Friday, 6 March 2009 – 3:25 PM
| Comments Off on This Week in LGBT Alaska 3/6/09
Juneau
Women of Distinction Dinner, with the Pride Chorus and Marsha Buck, 3/7
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.
Fairbanks
The movie MILK, about Harvey Milk, is showing at the Blue Loon 3/5 – 3/6 at 5:30 p.m. & 8 p.m., and 3/10 – 3/14 at 8 p.m., except March 13. See the Blue Loon for details.
PFLAG meeting 3/8 at 4 p.m.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center social support group meetings to discuss LBGT issues in the valley. Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Vagabond Blues in Palmer.
Anchorage
Alaska Rainbows dinner 3/7, 5-7 p.m.
Gothique Leather & Lace Divas Goth Fashion Show hosted by Kynt & Vyxsin. 3/7, 9 p.m. Mad Myrna’s. $10.
Men of Atlantis 3/8, 9 p.m. Mad Myrna’s. $10.
The second Sunday of Lent with Rev. Norman Van Manen and MCC Anchorage 3/8, 2 p.m.
Transgendered Alaskans’ Social Group (TASG), meets Sundays 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the GLCCA.
Friday, 27 February 2009 – 12:26 PM
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Juneau
Juneau Pride Chorus concert and dance 2/28, 7:30 p.m. at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center.
Men’s Movie Night 2/28, 7 p.m. Email SEAGLA for location.
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21 at The Imperial Bar.
Fairbanks
Mardi Gras Party at Jeff’s House 2/28, 9 p.m. with DJ White Chocolate. 21 and over.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center social group, Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Vagabond Blues in Palmer.
Anchorage
First Sunday of Lent with Rev. Norman Van Manen and MCC Anchorage 3/1, 2 p.m.
Transgendered Alaskans’ Social Group (TASG), meets Sundays 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the GLCCA.
Friday, 20 February 2009 – 11:16 PM
| Comments Off on This Week in LGBT Alaska 2/20/09
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news and up-coming events,
subscribe to AGN, the weekly email newsletter.
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center social support group meetings to discuss LBGT issues in the Valley. Mondays at 2 p.m. and Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Vagabond Blues in Palmer.
Anchorage
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin 2/21 & 2/22, 6 p.m. at the Anchorage Museum, with a discussion after the film on Saturday.
Transgendered Alaskans’ Social Group (TASG), meets Sundays 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the GLCCA.
“Our Journey Through Faith” with Pastor Van Manen, Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. at MCC Anchorage. There is also a Sunday service at 2 p.m.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009 – 5:36 PM
| Comments Off on What do you know about LGBT Alaska?
Art, politics, entertainment, sports, religion – share your knowledge of LGBT Alaska on the blog. Interview your friends, review our shows, give good advice or spread outrageous rumors! It’s time to expand the blog and bring in more writers who represent different voices within our community. Send your ideas to
Bent Alaska and see your byline on line. Thanks!
Sunday, 8 February 2009 – 6:53 PM
| Comments Off on Pick. Click. Give. for Gay Alaska
Alaskans can go online to apply for the PFD and support our favorite Alaska non-profits with just a click. It’s a chance for all of us to come together and give a little extra.
To donate all or part of your PFD,
apply online then choose the groups you would like to support. The filing period continues through March 31, 2009.
Friday, 6 February 2009 – 12:11 PM
| Comments Off on This Week in LGBT Alaska 2/6/09
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, classifieds and up-coming events,
subscribe to AGN, the weekly email newsletter.
Bent Alaska on Facebook
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.
SEAGLA Night at the Theatre: Shakespeare’s R&J, 2/6, 7:30 p.m. by Thunder Mountain Theatre Project, at the The Old Elk’s Hall. Tickets at Hearthside Books.
Fairbanks
PFLAG Fairbanks meeting to discuss the proposed School Board policy change 2/8, 4 p.m.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center social support group meetings to discuss LBGT issues in the valley. Mondays at 2 p.m. and Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Vagabond Blues in Palmer.
Anchorage
Sweet at Out North Theater begins 2/6, 7 p.m. for the Off the Rocks Theater Project.
Equality Works Steering Committee meeting at the GLCCA, 2/7, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Alaska Rainbows monthly dinner 2/7, 5-7 p.m.
LGBT Town Hall to End Discrimination in Anchorage 2/11, 7 p.m. at Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Equality Works
Dan Savage: Savage Love Live! 2/12, 7:30 p.m. at UAA’s Wendy Williamson Auditorium. General Public $10, free for students with UAA ID. UAATix.
An Electro Affair with Kilogram and Grym 2/12, 9 p.m.-2 a.m. $5 at the door. Mad Myrna’s.
“I’m still trying to find new members, so beware!” writes Brianne “Your Highness is optional” on the new
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center blog. “If you see a Big Transwoman with a Lasso headed your way, run! and run fast lest you find yourself sipping steamy beverages and talking about the LBGTA community in the Valley.”
On Wednesdays at 5 p.m., Her Highness Brianne waits at a table in Palmer’s Vagabond Blues with a sign taped to a coffee can. Brianne and Jaime Rodriguez are resurrecting the Mat-Su LGBT Community Center, and the coffee group for socializing, support and discussion is the first activity.
Their vision for the Center goes far beyond coffee. “A functioning Valley Community Center can help create a real community where none exists, and provide a central clearinghouse for information, contacts and services, not to mention a fun and safe place for meetings and activities of all sorts,” Jaime wrote in the blog’s first post.
Safety is a big issue in the bible belt of Alaska. When journalists searched for LGBT Wasillans to interview during Gov. Sarah Palin’s vice presidential run, few were willing to talk on camera or give their real name in print. Jaime and Brianne were the only queer locals named in
this HRC video with ally Rev. Bess and a supportive therapist, although an anonymous lesbian spoke with her back to the camera.
