﻿<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" version="2.0"><channel><ttl>60</ttl><title>Best Gay Chicago</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com</link><language>en</language><copyright /><itunes:subtitle> </itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>Best New Gay Travel Guide</itunes:author><itunes:summary /><description /><itunes:owner><itunes:name>Best New Gay Travel Guide</itunes:name><itunes:email>bestgaycities@gmail.com</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:category text="Arts" /><item><title>Run. Walk. Pledge. Let's Get Moving. - AIDS Run &amp; Walk Chicago - September 20th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/09/03/run-walk-pledge-lets-get-moving--aids-run--walk-chicago--september-20th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
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&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/aids_run_gay_chicago.jpeg" width=150 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;AIDS Foundation of Chicago is preparing for its 2008 AIDS Run &amp;amp; Walk Chicago Sept. 20 in Grant Park. Proceeds from the event benefit AFC’s grant-making programs. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This years goal is $500,000!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Since its inception in 2001, AIDS Run &amp;amp; Walk Chicago has netted more than $1.3 million for use in the battle against AIDS.&amp;nbsp; The Run &amp;amp; Walk usually draws about 7,000 participants. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Date: Saturday, September 20, 2008 &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;Time:&amp;nbsp; 7:30 a.m. (VIP Fundraiser Breakfast)&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;8:00 a.m. (Health &amp;amp; Fitness Village Opens)&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;8:00 a.m. (Registration Opens) &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;9:30 a.m. (T-Shirt Competition) For Official Rules, click here.&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;9:45 a.m. (Registration Closes) &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;9:55 a.m. (5K Run Begins) &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;10:00 a.m. (5K Walk Begins) &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Location: Grant Park – Columbus and Balbo &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://https//afc.aidschicago.org/NETCOMMUNITY/SSLPage.aspx?pid=589&amp;amp;srcid=578" target=_blank&gt;REGISTER - DONATE - VOLUNTEER- GET INVOLVED!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/AIDS+run+Chicago" rel=tag&gt;AIDS run Chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/walk+run" rel=tag&gt;walk run&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/grant+park" rel=tag&gt;grant park&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/aids+foundation+chicago" rel=tag&gt;aids foundation chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>Non-Profits</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/09/03/run-walk-pledge-lets-get-moving--aids-run--walk-chicago--september-20th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">ea37a18c-308c-4404-8ca4-060be9af97f5</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:58:47 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>THE BEST OF GAY CHICAGO!</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/02/02/the-best-of-gay-chicago.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
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&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 294px" height=378 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/chicago_halsted_gay_boystown.jpeg" width=375 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
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&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;&lt;A href="mailto:bestgaycities@gmail.com"&gt;&lt;FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;STRONG&gt;WELCOME TO&amp;nbsp; BEST GAY CHICAGO!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;We officially launched this&amp;nbsp;summer and will be adding lots of information and news to the site in the coming weeks!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
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&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;The Magnificent Mile shopping &lt;BR&gt;World class dining&lt;BR&gt;Theatre Disctrict&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;Lakefront with dozens of beaches&lt;BR&gt;And of course BOYSTOWN and ANDERSONVILLE&lt;BR&gt;The hearts of the gay community! &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"&gt;We’ll be covering it all! THE BEST OF GAY CHICAGO!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;EM&gt;For advertising information and SEO&amp;nbsp; perks for your business, contact us today!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Michael Snell and&amp;nbsp; Derrick&amp;nbsp; Sorles&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; (773) 878-5323&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; or&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;A href="mailto:bestgaycities@gmail.com" target=_blank&gt;e-mail us&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;! &lt;A href="mailto:bestgaycities@gmail.com"&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+travel" rel=tag&gt;gay travel&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>About Us</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/02/02/the-best-of-gay-chicago.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">becf3a19-e76c-47b0-9c8d-235c8be6ae92</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:03:01 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet in Chicago September 13th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/09/02/abigail-washburn-and-the-sparrow-quartet-in-chicago-september-13th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
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&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/abigail_washburn_sparrow_quartet_gay_chicago_.jpg" width=399 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
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&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.abigailwashburn.com/biography.html" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Abigail Washburn &lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;never set out to be a songwriter or a recording artist.&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;"A daring, definite talent, whose feel for the folk idiom results in moving material.&amp;nbsp; 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."&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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.&amp;nbsp; The all-star collaboration featuring Bela Fleck, acclaimed cellist Ben Sollee and Grammy-nominated fiddler, Casey Driessen will unveil &lt;EM&gt;Abigail Washburn &amp;amp; the Sparrow Quartet&lt;/EM&gt; in May 2008 (Nettwerk).&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;"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."&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Coming to Chicago / River Forest -&amp;nbsp; September 13th at the&amp;nbsp; Dominican University&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;A href="http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=22602&amp;amp;schedule=list&amp;amp;nav_id=3752&amp;amp;tnav_id=1004&amp;amp;snav_id=2021"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/abigail_washburn_and_sparrow_quartet_dominican_university_gay_chicago.gif" width=200 border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;A href="http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=22602&amp;amp;schedule=list&amp;amp;nav_id=3752&amp;amp;tnav_id=1004&amp;amp;snav_id=2021"&gt;BUY TICKETS!