The Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus will participate in Second Saturday festivities with a Sing-A-Thon on Saturday, May 11 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visitors will get a preview of the group’s upcoming summer show, ExtrABBAganza, a celebration of the 1970s pop sensation ABBA, June 7-8, at the Crest Theatre. Saturday’s Sing-A-Thon is free and open to the public at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 1700 L St. A donation to support the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus would be greatly appreciated. Steven Johnson, the group’s artistic director, says the Second Saturday Sing-A-Thon is intended to help raise the visibility of the chorus and of Sacramento arts and culture as well as to raise funds to enable the ch

Sacramento interfaith organization The Experience will host Ben Hudson, executive director of Sacramento’s Gender Health Center, as its special guest speaker at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10, at St. Paul’s, 1430 J Street in Sacramento. Hudson’s topic will be “A More Authentic Me,” a discussion of diversity and one’s journey to a more authentic gender identity and expression through the lens of spiritual and emotional growth. Hudson has more than15 years of experience as a community organizer and peer counselor. He has served on the board of the Sacramento Gender Association and is a co-founder of Sacramento Transgender Coalition and TransFamilies Sacramento. He was one of the lead organize

The Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus will kick off its 28th season Friday, Nov. 30, through Sunday, Dec. 2, with a new director at the helm and a new holiday-themed show, “Light Your World.” Performances will be at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30; 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1; and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2. All three performances will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 2100 J Street in Sacramento. General admission tickets for the performances are $22 in advance and, if still available, will be $25 at the door. A reserved seating option for $40 includes a front-of-house reserved seat (no standing in line) and pre-concert dessert reception at Lumens Light + Living (located one block from the

Social media will take center stage this holiday season as Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus debuts the original choral production number, “A Social Network Christmas” by award-winning composer Eric Lane Barns. The number will be a featured segment of the chorus’s holiday concert “Light Your World,” which will run Friday, Nov. 30, through Sunday, Dec. 2, with a reprise concert on Saturday, Dec. 8, in Stockton. Barns visited Sacramento recently to rehearse the chorus and small group ensemble “Boy Howdy” on the number, sharing his vision for the piece, walking them through the staging and helping to cast some special appearances. “I like doing things that create a world onstage,” Barns says. “Fa

There may be more spills than thrills at the third annual Drag Queens On Ice, as Rusty, Felicity and DoMe skate for dollars at the Downtown Sacramento Partnership Ice Rink from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The mayhem is all for a good cause: 100 percent of the proceeds of the fundraising event will benefit three local non-profit organizations, the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center (http://saccenter.org/), CGNIE-La Kish Scholarship Fund (http://www.cgnie.org/) and NorCal AIDS Cycle (http://norcalaidscycle.org/).. The $5 admission cost covers skate rental and two hours on the ice at the rink, located at St. Rose Of Lima Park at the corner of 7th and K Streets. The event is open to the pu

New(ish) Films We seem to be in the middle of a run of good but not totally great films that succeed despite assorted minor flaws. Bear in mind that due to screening conflicts I haven’t been able to review “Looper” yet, but here’s a roundup of seven films that opened either today or last week in Sacramento.   The Perks of Being a Wallflower Written & Directed by Stephen Chbosky Probably the best of the current bunch is “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” which has been adapted and directed by Stephen Chobsky, based on his own novel. Logan Lerman plays Charlie, a high school freshman with a (very) troubled past who is friendless and a loner at school until he’s virtually adopted by an od

In 28 years of celebrating Pride in Sacramento there has never been an official Pride Gala. 2012 changed everything. This year the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center(SGLC) premiered Courage to Stand, the official kick-off gala for Sacramento’s Gay Pride Weekend. The setting was the Citizen Hotel in Downtown Sacramento on a night that was probably one of the warmest of the year. Downtown Sacramento was abuzz with activity with Friday Concert in the Park happening, Pride set up going on along the Capital Mall and people just ready to get summer started after an unseasonably cool spring. Recreating the Plaza Park Ballroom of the Citizen Hotel was no easy fete. Taking the hotel setting and chan

Lots of vendors, food, alcoholic drinks, things for kids to do and great entertainers kept PRIDE visitors happy even though the temperature was a tad bit on the overheated side! Part of Capitol Mall was fenced  to keep traffic away. I strolled around, saw friends, watched people, ate a hotdog and met a man with a 27 year old snake around his neck as he waited for his lunch. Per usual I had my two cameras slung around my neck, lurking in plain view. Took a ot of photos and are some: For some more photos, go to this online Google album - CLICK HERE>>> PRIDE PARADE PHOTOS

The 2012 Sacramento Pride Parade and Festival kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday with the parade’s start at Fourth and N streets. The focus of the Sacramento Pride events is to bring gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans into everyday society, and there is no requirement of being gay to partake in the festivities. Capitol Mall between Fourth and Seventh streets will be the scene of the festival and parade after-party, with dance pavilions, local DJs, a kids zone and plenty of food. Last year’s event saw a huge turnout despite rain, and the weather this year is expected to be nice and sunny. Tickets are $10. For more information, check the Sacramento Pride website.

