AIDS Foundation of Chicago is preparing for its 2008 AIDS Run & Walk Chicago Sept. 20 in Grant Park. Proceeds from the event benefit AFC’s grant-making programs.


This years goal is $500,000!

Since its inception in 2001, AIDS Run & Walk Chicago has netted more than $1.3 million for use in the battle against AIDS.  The Run & Walk usually draws about 7,000 participants.

Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008

Time:  7:30 a.m. (VIP Fundraiser Breakfast) 

 8:00 a.m. (Health & Fitness Village Opens)

 
 8:00 a.m. (Registration Opens)
 9:30 a.m. (T-Shirt Competition) For Official Rules, click here. 
 9:45 a.m. (Registration Closes)
 9:55 a.m. (5K Run Begins)
 10:00 a.m. (5K Walk Begins)

Location: Grant Park – Columbus and Balbo

REGISTER - DONATE - VOLUNTEER- GET INVOLVED!



The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

 WELCOME TO  BEST GAY CHICAGO!


We officially launched this summer and will be adding lots of information and news to the site in the coming weeks!

The Magnificent Mile shopping
World class dining
Theatre Disctrict 
Lakefront with dozens of beaches
And of course BOYSTOWN and ANDERSONVILLE
The hearts of the gay community!


Let us be your guide to everything gay and gay-friendly in Chicago and also show you some things off the beaten path, that only the locals know about!

We’ll be covering it all! THE BEST OF GAY CHICAGO!



For advertising information and SEO  perks for your business, contact us today!


Michael Snell and  Derrick  Sorles   (773) 878-5323      or     e-mail us!

 

Abigail Washburn never set out to be a songwriter or a recording artist. 

Five years ago when she found herself on stage in a smoke-filled Beijing club playing her banjo and singing old-time Appalachian mountain music in Chinese to a packed house, she was as surprised as anyone.

"A daring, definite talent, whose feel for the folk idiom results in moving material.  Soulful is the word," hailed the Wall Street Journal in 2005, during that same tour of China. "On stage, her voice resonated with the power of a seasoned performer and her poetic hill tunes sounded all the more evocative in Chinese."

As an "artist who best embodies the notion of Americana as a worldwide musical language" (The Tennessean), Abigail has created a new sound – a sound that challenges traditional notions of country and culture, embodied in the raw, transcendental music of the Sparrow Quartet.  The all-star collaboration featuring Bela Fleck, acclaimed cellist Ben Sollee and Grammy-nominated fiddler, Casey Driessen will unveil Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet in May 2008 (Nettwerk). 


"I had no intention of becoming a performer and yet under miraculous circumstances I was brought into the music industry fold," says Abigail. "If divine powers hadn't interfered I'd still be living in China working in some area of Sino-American comparative law."  


Coming to Chicago / River Forest -  September 13th at the  Dominican University

 

 A Celebration of
Wine, Food, Music and Friends !

Windy City Wine Festival

Daley Bicentennial Plaza
@ Millenium Park

September 5-6, 2008

Friday, September 5
4:00PM to 10:00PM
(Ticket sales end at 8:30PM, alcohol sampling
and  sales end at 9:30PM)

                                                Saturday, September 6
                                                3:00PM to 10:00PM
                                                (Ticket sales end at 8:30PM, alcohol sampling
                                                    and sales end at 9:30PM)

 
  The festival provides an opportunity to sample from more than 250 wines from around the world. Learn about new and exciting varieties from the experts in a relaxed festival setting.

Wine seminars and cooking demonstrations are conducted by event sponsors, exhibiting wineries, area chefs and restaurateurs.

Enjoy food from some of Chicago’s finest restaurants and caterers.

Local musical talent will perform live each day.

*Adult Wine Tasting Ticket is  $30 at the door. This ticket includes a souvenir wine glass, ten tastings, Festival Program, Food & Wine seminars, cooking demonstrations, musical entertainment, and the opportunity to purchase wine at a discount. 

 

The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

Saturday, September 6th
10:00 am – 4 pm

1200 W. Sherwin Avenue,
Chicago (Private beach)

$50 Spectator tickets

Drag and volleyball will never be the same! Spikers and gapers alike will delight in Chicago’s first “Charity Spectacle” – SPIKE’D! The first annual SPIKE’D! will make its debut on a private beach and terrace on the sun-kissed shores of Lake Michigan in Rogers Park.

Boys dressed as girls will be giving it their all, competing in a tournament in their most fabulous “drag-athletic” get-ups. This double-elimination beach volleyball tournament to benefit Chicago House will be a spectacle not to miss.

