CommuniKate: Blog Archives
April 14, 2008
Big Fun in Chicago
In what we like to think of as “personal time” my dear partner and I went together to Chicago for some almost simultaneous gigs. Luckily we were scheduled to fly United to Chicago. Oops, I thought you were checking the electronic wiring in the wheel wells.
Urvashi spoke at the Race, Sex and Power Conference at Illinois University’s gorgeous new Forum Building. Her panel on “Sexual Citizenship” followed the opening plenary talk given by the indefatigable Dr. Jocylen Elders.
Dr. Elders had been Surgeon General in the first Clinton Presidency but was fired when she said that masturbation is a healthy part of safe sex. Bill did not stand by his woman. It’s his male-pattern badness. In the question and answer period after her wonderful talk, she remarked that more vows of abstinence have been broken than condoms.
I always wanted to make a bumper sticker that said, “I Masturbate and I Vote.” It gives a whole new meaning to “pulling the lever.”
After Urvashi spoke, she flew on to Minneapolis to address nine hundred attendess at the ninth annual “Rainbow Families” Conference. I stuck around and enjoyed the April lake effect snow in Chicago and emceed the 19th Annual LGBT Center Dinner at the gorgeous old Chicago Hilton Hotel.
On the morning of the dinner, the Center Board Chair, Robert Kohl and board member Vickie Raymont gave me a tour of The Center, opened just this year to serve the LGBT community. I thanked them for their time on such a busy day, but they said they love to show off their dream become reality. I soon saw what they meant.
The Center on Halsted is a stunning, welcoming, exciting space and even at 11a it was hopping. A cyber center, a gym, a counseling center, expandable meeting rooms, a theater, a community kitchen are all beautifully designed for the needs of the Chicago LGBT community.
A beautiful new Whole Foods Market rents space from the Center and they share a common café space. It’s a genius, innovative win-win situation. Other organizations should take note: GLAAD linked with Blockbuster, HRC with a Prada Store, The National Black Justice Coalition with Restoration Hardware, NGLTF with Cinnabon. Everybody loves Cinnabon.
The dinner was a real celebration of the opening of the Center. I introduced Lorna Luft. A friend at the Race, Sex and Gender Conference asked if it was the real Lorna Luft or a drag Lorna Luft. She was mighty real. After a great dinner, the dance band “Big Fun” cranked it up and Chicago got down.
I couldn’t wait to get back home to tell my friend, Richard Burns what I’d seen. Richard, who runs the NYC GLBT Center and is in the middle of a Capital campaign for an addition to the Center, was way ahead of me. He and his board already visited and stolen plenty of ideas!!
April 07, 2008
Amuse Bouche
Those gals from Boston know how to throw a party! It’s not just about tea anymore. Oh it hasn’t been for years. Have you been to a Red Sox World Series Parade? The Annual Women’s Dinner to benefit the Fenway Community Health Center was held in the Westin Copley and the ladies were out!!
At the special donor cocktail party before dinner, I ran into lots of wonderful galpals. Byllye Avery and Ngina Lythcott, New York pals who have moved to Boston, and pioneers in black women’s health were there, giving me a hard time about Hillary. Dr. Jane Petro, just back with lots of dish from Dubai later bid to have lunch with me this summer at Ptown’s Karoo Café. We’ll catch up especially on her strategy of going to work in Bermuda shorts under her burkha. Alix Ritchie and Marty Davis, longtime supporters of women and women in journalism brought stories of Ptown transplants to Fort Lauderdale. It was also great to meet new supporters of the historical work of Fenway. Especially the dames from Southie who offered to be my bodyguards if the jokes didn’t go well.
Again, I was honored to be the amuse bouche, the ordained emcee for the evening’s dinner and reminded everyone that this was the last supper – under the Bush Regime.
Boston Mayor Tom Menino and his great wife Angela came to the dinner as they always have. Denise Simmons, a long and strong supporter of Fenway was there too – but this time as the first African-American, out lesbian Mayor of the city of Cambridge! I want her to run for president.
Through the hard work of co-chairs and table captains, a not-very-silent auction, a pledge drive with a match from Dr. Susan Love, a pioneer in women and breast cancer, [who told me once she used my “Thanks for the Mammaries” story on an early record for her lesbian patients] and a live auction, lots more money was raised to reach the capital campaign goals.
One fabulous table captain had made goodie bags filled with favors for the friends she’d wrangled into coming to the dinner. One table had made an actual captain’s hat for their friend. As I was passing a table of Fenway revelers, one woman waved me over and handed me photos of me from the Jamesville-Dewitt H.S. yearbook of 1977! And thus I met a former student!