&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;EM&gt;SIDENOTE - &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Performing Arts Center at Dominican University&lt;/STRONG&gt; announces its upcoming season of world-class music and thought-provoking theater, featuring an innovative, eclectic line-up of artists ranging from folk music icon Judy Collins to beatbox flutist Greg Pattillo.&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/EM&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Just 10 miles west of Chicago’s Loop&lt;/STRONG&gt;, Dominican’s Lund Auditorium offers the warm acoustics and intimate atmosphere of the country’s best concert halls. Parking is always free. For tickets and more information, contact the box office at (708) 488-5000.&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/EM&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;EM&gt;The 2008-2009 season includes a Traditions Series, Chamber Series and Theatre Arts Series. Traditions Series headliners are Judy Collins, Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet, and Ribbon of Highway/Endless Skyway: A Tribute in the Spirit of Woody Guthrie. The Chamber Series features Project, the Turtle Island Quartet, and the Hugo Wolf Quartett. The Theatre Arts Series presents productions of Into the Woods, The Laramie Project, and Lysistrata.&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/EM&gt;
&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;EM&gt;Fresh from their appearance in Beijing during the Olympics, &lt;STRONG&gt;Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet&lt;/STRONG&gt; will kick off the Traditions Series on &lt;STRONG&gt;Saturday, September 13.&lt;/STRONG&gt; Tickets are $34/$27.&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago &lt;/STRONG&gt;and The&amp;nbsp; &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/abigail+washburn" rel=tag&gt;abigail washburn&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/sparrow+quartet" rel=tag&gt;sparrow quartet&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/dominican+university" rel=tag&gt;dominican university&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/river+forest" rel=tag&gt;river forest&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Music</category><category>Theater in Chicago</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/09/02/abigail-washburn-and-the-sparrow-quartet-in-chicago-september-13th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">0af88fe4-7063-466d-8b8d-bbb557fe60d2</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:06:47 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Windy City Wine Festival September 5th and 6th @ Millenium Park</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/09/01/windy-city-wine-festival-september-5th-and-6th--millenium-park.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
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&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/12877-12348/chicago_windy_city_wine_festival.jpeg" width=377 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp;A Celebration of &lt;BR&gt;Wine, Food, Music and Friends !&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.windycitywinefestival.com/" target=_blank&gt;Windy City Wine Festival&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Daley Bicentennial Plaza &lt;BR&gt;@ Millenium Park&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;September 5-6, 2008&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
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&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Friday, September 5&lt;BR&gt;4:00PM to 10:00PM&lt;BR&gt;(Ticket sales end at 8:30PM, alcohol sampling &lt;BR&gt;and&amp;nbsp; sales end at 9:30PM)&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;Saturday, September 6&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;3:00PM to 10:00PM&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;(Ticket sales end at 8:30PM, alcohol sampling &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; and sales end at 9:30PM)&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp; The festival provides an opportunity to sample from more than &lt;STRONG&gt;250 wines from around the world.&lt;/STRONG&gt; Learn about new and exciting varieties from the experts in a relaxed festival setting. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Wine seminars and cooking demonstrations are conducted by event sponsors, exhibiting wineries, area chefs and restaurateurs. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Enjoy food from some of Chicago’s finest restaurants and caterers. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Local musical talent will perform live each day. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;*&lt;FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;FONT color=#000000&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;&lt;FONT size=1&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Adult Wine Tasting Ticket is&amp;nbsp; $30 at the door.&lt;/STRONG&gt; This ticket includes a souvenir wine glass, ten tastings, Festival Program, Food &amp;amp; Wine seminars, cooking demonstrations, musical entertainment, and the opportunity to purchase wine at a discount.&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;FONT color=#000000&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;&lt;FONT size=1&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/wine+tasting" rel=tag&gt;wine tasting&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/wine+festival" rel=tag&gt;wine festival&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/millenium+park" rel=tag&gt;millenium park&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/09/01/windy-city-wine-festival-september-5th-and-6th--millenium-park.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">2388f045-105f-44e9-b398-1215f6cf6db0</guid><pubDate>Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:40:36 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>SPIKED - Drag Queen Volleyball Charity Event for Chicago House Sept. 6th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/26/spiked--drag-queen-volleyball-charity-event-for-gay-chicago-house.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
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&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/spiked_drag_queen_beach_volleyball_gay_chicago.jpeg" width=390 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
