Never sharp or flat, Colombo hits right with Pride notes

 

by John Colombo

 

Pride 2010—”You belong”—ran June 4-13 at various parties and events all over the city. The kick off, Pittsbugh’s first ever advocacy rally, was held on the steps of the Beaux-Arts style Pittsburgh City County Building, featuring speeches by human rights activist Cleve Jones, Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes (see last month’s interview in Out) and Nate Phelps, son of Fred (“God Hates Fags”) Phelps.

Held on a cloudy evening, the rally was attended by about 200 people, including Pittsburgh City Councilmen Bruce Kraus and Doug Shields; Allegheny County Council President Richard Fitzgerald; lawyer Hugh McGough; the mayor’s representative Paul McKrell; and Audrey Glickman standing in for the president of City Council.

Candi Castleberry-Singleton, UPMC’s first chief diversity officer, made the opening remarks. Everyone’s speeches were uplifting and ended with the catch phrase “You belong.”

Jones, who grew up in Mt. Lebanon, turned out to be a light-hearted speaker who kept the group laughing, but he added seriously, “We are either equal or not equal—there is no in-between.”

When it started to rain, the crowd moved under the vaulted ceilings to keep dry.

Kudos to all who turned out on such a dreary day. It was a motivating start to Pride.

Afterward, at a drier location, GLENDA (The Gay and Lesbian Neighborhood Development Association) held its first annual “Divas for Diversity” fundraiser at The Pittsburgh Opera’s building. The event featured such talent as Ryan Skyy, master of ceremonies; Anna Singer, world-class opera singer; Miss Bunny Bixler; Miss Pittsburgh Pride; Aaron Pfeiffer, Teddy McKenna, Tania Grubbs and Miss Veronica Bleaus.

The event opened with a small VIP reception, where guests got to take a tour of the building and interact with the talent. The opera reception space was decorated in shimmering fabrics with multi-colored lights, crowned by portraits of the “divas.”

Skyy performed the opening number and announced his departure from Pittsburgh as he’s off to a new career in New York. How he got his umbrella to match his bow tie is beyond me, but he’s impeccable like that.

When Miss Singer opened her mouth, I kid you not, I thought my beer bottle was going to shatter; her range is amazing. Tania Grubbs treated us to a soulful rendition of Cyndi Lauer’s “True Colors,” and Miss Bixler, always the ingénue, served up several clever renditions.

Seen: Aubre Stacknick—wearing a fabulous short black dress and thigh high black boots, Laura Smith, Jennifer Lattimer, Nita Kellum, Paula Flaherty, Allison Downie and the two best-dressed newcomers, boyfriends Jonathon Daniel and Zach Cole.

In early June, the Renaissance City Choirs finished its 2010 season with “Let’s Talk about Sex, Baby” at the Grey Box Theater in Lawrenceville. The cabaret production performed to a sold out crowd on June 5, featuring RCC members Susan Blackman, Erica Olden, Christopher Miller , Kate Hammill, Timothy James Michael Kocher-Hillmer, Chad Elder, Jessica Fritz and Nathan Hart under the direction of Andres Cladera.

The titillating selections provided a light-hearted take on everything you always wanted to know about sex (but were afraid to ask). At each performance and at Pride the choir sold raffle tickets for a 16GB iPad, which went to winner Casey Capitolo. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to bring us a wonderful season.

On June 3, J.J. Cox was crowned Mr. Pittsburgh Pride 2010 at Cattivo Sotto in Lawrenceville. The annual event featured six contestants, three judges and 12 entertainers, who performed as drag queens and drag kings. During the Q & A, all the contestants wore suits. And in case, my dear readers, you haven’t figured it out yet, this writer loves clothes and shoes, and all the Kings looked positively handsome, especially contestant Chance Encounters.

Veronica Bleaus was the emcee to a packed house! In the crowd: Jane Dille; Carolyn and Jonah Thompson; Kenny Champion; Scott Roller and Ebba Schmidt; Leslie Donovan and Spaz Modic.

GLSEN (Gay Lesbian and Straight Educational Network) Pittsburgh held its 2nd annual Black and White Party, “GLSEN Glitters,” at the home of Peter Karlovich and Steve Herforth. Guests were strongly encouraged to wear black and white.

Organized by Lee Marcuzzi, training coordinator/consultant, and chaired by Ian Sheppard and Dan Kilber, the party featured performances by Dreams of Hope (a creative and performing arts group for queer youth and allies). Chris Khuner, from the Art Institute, drew caricatures of guests, with all money being donated to GLSEN. Glittering guests included Janice Carlin, Karen and Kewl Rodriguez, Pam York, James Brown and Mark Shurina.

Pittsburgh’s annual Dyke/Trans March was held June 5, up Liberty Ave through Bloomfield and ended at Friendship Park, where a rally was held. Miranda Vey was keynote speaker.

