Articles in Anchorage
Out North goes to the PAC with Bridgman/Packer’s “Double Expose” and “Under the Skin”
Out North Contemporary Art House has brought New York City-based Bridgman/Packer Dance to Anchorage for two performances at the Discovery Theatre at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts.
A celebration of Celebration 2011
Since the first Celebration of Change on September 19, 1983 at the Red Ram Motor Lodge, Celebration has arguably been the Anchorage women’s community’s premiere annual social & arts event. Here’s a photographic celebration of this year’s show, the 27th Celebration of Change.
Step Up, Step Out for Alaska Pride
The NorthView‘s spring issue is online, full of updates on the activities at Identity, including a review of the Community Center fundraiser, their new visibility campaign “I am Identity,” and this Alaska Pride article by incoming co-chair Felix Rivera (reposted with author’s permission.)
Alaska Pride asks each and every one of us to Step Up, Step Out
By Felix Rivera, Incoming Co-ChairThis year, the steering committee behind Alaska Pride is looking to step up the 9-day celebration in June, the annual Alaska Pride Fest. The dates this year are June 18 – 26.
The theme the group has selected is reminiscent of happenings throughout the country: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed, the Defense of Marriage Act is being scrutinized by White House administration, and states around the country are passing pro-equality laws.
But still, the work is not done. Anchorage still does not have an equal-rights ordinance protecting GLBT folks from undue discrimination. Even more, our GLBT brothers and sisters in Africa face threats to their lives on a daily basis. Some have even lost their lives fighting for justice.
This summer, we ask each and every Alaskan to Step Up, Step Out. So what does that mean exactly? Haven’t attended Pride Fest in a few years? We ask you to Step Up and support your local community. Want to put on an event for Pride or volunteer, but haven’t found the motivations to do so? We ask you to Step Out of your comfort zone and become involved.
Each and every one of us should follow this motto. This year, Alaska Pride asks that you run with it! After all, that is what Pride is all about: Alaska Pride promotes state-wide gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality through education and celebration.
This year, to help us better follow our motto, the steering committee has decided to put the two umbrella events of Alaska Pride Fest and Pride Conference under one label: Alaska Pride. Both of these serve to help educate ourselves on what it means to be GLBT in Alaska, but also to celebrate our Pride.
In essence, Alaska Pride Fest serves as the heart of Alaska Pride. Alaska Pride Conference serves as the
head. Head and heart. One cannot exist without the other.One heart, one mind, Alaska Pride.
Please check out our website at AlaskaPride.org, and email us at info@identityinc.org if you are interested in being a sponsor, individual donor, vendor, or volunteer.
Thanks to Felix Rivera and Emily Kloc for stepping up as the incoming Alaska Pride co-chairs, and to current co-chairs Johnathan Jones and Gail Palmer for the great work they’ve done and are doing for Alaska Pride.
What are you going to do for Alaska Pride?
Gay pride flags thrown in mud outside youth dance
136 queer and allied youth from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley attended the Glee-themed Pride Prom last weekend at Out North – and at least one vandal, who took down four of the five rainbow flags decorating the outside of the building. A flag was hung upside down, others were thrown on the ground in the mud.
Kaboom by Gregg Araki, Monday at Bear Tooth
Gregg Araki’s newest film, Kaboom, is screening at the Bear Tooth tonight as the 8pm Art House Movie.
Kaboom is “a wild, witty and sex-drenched horror-comedy thriller featuring a gorgeous young cast.” Araki, a pioneer of new queer cinema, describes it as “a bisexual Twin Peaks in college… a mash up of at least five or six different genres… It’s really fun and sexy and kind of crazy.”
Here is the plot summary:
Kaboom is a thriller/comedy telling the story of Smith (Thomas Dekker from Heros) an ambisexual 18 year old college freshman who stumbles upon a monstrous conspiracy in a seemingly idyllic seaside Southern California town.
Smith’s everyday life in the dorms – hanging out with his arty, sarcastic best friend Stella, hooking up with a beautiful free spirit named London, lusting for his gorgeous but dim surfer roommate Thor – all gets turned upside-down after one fateful, terrifying night.
Tripping on some hallucinogenic cookies he ate at a party, Smith is convinced he’s witnessed the gruesome murder of an enigmatic Red Haired Girl who has been haunting his dreams. What he discovers as he tries to find out the truth leads him deeper and deeper into a mystery that will forever change not only the course of his young life but the destiny of the entire world.
What does Araki mean by ambisexual?
There are various forms of it: the omnisexual, polysexual, etc., and all of it means that sexuality is a fluid thing. It’s ambiguous. Bisexual sounds to me like an old school scientific kind of category. I have always believed that sexuality is not really black and white, that it is a gray area. As time goes on, people become more open and fluid in terms of their views of sexuality. The younger generation, their view is not really about labels and categories and declaring themselves. It is more about the experience and attraction and not so black and white. I find that that is becoming more and more common, even more so than the mid 90s.
Watch the trailer:
Kaboom
Directed by Gregg Araki
Cast: Thomas Dekker, Chris Zylka, Roxane Mesquida, Juno Temple, Haley Bennett
Monday, April 25th, 8:00 PM, $3.50 GA
Bear Tooth Theatrepub
Art House Monday premiere
US/France sci-fi comedy, “new queer cinema” 86 minutes.
Not rated, graphic sexual situations, nudity, violence and strong language. Persons under 18 not admitted.
Jerry Merryman (1938–2011)
Jerry Merryman lived in Anchorage for 17 years and his ‘home away from home’ was The Raven. He died of massive heart failure on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011 in Alturas, California. A friend who also used to live in Anchorage sent the obituary to Bent Alaska today. Jerry’s family did not know how to contact his friends in Alaska (and did not acknowledge in the obituary that he was gay.)
