Category Archives: News and Happenings
I’m From Driftwood Gala March 27
VISION
I’m From Driftwood envisions a world where every lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer person feels understood and accepted, and every straight person is an ally.
MISSION
I’m From Driftwood aims to help LGBTQ people learn more about their community, straight people learn more about their neighbors and everyone learn more about themselves through the power of storytelling and story sharing.
Increasing empathy and empowering individuals is accomplished by creating an apolitical forum for LGBTQ stories from every age, race, gender, background and culture. The stories deepen our understanding of each other, preserve history, and open hearts and minds.
VALUES
The most personal and meaningful stories are shared when the storyteller is in a trust-worthy, welcoming, judgment-free environment. I’m From Driftwood strives to create that environment on every level, whether you’re a long-time supporter at one of IFD’s events or a first-time visitor to the site. Be yourself, be comfortable and let’s get to know each other.
Grace Jones June 29th @ World Pride NYC
THE AMAZING Grace Jones will take center stage for an unforgettable day of music on Saturday, June 29th at Pier 97. Jones is most famously known for her post-disco dance track “Pull Up to the Bumper,” and an array of features in motion pictures including “Conan the Destroyer,” “Vamp,” and the 1992 classic, “Boomerang.”
In 2017 NYC Pride evolved Dance on the Pier, a 30+ year institution, into a new multi-day LGBTQIA+ cultural experience named Pride Island. After a hugely successful two consecutive years, NYC Pride is excited to bring Pride Island to Hudson River Park’s, Pier 97, in the heart of Hells Kitchen. This event showcases everyone from legendary soul singers to indie pop bands, this new inclusive experience creates a central hub for the LGBTQ community to celebrate Pride. This event has a legendary history of attracting the biggest performers for any Pride event in the world. Previous performers have included Cher, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Demi Lovato, Years & Years, Tegan & Sara, Tove Lo, and the late Whitney Houston.
Don’t miss the biggest live music event in NYC Pride history and help us give back to the broader community! NYC Pride will be selecting nonprofits within the local New York City area to receive grants as part of this community-driven event. Pride Island serves as a fundraiser to help NYC Pride raise crucial funds to help produce a multitude of free events such as our new Youth Pride, Family Movie Night, PrideFest, The March, The Rally and many more!
Tickets are selling fast! Over 3 Million people are expected into NYC that weekend!
GET TICKETS!
Nick Adams Facebook Page
The wonderfully charming and delightful (and sexy) triple threat on Broadway, NICK ADAMS is touring now with the Tony Award Winning FALSETTO’S!!! #cantwait! And recently you are able to see him on Comedy Central’s THE OTHER TWO!
He has over 23,000 fans on Twitter, but only 7000+ on FB – so I am asking my network, to LIKE his page, to help get his numbers up! This guy is so awesome and amazing! And a little bird told me, he has a CD in the works! (Which I have been telling him for 6 years, he needs one!).
NY Passes Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act
HRC celebrated the historic passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) in New York as well as legislation protecting LGBTQ youth in the state from the dangerous and debunked practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” GENDA would solidify existing law by explicitly adding gender identity and expression to the New York Human Rights Law. The bill has passed the New York Assembly 11 times, and today marks the first time it has passed both chambers. Both bills will now head to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s desk to be signed.
Today’s passage of GENDA is the culmination of efforts that reach back for over a decade. In 2016, Governor Cuomo directed the New York State Division of Human Rights to adopt regulations, consistent with state case law interpreting the meaning of ‘sex,’ to make it clear that transgender people are protected from discrimination and harassment under the state’s Human Rights Law. Additionally, the bill adds protections on the basis of gender identity to the state’s hate crimes law. The passage and signing of GENDA will explicitly codify these protections into law once and for all. With the passage of legislation banning conversion therapy, New York joins 14 states and the District of Columbia in protecting LGBTQ youth from this dangerous practice.
World Pride NYC The Gayest Day of the Year!
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The Largest LGBTQIA+ Street Festival in New York City!
All eyes will be on New York City as we commemorate 50 years of the Stonewall Uprising. Our attendees are from all five boroughs and beyond making PrideFest the single best opportunity for businesses to connect directly with the LGBTQIA+ community.
