SGN May 21, 2010 - Section 1

Issue 21 Volume 38

Celebrating 37 Years!

FRIDAY May 21, 2010 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

PRIDE IDOL p. 25

SIFF QUEER PRIMER p. 29

WARHOL AT SAM p. 31

Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

2010 Capitol Hill Malawi couple found guilty, get 14 years hard labor Pride Festival

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer

see festival page 21

see malawi page 20

Belarus bans Gay pride Police beat defiant marchers

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer City authorities in Minsk, Belarus, banned the May 15 Gay pride parade, and when a group of 40 people marched anyway, police attacked “like a group of wild dogs” and beat them.

In blocking the march, officials cited a national law that prohibits public events within 200 meters of subway stations and pedestrian tunnels.

Slavic Gay Pride co-organizer Nikolai Alekseev called the ban

“absurd,” pointing out that “there have been many marches and parades in the past using the same route.”

Organizers vowed to challenge the ban before the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and about 40 people decided to defy it.

The first attempt to march, at 1:10 p.m., was aborted at the last moment. In a text message from the scene, organizers said: “Risks too big. [Co-organizer Sergei] Androsenko cancelled the 1:10 p.m. plan and postponed to later.”

At 1:24 p.m., local activists live-

Tiwonge Chimbalanga (r) and Steven Monjeza are led from court in Blantyre, Malawi

Heartless Pawlenty vetoes “basic human decency”

blogging the drama via the servers of UK Gay News reported: “Several police buses and even military troops have gathered next to the place where Pride organizers were supposed to meet media to take them to the start of the march. ‘It is not possible to do anything around [here] but we did not give up yet,’ organizers said defiantly. There are about 60 journalists waiting to cover the Slavic Pride.”

Finally, at 2:53 p.m., “a shortlived march took place with 40 participants,” activists live-blogged.

“Violent crackdown from anti-riot police. A big mess.”

By 3:08 p.m., the bloggers had the full scoop. They wrote: “Minsk had its Gay pride march. For just 10 minutes, 40 Belarusians and Russians waved a 12-meter-long rainbow flag for a short march of approximately 200 meters. They were at first met by a large group of journalists, photographers and TV crew. But when they reached the first crossing point, they were trapped by several vans of anti-riot police. Suddenly, the doors of the Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty vans opened and anti-riot officers deceased partner’s funeral wishes ran towards the participants. ‘I by Mike Andrew and to recover damages in the never saw anything of the kind,’ SGN Staff Writer event of a wrongful death. said Nikolai Alekseev. … ‘They Pawlenty vetoed the bill on May Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has vetoed a bill to give 15. the surviving partner in a samesee pawlenty page 19 see belarus page 19 sex couple the right to carry out a alex Wong

REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

Policemen detain a Gay rights activist during an unsanctioned Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Pride Parade in Minsk.

AP Photo/Alex Ntonya

Preparations for the 2010 Capitol Hill Pride Festival are underway. Now in its second year, the free, all-ages, family-friendly event will take place on Saturday June 26 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Broadway According to the festival’s of-

ficials, the goal of the Capitol Hill Pride Festival is to celebrate diversity and community Pride.

The festival is open to everyone – LGBT or straight, anyone of any background.

The Capitol Hill Pride Festival will be a five-block-long festival

Steven Monjeza and his Transgender partner Tiwonge Chimbalanga have been convicted of “gross indecency” and “unnatural acts” and given the maximum sentence by a court in Malawi.

“I sentence you to 14 years’ imprisonment with hard labor each. That’s the maximum under the penal code,” chief magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa told the couple in a courtroom in Malawi’s capital, Blantyre.

“I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public will be protected from people like you, so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous example,” the judge said.

Turning to the spectators, Usiwa Usiwa added, “I sentence these two … to a maximum sentence because I want us to stop Malawian sons and daughters from copying the same-sex marriages which are un-Malawian and not in our cul-

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May 21, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

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Deadlines Classifieds - Thursday at noon Calendar - Tuesday 6pm Display Ads: Space Reservation - Monday 5pm Ad copy (non-camera ready) - Tues. 5pm Ad copy (camera ready) - Wed. 5pm Letters to the Editor - Tuesday 5pm Obituaries - Call the SGN office All others - Tuesday 5pm

Editor In Chief George Bakan Associate Editor Tom Flint (retired) Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel Miryam Gordon, James Whitely, Tim Peter Contributing Writers Rev. Barbara Allen, Mike Andrew, Eric Andrews-Katz, Madelyn Arnold, Maggie Bloodstone, Beau Burriola, Jessica Davis, Ron Anders, Jessica Price, Milton W. Hamlin, Nevin Jefferson, Keen News Service, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, Romeo San Vicente, Rex Wockner Classifieds Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Photographers Nick Ardizzone, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel, James Whitely National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published weekly by JT&A, Inc. © 2010, JT&A, Inc., all rights reserved. Reprints by permission.

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Gays by the sea

by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer As a South Floridian, I am blessed by this region’s warm climate and proximity to some of our best beaches. Sadly, most of my LGBT sisters and brothers are not as fortunate. Therefore, it is not surprising that during the summer months many Lesbians, Gay men, Bisexuals and Transgender people vacation by the sea. “Some of the most popular Gay destinations in the world are Gay resort towns and small cities near or on the water,” Andrew Collins writes in gaytravel.about. com. “The calm of breezy seaside locales and pristine beaches is a tremendous draw among Gay revelers, and many waterfront communities with sizable Gay followings have Gay-friendly B&Bs and clothing-optional resorts, not to mention festive openair discos and bars.” All things being equal, Queer vacationers choose the beach.

Wayne R. Dynes, writing about “Resorts” in the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality (1990), analyzed the Gay affinity for seaside frolic: “Resorts frequented by homosexual men – and to a lesser extent by Lesbians – tend to be at the shore. A few inland exceptions, such as Palm Springs and Russian River in California occur, but winter resorts,

In Loving Memory Of Steve Foiles, Scott Roger Alpert, Cookie Andrews-Hunt, James Leland Moore, Randy Peters, Lee Richeson, Shaun Shelton, Jim Tully, James Arnold

4

Seattle Gay News

such as skiing sites, have rarely developed a visible homosexual presence. … An interesting contrast is that between nude beaches, which attract a Gay clientele, and nudist camps, which rarely do.”

Sexual minorities have flocked to the seashore since time immemorial. For centuries, Capri, “the island of pleasure” off the Bay of Naples, was the vacation spot of choice for Queer tourists from Tiberius to Fritz Krupp.

Other historically popular hot spots for Europe’s Gay elite include the English port of Brighton, the Greek Isles of Mykonos and Crete, and the Spanish Mediterranean resorts of Sitges, Ibiza, and Torremolinos.

Collins, writing in gaytravel.about.com, lists “the world’s Gay-friendliest towns and small cities on the water,” including Provincetown; Key West; Ibiza; Fire Island; Mykonos; Cairns, Australia; Laguna Beach; Sitges; Quepos, Costa Rica; and Rehoboth Beach.

Why are seaside resorts so popular with LGBT vacationers? Dynes, writing in the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality, speculates that “this specialization lies probably in the association of sun and sensuality, and [the fact that] Gay resorts function more clearly as places of sexual assignation than those fa-

vored … by family groups.” (What happens on Fire Island stays on Fire Island.) But a resort doesn’t have to be beside a body of water to be cruisy. There is another reason why Gay people flock to the shore whenever we want to get away from it all.

As out-of-the-way places that depend on the tourist trade for their economic existence, beach resorts have developed a “live and let live” attitude as far as visitors are concerned. Beach resorts allows closeted tourists to “let their hair down” and to openly express themselves. “Distance leads enchantment,” Dynes noted, “or at least a sense of security inasmuch as those employed in such conservative occupations as banking and law often do not feel that they can truly relax except far from their business associates and family.” For 50 years, Cherry Grove on Fire Island gave LGBT people a sense of freedom that we often lacked back home. Places like Provincetown and Key West, traditionally havens for artists, outlaws, and other marginal elements, easily adapted themselves to an influx of affluent Lesbian and Gay vacationers.

To many of us, beaches are oases of freedom in a homophobic desert. John Alan Lee, writing about “Beaches” for the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality, pointed out that “a Gay beach may be more capable of defense against intruding or threatening heterosexuals than other territories such as a park or main cruising street. Teenagers intent on harassment at a crowded Gay beach are likely to find themselves surrounded by a silent but menacing group of Gay men.

This added element of safety, even if only tacitly understood, often encourages Gay men and Lesbians to more outrageous behavior for their own entertainment on a Gay beach than in other public spaces. This in turn helps establish the beach in heterosexual minds as a Gay beach.” Half the world knows that Cherry Grove and Mykonos are Queer territory.

As a Floridian, I am well aware of our state’s popularity with vacationers of all sexual orientations. Gay and Lesbian tourists in particular come to places like Key West, South Beach, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Daytona Beach, St. Petersburg Beach, and Pensacola Beach to enjoy the amenities that those of us who live often take for granted.