Whether a drag athlete or an athletic supporter, grab a beachside seat, feast on the finest beach grub and summer cocktails and watch the scene unfold.

Awards will be given to the winning volleyball tournament team and for best-dressed team.

For information on team participation, please contact Todd Rhoades at toddrhoades1@yahoo.com. Teams are being formed until SEPT. 1st!!

This event will sell out and all tickets must be purchased before the event. Attendance will be limited to 250. Due to space constraints we will not be able to accommodate on-site ticket sales.


   BUY TICKETS NOW FOR DRAG QUEEN VOLLEYBALL!




The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

    

MAROON 5 and hottie Adam Levine will be in Chicago performing FRIDAY, AUGUST 22nd,
at the First Midwest bank Amphitheater (formerly Tweeter Center) in Tinley Park.

While not gay, he is very gay-friendly. Last year in the ADVOCATE he said, "I’m not into dick. I wish I were. It would be so much easier. Because, you know, men have a certain camaraderie with each other that’s easygoing and kind of simple."

When asked who would his type if he were into guys, Adam replies: "Oh, there are beautiful men out there. Antonio Banderas is gorgeous. Well, maybe not so much anymore. He peaked around Desperado. I mean, every male secretly wants to have sex with Brad Pitt, but that’s a given...The whole reason I started playing music was specifically to torture gay men. No, I’ve always been a very sexually open person. America has a problem with sexuality, and it all seems too preposterous to me—even debating over it. I’m most definitely straight, but I grew up with amazing parents who taught me what’s really important: character. It makes no difference to me what someone’s sexual orientation."



Read more on Adam in the Advocate

See the Maroon 5 show with all the teeny-boppers! There will surely be some gay boys there.


The Best of Gay Chicago  and  the New Gay Travel Guide

Get em' while they last!


The final block of tickets went on sale
for WICKED this past week! 


The Chicago production of "Wicked" will close Jan. 25, 2009, following its 1,500th performance.

Variety reported that the 3½-year-old Chicago incarnation shuts down while still riding high. The WICKED run in Chicago will have grossed more than $200 million since it began  June 24, 2005, breaking Chicago box office records and heralding the city's potential for long-term commercial stays.

Producer David Stone credited presenter Broadway in Chicagoand city leaders with billing the show as a tourist attraction for the entire Midwest.



It has been hugely popular and will be missed.

FYI - Wicked is a musical with songs and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. The story is based on the best-selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, a re-imagining of L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz.

Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace.

The plot is set mostly before Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, and includes several references to well-known scenes and dialogue in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.


*  You can also  purchase a tour  ticket for Behind The Emerald Curtain. $25 for 60 minute tour. A behind the scenes look at this blockbuster musical, every Tuesday at 5 pm and select Wednesdays at 10:30 am!



The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

Community Marketing, Inc. (CMI), the San Francisco-based gay and lesbian research, marketing and communications firm, is currently conducting a massive consumer research project – the LGBT Consumer Index™.




Complete the survey by September 14th and you will be entered into a drawing for two roundtrip airline tickets!




TAKE THE LGBT SURVEY NOW.

The Eleventh Annual Angels with Tails Walking Tour is a day of fun for the entire family!  Come press your nose against storefront windows and experience the joy a pet can bring to your life.  Hundreds of homeless pets will be available for adoption. This years event will happen Sunday, August 24th .


PAWS Chicago, the city’s largest No Kill humane organization, along with a record number of stores, boutiques, and shelters, will team up again this year to bring the faces of Chicago’s homeless animals to the hip neighborhood of Armitage and Halsted Avenue.  


                    Stop by and find a home for a pet!         12pm - 4pm



The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

4 days of hot butch  men and gay cowboys! Brokeback Chicago?

No, it's the annual Windy City Gay Rodeo!

Kicking off August 21st, the main events run through August 22nd - 24th.

The Illinois Gay Rodeo Association (ILGRA). They are a not-for profit organization that raises funds for local charities through a variety of events, culminating in the Windy City Rodeo weekend.

This years schedule -
Thursday, August 21
For the early arrivers and locals we have the FAHOOTCHED! Bar Crawl. This annual event kicks off from Charlie's at 7PM and takes you on a whirlwind tour of the local sponsor bars.

Friday, August 22
Registration at the Doubletree Alsip, 6PM-9PM
Welcome Party at Club Krave (formerly The Edge), 9PM-2AM

Saturday, August 23
Windy City Rodeo - Six Guns Ranch and Arena
Rodeo Slack Events, 11AM (if needed)
Grand Entry, Noon
Performance of the Rodeo, 1PM-5PM
Dancing/Entertainment, 1PM-7PM

ILGRA does plan an organized event on Saturday night. We encourage you to enjoy the nightlife in Chicago and support our sponsor businesses.