New Years Eve with Raven O at Pangea
Start the New Year with an intimate night of song and sass from NYC nightlife legend Raven O.
Legendary Downtown trendsetter Raven O raises our throbbing spirits on New Year’s Eve in a shape-shifting, champagne-soaked celebration at Pangea, 178 Second Avenue, the East Village Mecca for cutting-edge cabaret, song and performance.
With the help of the acclaimed bassist Ben Allison, the oh-so-colorful avatar of the downtown performance art scene stirs up his witch’s brew of sultry song and restless commentary, not once but twice, in back-to-back shows at 8pm and 10:30pm.
Both shows are generously priced — $125 for the early show and $165 for the late show. The evening includes, in both cases, a delicious 3-course dinner, and a half-bottle of Cava per person. Tax and gratuity are inclusive.
ADDITIONAL BEVERAGES ARE NOT INCLUDED, AND ARE BILLED SEPARATELY WITH A 20% GRATUITY ADDED.
ALL SALES ARE FINAL.
8:00PM SHOW – DINNER SEATING BEGINS AT 7:00PM.
Please arrive no later than 7:30PM to be seated for the show and dinner.
10:30PM SHOW – DINNER SEATING BEGINS AT 9:45PM
Please arrive no later than 10:00PM to be seated for the show and dinner.
Downtown’s intimate supper-club Pangea is the ultimate in alt, playing home to some of the best in alt cabaret. The New York Times recently called it “a bohemian oasis not unlike the fabled Max’s Kansas City from days gone by.” 178 2nd Ave
Find Raven O on Facebook to stay up to date!
Come Back Once More So I Can Say Goodbye
COME BACK ONCE MORE SO I CAN SAY GOODBYE
Presented by Labyrinth Dance Theater
SAVE-THE-DATE
June 14-17, 2019
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall and World Pride coming to New York for the first time ever, Come Back Once More So I Can Say Goodbye, is an evening-length theatrical dance performance which tells the story of the gay community from 1965-1995 in New York City.
The piece takes us from the early Gay Rights Movement with the historic Sip-In at the Julius Bar to the uprising at Stonewall and to the enduring, widespread apathy and abject hysteria towards the AIDS epidemic. Through stunning performances, we experience the indomitable resolve of those who defiantly faced the siege against them with humor, bravery and compassion. Each performance will be dedicated to supporting the work of an LGBTQ youth or HIV service-related organization.
Presented by Labyrinth Dance Theater, the show features thirty renowned dancers, singers and musicians representing a multi-generational and diverse cast, which reflects the diversity and energy of the characters in the piece.
For those who lived through this epoch, it is an opportunity to honor and celebrate the memory of loved ones lost. For younger generations, it’s an important and timely reminder that being able to live authentically as an LGBTQ person is historically very recent, not a guaranteed right, and only possible because of the hard-fought battles of those who came before us.
Where: The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater
405 West 55thStreet
New York City
More details and video online!
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SHADE Queens of NYC
Where have I been?
My friend PAIGE TURNER asked if I saw her on SHADE – Somehow this flew under my radar until now! Apologies!
Relationships, community, family, and faith are in the spotlight in Shade: Queens of NYC, a docu-follow-musical-reality show that explores what happens to New York’s fiercest, funniest drag queens as they vie for fame, fortune, and love.
Shade: Queens of NYC reveals a side of drag life beyond the usual glam, glitz, and next-level lip syncing, instead focusing on what happens to our queens when the wigs come off.
The cast of queens includes: Justin Nako/Chelsea Piers, Chris Yoon/Jasmine Rice LaBeija, William Bailey/Jada Valenciaga, Nathan McManus/Holly Box-Springs, Kristian Seeber/Tina Burner, Marti Gould Cummings/Marti Gould Cummings, Daniel Kelley/Paige Turner, and Jesse Havea/Brita Filter.
Catch up on YouTube if ya missed it!
World Pride 2019 New York City
From Towleroad –
Next summer, WorldPride comes to the United States for the first time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. The sixth edition of the culturally-diverse WorldPride will attract millions of LGBTQI+ revelers for the largest celebration of Pride in history. In honor of this incredible event Towleroad is celebrating 50 years of LGBTQI+ history with a series examining queer life from the 1960s through today.
