Tuesday at 4:26 pm
Kate Micucci, Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza are foul mouthed horny 14th century Italian nuns in the film comedy, THE LITTLE HOURS now playing at SIFF at The Uptown
How awkward.
Gender dynamics in everyday conversation between complete strangers frequently result in the usual sexist role playing where men feel the need to talk over, through and around women.
As a male of the species, I try to avoid falling into that trap. And, I know I sometimes fail. It can be hard for those of us (regardless of gender) who tend to enjoy hearing ourselves expound on subjects we’re passionate about. Men do it mostly though knowledgeable women are also certainly capable of “monologuing” on a topic near and dear to their hearts…it’s part of human nature. Flappin’ the mouth.
But, men ARE certainly far more likely to engage it than women…in my opinion. And, it happens in the oddest of places…like in press junkets for indie comedy movies starring very funny women.
Thursday at 3:33 pm
Pretty amazing for a show that’s getting a bit long in the tooth! Apparently, the controversial move from barely watched LOGO TV to the slightly more watched VH1 has paid off for “RuPaul’s Drag” the competitive drag pageant reality show produced by gay owned production company World of Wonder and starring the iconic drag superstar RuPaul Charles. The show, which just completed its 9th season and its first on VH1 after 8 years on sister network, LOGO (both owned by Viacom) managed to snag 8 Emmy Award nominations today including nods for Best Reality-Competitive Show and for Best Host. One of those 8 noms was for “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked” which airs on YouTube, the behind the scenes show which airs after the main episode. It grabbed a nomination for “Unstructured Reality Program”.
It’s interesting to note that the premiere episode of Season 9 which featured Lady Gaga was the episode apparently submitted for award consideration…Gaga seems to have been a good luck charm for the show with this personal best haul for Emmy noms.
RuPaul had this to say about the love bestowed on the show:
“I want to thank the academy for honoring the entire cast and crew of RuPaul’s Drag Race, my family at World of Wonder, and our champions at VH1,” said RuPaul. “It takes a village, people! Their creativity and dedication to telling the stories of our brave and talented queens never ceases to amaze, amuse and inspire.”
Friday at 3:56 pm
For the second time in a row, anti-trans bigots failed to get a citizen’s initiative on the Washington State ballot that would seek to get voter approval in the state to remove non-discrimination protections for transgender people. The Washington Secretary of State office announced at 3 pm this afternoon that the anti-trans groups failed to acquire enough signatures to get on the November 2017 ballot. This is another victory for LGBTQ rights in Washington and a sign that the majority of citizens in the state are opposed to transphobia and in support of equal rights and protections for transgender residents.
More from HRC:
WASHINGTON STATE: For the second year in a row, a campaign to rollback non-discrimination protections for transgender people failed to turn in enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in Washington State. The WA Secretary of State’s office just announced that the I-1552 campaign cancelled its 3pm Friday appointment to turn in 259,622 valid signatures.
Law enforcement, sexual assault prevention groups and YWCAs opposed I-1552 because repealing the state’s non-discrimination protections would be unnecessary, unenforceable, and harmful.
Friday at 12:28 pm
Seattle make-up artist ERIK WARREN applying old age make-up for the film, “Atavistic”
Erik Warren has worked in Special Effects for stage and film, along with fashion and runway makeup for the past two decades. Working with numerous cult icons, designers and celebrities such as the one and only ‘Elvira’ ~ Working in stage and set design for ‘The Mistress Of The Dark herself.’ He’s also worked on numerous projects with local Seattle designer Mark Mitchell, the talented Seattle video director Wes Hurley, the Cult Drag Superstar Peaches Christ and RuPaul’s Drag Race Icons ~ such as BenDeLaCreme, Sharon Needles, Bianca Del Rio, Jinkx Monsoon, and Robbie Turner in The Capitol Hill Web-Series. He has worked on film and stage projects such as: Holiday Hell starring cult horror star – Jeffrey Combs (Reanimator 1 & 2, The Frighteners), Brendan Mack’s Fog Machine Play, Ms Pak-Man, King Beard: a Play with Music, VaudEVILe, and coming in the Fall: Hocus Pocus!
Craig: What was the first horror movie you can remember seeing as a kid?