Sunday, August 24
Windy City Rodeo - Six Guns Ranch and Arena
Rodeo Slack Events, 11AM (if needed)
Grand Entry, Noon
Performance of the Rodeo, 12:30PM-5PM
Dancing/Entertainment, 12:30PM-7PM

Rodeo Awards Ceremony, Doubletree-Alsip, 9PM

Meet the Champions Party, Club Krave, 10PM-2AM

Shuttle buses will run from Boystown out to the Gay Rodeo event. 



The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 East Randolph Drive
Millennium Park

DANCE FOR LIFE


Join Chicago's most renowned, talented and exciting dance companies for one spectacular, celebratory evening of dance - on one stage! Proceeds benefit the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Howard Brown Health Center, Chicago Recovery Alliance, The Night Ministry, and the Dance for Life Fund.

The event is hosted by Dean Richards, Entertainment Critic and Reporter for WGN-TV, Chicago.




5:00 pm Gala Reception - Millennium Park Rooftop Terrace located above the Harris Theater
Featuring a light buffet dinner by J&L Catering and a complimentary martini bar.

7:30 pm Dance for Life performance - Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Participating companies include: Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, River North Chicago Dance Company, Thodos Dance Chicago, plus two additional exciting dance company's. And for the first time ever, two world premiere performances choreographed by Chicago's own Harrison McEldowney and Randy Duncan.


$75 performance only tickets, $150, $200, $250 and $500 Red Ribbon Level tickets include a light buffet with complimentary martinis at 5:00pm and premiere seating for the 7:30pm performance.

 
"Buy Tickets"and reserve your spot for Dance for Life 2008.




The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

Paris Is Burning was a 1990 documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicled the ball culture of New York City and the poor, African American and Latino gay and transgendered community involved in it.

Last year a documentary called How Do I Look, by  Wolfgang Busch was released, further exlporing Harlem's ball culture. 10 years in the making of this documentary, How Do I Look captured the Harlem "Ball" traditions that originated in the 70s, which was historically an off shot from the Harlem "Drag" Balls from the 20s.


On Saturday, August 23rd Father AJ Ninja presents PAINTED on Chicago's South Side at the Paul Hall Community Center. 10140 South Halsted. Bring you "A" game because LEGENDS will take on all STATEMENTS & STARS! Doors open 10pm. Ball starts at 11:30. Seated tabels available, food, and special guests include Adonis Escada and director Wolfgang Busch!



Ball culture, the house system, the ballroom community and similar terms describe the underground LGBT subculture in the United States in which people "walk" (i.e. compete) for trophies and prizes at events known as balls. Those who walk often also dance and vogue while in various genres of drag often trying to pass as a specific gender and social class.  Categories will include Sex Siren, best Dressed Spectator, Virgin Vogue, Realness, Butch Queen in Pumps, Magazine Cover Pretty Boi and much more! Lots of cash prizes and trophies.

More info 773-547-6503  or  email  ajsoulsta @  yahoo.com


The Best of Gay Chicago  and the New Gay Travel Guide

Come celebrate the release of Out’s
September Fashion Issue

at the first Out Lounge: Chicago Style. 

It's sure to be a fabulous event!  

Visit  to the Out Magazine RSVP page

 
 
When:    Wednesday, August 13th
               7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
 
Where:    Sidetrack 
                3349 North Halsted,  Chicago



 
Complimentary Tommy Bahama Rum cocktails from 7-10pm
and a suggested donation of $10 goes to benefit Chicago House! 

In 1985, a courageous group of people formed the first organization in the Midwest to provide housing for people with HIV and AIDS. Since then, Chicago House has served over one thousand homeless Chicagoans living with HIV and has continuously evolved to meet the changing realities of the disease. Today, thanks to medications that help people live longer lives, the agency helps men, women, and children affected by AIDS build lives of health and hope.

BE THERE!


The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

Date: August 9, 2008 - August 10, 2008

Time: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days

Location: N. Halsted street,
between Belmont and Addison 


Northalsted Area Merchants Association


$5 donation is requested to benefit  NAMA

It's an annual event and the 2nd biggest street festival in the city of Chicago! Tens of thousands of people from across the country will converge on Halsted Street to celebrate the 27th annual Northalsted Market Days®. This event is the largest two-day street fair in the Midwest, and lives up to its reputation as one of the country's finest festivals!

The event spans six city blocks, has 17 entrance gates and features three music stages with more than 40 musical acts performing. Many of these artists will be top-name, national headliners, giving Market Days a reputation for some of the best live music in Chicago.