The June 28, 1969 Stonewall Riots enflamed the LGBTQ liberation movement, but it wasn’t until 1970 that the protests transformed into the earliest iteration of Pride.
The first Christopher Street Liberation Day, June 28, 1970, included the first Gay Pride March from Christopher Street to Central Park. (Chicago Gay Liberation hosted a march the day before to commemorate the riots taking place the last Saturday in June.) In the subsequent years, Pride celebrations spread to Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Paris, London and more.
Increases in visibility led to increased tolerance as well. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association board voted unanimously to remove homosexuality from its list of psychiatric disorders. States began decriminalizing sexual relations between consenting adults.
It wasn’t all progress, though. Singer, activist and villain Anita Bryant spent the ’70s crusading against local anti-discrimination ordinances. Galvanized by some of her early successes repealing legislation, LGBTQ rights groups organized boycotts of oranges (Bryant was the spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Commission), and once was pied in the face by an activist.
Read the full article with all kinds of 70’s LGBTQ information, you probably had no idea was out there!
Learn more about the Stonewall 50th Anniversary and World Pride NYC here!
Harvey Fierstein’s TORCH SONG Limited Run
I am SO LUCKY, that as a young gay boy about 22 years old, I think it was 1982, I made it to New York city (from small town Michigan) and got into Studio 54 for an amazing evening and also got to see Harvey Fierstein on Broadway in Torch Song Trilogy with Mathew Broderick and Estelle Getty! ( I had read about the show in After Dark magazine, and seeing the show was the primary reason for my trip).
In that eye opening trip to the big apple I saw amazing clubs that are no longer around. I also met Andy Warhol on that trip! All the things I had read about NYC were true! What a trip! My little gay life would never be the same!
Harvey and the story left such an impression on my soul. I followed Harvey’s career over the years and saw his works whenever I could. He is genius to me, and “an icon.”
So I was THRILLED beyond belief to see Torch Song, a compact version of Torch Song Trilogy, make it to the stage in New York!
And with Michael Urie no less! Who I met in Chicago when he performed “Buyer & Cellar”. He is so wonderfully talented.
It’s magical that Torch Song is at the Hayes Theater, on it’s 35th anniversary, on the same Broadway stage where the Tony Award-winning premiere forever changed the face of popular entertainment. Along with the talented Drama Desk Award Winner Michael Urie, Academy Award winner Mercedes Ruehl shines are Arnold’s mother.
Torch Song Trilogy won Tonys for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play for Fierstein. 3 years on Broadway, it was truly a landmark show!
I am sure most of you know the story, but there may be some younger people reading who do not know the story; This show is fiercely funny and heart-wrenching. Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song follows Arnold
Beckoff’s (Mr. Urie) odyssey to find happiness in New York. All he wants is a husband, a child, and a pair of bunny slippers that fit, but a visit from his overbearing mother (Ms. Ruehl) reminds him that he needs one thing more: respect.
This story was of Arnold’s struggle to be accepted as a young Jewish gay man living in New York City in the late 1970s and ’80s. What’s amazing, in some ways, is that it was powerful then to me; this is pre AIDS, pre gay marriage, PRE EVERYTHING and today the story is still just as powerful.
“Forty years after writing Torch Song, it still speaks to audiences making them laugh and weep and happy,” says Fierstein in a statement. “Unbelievable. And to now return to the theater where it played all those years ago… Beyond wishes… Beyond dreams.. Beyond the most outrageous fantasy.”
“A great play makes you think, and what’s going on in the White House is always in the back of our minds,” Urie told NewNowNext about the timeliness of the revival. “We’re all confused, terrified, and clinging to each other, so Arnold, the ultimate caretaker, is the kind of friend we need right now. Yes, he’s flawed, but he has so much heart and compassion.”
I urge you to see this brilliant show, if you haven’t already! LIMITED RUN!!
Join Arnold on this all too human journey about the families we’re born into, the families we choose, and the battles to bring them all home.
Torch Song is playing at the Hayes Theater at 240 West 44th Street.