Erik: SUMMER SCHOOL. It’s not the first ‘Horror Movie’ but it is the first movie that inspired me to do FX makeup. There are these two characters in that who did Special Effects gore makeup in this 80s comedy film, Dave & Chainsaw; I just fell in love with them. I’ve met both of the actors that played them last year: Dean Cameron & Gary Riley, very sweet guys, we still chat on Facebook.
Craig: Take us back to Wenatchee. I remember you had a vintage clothing store in the mall. Was that your first business?
Monday at 5:20 pm
A new development in the ongoing saga of Purr Cocktail Lounge, the popular LGBTQ bar on 11th Ave between Pike and Pine on Capitol Hill. Last month, owner Barbie Roberts announced the bar would be making some “changes” and we’ve subsequently learned that she plans on moving Purr to a new location.
Rumors began flying that the bar was actually closing or moving to weird and unlikely locations but we chatted with Barbie over Pride Weekend and she assured us that Purr will soon be alive and well and in a new locale and one that isn’t off the confines of the Hill.
She did mention that there would be a good bye party by the middle of July and today she officially announced the “Purr Going Away Party” to happen on Wednesday, July 19th:
And the Party is just beginning……
Please join us for our “Going Away Party” on Wednesday July 19th. as we say goodbye to our “current” location. We’ve been proud to serve you here on 11th Ave for 12 strong years, and will continue to do so in our “new location”. Stay tuned for additional news as we work on solidifying details of our new home. Hope to see you all there!
Barbie also stressed to us that she’s not leaving the current location out of any bad feelings or due to the building being torn down. It’s simply the end of her current lease and she decided not to continue at that location due to the rent hike she would face under a new lease. It’s Economics 101, folks…gentrification leads to property values going up, followed by a big jump in rents which is something that effects both individuals in apartments as well as small business owners in commercial locations.
Saturday at 3:15 pm
Graphic via Thrillist.com
It is kinda weird when you think about it. Ten years ago, in 2007, every cherished video meme in the world all seemed to happen in the same space of time.
That’s a viral epidemic severe enough to warrant the Center for Disease Control stepping in…
Miles Klee at Thrillist.com reports on that phenomenon. Check it out.
I’m fans of most of those videos but I’ve never cared for Chris Crocker’s fake bullshit nonsense. “Leave Britney Alone” was so blatantly phony and over the top…yet it actually worked into turning Crocker into a Grade Z celebrity albeit one largely helped by the fact he extended his 15 minutes of fame (or padded out his 7 minutes of “Britney” fame into a full quarter hour or so, at least to the LGBTQ market) by doing gay porn videos. He turned “Leave Britney Alone!” into “Stick your large penis into me while I squeal like a sex pig!”
Thursday at 4:04 pm
Singer/rocker/actor REEVE CARNEY performs at Barboza in Seattle this Friday June 23, 2017….right in the middle of Seattle Gay Pride Weekend!
The entire world doesn’t revolve around Gay Pride every second of the day..even LGBTQ people and allies need a break from EVERYTHING being Pride labeled during their city’s annual Pride events.”
If you already need a Pride “break” here’s two option both involving live musicians.
First up is the adorable REEVE CARNEY who has a show at Barboza, underneath Neumos, this Friday night, June 23rd. Mr. Carney is known to musical theater nerds as the originating actor in the scandalous Broadway musical “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark”. The attractive young actor started out as a singer/musician and since “Spider-Man: You Can’t Stop The Disaster” featured music by Bono and The Edge, it required a young rocker. Since then, Carney has caught our eye on the fabulous Showtime series “Penny Dreadful” where he played a never aging/sexually fluid Dorian Gray, and he also appeared in this last winter’s AWFUL remount of “The Rocky Horror Show” as Riff-Raff, one of the few good things in that unsweet travesty of a show…
We prefer to remember in “Penny Dreadful” where he had lots of hot sex scenes…including one with Josh Hartnett.
Thursday at 3:04 pm
Finally….a Ken Doll who looks like ME!!!
Well, no. They didn’t create “Chubby Middle Aged Bitter Old Bear Ken” but if you’re into hairless, lookalike twink types who pretty much all have the same vapid facial expression but in THREE different skin tones, then YES there is some representation going on here thanks to Mattel updating Barbie’s main man, Ken after their previous makeover of Barbie herself.