Whether or not Florida continues to be a favorite with LGBT vacationers depends on the way that we treat them (and Florida).

After all is said and done, what draws our sisters and brothers to the beach resorts is the company of friendly, compatible women and men. That’s us, folks. Let’s live up to our visitors’ expectations.

Jesse Monteagudo is a regular contributor and a semi-native Floridian who has lived in the Sunshine State since 1964. Contact him at jessemonteagudo@aol.com.

May 21, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

Vanity dance party sinful fun for Gay City karl giant

THANKS FROM SYNERGY EVENTS

ergy expresses our gratitude to SGN for donating advertising space to promote the benefit. SGN’s coverage and support of this On behalf of Synergy Events, we would event is certain to raise awareness for the like to express our appreciation to the SGN youth Lambert House endeavors to support! for participating in Lambert House Benefit 2010, held at Julia’s Restaurant on May 12.

Sincerely, Thank you for attending the benefit. SynJustin & William

Seattle bikers join Motorcycle Awareness Ride

by Nick Ardizzone SGN Staff Writer

Ultra Naté

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer

Syttende Gay celebrates LGBT Scandinavians james whitely

Seven Deadly Sins Dance Series: Vanity May 29 Neumos The Seven Deadly Sins Dance Series is back with “Vanity.” International recording artist Ultra Naté will be performing live at the event at Neumos nightclub (925 E. Pike St.) on Saturday, May 29. Vanity is created

by Two Knights Events and will also feature San Francisco DJ Craig Gaibler. Proceeds go to benefit Gay City Health Project.

“When we produced Lust back in January, it was intentionally themed to be a bit on the darker, steamy side. Vanity will have a much lighter feel, being more frivolous and celebratory,” says Two Knights’ George Delmar.

Their choice of San Francisco DJ Craig Gaibler also reflects the switch to a lighter, uplifting, high-energy theme for the night.

According to Rich Kaalaas, Delmar’s partner both in life and Two Knights, “Craig was definitely on the short list when we were considering who to spin the Vanity party. His music is fun, lively and full of surprises.”

The first of the series, Greed, took place at Neumos on October 3, 2009. The second, Lust, followed on January 16, also at Neumos.

Vanity will mark the third time the dance series has gone to benefit Gay City.

“We both feel very strongly about giving back to the people in the community who come to and support our events. Our original plan was to name a different beneficiary for each dance, but we decided to stick with Gay City Health Project after our first outing last October with Greed,” says Delmar.

“Not only have they been great to work with, but the range and scope of their work is amazing – programs that each member of

the Seattle GLBT community can easily access and benefit from.”

“There are so many variables and thought that go into this type of production, lights, placement of set. We wanted to bring a level of production to dance events that people may not have seen before,” Delmar told SGN. “Something unique, entertaining, and memorable,” added Kaalaas, “something connecting and representative of the whole community. We are tying to approach each and every dance uniquely.”

Two Knights Events’ mission (or knightly quest) is simply to put on social events to raise money for LGBT charities.

“I have always been intrigued by the seven deadly sins concept and thought that it would make a good experience for Seattle,” Delmar told SGN. “But the idea behind all of the sins is that it’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, nothing to be taken too seriously.” Like the saying goes, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

“We depend on our volunteers, donors, and partnering local businesses to support the services we provide,” said Fred Swanson, Gay City’s executive director.

Gay City Health Project runs various wellknown programs like Gay City University and Out to Quit, and has implemented newer programs such as Gay City TV and Queerituality. Gay City also continues to offer free, anonymous HIV and STD testing – all at no cost to the community.

Tickets for Seven Deadly Sins: Vanity are $12 advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets are available at the Lobby Bar, which is also hosting the Vanity pre-party “Pump” beginning at 6 p.m. Advance tickets can also be purchased at the Seattle Eagle, the site for “Late Night Sin,” the Vanity afterparty with DJ Funky Bear.

Online tickets are available at www.etix. com. For more information, visit www.gaycity.org and www.twoknightsevent.com.

Motorcycle Awareness Ride Meetup May 23, 8-9 AM Renton Motorcycle Center (3710 E. Valley Road, Renton, WA) On Sunday, May 23, over 40 motorcycle meetup groups from across the U.S., Canada, England, and Australia will set out on the first annual Worldwide Motorcycle Awareness Ride to raise awareness of motorcycle safety. Over 300 members of Seattle-area motorcycle groups will meet up at the Renton Motorcycle Center in Renton, WA to join the ride, wearing brightly colored T-shirts which read “Can You See Me Now?” Vik Livingston, a longtime biker who has been involved with Dykes on Bikes for over

30 years, called the ride a “once in a lifetime event.”

“The event is a dream come true for me,” Livingston said. “From the beginning of my riding time, to ride across country has been a fantasy. Now it’s coming true.”

The Awareness Ride was created in response to an accident that took place on March 25, 2010 in Phoenix, AZ, where four riders were killed and five injured while stopped at a red light. The group was hit from behind by a distracted truck driver.

The victims of the Phoenix accident were members of the Phoenix MC Kruzers and the Phoenix Motorcycle Riders Group.

“This tragic accident has motivated us to action that we hope will result in safer roads for everyone, said John Fox, organizer of the Phoenix Motorcycle Riders Group.

For more information, visit motorcycleawareness-ride.meetup.com.

Ballard celebrates “Syttende Mai”

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer SyttendE Gay May 17 BalMar Lounge On Monday, May 17, Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood celebrated “Syttende Mai,” or Norwegian Constitution Day. Ballard is traditionally thought of as the center of Seattle’s Scandinavian community. LGBT members of the Scandinavian community

gathered at the BalMar Lounge in Ballard to view one of the largest Syttende Mai parades outside of Norway.

The first Syttende Gay event took place in 2006 as a small event, combining Seattle’s Scandinavian LGBT community and the annual celebration of Syttende Mai. According to Eric Witzøe, chief creator of the event, Syttende Gay has grown and evolved into an internationally promoted event with the help of local blogs, international blogs, Out Travel Magazine, and Orbitz Travel.

“BalMar is kind of the closest thing to a Gay venue for Ballard,” said Witzøe. BalMar set aside an entire upper floor for the local “ScandiGayvians,” with a bird’s eye view of the parade.

Witzøe said he created the event and chose Syttende Mai as the date for celebration because “there was no real post-parade party for the Gay crowd, and secondly, it’s a day that recognizes freedom.”

The event featured a live DJ, DJ JessiE, spinning everything you’d expect to hear at a Gay event along with Scandinavian music.

Syttende Gay raised money for local charity Solid Ground, which strives to build a community free from poverty, prejudice, and neglect in which all members stand on solid ground with the skills and confidence to achieve their dreams. An afterparty took place at Changes in Wallingford.

Ballard is home to the Nordic Heritage Museum, which celebrates both the community of Ballard and local Scandinavian history.

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GSBA Scholarship program celebrates 20 years

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer

Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland as presenters.

The scholarships typically go to support GSBA Scholarship Program undergraduate LGBT students as well as 20th Anniversary peer allies who exhibit leadership potential, May 21 demonstrate strong academic abilities, and Seattle Hyatt at Olive 8 are actively involved in school and commu(1635 8th Ave.) nity organizations.

On Friday, May 21 the Greater This The first of its kind in the Seattle Business Association year, the GSBA will United States, the GSBA (GSBA) will be celebrating the 20th anniveraward over $135,000 to LGBT established its scholarship program in 1990 sary of its scholarship program at the down- and allied students and exceed for Lesbian and Gay the $1 million mark in students who, because town Seattle Hyatt at of their sexual orientaOlive 8 (1635 8th Ave.). scholarships given. tion, often found themselves The celebratory banquet will in great financial need with no other be hosted and emceed by Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark, and will means of support. To date, the GSBA scholfeature State Senator Joe McDermott, King arship fund has awarded more than 350 County Executive Dow Constantine, and scholarships, totaling more than $1 million

to Washington state undergraduate students.

This year, the GSBA will award over $135,000 to LGBT and allied students and exceed the $1 million mark in scholarships given.

As well as the new GSBA scholars, various past scholars and founders of the GSBA Scholarship Program will be in attendance to celebrate the GSBA’s newest up-andcoming leaders of tomorrow.

Ticket prices are $100 for members of the GSBA, $125 for non-members, and $75

for students. Walk-ins cost $20 more at the door The GSBA is the nation’s largest LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Founded in 1981, the GSBA is a vibrant community organization with a broad and diverse membership base whose mission is to combine business development, social action, and leadership to expand economic opportunities for the LGBT community and those who support equality for all.

For more information, visit www.thegsba.org.

INTERNATIONAL NATIONAL

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer Doc Searls

file photo

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

Austria’s new postal stamp celebrating Vienna’s 15th Rainbow Parade

Canada defunds Toronto Gay pride Toronto’s Gay pride festival got $400,000 in funding from the federal government last year but gets nothing this year.

