CincyPride 2010 + Apologies

Been busy these last two days with nothing of value. HA! But, before I headed off to work for the night, it was made official today that the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Cincinnati will no longer be organizing Cincinnati Pride (as announced here) and has passed the torch onto the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber recently had huge success organizing EQUINOX to rave reviews. I wonder what it will be like for them, organizing two huge events within a month of each other?

From the Rainbow Cincinnati post:

This afternoon, Bill Abney, President of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Cincinnati announced that the organization will not organize Pride 2010.

The announcement came at the Pride Appreciation volunteer party hosted by the Community Center and the Bar Monet of Willard Street in Covington, KY.

Concurrent with this news, Nigel Cotterill, President of the Greater Cincinnati Gay Chamber of Commerce says his organization will organize the event for Cincinnati in 2010. Their Vice President, George Crawford will have charge of the event. George was chair of the successful Equinox celebration held just last weekend.

Nigel Cotterill will be forwarding a "release" of additional details in the next few days.

The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Cincinnati had been the organizer for the past five years.

Also: don't forget the Cincinnati Drag Races tomorrow on Main Street, or next week's COOL SUMMER Cocktail Hour for Ronald McDonald House on Friday the 17th from 7p-10p at Below Zero Lounge.

Coming Up in Queer Cincinnati...

Cincinnati Equinox!!!

I feel awful, I was supposed to email George from Metronation, the mastermind behind the event, but I never did, but I wanted to make sure you heard about it.

Cincinnati Equinox comes out of no where and promises to be one of the highlights of Cincinnati's queer calendar. No, organizers are quick to point out, it has nothing to do with Pride and it certainly does not replace the event. Rather, Equinox promises to be different and special in its own right. When I heard about it, probably at Below Zero Lounge one evening, I was a little taken aback. My thoughts are probably your own: can it be successful? Well, if George's assurances are true, and he's talking that there are literally hundreds (maybe over a thousand at this point) of people bussing in from out of town for a big old gay party at... FOUNTAIN SQUARE.

That's right, folks, the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, recently reformed out of the ashes of the Queen City Careers Association, has teamed up with Fountain Square to put on the party of the year this coming weekend! How they did it on July 4th weekend, I'll never know, but you can be sure I'm going.

Here is the event line-up according to the website:

Friday, July 3rd: Welcome Party, 10pm-Close at various local bars

Friday, July 4th: Equinox Festival, 11am-4pm on Foutain Square

Friday, July 4th: Equinox Ball, 10pm-2am, Grand Ballroom of the Millenium Hotel

Friday, July 4th (ish): Afterhours Breakfast, 1:30am-4am, Millenium Hotel

Trust, kids, it's gonna be fun and I will be sure to update you later in the week as soon as I find out the various wonderful things all of the Cincinnati queers have planned. I probably won't be making it to the ball -- it's far too much for this poor queer to attend -- but you can be sure you'll see me out at the bars. *Checks little black book* Who's lucky enough to be my date that evening?

Oh, and after my interview with CityBeat around Pride, I got a lot of questions of how can large queer events really become political and change hearts and minds of Cincinnati and our neighbors. I think the Equinox founders answered it best from their mission statement:

The purpose of the event is to help heal the image of Cincinnati in the National LGBT Community. Although Article XII has been repealed, Cincinnati is still viewed by other cities as homophobic and unwelcoming to the GLBT Community. On any given weekend a large portion of our city's own community leave for the nearby cities of Columbus, Louisville, Dayton, Indianapolis and Lexington.

The Greater Cincinnati Gay Chamber of Commerce believes that by hosting Equinox, we can show the changing climate towards the gay and lesbian community in Cincinnati, therefore improving the attitudes of our own community, as well as, show other cities that times have changed in Cincinnati and we welcome them with open arms, as our city is a great place to shop, play and live.

And don't worry, word is that Cincinnati Guerrilla Queer Bar is very much working with Equinox planners for a huge party that night.

Great Cincinnati GLBTQ Youth Summit

A mainstay of all queers' calendars, the youth summit has now opened up for registration. I'll cover a little more later, but they are also looking for additional help and worshop proposals. Do you think there's a demand for "blogging for queers" workshop? Hrm. Maybe I'll put my two cents in. Check out the website here.

Super Secret Event

Well, for another week. Just put July 17th, 7pm-10pm on your calendar, kids. You'll be doing some good for the world, and having a great time in the process. Promise, promise.

And now for round 2...

Jeez. I can't believe we're already talking about this, but here it is folks. The official poster for Pride Night at King's Island in September. And, actually, the design is pretty hot. Information on Equinox coming soon, too. Too much queer for now, though.

Massive Community Calendar Update

An update is way overdo, so I'll try to cover as much as possible -- sorry if I leave someone out, just shoot me an email: queercincinnati@gmail.com


Julia Serano Lecture
April 22nd, 7pm at the University of Cincinnati
Serano, an Oakland-based writer, spoken word performer, trans-activist, and biologist, will be giving a talk at UC in Swift 500 on entitled "Transsexual and Trans Feminine Perspectives on Sexism." Serano published Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity in 2007. (TransOhio post.)



cincYPac and the Cast of MTV's "Take the Stage"
April 23rd, 6pm-8pm, Cadillac Ranch
cincYPac -- Cincinnati's Young Professional Political Action Committee -- is hosting a night where you can meet the cast of MTV's hit reality show, "Take the Stage," that is hosted right here in Cincinnati. Check out their Facebook event for more information -- the event costs $15 (and $5 for students).