The fun of the evening helped me get through and over my mourning for my Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
March 25, 2008
Passion Weekend
Because of my lapsed Catholic state, just as I was leaving for the airport I realized that I was going to be traveling on Easter weekend. I’m still thrown off by the three weeks earlier than usual spring-ahead clock change and, excuse me, but it seems like Jesus got here at Christmas and just three months later, he’s outta here. It would inspire the faithful a bit more, if he wouldn’t busta move out so soon.
So it was me, Easter pilgrims and spring breakers headed out to the Southwest. I landed in Phoenix, AZ and got a quick ride to Tempe with Barbara McCullough who caught me up over lunch on local politics and the schemes of Equality Arizona. That night I performed at their amazing new Arts Center. Neil Giuliano, now executive director of GLAAD, was in the audience. When he was mayor of Tempe, he had secured the funds and broken ground for the theater. It was great to see him in his old home town.
For a few years, I’ve been talking about a rumor I’d heard about a gang of old dames, circling up the silver airstreams and making a community north of Phoenix. Well, dang if 96 of them didn’t come down from AJ, short for the p.i. Apache Junction, and come to the show. I was surrounded by them after the show in a jostling, scrum of radiant crones. Next time I’m out that way, I have to make a pilgrimage. I don’t know what they’re doing up there in their sweat lodge, but they all look amazing, transcendent.
The next day I went to the state next door, New Mexico and did a show at The Human Rights Alliance dinner in Santa Fe. The dinner is an annual tradition by activists and for activists who are working to transform their state. They transformed a huge tennis center into a festive catered meal and a huge silent auction space. After that, the state should be easy.
One of their awards went to their Governor, Bill Richardson, just two days after he’d announced that he was supporting Barack Obama. It was the talk of the dinner. He graciously accepted the award, midst a too-small chorus of hisses. He was sporting a new beard. I think he was hoping it would disguise him.
While in booming Santa Fe, I stayed at the new Rainbow Visions a retirement community for senior LGBTs. My favorite amenity was the Billie Jean King recreation center housed in the main building with full restaurant and a lovely theater. The staff was friendly and fun, and I wanted to sit and hear the life-stories of many of the residents I met.
Even though the amateurs were traveling back home on Sunday, I made it time to see the last episode of the L-Word season. Talk about a perfect end to Passion Week. And thank goodness for another season, even if it’s a shortened one. A lot of old story lines were resurrected and I don’t know about you, but I need some closure.
March 03, 2008
Ben and Jimmy: Gay No-Shows
In addition to its fabled lilacs, Rochester is becoming justly famous for its LGBT Film Festival, presented by ImageOut. They had a benefit concert to advertise and subsidize their wonderful festival and they invited me! We brought the Hilarity Clinton ’08 Tour to upstate New York. Rochester is also famous for “lake effect” snow and there was a foot of it, so no lilacs, dang.
At a reception before the show for special benefactors and the board of ImageOut, I met lots of wonderful upstate NY LGBTs. One was a daughter of one of my fellow classmates at LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY, Class of 69. Another recent LeMoyne alum was member of the ImageOut Board. Lesbian owned, Hedonist Chocolatiers provided refreshments, and I partook. By the time I hit the stage I was just peaking on my performance enhancement drug of choice. Michael Gamilla, the board co-chair was an excellent host and an indefatigable promoter of the Film Festival.
The next day I flew to Boston for the Men’s Event, a benefit dinner for the Fenway Community Health. I have emceed the Women’s Event many times and was happy to be asked to emcee the men’s dinner. I’m the Ryan Seacrest of Fenway Events.
Fourteen hundred extremely handsome men in tuxedos were there and we raised a lot of money. One attendee that night pledged $75,000 for the building fund for the almost completed Fenway Center, a fourteen floor state of the art builiding providing state of the heart care for LGBT people in New England.
Longtime mayor and great friend of the LGBT Community, Mayor Menino was in attendance. Ben Aflleck and Jimmy Kimmel were not. MA Gov. Patrick couldn’t attend; he was writing new lines for Barack Obama. Sen. Ted Kennedy received the Gerry Studds Pioneer Award and was his usual gracious and funny self in his acceptance speech.
When he asked me how I was doing, I told him, “Well, I’m a 60 year old white woman, last name Clinton, how do you think I’m doing?” He laughed and gave me a big hearty clap on the back.
February 13, 2008
Power is sexy! Action is hot!
Those were the popping mantras of the recent National Conference on LGBT Equality sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in good old Detroit, Michigan. I did a warm up show the night before the conference in Ann Arbor at the wonderful Ark. Good thing the action at the confab was hot, because otherwise it was fa-reezing. Not that I ever left the hotel for four days.
It was their 20th such activist conference and it was like old Homo week. I saw a lot of old pals – the brilliant historian and biographer of Bayard Rustin, John D’Emilio; longtime activist and founder of Southerners On New Ground [SONG], Mandy Carter; and conference founder and general hell-raiser, Sue Hyde.