They just released the Press Release on Tuesday…Mattel’s Fashionistas line has updated Ken with three body type options: skinny, original and vaguely but not really beefy, as well as seven skin tones, eight hair colors, nine hairstyles and all sorts of awful Urban Outfitter type outfits.
Frankly, they could have just named this line “Pass Around Twink Party Bottom Ken” and be done with it…
Wednesday at 4:05 pm
No Justice No Pride protesters shut down Capital Pride in Washington D.C. earlier this month. Photo: Dylan Comstock
Seattle Pride is making back up plans in case this Sunday’s Seattle Pride Parade faces anti-corporate protesters.
The Board of Directors for Seattle Pride, the non-profit community organization formerly known as Seattle Out and Proud who produce the annual Pride parade and other events, sent out an email today to all their business partners and sponsors addressing the issue of organized protests disrupting the parade to be held Sunday morning, June 25, 2017 along 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle. The popular annual event which routinely draws over a 100,000 people is being targeted by the Seattle chapter of the “No Justice, No Pride” group.
“No Justice, No Pride” received national attention earlier this month when they successfully protested at Washington D.C./Capital Pride on June 1oth. Protesters barricaded themselves along the parade route resulting in the re-routing of the parade. The group released a list of demands that included demands that Capital Pride be more inclusive towards the Trans community, Queer People of Color, Indigenous people and oppressed communities as well as restrictions on participation in the parade by Police or any Military organizations. And, a main target in their demands was a call to restrict Corporate entities from participating in Capital Pride.
Wednesday at 12:40 pm
It’s also NYC Pride Week and they’re already making plans for NYC Pride 2019 which will be the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots which helped ignite the modern gay rights movement. “One World, One Pride, One New York City – Unite in 2019” will be the theme and NYC Pride 2019 is also being designated as a World Pride event.
More poo on this big announcement. If Herr Drumpf doesn’t destroy us before then, this will be a YUGE global event.
DURING NYC PRIDE WEEK, NYC & COMPANY ANNOUNCES NEW YORK CITY’S TWO-YEAR COUNTDOWN TO WORLDPRIDE 2019
—50th Anniversary of Stonewall Riots, Birthplace of Modern Gay Rights Movement, to Coincide with WorldPride 2019—
Thursday at 6:29 pm
The City of Seattle has apparently had enough of the Capitol Hill Pride/Broadway Pride event producers. Last week, the city shut down their plans for a two day event that was to include a solidarity march to the national Equality March in Washington D.C. (A competing Seattle solidarity march went on as scheduled). Now, the city is telling the same event producers who operate under the names “Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore” and “Capitol Hill Pride Festival” and is headed by Charlette LeFevre that they are being denied permits to stage another event on Saturday, June 24th. That event was a rebranded version of their traditional Capitol Hill Pride/Broadway Pride Street Fair they’ve held on Capitol Hill’s main thoroughfare Broadway between John and Aloha for the last several years. In a confusing display of organization skills, LeFevre moved this year’s event to Saturday June 10th and Sunday June 11th which annoyed many Broadway merchants as well as small businesses and non-profits who had paid for booth space during the festival. LeFevre then also created “Capitol Hill Pride: Bite of Broadway” on the original scheduled date to appease those businesses thus planning on having three days of Pride related events on Capitol Hill during the month of June 2017.
But, the city has apparently had enough of LeFevre and her confusing business practices. As reported last week, the city denied her group the permits for the June 11/12 events which LeFevre repeatedly ignored. When Capitol Hill Pride began setting up their staging areas for last weekend’s event, the city quickly responded and shut down those preparations. Capitol Hill Pride’s refusal to accept the City’s original decision on that festival was the chief reason given in today’s announcement that LeFevre and Capitol Hill Pride would be denied permits for the June 24th event. The notice also cites an injury sustained by a woman during that unauthorized set up by Capitol Hill Pride as another reason for the refusal.
It should be stressed that this refusal of permits is ONLY related to the Saturday Capitol Hill Pride events happening on Broadway. This has nothing to do with Seattle Pride‘s annual parade on Sunday, June 25th or the events produced by Seattle PrideFest including their events scheduled at Capitol Hill’s Link rail site and in adjoining Cal Anderson Park on Saturday June 24th or the main PrideFest event at Seattle Center on Sunday June 25th. ALL those official events will continue as always.