Gleek out at Anchorage Pride Prom
Pride Prom 2011 will be fabulous, with live performances in the Glee theme, a prize for best costume, and plenty of music to keep you dancing ’til midnight!
The annual youth dance is open to teens who support the LGBTQ community. It is drug-free and alcohol-free, and ID’s will be checked.
The costume contest will be judged by an expert panel for best in-character Glee costume, and the audience will get to decide the final contest winner.
Dress to impress (it’s officially semi-formal, prom dresses and suits are fine but not required) or dress as your favorite Glee character. Either way, be ready to dance.
Pride Prom 2011 will be held at Out North, a community theater and art space located kitty corner from Costco on Debarr and Bragaw. Parking is available on Primrose Street. (Do NOT park at the church next to Out North.) The evening is hosted by Identity Inc, with thanks to Out North, ICOAA, PFLAG, AMP, and ADK’s Deejays.
Come meet new teens and have a great time with your friends!
Pride Prom 2011
Saturday, April 23
8pm – midnight
Ages: 14-19
Cost: $10
Where: Out North Theater
3800 Debarr Rd, Anchorage
Driftwood to Wasilla: Moose Sausage from a Lesbian Hunter in Alaska
“Whenever people ask me about the Tour, I always tell them the surprise hit for me was our journey to Alaska.”
The I’m From Driftwood team visited Alaska in November for their national LGBT story project, and the first video interview from Alaska was recently uploaded. They also have five written stories posted by LGBT Alaskans from Eagle River, Anchorage, Juneau and Kotzebue.
For Nathan Manske, project organizer of I’m From Driftwood, Alaska was a high point of the 50 state tour. When Lambda Literary asked “What was one of the most exciting or moving moments while on the road?” he replied:
Visiting Alaska was very memorable. It felt like a foreign trip on a domestic tour. I really had no idea what to expect from the people or places or community but what I found was that the LGBT community there was very tight-knit and diverse. We collected stories from teens in Wasilla and one from a villager, which is what native Alaskans call themselves. I know it’s feeding the stereotype a little to say it felt like a foreign land, but it did in the best way possible.
A quick little story…we were leaving Wasilla on our last day in Alaska, going back to Anchorage, and I told a new friend we had met who was driving us around that I was bummed I never got to have a moose burger. He explained restaurants can’t serve moose; you actually have to hunt them to eat them. He then told me he has a lesbian hunter friend who usually has some fresh moose in her freezer. He called her up and sure enough…we stopped by her place and she gave us some moose sausage. Moose sausage from a lesbian hunter in Alaska. Memorable indeed.
Nathan also told Windy City about Alaska:
Alaska and Hawaii fell at the midpoint of the trip and were very special points during the tour. “They weren’t easy to get to,” Nate remembered. “But that’s why we thought it was so important for us to go.” Nate reminisced that Hawaii seemed like a bit of a vacation, having been on the road for nearly two months. They hung out at Hula’s (Honolulu’s only gay bar) every day.
While in Alaska, they were recognized by a guy at Mad Myrna’s in Anchorage. He turned out to be an excellent tour guide taking them up to Wasilla, a town notorious for one of its residents: Sarah Palin.
“I felt it was important to get a story from Wasilla to show the LGBT youth there that someone is thinking about them in a positive light,” Nate said, “and to let them represent Wasilla the way they want it to be represented.”
They collected two video stories by young gay men from Wasilla: Cody and Lewis. Bent Alaska posted Cody’s video last week and we look forward to seeing Lewis’ video.
The team also wrote about the trip to Alaska on their IFD tour blog. They blogged about staying at The Copper Whale Inn, a gay-owned B&B in downtown Anchorage, meeting LGBT people at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center and at the bar Mad Myrna’s, spending a few hours in Wasilla, and collecting at least 5 video stories during their visit.
“Alaska was the surprise hit for me on the Tour. They’re a special people, those Alaskans. The LGBT community was very tight-knit. At Mad Myrna’s, there seemed to be an even mix of gays and lesbians. They all seemed to band together and appeared to be the perfect example of a unified queer community. The Alaskan scenery was breathtaking but it was all the people sticking together and creating a warm community that I’ll think of when I think of Alaska.”
Thanks for including Alaska in the I’m From Driftwood project!
Growing Alaska’s LGBTQ non-profits and students
Tiffany McClain is coming to events in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau this month to talk about Pride Foundation and the good work they’re doing to fund LGBTQ non-profits and students in Alaska.
Celebration of Change 2011
Celebration of Change: “Asking, Telling, Celebrating!” will be held on April 23 at 7pm in the UAA Wendy Williamson Auditorium. The after-party is at Mad Myrna’s, and your Celebration of Change 2011 ticket stub gets you into Myrna’s free that night.
This year’s Celebration theme is inspired by the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military’s gay ban, and honors Alaska’s women service members.
Celebration of Change is the annual fundraiser for Radical Arts for Women (RAW), a Lesbian and Feminist philanthropic organization that funds Alaskan women art projects.
Although it is respectfully an all-women produced and performed show aimed to give Alaskan women a venue to learn skills in event production and encourage their individual artistic talents, ALL are welcome to attend so invite your friends, partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, wives, and husbands! Just keep the children at home, for this is an ‘at your own risk’ performance for the mature audience.
Tickets are $15 at Metro Music & Books, the GLCAA, and at the door.
Celebration of Change 2011
Saturday, April 23, from 7-10pm
UAA Wendy Williamson Auditorium
Anchorage, Alaska