About six or seven times a year, word comes from the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Anchorage that people are asking about LGBT groups in the Valley, wanting to get involved or attend events. The Mat-Su population has swelled to 83,000, which means at least several thousand LGBT residents. There seems to be an unusually large transgender population in the Valley, and more bisexuals and closeted people than in urban areas of the same size.
“If we could organize, we could help break the conservative hold on the Valley,” said Jaime. “Six thousand queers is a powerful economic and political force, if we can harness it.”
The new Center rents office space in The Church of the Covenant in Palmer, where Rev. Howard Bess was pastor until he retired last year. They have a reception area, coffee nook, conference room, bathroom, and library space for the many boxes of books collected when the Center was active.
In 2001, a small group of LGBT men and women in the Valley met in a cafe in Wasilla to organize a community center. They moved to Palmer when Pastor Howard Bess offered the Church Meeting House. A weekly social support group drew about 20 people, and they added a potluck and movie night one Friday a month.
“By 2002, the LGBT Center had about 60 members on the email list,” said Jaime, the only remaining board member. “The support group grew, but was overwhelmed by people who needed a therapy group. A conflict arose between two members and attendance dropped. Only those who needed the group for therapy stayed, plus three or four of us committed to building the Center.”
Jaime and Brianne are ready to try again. They have the office, non-profit status, and start-up funds from the Imperial Court. What they need most is new members.
“I am not discouraged,” Brianne wrote last week when only two straight allies joined her for coffee. “There are lonely Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Allied people out there who could really use an avenue to meet and enjoy the company of other friendly people.”
“I invite you to participate in something that benefits you directly, your friends and loved ones, your acquaintances, and potentially even the straight segment of the Valley we all live in. Please help us, in whatever way you can: a donation, a chair, couch, bookshelf, your time, your service. What can you spare that will make our world that little bit better?”
Friday, 30 January 2009 – 4:37 PM
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Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news and up-coming events,
subscribe to AGN, the weekly email newsletter.
NEWS
MILK returns to Anchorage
MILK, the movie based on the life of Harvey Milk, got 8 Academy Award Nominations and is showing at The Bear Tooth this week, Friday-Sunday at 7:50 p.m. and Tuesday-Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Only 6 showings – don’t miss it!
Savage Love Live
Dan Savage will speak at UAA on Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m., answering questions about virginity, orgasms, monogamy, and other “taboo” topics. Students with UAA ID get in free. General Public tickets are $10 and are available now at UAATix.
EVENTS THIS WEEK
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.
Two Gay-Interest Plays at Thunder Mountain Theatre Project, 1/29-2/15, 7:30 p.m. Dying City by Christopher Shinn, and Shakespeare’s R&J, adapted by Joe Calarco.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center social support group meetings to discuss LBGT issues in the valley. Mondays at 2 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Vagabond Blues in Palmer.
Anchorage
MILK showing at The Bear Tooth 1/30-2/1 at 7:50 p.m. and 2/3-2/5 at 5:30 p.m.
Gay Rights Dessert & Discussion 1/31, around 10:30 p.m. (after MILK) at the Modern Dwellers Chocolate Lounge.
Alaska Club/ICOAA Open House membership drive 1/31, 4:30 p.m. at Mad Myrna’s.
Tuesday, 27 January 2009 – 6:21 AM
| Comments Off on Gay & Lesbian TV and Radio in Alaska
Do you want Alaska’s public radio and television stations to air programs for Gay Pride Month in June and Gay History Month in Oct?
Would you support a locally hosted LGBT radio show?
Ask and you might receive. The public radio station KSKA is asking listeners to suggest new program ideas, so now is a good time to request LGBT radio shows and topics.
KSKA does not currently broadcast any monthly or weekly gay programs, but they have in the past. They mention LGBT Alaskans about once a year. (
This interview is about the one gay AK story for 2008.)
The radio station is also connected to KAKM, the public television station. KAKM used to air the national LGBT news magazine “In The Life.”
Last April, they aired the documentary “
Anyone & Everyone” with a
half hour response filmed by KTOO in Juneau. That may have been the only LGBT program to air on Alaska’s public television station in 2008.
Public radio and tv stations in other states plan LGBT programming every year for Pride Month in June and
Gay History Month in Oct. Talk show hosts often interview local LGBT organizers before the local PrideFests and National Coming Out Day events.
Friday, 23 January 2009 – 6:54 PM
| Comments Off on This Week in LGBT Alaska 1/23/09
This Week in LGBT Alaska 1/23/09
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news and up-coming events,
subscribe to AGN, the weekly email newsletter.
Saturday: Prayers for Bobby
Prayers for Bobby tells the true story of Mary Griffith, the religious mother of a gay son, and her journey toward embracing the LGBT community following his suicide. Prayers stars Sigourney Weaver and debuts January 24 at 9 p.m. Pacific Time on Lifetime TV.
EVENTS
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.
We’re looking for a location to hold regular Pride Potlucks in Juneau. Contact SEAGLA with suggestions.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center social support group meetings, Mondays, 2 p.m. at Vagabond Blues in Palmer.
Anchorage
Ever Ready rocks the AMVETS Post 49 on 1/23 & 1/24, 7-11 p.m.
House Party for “Equality Works” 1/24, 4-6 p.m. RSVP.
Adult Comedy Hypnosis Show 1/24, 9 p.m. Certified hypnotist Jay Her‘s new show, $10 at Mad Myrna’s.
Men’s Club Potluck Dinner 1/25, 6 p.m. at The Raven.