Industry Minister Tony Clement told local media the government isn’t against Gays but, instead, wants to fund events outside of big cities this year.

Pride Toronto isn’t convinced homophobia wasn’t a factor, pointing out that the tourism minister who handed over the money last year, Diane Ablonczy, was thereafter reassigned to different duties.

Austria to issue Gay stamp Austrian Post will issue a Gay stamp June 25 in conjunction with Vienna’s 15th Rainbow Parade.

“To our knowledge this is the first time in the world that a postal authority is issuing a special stamp on a Gay/Lesbian occasion,” said Jona Solomon, co-president of HOSI Wien, or Homosexual Initiative Vienna.

Designed by Gay activist and graphic designer Christian Högl, the 55-euro-cent stamp will go on sale June 25 and become valid for use on July 3. The amount is the cost to send a standard letter or postcard within Austria.

Austrian Post also will place a mobile post office in downtown’s Schwarzenbergplatz on July 3 to service pridegoers at the parade endpoint.

“Austrian Post is again writing philatelic history with this stamp,” said HOSI Secretary General Kurt Krickler. “We hope that many postal authorities in the world will fol6

Seattle Gay News

low and dedicate stamps to LGBT themes.”

Saskatchewan mulls letting marriage celebrants reject Gays Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal heard submissions May 13 and 14 on government initiatives that would permit marriage commissioners to refuse to marry same-sex couples.

The Canadian province’s justice ministry hopes the court will declare constitutional one or the other of two proposed laws that it asked the judges to review under the rarely used Constitutional Questions Act. One measure would allow marriage commissioners to opt out of performing any marriage they object to for religious reasons. A second bill would do the same thing, but would apply only to commissioners who were appointed before same-sex marriage became legal in the province in 2004.

The provincial Human Rights Commission and the Court of Queen’s Bench previously ruled against a marriage commissioner who refused to perform his duties because of personal objections to homosexuality.

Other, similar lawsuits are ongoing.

Canada’s Parliament made same-sex marriage the law of the land in 2005, by which time courts already had legalized Gay marriage in nine of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories – everywhere but Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Prince Edward Island.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

May 21, 2010

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan

Obama selects Supreme Court nominee The Human Rights Campaign “hailed” President Barack Obama’s May 10 selection of U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his nominee to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We are confident that Elena Kagan has a demonstrated understanding and commitment to protecting the liberty and equality of all Americans, including LGBT Americans,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.

Gay cases that could come before the court in the near future include the Proposition 8 federal case by famed lawyers David Boies and Ted Olson and other same-sex marriage cases, challenges to the anti-Gay federal Defense of Marriage Act and to the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ban on Gays who do not stay in the closet, and cases targeting the new federal hate-crimes law that is inclusive of sexual orientation.

As dean of Harvard Law School, Kagan opposed the Solomon Amendment, a 1996 federal law that allows the secretary of defense to deny federal grants – including research grants – to universities and colleges that prohibit military recruiting on campus.

Some schools banned military recruiters because “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” amounts to employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which violates the schools’ policies.

At Harvard, Kagan partially blocked the

recruiters in 2004 after a federal court struck down the Solomon Amendment, then unblocked them after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the amendment in 2005.

“This action [the arrival of military recruiters on campus] causes me deep distress,” Kagan wrote in October 2003. “I abhor the military’s discriminatory recruitment policy.

[It is] a profound wrong – a moral injustice of the first order.”

HRC’s Solmonese said, “We applaud Elena Kagan’s vocal opposition to the Solomon Amendment and the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law.”

In April, CBSNews.com mistakenly called Kagan “openly Gay” and, in an addendum to that post, also called her “apparently still closeted.” The network later deleted the column because of its “irresponsible speculation.”

The Washington Post reported April 16 that an unnamed Obama administration official said “Kagan is not a Lesbian.” On May 13, Politico.com reported that it had talked to some of Kagan’s friends and they confirmed that she is “not Gay.” Richard Socarides, former President Bill Clinton’s Gay White House special assistant, told CNN on May 10 that Kagan is “a brilliant, pragmatic progressive who is intent on hearing all sides to fashion a solution that works for the most amount of people.”

With assistance from Bill Kelley

Celebrating 37 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

GAY CITY’S LAFEMME MAGNIFIQUE SHIFT GAYME NIGHT WASHINGTON PAGEANT On Friday, May 21, Gay City hosts SEEKING CONTESTANTS GAYme night from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. at DunOn Sunday, May 23, Gaysha Starr Proshee House (303 17th Ave. E.). ductions presents the LaFemme Magnifique Washington Pageant, at Neighbours (1509 CAPTAIN SMARTYPANTS Broadway, entrance in alley between Har& SENSIBLE SHOES – vard and Broadway off E. Pike St.) – door at SPRING CONCERTS 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.

On Friday, May 21, at 8 p.m., Captain The pageant will be hosted by pageant Smartypants presents their spring concert at founder and Portland legend Darcelle XV. Town Hall (1119 8th Ave.) Tickets: $20-ad- Competition categories are: Evening Gown, vance general admission, $25-at the door, Theme Wear: “The Garden of Eden,” Talent $35-premium table seating (limited avail- Presentation, and Las Vegas Showgirl. Adability). mission is $12 at the door, with partial proOn Saturday, May 22, Sensible Shoes ceeds to GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight performs at Town Hall at 7 p.m., followed Education Network) Washington State.

by Captain Smartypants at 9 p.m. Tickets: The winner and first runner-up of both for single performance of either group, see LaFemme Magnifique Washington and ticket information above; for both shows LaFemme Magnifique PLUS Washington $35-advance general admission; $40 at the will go to the International Pageant Labor door; $50-premium table seating (limited Day Weekend at the Oregon State Convenavailability). tion Center for a $1,000 cash prize, crown, 206-388-1400, www.captainsmartypants. sash, jewelry and the title, in both categoorg, www.sensibleshoes.org. ries.

For complete information, contact pagCHCC CLEANS UP eant coordinator Gaysha Starr at gaysha.

CAPITOL HILL starr@gmail.com.

On Saturday, May 22, The Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and 12 local busiPRIDE IDOL CONTEST nesses will combine their efforts to clean up AT R-PLACE Capitol Hill, starting in Cal Anderson Park Seattle Out and Proud (SOaP), producers (11th Ave. and E. Howell St.) at 10 a.m. Vol- of the annual Seattle Pride Parade, in assounteers are encouraged to meet up for break- ciation with Esurance, presents Pride Idol fast snacks at the Volcano in Cal Anderson 2010, Seattle’s talent search contest to find Park before a presentation by Ed Murray the best vocalists in the area. The Pride Idol and Sally Bagshaw, after which groups will contest runs every Sunday through June 20. clean different blocks of the Pike/Pine corri- The contest will be held at R-Place (619 E. dor. Pizza and ice cream will be served after Pine St.), door at 7 p.m., contest at 8 p.m. an hour or two of cleaning. This event has Winners will be awarded cash and addibeen growing each year, and 100+ are ex- tional prizes and get to ride on the official pected to attend.

Seattle Pride Idol float in the Seattle Pride For more information, visit www.caphill- Parade on Sunday, June 27. For more inforchamber.org. mation, visit www.seattlepride.org, call the Pride office at 206-322-9561 or email info@ 2010 SHANGHAI EXPO seattlepride.org.

On Saturday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Seattle Center Festál will host A Q-SQUARED MEN FUNDRAISER Glimpse of China – Chinese Culture and Sunday, May 23, is your last chance to win Arts Festival at Center House (305 Harrison 7 nights’ lodging (one bedroom standard St.). For more information and a full sched- lodging) anywhere in the world (subject to ule of events, visit www.seattlecenter.com. availability). (Does not include meals or airfare.) Choose the location from thousands SEATTLE OUT PROTEST RALLY of properties at www.rci.com. The opening AT WESTLAKE PARK TO PASS bid is $600. All proceeds go to CAMP opTHE FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT erations and scholarships.

NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT AND Questions, bids, and counterbids are to be REPEAL DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL submitted to bid@qsquared.org and must On Saturday, May 22, from noon-2 p.m., be received by Sunday, May 23. attend a rally at Westlake Park (4th Ave. & Pine St.) organized by Seattle Out Protest in MAYOR’S OFFICE support of passing the federal Employment FOR SENIOR CITIZENS Non-Discrimination Act and repealing the HEALTHY AGING FAIR military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

“Age Strong! Live Long!” is the theme of the Mayor’s Office for Senior Citizens GAY BINGO Healthy Aging Fair, to be held Wednesday, TO BENEFIT May 26, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Central LIFELONG AIDS ALLIANCE Building (810 Third Ave.). The fair will inLifelong AIDS Alliance’s long-running clude workshops, health screenings, and exGay Bingo season continues on Saturday, hibits. Workshops will include Community May 22 with “Blue Hair Gay Bingo” at Kitchens, Aging Well in the Community, Fremont Studios (155 N. 35th St.) – doors and Financial Management 101. Free health at 6 p.m., game starts promptly at 7 p.m. screenings include blood pressure, bone Final Gay Bingo of the season on June 19 density, spine, and hearing tests. Free masis “Beach Blanket Gay Bingo.” Tickets are sages and acupuncture assessments will be $25 and a full bar will be available. Due to offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Washington State Liquor Control regulaFor more information, visit www.seattle. tions, all guests must be 21 years of age or gov/seniors or call (206) 684-0500. older.