Market Days is also famous for its vast array of unique food, and arts and crafts vendors. Vendors from across the country apply for the privilege of showing and selling their unique wares to this huge, upscale crowd. On average, Northalsted Market Days® features 400 food, arts and crafts vendors.

4 Seperate stages - non-stop entertainment!
Big names include Expose, Linda Clifford and Jennifer Holiday.

See the entire Market Days entertainment schedule online.




The Best of Gay Chicago  and the  New Gay Travel Guide

Bette Midler, direct from her Las Vegas extravaganza “The Showgirl Must Go On” at The Colosseum™ at Caesars Palace®, will be the  grand opening performance at The Venue
on August 8th.  The Venue is the new theatre inside the Horseshoe / Hammand casino, just outside of Chicago.


The Divine Miss M is the winner of four GRAMMY® awards, an Emmy and a Tony.  Her incomparable sense of humor and extensive song catalog (which includes four chart-topping #1 singles) have earned her staying power and a devoted fan base while lesser talents have come and gone.






Later this month, watch forLIZA MINNELLI.  August 30th.

The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

Kick off Market Days Instinct style!

Instinct magazineInstinct magazine is on tour for 2008 in celebration of  10 Years in the publishing industry and they want all  their friends in "Chi-Town" to join  them for a big celebration!

• an EXCLUSIVE OPEN BAR compliments of 
• the presenting sponsor
•  360 ECO LUXURY VODKA   9:30-11pm
• LIVE MUSIC from DJ LAURA B
• a DESIGNER FASHION SHOW featuring
• sponsors 2(x)IST & ROCKET DOG
• HOT GUYS schmoozing on & off the catwalk

 

 

• RAFFLES, PRIZES & GIVEAWAYS* from all of the sponsors, including JOICO , ESURANCE** & GPTMC
• and much, MUCH MORE!

All donations made go to benefit their  10 City Tour beneficiary THE GLBT NATIONAL HELP CENTER!
Be sure to inquire on how you too can donate and help GLBT people all over the United States.

Join us Friday, August 8th 2008 from 9PM - 12AM @ HYDRATE   No Cover
located at 3458 N. Halted St. Chicago

21 and up & NO COVER!      See YOU there! 



   The Best of Gay Chicago  and the New Gay Travel Guide

Three years ago Guichard Gallery opened  near the corner of 35th Street and King Drive.

3521 S. King Dr., the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. In the townhouses connected to the historic Supreme Life building.

"The bar is continously rising," said artist and part owner André Guichard about the  the 2,400-square-foot gallery. "This is a place where residents can come and feel at home because this is their home."

The mission of the gallery is to  showcase art from the African Diaspora. For those unfamiliar with the term, the Diaspora includes Africa, the Caribbean and the United States. Guichard focuses on paintings, ceramics, blown glass, sculptures and fine art photography.



"Bronzeville is quickly becoming stop for culture in the African-American community," he said.


Some of the 40 artists are internationally known from places like Brazil and France, nationally known from places like New York and about 20 are  locally known. Three floors make up the gallery space and include hanging walls for art displays, a glass ceiling on the second floor and paintings along the stairwell.



This weekend Guichard presents  ART DI GRAS 3.

Friday  August 8th   5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Opening reception.

Saturday August 9th 2p.m. - 2a.m.
     12 hour indoor/outdoor celebration - with food, drink and entertainment!

Free admission   773.373.8000


The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide

 

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME!  Ah, Gay Baseball! Don't ya love it?!

In recent years, a growing number of Major League Baseball teams have hosted gay and lesbian community events or groups, including the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays. Additionally, teams such as the San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins and Baltimore Orioles, have hosted AIDS Awareness Days which raised money for AIDS organizations.

Although only a couple of former MLB players (Glenn Burke and Billy Bean) and one umpire (Dave Pallone) have come out as gay, homosexuality is a hot button issue in baseball and anti-gay slurs are still around.

Encouragingly, though, some players have acknowledged that there are likely gay players and, in a survey (Tribune Company, 2004), 74% said they would have "no problem" playing with a gay teammate.

Gaybaseballdays.com hopes to raise awareness of gay and lesbian community days with MLB teams, and encourage other teams to recognize their gay and lesbian fan base.

"We encourage individuals and community organizations to work with their local teams in organizing these events."

Here in Chicago, our gay day "Out at the Ballgame" takes place Sunday July 27th @ 1:20 in the afternoon. The Chicago Cubs play the Florida Mariners. VERY FEW tickets are available - check online at the FREE PRESS.


The Best of Gay Chicago and the New Gay Travel Guide