An after-party was held at Pub 51, the back bar at the Blue Moon, where Early Girl, the girl rock band from Cleveland, performed to a standing-room-only crowd. Also featured: burlesque performances by Leslie Whore and inFERNo, drag king XAVIER and featured emcee Nichole Faina. The march and party were organized by Eli Kuti.

In June Three Rivers Leather Club celebrated its 20th anniversary at Leather Central, its new home bar. After a Champagne toast, the club announced its officers. Serving their second terms: David Dean, president; Chris Gionta, vice president; and Doug Dantzer, secretary, who received the president’s award for his service to the club. Rodger W will serve his 7th term as treasurer—he must be good with money. Nick Daemous was announced as new road captain. Seen: Joe Beacon, Dave Grinnell and Rebel.

The Mattress Factory held its annual urban garden party fundraiser on June 18. Nestled away at 500 Sampsonia Way on the Northside, this museum is a gem. Founded by sculptors Barbara Luderowski and Michael Olijnyk, the museum is now in its 33rd year of operation. Both the VIP event and the main party were sold out to the tune of over 1,250 tickets. The garden itself is truly an urban wonder, with sunken levels and an iron staircase down to a fountain and a passage to another garden area. Erin Carey walked around on stilts all evening in various outfits to the delight of the guests.

My favorite room was the Garden Speakeasy where the Embury Bar (the quiet lounge at the Firehouse Lounge) served pre-prohibition cocktails with a modern twist. Robin Fernandez, representing his club Bossa Nova, pumped out some serious Mojitos. Seen: Leslie Fliesher, Johanna Klotz, Susan Blackman, Chris McAdams, Gary McKillop, Mary Jo Winokur, Chaz Young and Brittany Teahman.

Alto’s “alternative nights” on Wednesday are the place for early evening cocktails, boasting a real New York City loft feel with warm brown leather sofas, soft blue lighting and even a skylight. The parties are hosted by Joel Nickel with event coordinator Julie White. Every fifth week the bar raises money for charity. The night I visited, Persad benefitted. There is no cover charge on non-charity nights. The cocktail crowd was a mix of stylish Shadyside men and glamorous drag queens at their finest, including Mahogany, Veruca, Sasha and Angelique. Seen: Tommy Lyons, Marty Crawford, Jerry Smith, Matthew Reinhart, Jason Clark and Andrew Wise.

Splash!, the annual summer pool party, was once again held on Mt. Washington as part of Pride week celebrations. Hosted in the home of Peter Karlovich and Steve Herforth and sponsored by the Delta Foundation, it’s the party of the summer. A swimming pool, hot tub and steam room, plus cocktails, food and boys in bikinis make this a lavish affair each year.

Celebrity guest of honor Bruce Vilanch returned, and tasty eye candy was provided by FabScout Entertainment. The city backdrop makes this event shine.

Seen: Jack Kondrat, Ron Koski, Joshua Grove, John McMarlin sporting a spiffy bow tie, Josh Weitzel, Troy David and husbands Corey Wigard and Jeff Grasha, who were married one year ago in Palm Springs.

Then came Pride in the Street 2010, hosted by Derek Hartley, GLAAD award-winning radio show host on Sirius XM Radio, with a performance by Canada’s top R&B singer/songwriter and actress Deborah Cox, who rocked the streets of downtown Pittsburgh. Local band Luxe opened and DJ Randy Bettis kept the party going all night long.

The weather gods spared us this year. Rain was predicted, but we partied as the skies stayed clear and the music stayed loud. Liberty Ave was transformed into the biggest dance party of the year.

The next day was Pittsburgh Pride, and seven blocks of the city were closed for our annual Pridefest celebration. This year’s Grand Marshals were Chuck Tierney and Chuck Honse.

After the largest and most outrageous parade we’ve ever had in Pittsburgh ended, the opening ceremonies were held featuring a special performance by spoken-word artist Vanessa German. Two stages were going all day with so much entertainment, including: Aaron & Sonji, Angie Marie, Dreams of Hope, electronic dance by Lala, Michael Walsh Contemporary Dance, Zafira Dance Company, New York City’s Shara, Pittsburgh’s Chad D Band, singer/song writer Nancy Hammond, Adam 8*1*2 rock band, Jeremiah Clark, Knotdance and the headliner of the day, Amber, who came in all the way from Germany where she is currently residing. There were food vendors galore, and practically every LGBT organization in the city was represented at booths.

I’ve met Amber before, so before I left, I made sure I got a few words with her. She was kind and gracious as always—not an easy task after performing on a humid day in Pittsburgh. She’s currently doing the gay pride circuit across the country, and she had a great time at Pittsburgh’s Pride. See you back soon, Amber!

Email invites, social events and rumors, or just say hi: john@outonline.com