The City’s strongly worded release today on refusal of event permits for Charlette LeFevre’s “Capitol Hill Pride” group seems to indicate the city is no longer interested in working with that event organization and suggests it would be happy to work with OTHER event organizers for a similar event on Broadway in the future.
Thursday at 4:57 pm
Evan Whitfield, Sunam Ellis, Brenda Joyner, Peter Dylan O’Connor in New Century Theatre Company’s production of Will Eno’s play THE REALISTIC JONESES onstage at 12th Avenue Arts through July 1, 2017
My inner 11 year old was dazzled by the set for THE REALISTIC JONESES the play by Will Eno currently onstage at 12th Avenue Arts and produced by New Century Theatre Company.
Not so much by the plain facade of the set, a simple depiction of a wall of what seems to be a partially constructed house. It’s just a wall of particle board with sliding glass patio doors on one side, and cleverly constructed sliding panel on the other which reveals an interior. But, it’s the delightful set “header” that extends the length of that wall that fascinates. It’s a delightful diorama that depicts the narrow skinny mountain side town where the “Joneses” reside, the two couples who populate this odd oblique play. The little houses light up and there is a simulation of the movement of the sun across the “sky” of the diorama town and when the actions of the play descend into night, so does the world of the little town on the mantel over the heads of the actors performing the scenes of the play. There are minimal actions in the text of this play, but those minimal acts are mimicked in the lives of the parallel town. It DOES interesting little things, just like the oddly mostly interesting things occurring in the world of the Joneses.
I don’t know who came up with this concept for the this production of The Realistic Joneses. I haven’t read the play but I have checked out photos from other productions including its Broadway debut from a few years back….no signs of any diorama world existing in any of those versions. This town appears to be unique to New Century’s production and so it must be the work of the director, Paul Budraitis and/or the scenic designer, Andrea Bryn Bush. Having seen previous work from both artists, it’s entirely possible one or both of them came up with this concept. Both Mr. Budraitis and Ms Bush are detailed oriented and seemingly fascinated by textures, shapes, colors, patinas and how all these details can form an unique theatrical experience.
In short, I really really REALLY love the set design and the overall mise-en-scène for The Realistic Joneses which also features evocative lighting design by Evan Christian Anderson and sound design by Johanna Melamed. The designers and director have created a fascinating, dreamscape which is fitting and apt for the world created by Will Eno in this play.
Wednesday at 1:32 pm
Placards featuring all 49 victims of Pulse Orlando were held by community members at Seattle’s “We Remember-Pulse One Year Anniversary” event at Cal Anderson Park on Monday, June 12, 2017. Photo: Adam McRoberts for Seattle Gay Scene
On Monday, June 12, 2017 people gathered in somber groups in cities all around the country to mark the one year anniversary and to honor all the victims from the Orlando Pulse Nightclub Massacre. A lone gunman slaughtered 49 people at the popular Orlando Florida gay nightclub and injured a further 58 before he was killed by police. A large memorial/vigil was held in Orlando on Monday but members from both the LGBTQ and Latinx communities gathered in cities across the country as well to remember all those affected by the tragedy. The majority of the lives lost at Pulse were Latinx with many of the victims either from or descended from family from nearby Spanish speaking Caribbean islands including Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
In Seattle, community leaders including myself and Adam McRoberts from Seattle Gay Scene, Sarah Toce from The Seattle Lesbian and former Seattle LGBT Commissioner Mac McGregor created the event We Remember – Pulse Vigil – 1 Year Memorial to honor the anniversary. The event held in Cal Anderson Park at the exact location of last year’s community vigil held the day after the massacre drew a couple hundred members of the community to hear speeches from community leaders as well as musical tributes from area performers and a reading of all 49 names lost in the attack.