Directed by Tony Award nominee Moisés Kaufman
www.torchsongbroadway.com
Unwritten Rules of New York City
Found this on Quora – and just had to share it!
Fogo de Chao and VIK Winery
There is nothing better than a fantastic glass of wine with dinner!
We recently visited the Fogo de Chao (pronounced fogo-dee-shown) in River North for their announcement of a new partnership with award-winning Chilean VIK Winery. These VIK wines are only available at Fogo!
The VIK vineyard is affectionately called the “Place of Gold”, offering a variety of unequaled terroir, small microclimates, coastal breezes; giving their wines the complexity sought after to create the best wine in South America.
If you get to Chile, they have an unbelievable hotel and grounds! You can visit the vineyards, the wine spa, hotel and spectacular grounds. (photo to left).
Fogo has partnered with VIK, which is a holistic Chilean vineyard creating world class wines, to offer its award-winning and best in category wines at Fogo de Chão locations nationwide.
These 3 wines join the Wine List:
La Piu Belle, Red Blend, Cachapoal, Chile, 2011
Intense and well-balanced with notes of berries, wildflowers, spices and a touch of oak. Flavor of cranberries, the palate is incredibly fresh, silky smooth, with body and structure.
Milla Cala, Red Blend, Cachapoal, Chile, 2013
Incredibly vibrant red fruit aromas, elegant tannins and incredibly smooth mouth feel. Fresh spices, perfume and berry aromas accented with hints of toast and maple. In the mouth, black cherry and plum are underscored by a hint of black licorice.
VIK, Red Blend, Cachapoal, Chile, 2012
Elegant and balanced wine, dynamic with high precision of tannins and great structure that deliver an exquisite mouth feel. A mixture of aromas, including strawberry, raspberry and vanilla. Spicy and savory dark berry fruit on the tongue, tempered by an elegant structure.
The founders of Fogo de Chão grew up on a traditional Southern Brazilian farm in the Serra Gaucha. It is here that they learned to cook in the churrasco grilling tradition that would become the backbone of their story.
The founding brothers left the quaint, mountainous countryside of Rio Grande do Sul to Rio and São Paulo for formal churrasqueiro training, all while developing the Fogo concept. They had several resturants in brazil before coming to the US. premiere.
At the requests of loyal American guests, the Fogo concept was exported to the U.S. with a stateside debut in Dallas, Texas, in 1997. Between 1997 and 2013, this pioneering churrascaria continued its expansion in Brazil and the U.S. opening 29 new restaurants.
Just before Christmas 2013, Fogo opened a three story, 16,000 square foot flagship location in New York City. The stunning architectural design includes a seventeen foot bas-relief sculpture of Antonio Caringi’s, O Laçador, a historical monument in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The culinary team has continued the tradition of developing new menu creations rooted in the Brazilian tradition that push forward the Brazilian churrasco experience. In 2013, new seafood dishes were introduced. Later that year, the Bar Fogo concept emerged within Fogo restaurants, introducing guests to new Brazilian-inspired small plates, award-winning wines and cocktails. The culinary team is always testing and tasting new items for possible inclusion.
With the holidays just around the corner, consider Fogo de Chao for a group dining experience!
An elegant Brazilian dining experience presented by their helpful and knowledgeable staff will make Fogo de Chão the perfect location for your group or private dining event. Holiday parties, Corporate events, Lunch and Learn, any celebration!
40 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019. (212) 969-9980
About Fogo de Chão
Fogo de Chão is a leading Brazilian steakhouse, or churrascaria, which has specialized for more than 37 years in fire-roasting high-quality meats utilizing the centuries-old Southern Brazilian cooking technique of churrasco. Fogo offers guests a wide variety of simply seasoned meats that are carefully fire-roasted to expose their natural flavors. The company was founded in 1979 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and expanded into the U.S. in 1997. There are currently 47 locations throughout Brazil, the United States, and Mexico, including locations in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Mexico City.
