and a new era of queer and trans programming.

2020 has greatly affected many people, communities, and businesses – especially those who are marginalized. Nonprofit organizations, especially the film and performing arts sector, have taken a hit, and we are grateful to be able to continue our work in the community.

We at Three Dollar Bill Cinema are fortunate to have had Kathleen step in and guide us through this past year, and look forward to her return in a film programming capacity for the 26th year of the Seattle Queer Film Festival in 2021.

The Three Dollar Bill Cinema Board of Directors is continuing to work on the next iteration of leadership for the organization.

Thank you all for your continued support and enthusiasm for queer cinema! We look forward to seeing you virtually, and at some point, in person again.

“On behalf of the Three Dollar Bill Team and Board of Directors, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Kathleen Mullen for her dedication and commitment to Three Dollar Bill Cinema and joining us for this exceptional year as Interim Executive Director. 2020 was very challenging for non-profits, and Kathleen was able to make our 25th anniversary year special and successful with two online festivals. Her knowledge of film and her endless energy for our community are invaluable. We really appreciated her stepping in this year in our time of need. We could not have done it without her. We congratulate her for new opportunities in academia, and wish her the best of luck in her new endeavors. We look forward to continuing to work with her in programming in the future. I will personally miss working with her very much.

Please join us in wishing Kathleen well in all her adventures in the new year.” – Clay Warner, Board President

“I want to sincerely thank the volunteers, staff, board, and all of our invaluable sponsors, funders, and members who have supported us during a very difficult year due to COVID-19. The Seattle film community is amazing! I love it! And despite a year full of changes and taking two film festivals online it was an exciting and solidifying year for Three Dollar Bill Cinema and our mission. I am excited to see what the 26th year brings for Translations, SQFF, and more TDBC initiatives. I look forward to continuing my relationship with Three Dollar Bill Cinema in the area of programming and with the Seattle community, of course! I truly appreciate all the support and warmth you have given to me and I will never forget my time with you.”

– Kathleen Mullen, Interim Executive Director / Festival Director SQFF

(Clark Duke) quickly becomes obsessed with. Additionally, Guy has unforeseen ties to the Bettermans that complicate his relationship with Eep, and the longer they both stay behind the wall the more unclear their future together as a couple sadly becomes.

If one thought the Croods’ first adventure was frantic and nonsensical, that’s nothing compared to what transpires in A New Age. The creatures are even stranger this time around, the comedy far more manic and the pop culture references, a DreamWorks trademark I wish the studio would put to rest, are aggressively prevalent. But as exasperating as some of this can be there is also an underlying sincerity to this follow-up I was instantly drawn to. Additionally, thanks to the talented cast a lot of the humor worked for me, and as relentlessly energetic as this sequel can be, I still spent the majority of my time watching it with a gigantic grin plastered on my face.

The best bits involve the female members of both families. Eep and Dawn’s blossoming friendship is authentically natural, and even when a bee sting transforms one

of their hands into a massive inflatable balloon there is an empathetic warmth to their relationship I absolutely loved. Meanwhile, even at its most outlandish the back and forth between Ugga and Hope is genuine, the latter’s horror to discover just how awful her passive-aggressiveness towards the Croods has been so beautifully handled (much of the credit there belonging to Mann) it brought an unexpected tear to my eye.

I wish Reynolds wasn’t the one handling the narration, his patented wiseass delivery starting to wear a little thin. Also, the climax is obnoxious to the nth degree, and while for the life of me I can’t decide if this is a positive or a negative, I will also state that this is the moment where the DreamWorks style of animated storytelling, mostly as it pertains to the use of popular music and overwrought hyperactive mayhem, is at its most egregiously jarring.

Maybe it’s the pandemic talking, but I still enjoyed The Croods: A New Age even if I didn’t respond nearly as positively to it as I did to its predecessor. Its heart is in the right place and the all-star vocal cast

remains outstanding. There’s a visual ingenuity that’s undeniably impressive, and an extended sequence where Eep and Dawn jump things on a gigantic cat creature is one of the more delightful cinematic moments I’ve had the pleasure to watch this year.

This sequel made me laugh, and considering all that’s happened in 2020 that might be its most wonderful trait of all.

November 27, 2020

Seattle Gay News 25

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Courtesy of Three Dollar Bill Cinema

It’s time to start healing.

Sacred Rain Healing Center is open for therapeutic massage & acupuncture six days a week. Strict COVID precautions followed, with client arrivals staggered & deep sanitizing between every treatment. Masks required to enter the facility & during treatment.

Outdoor sauna, spa pool, sundeck, lockers, indoor chill spaces are all dormant until King County hits Phase 3 reopening.

Open Monday through Saturday 10am - 8pm Temporarily closed Sunday

Sacred Rain Healing Center

1100 NW 50th St. Seattle ~ 206.789.6288 ~ sacredrainhealing.com ~ info@sacredrainhealing.com

26 Seattle Gay News

November 27, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

SAL & CD FORUM PRESENT

Black Futures with Kimberly Drew, Jenna Wortham, & King Britt WED, DEC 2 7:30 PM (PST)

lectures.org THIS AD SPACE HAS BEEN GENEROUSLY DONATED BY KRISTIN COSTELLO IN MEMORY OF SGN PUBLISHER GEORGE BAKAN

Healthy Environment!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

November 27, 2020

Seattle Gay News 27