Visit the Lifelong AIDS Alliance Gay SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN Bingo website at www.gaybingoseattle.com BOOK CLUB AT DUNSHEE HOUSE for more information and to buy your tickThe Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club ets. Or contact Gay Bingo at 206-323-0069 meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Dunor gaybingo@llaa.org shee House (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.). The club is pleased to announce the MIZZ GAY CHEERLEADER following title to be discussed in their onCHEER-OFF CONTEST going reading and discussion series: May On Sunday, May 23, from 5-8 p.m. at Ka- – The Satyricon by Petronius (translated ladi Brothers Coffee (511 E. Pike St.), join by William Arrowsmith), a comic satire Seattle SNAP for the Second Season Spon- of Ancient Rome which follows two Gay sor Night and support ECSA’s first and only young men chasing the boy of their dreams recovery softball team. The event will fea- and on which Federico Fellini based one of ture the Drag Cheer-Off Contest. Suggested the greatest films of his career. All GLBTQ donation is $5. folks in the community are welcome to par-

Visit us online www.sgn.org

ticipate in this free book club. The reading list is chosen and the discussion facilitated

by Nick DiMartino, published novelist and playwright, currently a book reviewer for ShelfAwareness.com, and a 30-year employee of University Book Store. For more information, email nickdimartin@earthlink. net or contact Dunshee House at 206-3222437.

“KICK OFF TO DIVERSITY” AT VOLCANO NIGHT CLUB IN WENATCHEE, WA On Wednesday, May 26, the Volcano Night Club, 27 N. Chelan Ave., Wenatchee, presents “Kick Off to Diversity,” Wenatchee’s first Gay and straight event, doors at 8 p.m.

The night begins with amazing local drag performers, followed by a contest for the best drag costume coming through the door. Then enjoy the evening’s headline entertainment featuring professional drag performers from Dempsey’s Brass Rail in Spokane. Enjoy dancing and door prizes throughout the night. Tickets: $10 reserved seating, including one free well drink; $5 at the door. Sponsored by The Spot A Gay Hangout - a hangout for Gays and Lesbians in Wenatchee. http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/thespotagayhangout/.

KING COUNTY YOUTH DEVELOPMENT NETWORKING EVENT On Thursday, May 27, the King County Youth Development Network will hold a networking event from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Kirkland Teen Union Building (348 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland). The purpose of these networking events is to provide space for King County youth workers to learn about successful local programs, opportunities for partnering, and peer-led discussions and trainings on relevant youth topics. The event will feature a panel discussion by youth workers and a presentation by Put This On The Map. Light refreshments will be provided.

To suggest a topic, join the planning group, or for more information, e-mail kyla@childrenandyouth.org.

DIVERSE HARMONY’S NEW MUSICAL: BEST FRIENDS FOREVER On Friday, May 28, and Saturday, May 29, at 7:30 p.m., Diverse Harmony will perform their new musical, Best Friends Forever, at Seattle First Baptist Church (1111 Harvard Ave.). Best Friends Forever, written by chorus member Kat Miller, is Diverse Harmony’s first-ever original musical. Be a part of Seattle’s version of Glee with this special event. Tickets: $15, www.diverseharmoney. org/tickets.php. Under 22 years old, FREE. Diverse Harmony is a musically creative social connection in the greater Seattle area designed to nurture friendships, promote musical abilities, and provide a safe place where youth can be accepted for who they are. www.diverseharmony.org.

IMPERIAL SOVEREIGN COURT OF TACOMA FRIENDS AND FAMILY SHOW On Friday, May 28, the Imperial Sovereign Court of Tacoma will hold a Friends and Family Appreciation Show at 9 p.m. in the Poodle Dog Pup Room (1522 54th Ave. E., Fife, WA). Doors at 8 p.m., Tickets $10.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/courtoftacoma.

KNIGHTS OF MANTRA CAMPOUT 2010 From Friday, May 28, to Monday, May 31, Knights of Mantra will hold their Campout 2010: New Moon at Miller River at the Miller River Campground. The weekend includes campsite, run pin, T-shirts, breakfasts, brunch, lunch, and dinners, beverages, showers, fun, games, and more. Tickets are $125.

For more information, visit www.jetchapterkofm.com.

QUEER YOUTH SPACE HOSTS PINK PROM On Saturday, May 29, from 7-10 p.m., come to the Pink Prom at Halle’s Loft (500 E. Pike St.). Queer youth and allies everywhere are invited to this year’s Pink Prom,

May 21, 2010

hosted by Queer Youth Space, the youthled organization committed to empowering Queer youth everywhere. Come over the a night of fabulous fun, great music, dancing, and friends. No date? No worries! Just bring your beautiful self on over and we’ll promise you the night of your life. There’s no cost and no dress code, so dress as casually or as formally as you want!

For more information, visit www.facebook. com/event.php?eid=107883869230601.

IMPERIAL SOVEREIGN COURT OF TACOMA CHAOS UNDER THE BIG TOP On Saturday, May 29, the Imperial Sovereign Court of Tacoma, Diamond Empire of the Cascades, will hold their Chaos Under the Big Top: Mr., Miss, & Ms. Gay Tacoma 2010 event at 7 p.m. in the Poodle Dog Pup Room (1522 54th Ave. E., Fife, WA). Doors at 6 p.m., Tickets $20.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/courtoftacoma.

SEVEN DEADLY SINS PARTY: VANITY On Saturday, May 29, from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. at Neumos (925 E. Pike St.), come party with DJ Craig Gaibler at Two Knights Events’ VANITY party, featuring a special appearance by international recording artist Ultra Naté. Tickets: $12 in advance at The Lobby and the Seattle Eagle, $15 at the door. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Gay City.

Tickets also available at www.ticketswest. com.

SYLVIA O’STAYFORMORE’S FINAL MAGNUM SHOW On Saturday, May 29, Sylvia O’Stayformore will present her final Magnum night at Rebar (1114 Howell Street) at 10:30 p.m. Sylvia will round up the top male burlesque performers in Seattle for the final installment, including Otter-Pop, Disgrace Jones, James and Peter, Emper Roarf Abulous, Jaques ‘n’ Awe, and Sin. The Portland Porn Stars will also be there, as will DJs Stormy and Jimmie Jamma. Tickets: $8.

For more information, visit www.stayformore.com.

IMPERIAL SOVEREIGN COURT OF TACOMA VICTORY BRUNCH On Sunday, May 30, the Imperial Sovereign Court of Tacoma will hold their Victory Brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Poodle Dog Pup Room (1522 54th Ave. E., Fife, WA).

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/courtoftacoma.

ENTRE HERMANOS’ LATINO PAGEANT 2010 On Saturday, June 5, Entre Hermanos will host their 2010 Latino Pageant at 6 p.m. at Seattle University’s Campion Ballroom (914 E. Jefferson St.). This annual pageant is the signature event of Entre Hermanos and brings together the Latino LGBT community and friends in a wonderful celebration.

The pageant culminates with the selection of Mr. Gay Latino, Miss Gay Latina, and Mr. Lesbian Latina, who then go on to represent and create visibility and a positive image of Entre Hermanos. The pageant brings adults together to socialize, meet new people, and find a space where sexual diversity is valued. There will be dinner and a no-host bar.

General tickets are $30, with special tickets $35 and preferred tickets $50. www.brownpapertickets.com/99957.

For more information, call (206) 3227700 or visit www.entrehermanos.org.

BEND-IT EXTRAVAGANZA SHOWCASES QUEER ARTISTS From Friday, June 25 to Sunday, June 27, the Queer activist collective Bend-It will showcase local Queer artists at the BendIt Extravaganza. As part of the 8th annual event, Queer zinesters will be given a table where they can pass out their zines for free.

Everyone who contributes will receive free photocopies for work sent in by the June 11 deadline.

For more information, contact Quinn at quinnwyatt@gmail.com or visit benditbandits.org or www.myspace.com/bend_it

Seattle Gay News

7

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer Gay 1K May 15 Cal Anderson Park Ever wanted to dress up in bright pretty colors, don some sweet sunglasses and a neon sweatband, and run down Broadway with a big group of similarly dressed runners and hot rugby players, showing off how proud you are to be who you are?

And maybe then hit up an awesome happy hour at Purr cocktail lounge with the aforementioned group of runners and rugby players, all the while raising money for an awesome LGBT organization like the Lambert House. Well, you missed your chance, because that happened last weekend, and it rocked.

