The month of February is a time to celebrate the love of friends and family by acknowledging our most cherished partnerships.
At OutSmart, this is also the anniversary of this magazine. In February, we enter our 14th year of publishing. We couldn’t have grown into the publication we are today without the help of a supportive partnership with the community and our loyal family of advertisers that continually place trust in our marketing programs.
Music With a Twist, the Sony/Columbia-affiliated major label dedicated to identifying and developing LGBT artists, recently announced its first two signed artists:
Gay cable networks, satellite radio programs, podcasts, and even MySpace.com are helping to give GLBT musicians the increased exposure that many of them deserve. But even without those outlets, queer musicians continue to produce music worth experiencing in any medium.
Rainbow Lodge was one of those reliably romantic spots for the many years it perched on a bank overlooking Buffalo Bayou. Then Donette Hansen disappointed legions of devoted diners when she shuttered her restaurant (since replaced by another, similar-sounding enterprise, the Lodge at Bayou Bend).
Frances Leff and Eleanor Tinsley are the guests for “Repast with a Pair of Political Pioneers,” the annual League of Women Voters fundraiser on Feb. 1, 11:30 a.m., at the Westin Oaks. $65. Tickets: 713/784-2923, www.lwvhouston.org.
NEW CHAMBER LEADERS The Greater Houston GLBT Chamber of Commerce members recently elected a new board of directors and executive officers for 2007. Rick Dickson will serve as the board president, with Danny Kallen assisting as vice president, Sean Carter as secretary, and Robert “Shane” McShane as treasurer. Other directors are Victor Cordova, Jonathan Lanz, Jack Richardson, Jerry Simoneaux, Chris Warren, and Harold Kelly. Chosen as this year’s intern from HATCH, the GLBT and supportive youth group, is Pamela Palmer. Dickson says the new board is currently organizing a strategic planning retreat with a focus on increased programming to help promote membership. “We have a great team and have set forth distinct and focused goals,” Dickson said. The chamber hosts its annual Honoring our Allies Luncheon on February 16 at Holiday Inn Select. Details: 713/523-7576, www.thechamberhouston.org.
It’s like cruising the personals for a date, but with a navigator. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Logo appropriately unveils Love Lessons, a look at hooking up for the long haul, homosexual style.
When gay filmmaking couple Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland established their indie film foothold with The Fluffer (2000), a comedy set in the gay porn industry (tagline: Love Is Hard), you wouldn’t expect them to follow up with a movie about a Latina girl’s 15th birthday party. But perhaps it is their gay sensibility that makes Quinceañera as fresh and brave as it is. Quinceañera is a story about young people’s coming of age in hard times, about being cast as an outsider because of who you are (or because no one bothers to find out who you really are), and about the sweetness of life despite all this.
BEFORE YOU START THANKING THE ACADEMY. Ask anybody with any local theatrical sense: Gay theater + Houston = Joe Watts.
For more than 35 years, Watts has produced and directed production after production, bringing Houston audience the best in GLBT theatrical entertainment via his companies, The Group (Theatre Workshop) and Theatre New West.
Thanks for your story ["Whither, Pride?" January] about the possible changes coming to our community’s GLBT Pride parade and festival.
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