Mac McGregor led the reading of the names of all 49 victims of Pulse Orlando held by community members at Seattle’s “We Remember-Pulse One Year Anniversary” event at Cal Anderson Park on Monday, June 12, 2017. Photo: Adam McRoberts for Seattle Gay Scene
McGregor, currently running in this year’s municipal election for a spot on the Seattle City Council acted as emcee for the ceremony which included speeches from Seattle Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim, representing Mayor Ed Murray who was unable to attend the memorial due to a previously scheduled engagement. Several other community leaders spoke including a tearful key note address from King County Elections Supervisor Jacque Larrainzar and a less well received political harangue from James Khan, a community organizer for Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant and a member of the political group the Socialist Alternative. Sawant was also unable to attend the memorial and while Khan opened his remarks with a deeply felt personal story about his connection to Pulse Nightclub, the first gay club he visited in his coming out process, his following remarks wandered from the issue at hand, (honoring the people of Pulse Orlando), to a fiery discourse on the socialist agenda which many in the audience probably adhere to in one form or the other, but also felt out of place in an event meant to focus on the people affected by the events at Pulse Orlando.
Friday at 4:42 pm
So, we’re at the one year anniversary of the Orlando Pulse Massacre which claimed the lives of 49 people on June 12, 2016 at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando Florida. To honor those 49 lives and the lives of the 58 other people who were injured but survived, several members of Seattle’s LGBTQ community banded together to create a vigil/memorial to be held this coming Monday June 12th at 7pm at Cal Anderson Park. The event, “WE REMEMBER-PULSE VIGIL ONE YEAR MEMORIAL” will feature speakers, music and a reading of the names of the 49 people who senselessly lost their lives that day. Co-organizer Sarah Toce from The Seattle Lesbian whipped up this press release to explain it all in more detail. We hope to see you at Cal Anderson on Monday evening.
Speakers Include Seattle Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim and Jacque Larrainzar SEATTLE, Wash. (June 9, 2017): Seattle’s LGBTQ community will unite at 7 p.m. at Cal Anderson Park on Monday, June 12, 2017 to honor the victims, family members and friends affected by the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre – the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. On June 12, 2016, the Orlando community was rocked by the massacre at Pulse nightclub that claimed the lives of 49 victims. An additional 53 more individuals sustained injuries, and thousands in Orlando and around the world were traumatized by the attack. The horror unfolded in the middle of Pride month on Latin night at Pulse, a popular gathering place for young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people of color. Elected officials in Orlando have now dedicated June 12, 2017 “Orlando United Day – A Day of Love and Kindness.” “Our community will never forget the tragedy of Pulse or the grief of those who lost loved ones,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a video posted to the website, OrlandoUnitedDay.com. “From heartbroken family and friends to survivors putting shattered lives back together, our entire community stands with you.” The memorial at Cal Anderson Park is hosted by The Seattle Lesbian’s Sarah Toce, Seattle Gay Scene’s Michael Strangeways, Seattle Gay News’ George Bakan , Seattle Pride’s Melissa Celia Garcia, and The Mac McGregor Campaign. Supporters are encouraged to use the hashtag #HonorThemWithAction in reference to the memorial events throughout the nation on Monday, June 12, 2017. Attendees are encouraged to bring signs and rainbow flags. A sign-making station will be set up for convenience as well. A reading of the names will be conducted. A full list of Pulse shooting victims can be found on https://honorthemwithaction.org. Speakers and performers will include Seattle Deputy Mayor Hyeok Kim, Jacque Larrainzar, Pride Idol winner Ruth Soto, singer Jack Mozie, Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, Seattle City Council candidate Mac McGregor, and Rev. Brian Hutchenson from Seattle MCC Church. “It is important for us to stand in community to honor and remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the fight to create a world where we can all live together without having to hide who we are or who we love,” said McGregor, event co-organizer. McGregor, a transplant from Florida, is currently campaigning for Seattle City Council Pos. 8. He says this event goes beyond politics as usual. “I grew up in Central Florida and owned my business there,” McGregor said. “The Pulse club is a place I have been and a place where we all felt safe in the South to come together and celebrate who we were. As someone who grew up under the oppression of LGBTQ people in the South, acts that attempt to take our few safe places hit our community hard. We will stand together in strength and pay tribute by not allowing them to silence us or make us hide in the shadows.” “By honoring the victims of the Pulse massacre, we are giving a voice to the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality,” said event co-host and The Seattle Lesbian publisher Sarah Toce. “We must honor the victims with action.” Seattle Gay Scene publisher Michael Strangeways said, “I think it’s vital for the worldwide LGBTQ community to remember and honor all the victims of the Orlando Pulse massacre…not only the 49 people who were senselessly butchered that night, and the 58 people who were injured with many sustaining injuries that will impact their lives forever, but also the families and friends of all the victims and the injured. Orlando Pulse touched all of us and we must remember and honor all those people.” By honoring the victims with action on June 12, 2017, community members and organizers pledge to uproot hatred and bigotry of all kinds and make the world better and more equal for everyone.
