Trans Scripts, Part I: The Women January 19 – February 5, 2017
Trans Scripts Part I: The Women opens Thursday, January 19th for a two and a half week run at the A.R.T. in Cambridge.
Drawn from dozens of interviews conducted around the world, Trans Scripts, U.S. premiere uses the real words of women to shed light on the rich and diverse experiences within the transgender community. This show received a Fringe First Award for new writing at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In years past I’ve written posts for newcomers to Boston who may not be familiar with New England winters. One of my suggestions is to try and learn to embrace what winter offers. Never has that been more fun with gay ski weekends and weeks here locally and out West to tempt you.
Below are a few such events you may want to consider. The price of tickets out West varies widely by destination and carrier but you can use a locally developed app called Hopper to alert you to last minute airfares and price reductions.
Gay Aspen Ski Week (January 15 – 22, 2017) is the longest running and perhaps largest event of the season. It kicks off this Sunday but most of the fun is reserved for the second half of the week. Shown above is last year’s Ultimate Après Ski Party sponsored by Logo. For more information gayskiweek.com.
Winter Rendezvous (January 18 – 22, 2017) is one of the largest gay ski events happening in New England. The party at Stowe Mountain in Vermont is also only a 3 hour drive making it logistically a lot easier and more affordable option. For more information winterrendezvous.com.
Whistler Pride Ski Festival (January 22 – 29, 2017) turns 25 this year and the winter pride festival is filled with fun events including a visit from one of my favorite drag queens, Pam Ann. For more information gaywhistler.com.
White Out Weekend – WOW (February 3 – 5, 2017) is an annual event hosted by The Welcoming Committee (TWC) and is the perfect opportunity for those who do not want include the hassle or expense of airfare or take off time from work. TWC will even take care of transportation for you up to Sunday River in Maine. For more information thewelcomingcommittee.com.
Elevation Utah 2017 (February 23 – 26, 2017) is celebrating its seventh annual party at Park City, Utah. For more information utahgayskiweek.com.
Telluride Gay Ski Week (February 25 – March 4, 2017) is the last big gay ski week of the 2017 winter season in North America, bringing the gay ski season full circle back to beautiful Colorado. For more information telluridegayski.com.
Boston’s OutRyders Gay Ski Club
If getting away for one of these trips is not going to work, but you’d like to ski, consider joining Boston’s Gay ski / snowboarding club, OutRyders. The group has monthly socials and plans numerous day trips and overnights to mountains here in New England and out west. For more information outryders.org.
Two times a year, in September and January, the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC) audition new prospective singing members. For those of you who may be interested, auditions are Sunday, January 8th.
If interested in auditioning, please fill out a BGMC Audition Inquiry Form.
For more information about BGMC visit their website, bgmc.org.
On Christmas Eve The Economist published “Gay bars are under threat but not from the obvious attackers“. Although Boston is not mentioned, the transformation of our city’s traditional gay neighborhood, The South End, from a gritty cityscape into a trendy, upscale place young married couples and retirees are now choosing to live highlights one of the many challenges facing gay bars.
What constitutes a gay bar and what is the fate of these spaces remains to be seen. There have been times when I’ve been in “gay bars” that are so overrun by heterosexual couples and or packs of single women that I’m hard pressed to think of it as a ‘gay bar’. Club Cafe in Boston, The Boatslip Tea Dances in Provincetown and Mainestreet in Ogunquit are all good examples.
The Economist asserts that where there is growing acceptance of the LGBTQ community, bars are more likely to be mixed or the LGBTQ community may feel less of a need to be a patron at a designated “gay” bar. It also suggests that the advent of “dating” apps has added another challenge, but I think it is mostly what I think of as a gay diaspora that poses the most significant problem for gay bars. As cities lose traditional gay enclaves, all sorts of businesses that cater to the LGBTQ community suffer. An early casualty to this was the gay bookstore followed by sex shops and gay gyms.
In my opinion bars have held out longer because even after many gay men move away from a traditional ‘gay neighborhood’ they return at night for dinner or drinks. However, I think the impact of losing a gay neighborhood means the long term prospects for many gay bars is grim. I don’t necessarily think Boston will lose all its gay bars but the density and numbers of gay bars has been severely cut over the past two decades since the South End migration started.
What Santa failed to deliver yesterday, I am more than happy to share with you today. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Have a great week.
Auntie (\ˈan-tē\adjective)
Definition: a middle-aged or older male homosexual who was prone to taking care of younger gay men. Most often used in the 1980s.
Example: When I think of a classic “Auntie”, Truman Capote comes to mind.