Additionally, Fogo offers a gourmet Market Table & Feijoada Bar, which includes seasonal salads, soup, fresh vegetables, feijoada (traditional black bean stew with rice, fresh orange and yuca flour), and much more. Southern Brazilian side dishes such as pão de queijo (warm cheese bread), crispy hot polenta, and caramelized bananas are served family-style. To further complement the dining experience, the restaurant offers an award-winning wine list, tempting dessert menu, and creative and classic cocktails. Guests can also choose between lighter seafood selections, or enjoy the gourmet Market Table only option. For more information, visit Fogo.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
For a visual representation of the story of Fogo de Chão, watch “The Gaucho Way,” a documentary-style video shot through the eyes of real Fogo de Chão Brazilian gauchos and explores the restaurant’s deep cultural roots in Southern Brazil.
CHER The new CD and Tour!
SEE THAT GIRL…
WATCH THAT GIRL…
SHE’S THE DANCING QUEEN!
She’s back! At 72 and going strong!
The one and only Cher will released Dancing Queen last week, a new album of all Abba hits by Warner Bros. Records.
The Oscar, Emmy and Grammy Award winning icon was inspired to record the album following her stunning performance in the recently-released mega-hit film, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Commented Cher: “I’ve always liked Abba and saw the original Mamma Mia musical on Broadway three times. After filming Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, I was reminded again of what great and timeless songs they wrote and started thinking ‘why not do an album of their music?’ The songs were harder to sing than I imagined but I’m so happy with how the music came out. I’m really excited for people to hear it. It’s a perfect time.”
Dancing Queen was recorded and produced in London and Los Angeles with Cher‘s longtime collaborator Mark Taylor, who previously produced Cher‘s global smash “Believe” which was number one in over 50 countries. And it does not disappoint! I truly love the last song on CD I think the best, “One of Us”.
Cher is scheduled to be awarded a Kennedy Center Honor on December 2nd in Washington DC.
She is a co-producer of the The Cher Show, the upcoming Broadway musical opening on December 3rd ( we saw it in Chicago and LOVED IT!) 35 smash hits! Info here.
She is currently performing a residency at MGM Resorts. Get tickets HERE!
NEW TOUR – The Here We Go Again Tour is the seventh solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher in support of her twenty-sixth studio album Dancing Queen. It is the first time the singer tours Oceania since her Living Proof: The Farewell Tour in 2005. The tour started on September 21, 2018 and will finish on May 18, 2019.
Cities with Ticket links HERE
Queer Ladies Night NYC
QUEER LADIES’ NIGHT
AT THE ROCKWOOD ON OCTOBER 18, 2018
LGBTQ MUSICAL ACTIVIST, JESSIE STANDAFER AND LESBIAN SINGER/SONGWRITER, CASSIDY ANDREWS CELEBRATE QUEER WOMEN IN MUSIC.
Queer women deserve to be seen. They deserve to hear Queer voices, sing Queer songs, and share space together. It is time Queer Women get what they deserve. Share an intimate evening of community, music, and healing. Lesbian singer/songwriters’ Jessie Standafer & Cassidy Andrews have curated a night of music presented exclusively by Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer women + femmes, and they want YOU in the room!
For full schedule and tickets, please visit http://www.ticketfly.com/
Come and be part of the queerest thing to ever hit Rockwood Music Hall on NYC’s Lower East Side.
Jessie Standafer
Cassidy Andrews
Alexa Wilkinson
Katie Madison
Jamie Hood
Lenaé A. Harris
Janelle Maire
Emily Wolfe
The women featured in this evening have toured and shared the stage with Ingrid Michaelson, Josh Kelley, Natasha Beddingfield, Mieka Pauly, Bess Rogers, Lelia Broussard, Vanessa Carlton, Dar Williams, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, Rosi Golan, Kate Voegele and many more.
Thursday, October 18, 2018, General Admission
Doors: 6:30 PM / Show: 7:00 PM
Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3 185 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
RuPauls DragCon 2018 NYC!
During the final weekend of September, tens of thousands of people will fill New York’s Javits Center. Many will be dressed in colorful wigs and fierce heels; they’ll flock to panels for over-the-top makeup tutorials and fashion runway shows. Others will wait in line to meet former contestants from hit reality TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and they’ll buy merchandise such as “Charisma” pins and “Oh, Pit Crew!” underwear. All this for a $40-a-day ticket.