Oh, and we should also note that we need to thank Seattle Event Printing (Dan Lane) and Kendall’s DJ & Events (L.A. Kendall) for help in putting together this event.
Thursday at 4:25 pm
Ruh Roh….there’s something afoot at PURR COCKTAIL LOUNGE the popular 11th Avenue gay venue on Capitol Hill owned by Barbie Roberts the equally popular former bartender at the long lamented Manray who opened up Purr nearly 12 years ago. Barbie posted the following on her Facebook page earlier today:
We reached out to Barbie for any additional info and she responded:
I’m hoping to tell you more information by next week. Just working on some details that I’m not at liberty to discuss.
We asked her to clarify that the news is positive and not anything awful like Purr closing and she responded:
Thursday at 3:33 pm
It gonna get all queer arty and shit on Capitol Hill tonight, kids…
It’s the annual Queer/Seattle PrideFest takeover of the monthly Capitol Hill “2nd Thursdays of the Month” Art Walk which showcases the artistical works of dozens and dozens of LGBT QUEER artists at venues all over Capitol Hill including the trendy Pike/Pine Corridor of Gentrification but also Broadway and Olive/John and 15th Street and 12th Street and Madison and…
All over.
Times vary sorta depending on the venue (much of the art is already up and ready to go in bars/restaurants/shops) but the venues holding artist receptions will have those events open roughly between 6 pm and 9 pm tonight, Thursday June 8th.
Here’s a link to a full rundown of all the participating venues with artists listed AND a handy map!
Friday at 2:09 pm
We posted yesterday about the June 11 Seattle Equality/Pride Marches (there are actually 2 different events…) which are being held in solidarity with the big march in Washington D.C.
The bigger of the two marches, organized by Seattle PrideFest with most of the major Seattle LGBTQ non-profits signed on, is seeking volunteers to help put on the event which starts at 11 am at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill before the actual march through downtown Seattle which will terminate at Seattle Center. It takes a HUGE village of volunteers to put on any event but especially a huge community event such as this. If you’re able to assist with any of the listed opportunities, then go HERE to sign up!
More info:
Volunteers are needed for the June 11 Equality March
Thursday at 2:35 pm
The June 11, 2017 Equality March hopes to duplicate the success of the January 21, 2017 Women’s March
Are you ready?
The “Equality March for Unity & Pride” is happening Sunday, June 11, 2017 in Washington D.C. with sister marches happening around the world including Seattle, Bremerton and Olympia Washington. The call for the march went out right after the Trump Inauguration and the highly successful “Women’s March” in January that featured millions and millions of people participating to protest issues regarding the 2016 U.S. presidential election and subsequent actions committed by Congress and the new administration that are detrimental to the issues of women.
The June 11 Equality March seeks to duplicate the success of the Women’s March with hopes that millions of LGBTQ people and their allies will peacefully march “for unity & pride” at a time where equal rights for LGBTQ citizens are being threatened by the actions of the current ruling regime in Washington D.C. Many of these actions are also detrimental to citizens from around the world as the Trump Administration seeks to deny refugees from entering the U.S. including LGBTQ people whose lives are threatened in some countries by religious extremists.
From the national Equality March website:
Wednesday at 3:59 pm
Noted Native American author and Seattlite Sherman Alexie is a Grand Marshal for the 2017 Seattle Pride Parade.
Photo Credit: Lee Towndrow
There’s been no apparent press release about the marshals named for Seattle Pride’s 2017 parade happening Sunday, June 25. In past years, Seattle Pride (the group formerly known as “Seattle Out & Pride”) who put on Seattle’s annual LGBTQ Pride parade and a few other events (but not the Pride Day Festival at Seattle Center which is handled by a separate organization, Seattle PrideFest) would release that information earlier in the year.