SAGA Saturday’s December 24th party has no cover at Paradise in Cambridge
What to do this week: December 19 – 25th
Art of the Cocktail: Bourbon Learn more about this cozy drink and make your winter a little bit brighter on Monday, December 19 at BCA in Boston
Geek Trivia is guaranteed fun and has lots of prizes (trivia starts at 8pm) hosted every Tuesday at Club Cafe in Boston
3rd Annual Winter Solstice Party is at Ester and starts at 6:30PM on Tuesday, December 20 in Dorchester
dbar’s weekly Showtune Tuesday hosts an ugly sweater contest this week
Showtunes Holiday Spectacular hosted by VJ Ryan Grow starts at 9PM this Tuesday at dbar in Dorchester
Stump Trivia lets you impress your friends with all the trivia you know from 5PM – 10PM every Wednesday at Cathedral Station in Boston
Feast of the 7 Fishes Holiday Feast takes place a few days earlier at Mac’s Ptown Fish House on Wednesday, December 21 in Provincetown
Karaoke Kween is a lot of fun and if you’re good you may nab the $75 cash prize at the end of the night – hosted every Wednesday at Club Cafe in Boston
Institute of Contemporary Art Boston is free after 4pm every Thursday
ICA Boston every Thursday from 4PM – 9PM admission is free in Boston
Wicked Shorts: A Very Scary Christmas free screening from 8:30-11:00 PM at CinemaSalem on Thursday, December 22 in Salem
The Coolidge After Midnite Presents: Jack Frost the movie starts at 11:59PM on Friday, December 23 at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline
Mainestreet Karaoke party starts at 9PM every Friday in Ogunquit
DJ Victor Calderone comes to Bijou Boston on December 23rd
Bijou Fridays with DJ Victor Calderone opens at 10:00PM and takes place at Bijou in the Theater District on Friday, December 23 in Boston
Fascination Friday is a Gear/ Fetish/ Kink event at Jacques Cabaret that takes place the 2nd Monday and 4th Friday of the month in Boston
SAGA Christmas Eve Party has no cover this week – doors open at 10PM on Saturday, December 24 at Paradise in Cambridge
Christmas Eve Party is at The Dark Lady and starts at 10PM on Saturday, December 24 in Providence
Back 2 Basics Tea Dance never has a cover and always has great music from 70s 80s & 90s, starting at 5PM no cover every Sunday at Club Cafe in Boston
Send me information about your upcoming programs and events in my blog’s comment section or message me the details on Facebook.
Posted in Boston, Gay, Ogunquit, Providence, Provincetown
Tagged BosGuy, Boston, Boston Guy, Gay
Source: G Lounge Facebook page
Yesterday Kennethinthe212 blog posted that the popular gay bar G Lounge in Chelsea will be closing at the end of this year. I have some fun memories navigating my way around the bar and was sorry to hear that the popular bar would be closing. Kenneth writes:
I just confirmed this with G Lounge, a gay-bar staple in Chelsea for 20 years. I first heard rumblings about G closing in early 2014, but then was told I was wrong in 2015. Sadly, I wasn’t. The bar — which signed a confident 20-year lease when it opened in 1996 — seemed to remain vibrant as Splash, Rawhide, The Break, Champs, View Bar and others faded away. Sad to hear a place that played such a big role in my life is coming to an end, even if it had ended in my actual life many years ago.
Read this funny conversation Kenneth’s friend had via text when he learned of G Lounge’s imminent closing. I think we can all agree with his friends sentiments.
Fruit Fly (\ˈfrüt-flī\adjective)
Definition: a woman who prefers the company of gay men to heterosexual men.
Example: Margaret Cho may be the world’s most famous fruit fly.
Self Portrait 1980 – Source: clampart.com
Mark Morrisroe (January 10, 1959 – July 24, 1989) was an American performance artist and photographer who was born to a drug-addicted mother in Malden, MA. Due to his unhappy home life (he happened to also be a tenant of Albert DeSalvo, who would become known as the infamous “Boston Strangler”) he moved out at the age of 15 and began hustling to make ends meet.
Despite his hardships, he became known for his performances and photographs, which contributed to the development of the punk scene in Boston in the 1970s and the art world boom of the mid to late 1980s in New York City.
I had never heard about Mark until I learned that there would be an exhibit featuring some of his photos called Mark Morrisroe: Works from 1982 – 85, showing at Alexander & Bonin in NYC through December 22nd. Should you find yourself in NYC and like to see more of this remarkable man’s work, check out the exhibit before it closes next week.
Derrick Barry released a new video on YouTube, Slumber Party (Parody) “Christmas Party”, which you should definitely watch. Its filled with some fun dancing, plenty of eye candy and is worth sharing.
Much thanks to Matt over at boyculture blog for bringing this to my attention.
Barbie (\ˈbär-bē\adjective)
Definition: gay men who obsess with their physique in an attempt to continually perfect how they look and model themselves after an unrealistic ideal.
Example: The bar was filled with Barbies all vying for attention and affirmation.
Camp (\ˈkamp\verb)
Definition: to mimick or exaggerate gestures, behaviors, conversational styles and emotions, by parodying stereotypes and social conventions.
Example: For generations gay men have used camp to express their frustrations.
Black Friday is traditionally considered the start of the Christmas shopping season and is best characterized mad house of crazed shoppers invading every mall and retail shop. As a result, each “Black Friday” I share my version, which I think most of my readers will agree is far more palatable than heading to a mall.
Shade (\ˈshād\ noun)
Definition: acting in a casual or disrespectful manner towards someone.
Example: My friends looked me up and down when I talked about what I was going to eat tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and I was like, stop with the shade.
BosGuy 