Welcome to DragCon, or more specifically, RuPaul’s Dragcon, the multimillion-dollar extravaganza that’s the drag industry’s answer to comic con.
Debuted on the West Coast in 2015 off the success of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” DragCon now happens twice a year: September in New York — Sept. 28 through 30 this year — and May in Los Angeles, California. And it’s become big business.
“In New York at the Javitz Convention Center, DragCon sold out its first year” in 2017, Fenton Bailey, executive producer of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and co-creator of DragCon with fellow executive producer Randy Barbato, tells CNBC Make It. Andre Charles, better known as RuPaul, is a partner in DragCon, according to the company.
Last September, at the New York and Los Angeles conventions, over $8 million worth of merchandise — particularly wigs, makeup and “Drag Race” merchandise such as T-shirts — sold on the convention floor, he says. That doesn’t include the $40 entrance fee ($70 for the whole weekend) each of the 35,000 attendees had to pay in N.Y.C.
In its near decade on the air, it’s not only entertained, it has also helped introduce much of America to drag and its community. The show features contestants outside of their drag clothes, talking about personal hardships like being unaccepted in society or their family. In addition to Emmys, in 2010 the show won Outstanding Reality Program at the GLAAD Media Awards, for fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ community and surrounding issues.
Read more about the Money Making Sensation HERE
THREE DAYS OF ART, POP CULTURE, AND ALL THINGS DRAG – SEPTEMBER 28, 29, AND 30
JAVITS CENTER
WIGSTOCK Returns to New York City 201
WIGSTOCK, the legendary annual event that dominated drag culture from 1985 until 2003, is being relaunched Saturday, September 1, during Labor Day weekend by feisty festival founder Lady Bunny and Tony Award winner Neil Patrick Harris.
The day-long event will take place at the gorgeous new Pier 17 Rooftop in New York City’s Seaport District starting at 2PM and going until 10PM. This event will occur rain or shine.
Official Wigstock Design By ©Tabboo! 2018, courtesy Gordon Robichaux, NY
TICKETS– (Click image above for tickets!)
GENERAL ADMISSION
$95.00 + Ticketmaster Fees
(*YES, $95. Fee’s explained below)
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THE PYRAMID PASS
$250 +Ticketmaster Fees
BENEFITS:
Exclusive surrounded-by-the-action standing ticket in VIP section (Front of Stage & Runway)
VIP post-show backstage afterparty with Drag Queen performers and other cast members
T-Shirt custom designed especially for WIGSTOCK 2.HO by Tabboo!
Commemorative poster
Two (2) Complimentary Drink Tickets
Portion of each Pyramid Pass ticket benefits GMHC (Gay Men’s Health Crisis)
…..……………………………………………………………………………………………
THE WIGSTOCK VERY IMPORTANT QUEEN EXPERIENCE
$1000 + Ticketmaster Fees (Limited Quantities)
BENEFITS:
Exclusive premium VVIP Seating in the VVIP Riser, the only seated section at the event
Premium Open Bar and Food
Exclusive access to the dedicated VVIP lounge and service area
T-Shirt custom designed especially for WIGSTOCK 2.HO by Tabboo!
Autographed commemorative poster (principal cast members including Lady Bunny and Neil Patrick Harris)
VVIP lanyard
Exclusive VVIP reception directly after the show with Lady Bunny and Neil Patrick Harris
VIP post-show backstage afterparty with Drag Queen performers and other cast members
Portion of each VIQ Experience ticket benefits GMHC (Gay Men’s Health Crisis)
*fee’s explained. People have no idea, what costs are involved in throwing a huge event of this magnitude!
Lady Bunny explains. “Hey! I was thrilled by the positive response to Wigstock returning. I wasn’t thrilled by the disappointment from some when they learned that the cheapest tickets were $95—apart from a few blocks of $18.95 tickets. If you think that’s too high, then you know I think it is. When I post about DJing Sundays at The Monster, my favorite thing to type is “Free!” at the end. When I performed Trans-Jester! for two years at Stonewall Inn, I loved making tickets affordable to most at $19.99.