Gay 1K runners met at the northwest corner of Cal Anderson Park on Saturday, May 15. Runners ran through the park and down Broadway, proceeding east on Pike to Purr

james whitely

Gay 1K was 0.621 miles of pure awesome Cocktail Lounge on 11th Ave. “The Gay 1K was an idea I came up with last year essentially as something fun to do with my friends and to poke a little fun at the idea of long-distance running, which many of us are not physically equipped to do,” said Shauna Hill, creator of the Gay 1K. “About 10 of us ran from Volunteer Park down to Smith on 15th for happy hour, and it was during that happy hour that we came up with the idea of turning it into a Queer visibility event and fundraiser.”

With just a $10 suggested donation, the Gay 1K raised nearly $300 for Lambert House in about 20 minutes – and that included the warm-up stretches. “[Purr] was selected both for its status as a Queer business and for its proximity to Cal Anderson [Park], because 1K is not very far! The idea was to create a route that is visible to the Queer urban center and to support Queer businesses while having fun and raising money.”

The Gay 1K was an idea I came up with last year essentially ... to poke a little fun at the idea of long-distance running.

Sisters’ Holy Crap event raises over $1,000 Brandon Alaniz

Holy Crap!

8

Seattle Gay News

May 21, 2010

The Gay 1K on Broadway

The Gay 1K had only 26 runners in all, which is unfortunate because this event had the potential to be massive. Quake Rugby, who is sponsored partly by Purr, came out to show their support (and their chests) for the run in the sun.

“Next year … there will be a committee of supporters working on wider advertising

and sponsorship so that we can grow bigger,” Hill told SGN. She’d like to see 100 next year, I’d like to shut down Broadway and see 1,000.”

The Gay 1K is truly a fun-run rich in pride. If you ran the Gay 1K, then you know what I’m talking about. If not, you’ll just have to wait until next year to see.

by Sister VixXxen Special to the SGN

Dixx, Selma Body, and Abortia Clinique.

Performing Sisters were in top form, with solo lip-syncs by Sister Daya Reckoning, Sister Faye Laetio, Sister Stella Standing, and a fabulous gender-bending Brother Otto Erotic. Sister VixXxen sang her heart out in English and Spanish, dripping with rhinestones. The group numbers were all tightly choreographed, and each Sister shined brilliantly when the spotlight was on them.

What can’t be conveyed in this article are the cute, oneon-one moments each of the Sisters had with the community at large.

There were so many incidents of hugs, kisses, laughs, confessions on an intimate, personal level that cannot be elucidated here, but here are a couple of interesting bits: Two audience members got autographed by Sister Daya Reckoning and were going to have the autographs tattooed on; Sisters Faye Laetio and Daya Reckoning were in seven numbers; both hosts were Miss Gay Washington at one point in their drag careers; Sister Karma ZaBetch re-connected with family members, who finally got to see the glamour live and in person; Sister VixXxen re-connected with her best friends from the trailer park where she grew up; and there were at least four people who are interested in forming an Official House of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in the Tri-Cities! There may be even more nuns to serve Washington state!

All in all, a tremendously good time was had by everyone, and the Sisters are brimming with excitement for what the future has to promise! Keep your eyes peeled for the next “Holy Crap.”

Heart to Heart offers case management and support services, training for volunteers, free and anonymous HIV counseling and testing, alternative treatment resources, and community prevention including syringe exchange and Latino outreach for the rural area.

Blue Mountain Heart to Heart does not discriminate in the distribution of services or hiring on the basis of race, creed, color, age, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, marital status, political ideology, or disability.

For more information visit www.bluemountainheart.org and www.theabbey.org.

Holy Crap May 15 Out and About (Pasco, WA) The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Abbey of Saint Joan packed up their makeup, veils, rhinestones, and feathers and touched down in Pasco, Washington on Saturday, May 15. The occasion, you ask? It was time to breathe fresh new life into their former, and hopefully to become ongoing, annual benefit show “Holy Crap” at the TriCities premiere Gay nightspot, Out and About. The show was a benefit for Blue Mountain Heart to Heart, and raised $1,008 for the charity.

Blue Mountain Heart to Heart is a private nonprofit organization providing positive, non-judgmental support and assistance to persons living with HIV/AIDS, their partners, families, and friends in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties of Washington state.

Hosted by the Abbey’s own freshly Fully Professed Sister Dinah Douche and Miss Gay Washington 2009-2010 Roxanna Von Cummings, the evening started off strong and continued to deliver. Commencing with an introduction of each of the Sisters, the theme turned effortlessly into a veiling ceremony for their newly Fully Professed Sister Dinah Douche, who first appeared on the scene with the Sisters back in 2001, when she was instrumental in organizing the minutiae of their show as her fierce drag personality Bonnie Marché.

As the white veil of the Novice was switched to the black veil of the Fully Professed, the other Fully Professed Sisters in attendance recited their heartfelt vows to their community, their fellow Sisters and Priests, to the Order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence as a whole, and to themselves. That was the launching point for one of the most memorable nights in the TriCities.

The talent was off the charts, with the performances by some of the hottest drag queens in Washington, including the co-emcee Roxanna Von Cummings, Selina Kyle, Mink Marché, Piersta Clitoris, Maycee

All in all, a tremendously good time was had by everyone, and the Sisters are brimming with excitement for what the future has to promise!

Celebrating 37 Years!

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May 21, 2010

Seattle Gay News

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Celebrating 37 Years!

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Celebrating 37 Years!

2010 Capitol Hill Pride Festival

Saturday June 26 10 AM to 10 PM ON BROADWAY! between E. John and Roy

www.capitolhillpridefestival.net

SGN webmaster Barry Thorsness and his partner Louis were married recently in Vancouver, BC, after being together for 20 years. Congratulations!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 21, 2010

Seattle Gay News 15

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

June issue. rex wockner

“I think that we ought to definitely look at it [same-sex marriage] and debate it. I think there are a lot of people who have trouble coming to terms with that because they see marriage as traditionally between a man and a woman. But I also know that, you know, when couples are committed to each other and love each other, they ought to have, I think, the same sort of rights that everyone has. I guess that would be an area that we [my husband and I] disagree.”

–Laura Bush to CNN’s Larry King, May 11.

“I think we could [accept Gay marriage].

I think it’s also a generational thing that will come, I think.”

–Laura Bush to CNN’s Larry King, May 11.

“I identify as Gay as a political stance. If anybody, prior to my meeting and falling in love with Christine [Marinoni], had asked me about what I think about sexuality, I would have said I think we’re all Bisexual.

But I had that point of view without ever having felt attracted to a woman. I had never met a woman I was attracted to [before Christine]. And maybe if I’d met her when I was 20, I would have fallen in love and only dated women. But maybe if I’d met her at 20, I wouldn’t have responded at all. Who knows?”

–Openly Lesbian Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon (Miranda) to The Advocate,

Cynthia Nixon

“Christine [Marinoni] would probably kill me for saying this, but my daughter said one time that if you really had to break this down, [it looks like] she would be butch and I would be femme ... but really once you get to know us it’s really the opposite.”

–Openly Lesbian Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon (Miranda) to The Advocate, June issue.

“I ... stubbornly go about my life the way

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I always did, and sometimes it’s not the smartest thing to do. I’m in places people wouldn’t expect to see me, like on the subway or in line at the post office. So they just sort of feel like I look like that person, but I’m probably not that person. I was standing on line making a deposit at the bank recently, and the teller was looking at me, and looking at my name, and she said, ‘You know you have the same name as that woman on Sex and the City?’”

–Openly Lesbian Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon (Miranda) to The Advocate, June issue.

“What’s great about the web and the power of activism is that people in every location – in the states, in small towns, everywhere – can take matters into their own hands. In the past the media was a barrier, but now you can influence them.”

–Gay activist and blogger Michael Rogers in the June issue of The Advocate.

“Every Gay person who knows the truth about closeted anti-Gay politicians has a responsibility to speak up, as [blogger] Mike Rogers does so fearlessly. This is no longer an issue that is debatable. No one’s privacy deserves respect when that person is working against our rights, and none of us should be complicit in keeping the secrets of these detestable individuals.”

–SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile – who, in the late ‘80s was credited with “inventing” outing – writing in the June issue of The Advocate.

“[Barack Obama] is just another in a long line of presidents who have dumped all over us. He is not honoring his campaign commitments. I really think he hates Gay people and we are not dealing with this in an effective way. It’s nice that he wants to protect our right to hospital visitation but it’s no big deal.

We are too passive and too invisible and too unwilling to demand our equality.”

“Elena Kagan’s friends: She’s not Gay” –Veteran activist Larry Kramer to South –Headline on a May 11 Politico.com story Florida Gay News, May 2. about the Supreme Court nominee following days of widespread speculation.

“I joined two hookup sites and posted my profile on both of them. I get a lot of views “[T]he path to repeal [of “Don’t Ask, but I get no takers. Only a couple of old ACT Don’t Tell”] has become cluttered in ways UP members wrote to say they recognized that only Washingtonians could rationalize. me.”