Pride Night with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
April 24th, 8pm+
The CSO will be welcoming the LGBT community for the 6th year in a row to a fabulous evening of music, followed by a cocktail party at Corbett Tower. Tickets are $40, includes both events. Check out the CSO website for information on the promo code and how to order your ticket.



PrideLove Sexy Singles Party
April 24th, 8pm-11pm, Below Zero Lounge
The wonderful ladies and gentlemen of PrideLove invite you to a hot little singles party at Below Zero lounge, hosted by darling Penny Tration, including a Sexy Singles Auction. (Formerly featured on QueerCincinnati.com.)



CAC's Contempory Fridays: SPIN
April 24th, 9pm-1am, Contemporary Arts Center
The CAC continues its highly successful parties with "The Price is Light," along with Northside Nick and Chris Collins. The one I went to -- months ago, now -- was actually a lot of fun. Check out their Facebook event.



First Friday with HRC
May 1st, 8pm, Golden Lion's Lounge
HRC's second First Friday cocktail hour will be held at the Golden Lion's Lounge in Clifton -- per the Facebook invite, you can be sure to check out their event (and you actually can, considering the times -- well done, HRC) before you head off to...



Cincinnati Guerilla Queer Bar -- Month 3
May 1st -- TBA
Even I don't know where it's going to be, guys, but I've been told to make sure that everyone saves the date!



Lucky Ladies Speeddate
May 3rd, 3pm-6pm, Yadda Club (Covington)
Check PrideLove's flyer for the upcoming event for all of our fabulous single ladies out there.



stop) aids Guest Bartending Night
May 3rd, 6pm-10pm, Below Zero Lounge
I will feature this more later because I think it's going to be an awesome night. But, the education team of STOP AIDS (all of them true hotties) will be behind the bar, and every dollar you give goes to stopping AIDS right here in Cincinnati. (Facebook event)



Judy Shepard Speaks
May 5, 7pm, Great Hall of the Tangeman Center on UC's Campus
After her last speech was cancelled due to illness, Judy Shepard comes to speak at the University of Cincinnati. She's worth watching, folks; I would go.



Ethan Philbrick's Cello Recital
May 9, 8pm, St. John's Unitarian Church
Check out his Facebook event. (Ethan is both a fellow blogger and the organizer of CGQB -- and then he got cutie-patootie Jeff of centsinnati to sweettalk me into posting it, so another fellow blogger -- so I'm posting this "personal event" based on their status as bloggers. But Ethan's an amazing cellist and worth checking out, I think.)



Making Beautiful MUSIC Together
May 9th, 7pm-10pm, the DOCK Complex
The ISQCCBE and the Cincinnati Men's Chorus will be hosting a special charity event at the DOCK to support local charities... and each other. Check out their Facebook event.



Queen City, Music City
May 30th at 8:07pm, May 31st at 3:07pm, National Underground Railroad Museum
The next Cicninnati Men's Chorus show will focus on music straight out Nashville -- including tunes with hints of country, gospel, jazz, and bluegrass. The 30th and 31st will be their Pride shows, with a special musical nod to the LGBT movers and shakers in music. Check out their website for more information.



Miami U. LGBT Alumni Reunion
June 18-21, Oxford, Ohio
As part of the bicentennial celebration, 1809 LGBT Alumni are calling all alums to come and support the association, as well as join them in special events like a reception with Pres. Hodge and a special viewing of Freeheld (2008 Academy Award short documentary winner, produced by MU alums).

Equinox Cincinnati
July 3-5
Hold on to your horses, girls, the next big event in the gay social calendar in Cincinnati may be upon us -- meet Equinox Cincinnati (and their Facebook event). I don't have much more information from the organizers yet, but I've been promised the exclusive ASAP. George (of Metronation and of the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce) is hot on this one, guys, and says he already has busses filling up from people out of state to come party in the 'Nati. I have a feeling this will be huge. Save the date. (And you are reading that right -- this event is cosponsored by Fountain Square.)


Ohio Lesbian Festival
September 19th and 20th, Columbus-ish
Womyn-only event featuring music, art, and community. Check out their website for more information.



GAY PRIDE DATES FOR THE REGION!!!!!
I'm just going to do a list because there are so many to list off:

• June 6th-14th: Indianapolis, "Circle City, IN Pride"
• June 13th and 14th: Cincinnati, "Squealing with Pride"
• June 19th and 20th: Columbus, "Freedom 2009"
• June 19th and 20th: Louisville, "Kentuckiana Pride Festival"
• June 20th: Cleveland, "Equality through Unity"
• June 23rd-28th: Chicago
• Saturday, June 27th: Lexington, "Stonewall Lives"

You know, looking at Columbus's and Cleveland's themes... aren't you kinda glad we have something at least interesting? Seriously.

Seriously, what did I miss? I know I did. Again, email me if you have anything for the list.