I shun VIP anything, so you know that way higher than $95 VIP tickets was not my idea. Some forget that when we moved the event from Tompkins Square Park to the much larger piers, the production costs grew and we had two choices: to charge admission or not put on the show. We felt so guilty about charging at all that we donated 1/2 of our net profits to GMHC. This year’s tickets sales also contribute a portion to GMHC. So if you think I’m gouging, please know that gouging just isn’t in my nature.
I hope you’ll understand that the last outdoor, full-fledged Wigstock was around 17 years ago. And I’m sure you’ve noticed that the city has changed a lot since then, and is far more upscale. Tompkins Square Park’s bandshell is razed and that rusty pier is shut. I used to pay a permit fee of $50 to the Parks Dpt. for the use of Tompkins Square. The new space costs $35,000 to roll in equipment and use for rehearsals the day before, and $75,000 to use the day of the show and then roll the equipment back out. A whopping $66,000 go to union wages. I was never in charge of Wigstock’s finances, but lordy did I gag at the over $15,000 “filing fee” on this year’s budget. I was too defeated to even ask what that filing fee was for. But we lost our first location and then found this brand new, rooftop concert venue Pier 17 where Diana Ross will perform later in September. If it’s good enough for her, it’s good enough for me, I thought. It is gorgeous, and the view of water in the back and a wall of skyscrapers beside the stage is splendid and unique. But not at all cheap.
We’re also paying performers this time around, which only ever happened the two years we did that Wigstock-themed cruise. I’m happy about that, but paying 50+ performers adds up.
Around 13 of them are from out of town and they must be flown in and housed in hotels for two nights because the show starts at 3PM. They can’t arrive the day of the show from LA or SF, and the show needs Lina and Candis and Glamamore and Alaska and Juanita More and Latrice to rule. And if the oldest performing drag queen in the US—Darcelle XV from Portland–needs an assistant along her trip, then I want to provide two tickets for her. Bianca Del Rio will literally wipe off her make-up backstage and hop a flight directly from the festival to Sweden for a gig which pays her more than I ever could. So if her assistant carrying her extra bags of merch needs to accompany her, I want to pay for that. (I never said her plane would actually land, however.)
A bus for the 8 acts coming from Provincetown costs thousands to hire for 24 hours. But these gals have been doing back to back shows all summer and have taken the day off on their last weekend to lose money at Wigstock, departing at 4AM from P’town and back that same night. To me, they are all drag stars who are doing me a huge favor by appearing at all. I can’t repay them with a crappy bus which signals to them that I’m not concerned with their comfort. And have you seen Dina Martina and Ryan Landry? They definitely need to catch up on some beauty rest en route! Desmond Is Amazing needs edits on his track—that comes out of my own pocketbook and I’m happy to pay it. The festival didn’t last for 20+ years because I have a reputation of mistreating talent–or Flotilla. But the costs incurred by talent and the splashy new venue naturally get transferred to ticket buyers.
Most agree that our line-up is a sensational. And while $95 IS pricey, the show is 6 hours long. I totally understand that it may not be affordable for everyone, but that’s what it costs to bring Wigstock back—which is what people all over the world have begged me to do for decades. So we are back on Saturday, September 1st, and I sure hope you can make it!
Teen Smashes Window at Stonewall Inn
A teenager irate he was thrown out of Greenwich Village’s historic Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the LGBT civil rights movement, bashed in the bar’s window with a baseball bat early Saturday, officials said.
The attack did nearly $7,000 worth of damage to the window and the bar’s neon sign, authorities said
William Gomez, 19, was hanging out in the bar with co-workers when he was thrown out of the legendary Christopher St. watering hole by a bouncer, according to cops and Gomez’s mother.
He allegedly returned with a baseball bat about 4:30 a.m. and smashed the bar’s window with it, punching holes in the glass and damaging the neon sign that sits in the window.
Cops arrested Gomez near the scene, charging him with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
Gomez was freed after his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Saturday evening.
He is not facing hate crime charges, since it does not appear that the attack was motivated by the bar’s significance in the gay rights movement, sources said.
Gomez’s mother, who declined to give her name, told the Daily News her son isn’t gay and his girlfriend is expecting their child soon. (?? Seriously??? with that shirt??) She said he went to the bar with a group of co-workers. Read more at Daily News.