At the core of this delay seems to be a desire –Veteran activist Larry Kramer to South by the Pentagon to kick the can down the Florida Gay News, May 2. road and stop a vote on the issue this year. ... The White House’s silence is providing “The problem is the head of GLAAD. He’s oxygen to those who believe that Congress an asshole. There are certain people who you should not act this year.” can’t change a word of what they’re going to –Human Rights Campaign President Joe say. They’ve made up their mind.”

Solmonese writing at Politico.com, May –Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives film- 10. maker Israel Luna, who is Gay, to the Village Voice, May 4. GLAAD had issues with “It [the police attack] was like a group of Luna’s film. wild dogs.”

–One of 40 people who violated a city “GLAAD found it demeaning that the ban and staged the first Gay pride parade in characters (in Ticked-Off Trannies with Minsk, Belarus, on May 15. The unauthorKnives) seem more like drag queens who ized parade was violently broken up by pocould easily be considered ‘ridiculous cari- lice forces. Two marchers required medical catures’ of femininity – I guess to them, the attention. only good Transsexuals are the ones trying to blend quietly into society – but I found the “I’ve never run so fast in my life. After we women funny, tart-tongued, and caring. (So ran away from the anti-riot police, [activist] shoot me if they were also breasty and well- Ira Fet and I took refuge in the small room accessorized.) I adored them!” of a VIP building where they keep the trash.

–Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, We stayed there for 20 minutes while I was May 4. receiving calls from media outlets.”

–Russian Gay leader Nikolai Alekseev, “There is a straight-to-Gay conversion one of 40 people who violated a city ban and group: It’s called Liza Minnelli. You date staged the first Gay pride parade in Minsk, her, you start flouncing around in a boa sing- Belarus, on May 15. The unauthorized paing Lady Gaga songs.” rade was violently broken up by police –Village Voice columnist Michael Musto forces. Two marchers required medical atto host Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, May tention.

11.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

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May 21, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

Intersex man charged with Pope fails in Portugal gender fraud in Indonesia Pres. Cavaco Silva ratifies marriage equality law Safir Makki

Alterina Hofan is on trial at the South Jakarta District Court. A prosecutor alleges that Alterina’s identification was falsified, with the gender changed from female to male.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer An Indonesian man is now on trial in Indonesia, charged with deliberately falsifying his gender identity so he can marry a woman.

Alterina Hofan’s trial began May 17.

Doctors say Hofan has Klinefelter’s syndrome, a rare condition where a man has an extra X chromosome, giving him some female characteristics.

Mr. Hofan’s mother told BBC News that when he was born doctors identified him as female, so he was registered and brought up as a girl.

Hofan always acted like a boy, his mother said, and when he was 2 years old he began to develop male genitalia.

Hofan says he always identified as a man and as he grew older, he had several operations to reduce the feminine aspects of his appearance.

In 2006, he petitioned to have his gender changed on identity documents, and legally became a man.

In 2008, he married Jane Hadipoespito in the United States.

Her mother objected to the relationship, however, and filed charges against him accusing him of falsifying his identity documents and defrauding her daughter.

Hofan’s wife says she knows all about his past and does not want to be separated from him.

“All I want is for my husband to be freed as soon as possible,” she told the Jakarta Post newspaper.

The case became even more complicated when Hofan was arrested.

He was originally sent to a male prison, but police ruled he was a woman after DNA testing revealed the extra X chromosome,

and he was moved to a female detention facility.

The staff at the women’s prison ruled he was a man, however, and therefore could not be housed with women prisoners.

He is now being held in solitary confinement in the women’s prison.

Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights criticized authorities for their treatment of Hofan.

“He has the right to say he is a man,” Josep Adi Prasetyo told the Jakarta Post.

Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, but most Indonesian Muslims follow “modernist” schools of Islamic thought.

Same-sex sexual relations are legal everywhere except for Aceh province at the northern tip of Sumatra, where sharia law is in effect. Same-sex marriage is not legal, however.

Some local governments have laws forbidding cross-dressing.

If the court finds Hofan to be a woman, his marriage would be nullified and he might face some additional penalties for dressing as a man, but he would not be prosecuted for having had sexual relations with his wife.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

In a stunning rebuke to Pope Benedict XVI, the Portuguese president ratified his country’s marriage equality law only three days after the Roman Catholic pontiff wrapped up a visit to Portugal.

Pres. Anibal Cavaco Silva announced his decision on May 17.

Cavaco Silva said he would not veto the measure because the Socialist lawmakers who passed the marriage equality bill in January would only override his veto.

Portugal needs to focus on battling a crippling economic crisis that has increased unemployment and deepened poverty rather than debating social issues, he said.

“Given that fact, I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions between the Portuguese and divert the attention of politicians away from the grave problems affecting us,” Cavaco Silva said.

He said he was setting aside his “personal convictions” about marriage, but he would not elaborate or answer questions from reporters.

While in Portugal, the pope used his May 13 visit to the shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Fatima to denounce same-sex marriages and abortion.

Benedict called on Roman Catholics to protect “the family based on the indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman, help to respond to some of today’s most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good.”

He also expressed his “deep appreciation for all those social and pastoral initiatives aimed at combating the socioeconomic and cultural mechanisms which lead to abortion, and are openly concerned to defend life and to promote the reconciliation and healing of those harmed by the tragedy of abortion.”

The pope’s remarks came on the third day of a four-day visit aimed at shoring up Catholic morale in an increasingly secular Portugal.

Benedict also used the visit to shift a more forceful tone in confronting his church’s ongoing sex abuse scandal, which he has called a “sin inside the church.”

In the context of the pope’s visit, Pres.

Cavaco’s ratification of marriage equality can only be seen as a repudiation of Roman Catholic political influence.

Socialist Party spokesman Vitalino Canas welcomed the president’s decision.

“This is a memorable moment,” he said.

“This is a great step forward for us politically and as a society.”

Antonio Serzedelo, president of the LGBT lobby group Opus Gay, congratulated the president for placing “ethical responsibility above personal opinions.”

“Opus Gay” is a pun referring to the secretive Catholic lay order “Opus Dei.” While 84.5% of Portuguese identify as Catholic, Portugal has seen a notable shift away from Catholic teaching in recent years.

The church was somewhat discredited by its association with the series of dictators who ruled Portugal from 1926-1974. The constitution of 1975 specifies that Portugal is a secular state.

Only some 2 million of its almost 11 million people describe themselves as practicing Catholics.

Portugal legalized homosexuality in 1982.

In 2001, it passed a law allowing “civil unions” between same-sex couples, which granted couples certain legal, tax and property rights.

However, it did not allow couples to take a partner’s name, inherit property, or acquire survivorship rights to the partner’s state pension.

The country legalized divorce in 2007 and abortion in 2008.

Parliament passed the marriage equality bill on January 8, 2010, by a vote of 123-99.

The Roman Catholic Church was bitterly opposed to the measure – as it was to all the previous social reforms – but Portuguese society appears to be largely supportive.

Like neighboring Spain – which has also passed marriage equality legislation – Portugal is a parliamentary democracy in which the party that controls a majority in parliament makes up the country’s government.

The Socialist Party led the Portuguese government from 1995 till 2002 and again from 2005 to the present.

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Seattle Gay News 17

HIV-positive men are not “toxic social outcasts”

by Michael Raitt SGN Contributing Writer

Unfortunately, HIV is still a part of our culture. Every day, men in our community, young and old, are finding out they are infected with HIV. With all we know and the messages that have been put out about safer sex, it still happens.

Surprisingly, however, what is also still happening to many of these men is they are feeling like toxic social outcasts because of the out-of-hand rejections they are experiencing from some of their peers. I’m hearing from men in their 20s and 30s about the personal impact their diagnosis has, as well as the cold rebuke they are getting when they disclose their status to dating interests or potential hook-ups. These are not simply, “No thanks. Let’s go for coffee, though”; these are shaming lectures and refusals to have any kind of social contact.

I have messages to both groups, both the newly diagnosed and the peers.

First, to the newly diagnosed: An HIV diagnoses will bring up many mixed emotions for most. You may experience any combination of the following: depression, anxiety, shame, embarrassment, or grief. Any time one gets a diagnosis with a disease that has major implications on health, these feelings come up. Shame gets included because our larger culture is still schizophrenic about sex and sexuality and shames people because they “caught this disease through sex.”

A common thing that many men report are feelings that now, with their diagnosis, they are damaged goods and no one will ever want to love them. They feel like the hopes and dreams of having that one special man in their lives were just dashed. This is compounded by the rejections they experience when they disclose their status.

Bullshit! Just because you have been di-

agnosed with HIV doesn’t mean you have to kill your dreams of having a loving relationship. You are not damaged goods. You are not destined to live a lonely life now because of this. You have a disease you have to manage. I applaud you for taking the risk and disclosing your status – that is the right thing to do.

Please recognize that there is a huge difference between feeling the sting of rejection – we all hate rejection – and tagging yourself as damaged, flawed, disgusting, or unlovable. These are not accurate adjectives to describe who you are simply because of your HIV status.