And I fell under the spell of roving gangs of young gay activists who brought me to poetry slams, dances and real-time organizing. We fought about Clinton v. Obama, kissed, made up and pledged to work to defeat whatever old Warhead the Republicans threw up.
The old homos embraced me, and I them. Just as they changed the health system to deal and deliver around the AIDS crisis, they are at it again to bring their skill-sets to transforming aging in this country. We are having a second wind, so watch out.
Trans-activists were fierce, funny and firm with me, making sure that I got the T in every mention of our community in my duties as emcee of the daily plenary sessions. We heard Julian Bond of the NAACP, Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and Bernice Johnson Reagon and Toshi Reagon.
If you feel a subtle or not-so-subtle shift in the energy of your LGBT community, it’s because some hot, powerful, sexy activists have returned home from the Creating Change Conference and they are ready to kick it up.
Think about attending next year, January 2009, in Denver. It’s a friggin, awesome, rejuvenating blast.
January 31, 2008
Argh O’Mateys!
Am just back from a lovely Olivia Cruise celebrating their 35th Anniversary. We sailed out of Ft. Lauderdale, where all the older northern gays who can afford it, have migrated. We sailed and out toward the Turks, Tortola and I jumped ship in St. Maarten. Sad to say it was a bit rainy and cloudy the days I was on board. I believe it was a low-pressure disturbance from all the hot air coming out of Florida. B-bye Rudy!
k.d. lang did a sail away concert and kicked off her world tour of her new CD Watershed. She absolutely kicked the guts out of a Jane Siberry/Leonard Cohen medley that warmed the hearts of everyone especially the Canadians. Margaret Cho also did a hysterical set that even bothered me in some sections. That’s a good show.
After they jumped ship, we set sail and though I’m usually a good seafarer, I had to take a couple Bonine, my new drug of choice, to get through my show. It did enhance my performance, but not my memory. The front row, coupla co-dependent gals from Seattle, were very helpful in keeping me on some kind of track.
The 35th Anniversary cruise was like old lesbo-week reunion. Holly Near brought her posse – Adie Torf, musician-extraordinaire; Amy Horowitz, founder of Roadwork and Sisterfire; Melissa Howden, Holly’s former road manager and documentary filmmaker; Torie Osborne, women’s activist and organizer, fresh from being the deputy mayor in LA. Meg Christian was in the house. Our dinners were raucous – esp. after they discovered to their horror, that I was for Hillary Clinton.
My pal Kate Moira Ryan, who wrote the BeeBo Brinker Chronicles based on the Ann Bannon lesbian pulp novels of the 1950s, had a little rest before returning to NYC and rehearsals for the show that opens off Broadway on March 5. It is a must see. I’ll tell you more about it later.
Thankfully, I missed the State of the Union address. We’re at war, in recession, and the ship of state is taking on water. And that’s the good news.
As always it was great to get a chance to talk to so many women from around the country and the world. And to dance wildly with a bunch of gals, pals old and new. I’m the luckiest lesbian. Who could not like walking around hearing, “We love you, Kate”? I’ve asked Kate Ryan, who lives in Brooklyn, if she would come up and tail me as I go about my day, doing errands, getting stuff for the Super Bowl/Super Tuesday party. She said she’d stand on the corner of 73rd and Broadway and say, “We love you Kate!” I promised I’d plug her show.
January 14, 2008
Creating Change in Seattle
During the grand scheming of presidential politics, it’s always nice to remember what Tip O’Neill, the grand old pol of Massachusetts used to say, “How ‘bout them Patriots?”
Nah, he didn’t say that. The New England Patriots weren’t around when he was shaking political hands and making deals. Although, how about them?
No, Tip said, “All politics is local.”
So it was great to go to Seattle, one of my favorite cities, and kick off my “Hilarity 08 Tour” and emcee an event sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The Second Annual Heroes Dinner honored their beloved longtime activist, Louise Chernin, who gave a rousing acceptance speech that spanned her years of activism from the women’s peace encampment around Boeing to stop Cruise missile production to her current work with the Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
The crowd needed some rousing, because they were distraught that their football team, the Seahawks had just lost in the snow of Lambeau field to the Green Bay Packers. It was like sitting Shiva. But that buzzkill was more than offset by the news that a group of four local women were about to buy the WNBA Seattle Storm. I suggested they might also get a deal on the Seahawks.
The Seattle locals also honored the work of the Task Force. headquartered in DC, and involved in local training and activism for more than 30 years. Matter of fact, if you can, come to Detroit in February – it won’t be cold, thanks to global warming – for Creating Change, the 20th Annual raucous caucus of GLBT activists from around the world. You’ll feel better. I’ll be the Comedy Concierge for three days of events.
The Task Force has been talking about Change before it became the buzzword of this presi-season. I wish they had trademarked it. That’s what I call fundraising. They could buy the Redskins. And then change the team name.
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