Broadway Bares Raises $1.8 MILLION
Sexy seamen were ready to sink Battleships, frolicsome friends played “Striptionary,” and a rambunctious round of flashlight tag involved the entire audience during the steamy evening of sensational stripteases at Broadway Bares: Game Night.
This year’s record-breaking edition of the annual spectacular raised $1,875,090 with two standing-room-only performances at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom.
Produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Game Night gave your ordinary night out a tantalizing twist with striptease production numbers inspired by beloved board, video, and arcade games.
Check out more photos on Gay Cities
50th Anniversary of Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI), the official 501(c)3 of the Stonewall Inn, announced that it will host its annual PRIDE reception on Monday, June 4th at the historic Stonewall Inn.
Launched in 2017, SIGBI is inspired by the struggles and ideals of the LGBTQ rights movement born from the Stonewall Inn Rebellion of 1969 though its awareness campaigns, educational programming, fundraising and candid public dialogue.
“We are excited to once again partner with Jet Blue and Brooklyn Brewery to support The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative. The Initiative supports grass roots organizations across the country and especially those in places where equality has been slow to arrive.” Said Stacy Lentz, Co-owner of the Stonewall Inn and CEO of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative. “With their generous support the Initiative is able to do the much-needed work of helping some of the most undeserved LGBTQ communities.”
This year, in response to the devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico, SIGBI will highlight the work of Proyecto Matria www.proyectomatria.org, which works to advance the equity of LGBTQ communities from two areas: human rights activism and the offering of services in the field of economic development and housing. Matria also has educational programs to train other organizations, public agencies and communities on how to stop discrimination against LGBTQ people and create safe spaces from an equity perspective.
SIGBI will also announce two major campaigns:
The inaugural Stonewall Auction, running now through June 12th on Charitybuzz is offering once in a lifetime celebrity experiences and items for bid, https://bit.ly/2J1ztNZ . Also, the Stonewall Inn Ambassadors, a cohort of activists, celebrities, and influencers, who will work together to elevate awareness and support for SIGBI over the next 12 months and through the 50th anniversary of Stonewall on June 28, 2019. Stonewall Inn Ambassadors include Chelsea Clinton, Bryan Lourd, Laverne Cox, Robbie Rogers, Geena Rocero and Cleve Jones. Please see full list at the end of this release. www.stonewallinitiative.org/new-index/
Both campaigns are programs of Pride Live Nation, www.pridelivenation.org.
During the reception, there will be a performance by Michael Blume and remarks by featured speaker Chely Wright.
Indie/soul artist Michael Blume has released his latest songs “R U Mad” and “Blunder” – from his upcoming EP Cynicism &Sincerity, which will be out June 8th via S-Curve Records. The songs are available now at all digital music outlets, including Spotify, Apple/iTunes, and Amazon……
See the new video! (PRESS HERE to watch)
The forthcoming EP release comes following a whirlwind year for Blume. Since arriving on the scene in 2015, New York-based singer, songwriter, and artist Michael Blume has consistently delivered daring, diverse, and dynamic anthems blurring the lines between simmering and soaring. He’s attracted acclaim from Rolling Stone, GQ, Nylon, Ladygunn, Pigeons & Planes, Earmilk, and Dujour and turned the uninitiated into believers at Governor’s Ball, Firefly, Lollapalooza, and will be performing at the Bonnaroo Music Arts Festival on June 10th.
Chely Wright www.chely.com rose to fame as a commercial country singer in the 90’s and has since released eight studio albums and charted more than 15 singles on the Billboard charts. The Academy of Country Music named Wright “Top New Female Vocalist of 1995.”
About Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative
The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative is inspired by the struggles and ideals of the LGBTQ rights movement born from the Stonewall Inn Rebellion of 1969. Through awareness campaigns, educational programming, fundraising and candid public dialogue, The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative supports grassroots organizations across the country with a focus on those in communities where progress toward equality has been slow and discrimination, harassment, substance abuse, depression and suicide have become an unacceptable way of life. You can donate to SIGBI by visiting: www.stonewallinitiative.org/donate/