What is also true is some of these guys who are rejecting you are doing so because they may have their own intimacy issues and that it probably would have been likely that they’d reject you down the road anyway.

You may have had sex, but that would probably have been all, because some of these guys aren’t capable of making meaningful friendships or deeper intimate relationships.

Your HIV status makes it an easier thing to do because they justify it as an obvious reason to not get together.

To the peer group: Be aware of the impact and message you are sending to someone you just meet, you like, you are interested in, then out-of-hand reject them and judge them when they disclose their HIV status to you. Yes, you are absolutely within your rights to not engage in sexual activity with someone who is HIV+. No one faults you for that. Being with someone who is HIV+ or not, you always have the right to make choices about your sexual activity that are in your best interests. However, totally and coldly rejecting someone who is HIV+ may have more to do with your own misunderstood fears and shame or intimacy issues than them actually having HIV.

I have never talked to an HIV+ man who was crushed when someone didn’t want to have sex with them because of their status (hurt, maybe, but not crushed). They realize this is a possibility. They get crushed when they feel like they are not even worth being friends with because of their HIV status – when guys turn their back and walk away and having nothing to do with them ever again. If you like someone and then find you may be hesitant to be intimate with them because of their HIV status, it is okay to say so, and it is also okay to hang out with them and see if a friendship develops. Without HIV, these were great guys! As far as character goes, nothing has changed because of their HIV status. They are still great guys!

To both groups: HIV is a chronic disease you will have to manage. The common argument is that HIV is different because you can infect someone. You can’t give someone diabetes, but you can give them HIV. This is true. However, all that is required is another level of vigilance. Understand your body and your disease. Have safer sex. Be in con-

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer

The Columbia Law School Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic recently submitted a report to Congress showing that U.S. allies have managed to transition smoothly into having Gay and Lesbian soldiers serving openly in the military.

The report, “Open Service and Our Allies: A Report on the Inclusion of Openly Gay and Lesbian Servicemembers in the U.S. Allies’ Armed Forces,” is based on extensive research into the experiences of Australia, Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom in regards to openly Gay servicemembers’ integration into the armed forces.

The report concludes that, in all cases, the successful transitions to Gays and Lesbians serving openly involved no change in barracks housing or bathrooms. “‘Open Service and Our Allies’ debunks many myths about the difficulty of tran-

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Michael Raitt, MA LMHC, is a therapist and a contributing writer to the SGN. He writes a bi-monthly column in the SGN. If you would like to comment on this column, ask a question you’d like him to write about, or suggest another topic of interest, please contact him at askingmichael@comcast. net.

New report finds smooth transition for Gay troops in other countries

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18 Seattle Gay News

tinual contact with your doctor about your health. Then have a healthy, happy, loving relationship. Remember, a great relationship isn’t just about sex; it is about who you both are and how you act towards each other.

Judging and rejecting men who are HIV+ is not necessary. This only serves to keep our community fractured and to perpetuate the stereotype that having HIV reflects on these men negatively as people rather than simply looking at these men as having a chronic illness. Do what you need to do to be safe and keep yourselves safe while being open enough to get past a diagnosis to get to know a good guy who could potentially become a good friend.

sitioning to open service. The report reinforces that ending the military’s exclusion of openly Gay servicemembers is not only possible but beneficial to national security,” said Suzanne B. Goldberg, professor and director of the Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic.

In addition, the report found military performances and unit cohesion improved, and discrimination and harassment did not significantly increase. The report also showed that educational and training programs on sexual orientation, alongside an openness about relationships of Gay and Lesbian military personnel, eased the transition to Gays serving in most of these countries.

Drawing from its documentation of allies’ efforts, the report makes four specific recommendations to ease the U.S. military’s move to open service: Educational and training programs that include sexual orientation; strong anti-discrimination policies that provide a clear procedure for handling grievances; sexual harassment policies that apply equally to all servicemembers and focus on the inappropriate act rather than the identity of the offender; and military support of Gay Pride activities and Gay and Lesbian affinity groups within the military.

Columbia Law School’s Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic addresses cutting-edge issues in sexuality and gender law through litigation, legislation, public policy analysis, and other forms of advocacy. Clinic students have worked on a wide range of projects, from constitutional litigation to legislative advocacy to immigration cases, to serve both individual and organizational clients in cases involving issues of sexuality and gender law.

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Celebrating 37 Years!

Gay men in Asia-Pacific region “denied HIV care” new report says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Ninety percent of Gay men in the Asia-Pacific region are denied access to HIV/AIDS care because of discriminatory laws in their countries.

That is the shocking conclusion reached by a new report issued jointly by the U.N. Development Program, the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health, and the University of Hong Kong’s Center for Comparative and Public Law. The report was made public on May 17 at a conference in Hong Kong.

“Nineteen of 48 countries in the Asia Pacific region criminalize male-to-male sex, and these laws often take on the force of vigilantism, often leading to abuse and human rights violations,” the report said.

“Even where there are no specific offences for male-to-male sex, MSM [men who have sex with men] and Transgender people are subject to police abuses and are targeted by police for other offences relating to public order, vagrancy, prostitution, and obscenity.”

These conditions make men who have sex with men extremely reluctant to be tested for HIV or to seek medical attention if they are infected.

The consequence is that HIV rates among Gay and Bi men in Asia are reaching epidemic proportions.

For example, the HIV infection rate among Gay and Bi men in Bangkok is now 30.8%, compared to 1.4% in the whole adult population in Thailand.

In Rangoon, the figure is 29.3% versus 0.7% in the whole Burmese adult population. In Mumbai, the Gay and Bi infection rate is 17% versus 0.36% for all Indian adults.

The UNDP report follows on the heels of a World Health Organization report released May 14, which revealed “the odds of MSM participants having HIV infection being 18.7 times higher than that in the general population. In China, the odds of MSM participants having HIV infection are 45 times

higher than in the general population.”

Punishments for male-to-male sex ranged from the death penalty in Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan, to whipping in Malaysia and Indonesia’s Aceh province, the report found.

Even when punishments were not enforced, they provided a pretext for extortion, harassment and violence, it said.

Typical harassment included disruption of HIV prevention services by police detaining outreach workers, many of who are Gay, Bi, or Transgender peer educators.

Condoms and lubricants are also confiscated by police as evidence of sex work or of illegal maleto-male sex.

Police enforced public order and prostitution laws selectively against Gay men in some countries, the report went on.

In Sri Lanka and the Philippines, for example, vagrancy laws were used in this way.

In China and Singapore, the report found that HIV education materials were censored to eliminate references to same-sex intercourse.

“The effectiveness of the HIV response will depend not just on the sustained scale up of HIV prevention, treatment and care, but on whether the legal and social environment support or hinder programs for those who are most vulnerable,” the UNDP’s Mandeep Dhaliwal said in a statement.

Former judge of the High Court of Australia Michael Kirby said, “A strategy of comprehensive, rights-based HIV prevention requires bold and effective legal and policy measures to reach out to vulnerable communities and individuals at risk.”

Ajit Prakash Shah, retired chief justice of the Delhi High Court in India, told the UNDP conference that men who have sex with men “cannot be excluded or ostracized merely because some of us perceive them as deviants or different.”

In July 2009, Shah delivered the ruling that found India’s 150-year-old statute prohibiting homosexual acts as discriminatory and therefore “a violation of fundamental rights.”

Nineteen of 48 countries in the Asia Pacific region criminalize male-to-male sex, and these laws often take on the force of vigilantism, often leading to abuse and human rights violations.

nies operating in Minnesota, Kaner-Roth noted. Most offer benefits for same-sex couples, she said.

pawlenty

continued from cover In his veto message, Pawlenty said he believes opposite-sex couples should continue to get privileged treatment not afforded to same-sex couples.

“Marriage – as defined as between a man and a woman – should remain elevated in our society at a special level, as it traditionally has been,” he said. “I oppose efforts to treat domestic relationships as the equivalent of traditional marriage.”

According to the Minnesota Independent newspaper, Pawlenty said the problem of funeral arrangements was “nonexistent,” since same-sex couples may “simply draw up the appropriate paperwork.”

Pawlenty is finishing his second term as Minnesota governor, and has announced he will not run for a third term. He is reported to be interested in running for the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

Pawlenty has been associated with the moderate center of the Republican Party, but now seems to be moving to the right to appeal to Republican base voters.

Openly Gay Minnesota Sen. Scott Dibble called the veto “partisan extremism.”

“This bill was about basic human decency,” Dibble said in a statement. “We have heard too many heart-wrenching stories of Minnesotans suffering unimaginable indignities because the current law stood in the way. It is incredibly unfortunate that we are allowing government red tape and partisan extremism to block loving couples through the final phase of life.”

“It is very disappointing that the governor is willing to politicize the most personal and difficult decisions of a person’s lifetime,” Dibble added.