Technically, as far as we’re aware, they still haven’t actually released any info via the normal channels of dispersing such news. There’s no announcement on their social media (just post after post after repetitive post thanking corporate sponsors over and over and over…) and a Google search turned up zero announcements from any other media. Seattle Pride does have the 2017 parade marshal info on their website but haven’t bothered to formally announce it.
Were they counting on official media partners KIRO TV or a radio station to do so?
Since no one else bothered to run with the ball, we’ll announce the 2017 Seattle Pride Parade Marshals…they are:
Monday at 12:47 pm
Photo: City of Seattle Mayor’s Office
If you enjoy hanging out at Seattle’s City Hall then we have TWO big events for you this week!
The first one is now a yearly tradition…it’s the annual raising of the Pride Flag over Seattle’s City Hall and it’s happening Thursday afternoon, June 1st with entertainment scheduled to start at 3:30 pm, followed by speakers and then the flag actually being raised at 4:30 pm.
Normally, the Seattle LGBTQ Commission is in charge of planning all of this but since the commission is woefully understaffed right now (we’ve heard they are down to 5 members from their normal full 16 member panel) the planning seems to all have fallen into the lap of Mayor Ed Murray’s office. They just released a Facebook invite late last week with very little information.
The majority of the Commission is either appointed by the Mayor’s Office or the City Council…maybe they need to get to work an appoint some new people?
Thursday at 4:27 pm
Lambert House has been Seattle’s Queer Youth Center for 25 years. It needs help to buy its property.
Hey, here’s a pitch to help out for a really terrific cause…LAMBERT HOUSE has been Seattle’s LGBTQ Youth Center for 25 years now at their location up by 15th and Denny on top of Capitol Hill. As someone who lived in that neighborhood for 11 years, I can attest that it is a rapidly gentrifying ‘hood and not surprisingly, recently the landlords decided it was time to sell the property…which seemed like the death knell for Lambert House. Small community non-profits don’t usually have millions of dollars just sitting around for emergencies such as this.
LUCKILY, a very kind and generous supporter of Lambert House stepped up and actually purchased the property from the previous owners thus keeping it out of the hands of developers who would have immediately torn it down to put up something amazing like a micropub or a combo tanning salon/boxing gym/ballet school for the chronically hip. The new owner is giving Lambert House THREE AND A HALF YEARS to raise the funds to then purchase the house from them (and with no expectation of a profit…) To that end, Lambert House has a goal to raise $4 million over the the next 41 months to buy the property and make badly needed renovations to the building.
Here’s more poo from their Generosity/IndieGoGo campaign…if you can help out, please do so!
Lambert House LGBTQ Youth Center provides a safe and stable environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in the Greater Northwest to stay alive, explore their identities, and build social connections with their peers. Community building at Lambert House is the primary prevention strategy for an entire constellation of risks that disproportionately affects LGBTQ youth. Through repeated positive connections with peers and volunteers, Lambert House educates LGBTQ youth to see themselves as normal, healthy individuals and to respect and take care of themselves and each other.
Monday at 5:00 pm
Here are 3 queer films to check in the next few days at the Seattle International Film Festival…all three are international in content with a documentary about a reunion of Brazilian drag divas; a French Canadian family drama with an all-star French cast; and another documentary, this one grittier and topical, about the fight for marriage equality in Baja California.
The Brazilian documentary DIVINE DIVAS exams a reunion of drag stars.
First up: DIVINE DIVAS which opens this Wednesday, May 24th at the Uptown with an encore screening next Tuesday, May 30th at the Egyptian. The film is in Portuguese with English subtitles.
Part personal history and part musical revue, director Leandra Leal takes us backstage at the 50th anniversary of a lively octet of Brazilian drag performers, exploring the lives and careers of these pioneers who boldly challenged the conservatism of the 1960s.