The Harvey Milk Foundation celebrates the third annual Harvey Milk Day in Sacramento, Calif. and joins together with the California Legislative LGBT Caucus and Equality California (EQCA) to host a breakthrough conversation on the implementation and benefits of Senate Bill (SB) 48. This is an important event that families, educators, students, policy leaders and civil rights advocates should attend. Given the importance of the conversation, and the special holiday to celebrate one of our LGBT heroes, this event is free to the public with RSVP: http://harveymilkday.eventbrite.com/ Substance and celebration: The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act (SB 48), autho

This year Harvey Milk Day will be marked with several events here in Sacramento. Harvey Milk was a leader in the gay rights movement who was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. This made him the nation’s first openly gay man elected to public office in a major U.S. city. Milk, along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone was assassinated by ousted Supervisor Dan White, November 27, 1978. On October 12, 2009, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill (SB 572) establishing “Harvey Milk Day” to take place each May 22nd, Milk’s birthday. This year, during the week of May 21 – 25, schools are encouraged to educate students about a leader whose courageous work helped to end

On Thursday, May 3, Sacramento’s popular Drag Queen Bingo fundraiser is expected to top the $50,000 mark for funds raised to support local non-profit organizations. Thursday’s event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Hamburger Patties, 1630 J St., Sacramento, benefiting the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Softball League. Since the first number was called on Aug. 12, 2009, which benefited Sacramento charity WEAVE, Drag Queen Bingo has raised $49,153.63 for local charities and non-profits. Each event benefits a different local non-profit organization. In its nearly three-year history, the event has raised money for 45 different charities, including the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, the Sacrament

Although the four-letter word “hate” doesn’t get censored, the actions that are fueled by it do. According to psychology Professor, Dr. Gayle Pitman, hate stems from individual psychological issues—fearing or hating what people are, or psychological issues projected outward caused by social, institutional and religious teachings. “In some ways, religion is a good thing, but it can also be used as a powerful and dangerous tool,” said Pitman, who has taught psychology of sexual orientation and psychology of women for 11 years at Sacramento City College. In 2009 and 2010, two hate crimes were reported in the Los Rios District—both occurred at City College, according to Los Rios District P

SideTrax, a night club being built on top of Hot Rod’s near 20th and K streets, is now on pace for a Labor Day weekend opening, and an innovative membership program may be the key to allowing 18- to 20-year-olds access despite the club having a full bar. The venue was initially scheduled to open last spring, but the date had to be pushed back due to construction delays involving design changes and the addition of an extensive patio. Owner T.J. Bruce said the club will accommodate about 300 people in a cigar bar-meets-urban lounge setting with high-quality sound and lighting systems. Bruce also owns nearby Lavender Heights night spots The Depot and Badlands, and he said SideTrax will app

Through a collaborative effort between faculty and students, Sacramento City College will host the first Los Rios District-wide LGBT Conference Friday, March 16, from 1–5 p.m. in the Student Center. The grassroots effort for LGBT education, rights and services in the Los Rios district is an attempt to increase understanding and support for all students and faculty throughout the system.“Even though we are one district, we are four different satellites, and [the conference is] kind of getting everyone together to start a dialogue,” said Queer Straight Alliance faculty adviser and Workability counselor Derrick Wydick. “We are hoping to support the efforts that are already established at eac

This past weekend marked the 20th anniversary of the Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (SIGLFF) at the Crest Theatre. The festival ran selected film series each evening from Thursday to Saturday. Founder Alan Cole started the project in 1992 as a student-run film festival that received support from Sacramento State University, Gay and Lesbian Alliance students with grant funding from Associated Students Inc. , which is a official governing body which operates the sponsorship of programs and services to CSUS students. A bevy of sponsors and volunteers support the board of directors, programming and gala committees to prepare and organize the annual festival that takes p

The Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival kicked off Thursday evening, celebrating its 20th anniversary of great indie LGBT films and their filmmakers at the Crest Theatre. The festival is a non-profit organization, dedicated to showing independent LGBT films in [in or from?] Northern California. The festival continues through Saturday, with each evening concentrating on different subjects. Thursday evening focuses on male relationships, Friday on female relationships, and Saturday showcases a series of short films. Each year brings opportunities to show more films, give more money to nonprofit LGBT organizations and provide grants to filmmakers. Each evening, films begin

Last night Sacramento Valley Veterans (SVV), along with LGBT Veterans groups, hosted a celebration at Head Hunters/Kennedy Gallery in midtown. The crowd was enthusiastic for several public figures who dropped by to share their support and happiness that the 18-year long Don't Ask, Don't Tell compromise ended. It allowed homosexuals to serve in the military by keeping our sexual orientation under wraps. That was 20 years after I enlisted. I'm gay. I served in the US Navy from '73 to '77 and received an honorable discharge at the end of my enlistment. I've carried a mental smirk about that ever since. During last night's celebration, emcee Ty Redhouse, SVV President and USAF veteran aske

Programming a film festival is an odd and varied process. Some events go out and pro-actively seek the best films that they can find, in an extensive search process – and we see this approach in such local great events as the Sacramento Jewish, French, Japanese, and Gay and Lesbian Film Fests. Other events are submission-based: A call for films is distributed, and filmmakers from a given area submit their works in the hopes of making it to the top of the pile. This latter approach, perhaps best exemplified on a grand scale by the Sundance Film Festival, is also used (on a more modest level) by the Sacramento Film & Music Festival and that given area is the entire world. This year, films

The NorCal AIDS Cycle had a record-setting year in 2011, raising more money for area non-profit organizations than any HIV/AIDS fundraising organization in recent Sacramento history. The event is among the most successful Sacramento charity fundraisers in history based on total dollars raised. The organization will distribute a total of $190,000 to area HIV/AIDS service organizations, returning 70 percent of total funds raised to beneficiary organizations at a check presentation ceremony at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8, at Hot Italian, 1627 16th Street, Sacramento. A record 96 cyclists, along with 30 volunteer crew members—who also raised money—participated in the four-day, 330-mile cycling fun