Dibble married his partner Richard Leyva in California prior to the passage of Prop 8, but Minnesota does not recognize their marriage. He has introduced marriage equality legislation but the bill so far has not gotten a committee hearing.

Project 515 – a group that supported the bill Pawlenty vetoed – said that the governor did not have all his facts straight.

“The governor’s facts are wrong,” Ann Kaner-Roth, executive director of Project 515, said in a statement on May 16. “Samesex couples can’t sue for wrongful death, and current law does not provide the same level of protection for a same-sex partner trying to carry out their deceased partner’s final wishes.”

“His comment that the proposed legislation is unnecessary shows he is out of step with the experiences of real Minnesotans,” Kaner-Roth added. “Many families have faced exactly the kind of discrimination this legislation sought to prevent even though they had put in place all of the legal and other preparations available to them under current law.”

The bill’s language was copied from written benefits policies of Fortune 500 compa-

belarus

continued from cover were brutal and violent,’ he added. Another participant who did not want to be named said, ‘It was like a group of wild dogs.’ The march ended with most of the participants being arrested and violently beaten. A few managed to escape but the police ran after them.”

“I’ve never run so fast in my life,” Alekseev said afterward. “After we ran away from the anti-riot police, [activist] Ira Fet and I took refuge in the small room of a VIP building where they keep the trash. We stayed there for 20 minutes while I was receiving calls from media outlets.”

Co-organizer Androsenko initially managed to escape the police rampage but was later nabbed with other participants while sitting in a cafe. Reports varied, but at least 12 marchers and 18 skinhead counterprotesters were detained.

At least two pride participants suffered serious enough injuries to require medical treatment while in custody, the live blog reported.

“We are outraged to see so much police violence against a peaceful event and we can only admire the courage of these 40 heroes who took part to this march today despite knowing the risks,” said Louis-Georges Tin, president of Paris-based IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

For remarkable video of portions of the police attack, see tinyurl.com/belwilddg.

Other Belarusian pride week events included parties, exhibitions, seminars, films and a news conference.

A May 14 screening of the Canadian documentary Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride at the Crowne Plaza Minsk hotel was delayed when anti-Gay protesters laid “siege” to the hotel, organizers said on the live blog.

At 7:55 p.m., they reported: “Hotel is now under siege. It is not possible to enter, and not possible to leave.” At 8:25 p.m., they reported: “Police have called the anti-riot police to remove the protesters. ... Hotel security reports that they already found some protesters inside the hotel.” By 8:40 p.m.: “Police and riot police have cleared the entrance to the hotel and have cordoned it off.

Participants are entering.”

Then came the bomb threat. At 9:40 p.m., the bloggers reported: “Bomb alert at Crowne Plaza. Film interrupted. Police asked to stop the film and relocate to another room within the hotel. So, we are having a break and relocating.”

The movie and the 100 attendees relocated and the film finished up at 10:50 p.m., the bloggers reported.

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Seattle Gay News 19

The two were convicted on May 18 and sentenced May 20. continued from cover In unusually graphic language, judge Usiwa Usiwa convicted Monjeza of “having ture and religious beliefs. … Malawi is not carnal knowledge of Tiwonge through the ready to see its sons getting married to its anus, which is against the order of nature.”

Chimbalanga was found guilty of “permitsons.” ting buggery,” which the judge said was also contrary to the natural order.

Defense attorney Mauya Msuku told BBC that his clients would appeal.

At the couple’s sentencing hearing, Msuku had argued that their actions had not victimized anyone.

“Unlike in a rape case, there was no complainant or victim in this case,” he said.

“Here are two consenting adults doing their thing in private. Nobody will be threatened or offended if they are released into society.”

But chief prosecutor Dickens Mwambazi

malawi

welcomed the judge’s decision.

“In Malawi, we don’t allow men to marry men or women to marry women,” he said.

“I think 90% of the crowd here agrees with the ruling.”

BBC reporter Raphael Tenthani said Monjeza broke down in tears when the sentence was read, while Chimbalanga remained calm.

“I am not worried,” Chimbalanga told reporters. She acknowledged supporters with smiles and high fives as she was led away.

Monjeza has been seriously ill, and there were concerns that prison authorities were not providing adequate medical care. Reporters on the scene said he looked thin and depressed.

The courtroom was packed, and hundreds of people gathered outside the building.

Some shouted abuse as the couple was taken back to jail.

“You got what you deserve!” some shouted. “Fourteen years is not enough; they should get 50!”

Monjeza and Chimbalanga celebrated a traditional Malawian wedding on December 28 and were arrested the next day. They have been in prison ever since.

Chimbalanga was born biologically male, but has always identified and lived as a woman, according to her relatives. She is a recognized member of the women’s group at the church where she met Monjeza.

Prior to the verdict on May 18, Monjeza and Chimbalanga issued a defiant message from prison reaffirming their love for each other.

“I love Steven so much,” Chimbalanga said. “If people or the world cannot give me the chance and freedom to continue living with him as my lover, then I am better off to die here in prison. Freedom without him is useless and meaningless.”

“We have come a long way and even if our family relatives are not happy, I will not and never stop loving Tiwonge,” said Monjeza.

In January, defense attorney Msuku appealed to the Constitutional Court to toss out the case, saying his clients had a constitutional “right to privacy, dignity, belief, conscience and self-expression.”

Msuku, who has been hired by Malawi’s underground Gay rights group, the Centre for the Development of People, argued that laws banning homosexuality “violate the right to marry and find a family.”

The top court refused to consider the appeal, however.

Human rights activists said the sentence was a blow for human rights and minority groups and the fight against HIV/AIDS. British Gay activist Peter Tatchell, who has been in constant contact with the couple in prison, condemned their conviction.

“With so much hatred and violence in the world, it is bizarre that any court would criminalize two people for loving each other,” he said.

Tatchell also praised the couple for their bravery in the face of harsh criminal penalties.

“They declared their love in a society where many people – not all – are very intolerant and homophobic. This was a very brave thing to do,” he said.

“Malawi’s anti-Gay laws were not devised

by Malawians,” Tatchell noted.

“They were devised in London in the 19th century and imposed on the people of Malawi by British colonizers and their army of occupation. Before the British came and conquered Malawi, there were no laws against homosexuality. These laws are a foreign imposition. They are not African laws.”

Amnesty International has declared Monjeza and Chimbalanga to be prisoners of conscience and has demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

“Being in a relationship should not be a crime. No one should be arrested and detained solely on the basis of their real or

Legal Services

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May 21, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Michelle Kagari, deputy Africa director at Amnesty International.

“Their human rights, the rights to freedom from discrimination, of conscience, expression, and privacy have been flagrantly violated,” she said. “Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga have done nothing wrong and should be released immediately.”

Undule Mwakasungura, director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, said the sentence would drive Gays into hiding.

“Malawi needs to sit down and tackle the issue of Gays,” he said.

“We have many of them who need to publicly access information and HIV and AIDS medical care. It’s a big let-down.”

Richard Bridgen of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre said the sentencing was a “real tragedy for Malawian society.”

“The deep point is that they have the right to be different … the right to live the life they choose,” said Bridgen.

According to Tatchell, the couple only recently became aware of the international furor surrounding their case.

Monjeza and Chimbalanga expressed their thanks for the support they have received from fellow Malawians and from people around the world, Tatchell said.

“We are thankful for the people who have rallied behind us during this difficult time.

We are grateful to the people who visit and support us, which really makes us feel to be members of a human family; otherwise we would feel condemned,” said Chimbalanga.

Monjeza added, “All the support is well appreciated. We are grateful to everybody who is doing this for us. May people please continue the commendable job. … Prison life is very difficult.”

Festival

continued from cover that will be held on Broadway E. between E. John and Roy Sts. in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, the center of the city’s LGBT community. This year, the festival will feature four public stages, a “kids’ zone,” and over 200 booths and vendors.

Event organizers promise live entertainment, music, and a Doggie Drag Costume contest, to name a few.

The festival will be expanding three more blocks this year. Vendors will be set up from The Deluxe Bar and Grill on Roy St. to Rite Aid on John St. Last year, the festival received 5,000 visitors; however, this year, organizers are expecting anywhere from 7,000-10,000 visitors.

The Capitol Hill Pride Committee has announced it has received a matching fund

project grant from the City of Seattle Mayor’s Office.

Charlette LeFevre, a Capitol Hill Pride Festival official, says the city of Seattle has commissioned the filming of the festival for a DVD project. All sales from the DVD will go to different organizations that the Capitol Hill Pride Festival Committee chooses as beneficiaries.

LeFevre says that there are still a few booths spaces open, but they are going fast.

The booth spaces are 10 x 10 and cost $100.

The deadline for signups is June 15.

Also, LeFevre has announced an open call to all artists and entertainers who would like to be a part of the lineup on one of four stages. To submit your band, act, or talent for consideration, e-mail festival organizers at capitolhillfestival@gmail.com.

For more information about the Capitol Hill Pride Festival, visit the event’s official website at www.capitolhillpridefestival. net.

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Seattle Gay News 23