Long before making a name as an actress throughout Brazil, director Leandra Leal enjoyed the kind of early life most of us could only dream of. As the granddaughter of famed producer and theater owner Americo Leal, the future star made her childhood home backstage and in the dressing rooms of Rio de Janeiro’s Rival Theater, among the first theaters to welcome cross-dressing performers more than 50 years ago. Discovering later that her beloved theater was a cherished safe haven for drag performers in a repressive, intolerant society, Leal was moved to create this loving tribute to the divas who shaped her childhood as they prepare for one final performance. From demure and beguiling Camille K, whose appearances in public caused riots, and the glamorous Valeria, who learned her craft from the most infamous Parisian showgirls and whose show-stopping rendition of “My Way” will make you break out the handkerchief, to outspoken Eloina Dos Leopardos, fully committed to being a woman from an early age, and multitalented Marquesa, born into privilege and living life as a man but for the stage, the Rival’s legendary divas share life stories filled with humor and heartbreak, sadness and strength. Using rich archival clips mixed with backstage footage and rollicking interviews, Divine Divas, the Audience Award winner at both Rio 2016 and this year’s SXSW Film Festival, is a director’s poignant and unforgettable return to the arms of the divas who raised her.
Saturday at 11:35 am
MJ Sieber, center, as Bottom and the cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream produced by Seattle Shakespeare Company. Photo by Chris Bennion.
Ya gotta have a gimmick nowadays when it comes to producing Shakespeare. You seldom get a straightforward production actually set from Shakespeare’s time frame in the first Elizabethan Age. Or, even for his “historical” plays set in an era before Shakespeare was alive. Which is fine. We understand why theater companies want to do something different with the work of the Bard. It keeps everyone on their toes and gives the design departments a challenge to come up with sets and costumes for “Space Age Hamlet!” and “Genderqueer Othello!” and “Cyberpunk Cymbeline!”
Seattle Shakespeare Company didn’t go too extreme with their latest version of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedic romance, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. You know. The one about the two cute couples, and the working class folk putting on a play for King Theseus and his court and the Fairies who fiddle with everything with their fairy magic and cause comedic chaos and confusion where the wrong lovers pitch woo to the wrong partners and the pompous star actor of the working class players, Bottom gets his head replaced with a donkey’s head.
That one.
It’s so popular that Seattle Shakes’ current production comes only 6 years or so after their previous production…which was a mixed bag of treats both great (a very funny Terri Weagant as Helena; Todd Jefferson Moore as Bottom) and not so great (sloppy design; casting choices that didn’t work; choreography that suggested a bargain basement version of the awful musical CATS…)
Thursday at 5:43 pm
Earlier today, CHELSEA MANNING, the former U.S. Army intelligence analyst who served 7 years in prison for sharing classified military documents, released her first photo on social media outlets Instagram and Twitter with a simple message “Okay, so here I am everyone!! =P ” and the hashtag: #HelloWorld “
It’s just one day after the 29 year old transwoman was released from the prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Earlier this year and just prior to leaving office, then President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35 year long sentence.
Other than a grainy selfie depicting Manning in a wig taken a few years ago, today’s photo is the first depicting Chelsea Manning as an out transwoman. It was taken by documentary filmmaker Tim Travers Hawkins who is currently filming a documentary titled “XY Chelsea” about Manning’s life and post-prison experiences. Manning came out publicly as transgender after being sentenced and had struggled with transitioning in the federal military prison system and charged she was not receiving adequate care or counseling as a transgender prisoner.
Upon her release, she issued a statement: “”After another anxious four months of waiting, the day has finally arrived. I am looking forward to so much! Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past. I’m figuring things out right now — which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me.”
Monday at 3:54 pm
PWR BTTM’s Liv Bruce and Ben Hopkins Photo: Ebru Yildiz
The once popular Queercore duo known as PWR BTTM is seeing the collapse of their musical career as the allegations that musician/co-founder BEN HOPKINS is guilty of sexual abuse has led to the cancellation of their national tour which was to include a stop at Seattle’s Neumos on July 19th. Hopkins founded the group in 2013 with their Bard College classmate Liv Bruce and the duo quickly connected with the queer rock/punk/queercore/diy music community and snagged indie record deals and tours. Their latest album Pageant was just released on Polyvinyl Records on May 12 and the group looked poised for even greater success with a big tour and festival dates scheduled.
But, as that album was released last week, Hopkins was accused in a post on the closed Facebook group “DIY Chicago” of:
being ” a known sexual predator” who has perpetrated multiple assaults, bullied other people in the queer community, and has made unwanted advances towards underage minors. “U should avoid going to their shows/boycott their music/not allow them in safe spaces,” the poster, Kitty Cordero-Colin wrote. “I have personally seen Ben initiate inappropriate sexual contact with people despite several ‘nos’ and without warning or consent.”
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