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&lt;P class=headerBlue align=left&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Saturday, September 6th&lt;BR&gt;10:00 am – 4 pm&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;1200 W. Sherwin Avenue, &lt;BR&gt;Chicago (Private beach)&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;$50 Spectator tickets&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=content align=left&gt;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. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P align=left&gt;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 &lt;A href="http://www.chicagohouse.org/" target=_blank&gt;Chicago House&lt;/A&gt; will be a spectacle not to miss. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P align=left&gt;Whether a drag athlete or an athletic supporter, grab a beachside seat, feast on the finest &lt;STRONG&gt;beach grub and summer cocktails &lt;/STRONG&gt;and watch the scene unfold. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Awards will be given to the winning volleyball tournament team and for best-dressed team. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P align=left&gt;For information on team participation, please contact Todd Rhoades at &lt;A href="mailto:toddrhoades1@yahoo.com" target=_blank&gt;toddrhoades1@yahoo.com&lt;/A&gt;. &lt;STRONG&gt;Teams are being formed until SEPT. 1st!!&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=bold align=left&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;This event will sell out&lt;/STRONG&gt; 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.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;A href="http://www.chicagohouse.org/spiked08.html" target=_blank&gt;BUY TICKETS NOW FOR DRAG QUEEN VOLLEYBALL&lt;/A&gt;!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+volleyball" rel=tag&gt;gay volleyball&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/drag+queen" rel=tag&gt;drag queen&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/drag+volleyball" rel=tag&gt;drag volleyball&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chicago+house" rel=tag&gt;chicago house&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+beach+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay beach chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>Non-Profits</category><category>Summer Fun</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/26/spiked--drag-queen-volleyball-charity-event-for-gay-chicago-house.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">19e4b7c8-6b34-4a8c-8f77-bcf281029e89</guid><pubDate>Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:20:42 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Adam Levine of Maroon 5 is Not Gay - Just Gay Friendly</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/21/adam-levine-of-maroon-5-is-not-gay--just-gay-friendly.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/adam_levine_maroon_5_gay.jpeg" width=490 border=0&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.maroon5.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;MAROON 5 and hottie Adam Levine&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt; will be in Chicago performing FRIDAY, AUGUST 22nd, &lt;BR&gt;at the &lt;A href="http://eventful.com/tinleypark/venues/first-midwest-bank-amphitheatre-formerly-/V0-001-000161378-5" target=_blank&gt;First Midwest bank Amphitheater&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;(formerly Tweeter Center) in Tinley Park. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;While not gay, he is very gay-friendly. Last year in the ADVOCATE he said, "&lt;EM&gt;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."&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;When asked who would his type if he were into guys, Adam replies: &lt;I&gt;"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."&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/I&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid44930.asp" target=_blank&gt;Read more on Adam in the Advocate&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://orders.tickettriangle.com/ResultsTicket.aspx?evtid=802589" target=_blank&gt;See the Maroon 5 show&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;with all the teeny-boppers! There will surely be some gay boys there. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&amp;nbsp; and&amp;nbsp; the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/"&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/maroon+5+" rel=tag&gt;maroon 5 &lt;/A&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/adam+levine" rel=tag&gt;adam levine&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>Music</category><category>Theater in Chicago</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/21/adam-levine-of-maroon-5-is-not-gay--just-gay-friendly.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">3a5d759a-c0b1-4470-bd9b-5403a53b8114</guid><pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:56:50 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>WICKED to Close in Chicago January 2009</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/20/wicked-to-close-in-chicago-january-2009.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/wicked_chicago.jpg" width=250 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Get em' while they last!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The final block of tickets went on sale &lt;BR&gt;for WICKED this past week!&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Chicago production of &lt;FONT color=#666666&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;"Wicked"&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt; will close Jan. 25, 2009, following its 1,500th performance. 
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.variety.com/" target=_blank&gt;Variety reported&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;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&amp;nbsp; June 24, 2005, breaking Chicago box office records and heralding the city's potential for long-term commercial stays.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Producer &lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;FONT color=#666666&gt;David Stone&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;/STRONG&gt;credited presenter &lt;A href="http://www.broadwayinchicago.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Broadway in Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;and city leaders with billing the show as a tourist attraction for the entire Midwest. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;It has been hugely popular and will be missed. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/wicked_chicago_broadway_in_gay_chicago.jpg" width=325 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;FYI - &lt;I&gt;&lt;B&gt;Wicked&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/I&gt; 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 &lt;I&gt;&lt;A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked:_The_Life_and_Times_of_the_Wicked_Witch_of_the_West" target=_blank&gt;Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/I&gt; by &lt;A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Maguire" target=_blank&gt;Gregory Maguire&lt;/A&gt;, a re-imagining of &lt;A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum" target=_blank&gt;L. Frank Baum&lt;/A&gt;'s classic story &lt;I&gt;The Wonderful Wizard of Oz&lt;/I&gt; from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz. 
&lt;P&gt;&lt;I&gt;Wicked&lt;/I&gt; 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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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 &lt;I&gt;The Wizard of Oz&lt;/I&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;*&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;You can also &amp;nbsp;purchase&amp;nbsp;a tour &amp;nbsp;ticket for &lt;A class=contentlink href="http://www.broadwayinchicago.com/shows_dyn.php?cmd=display_current&amp;amp;display_showtag=emeraldcurtain07"&gt;Behind The Emerald Curtain&lt;/A&gt;. $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! &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/wicked" rel=tag&gt;wicked&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/wizard+of+oz" rel=tag&gt;wizard of oz&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/broadway+in+chicago" rel=tag&gt;broadway in chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/theatre+in+chicago" rel=tag&gt;theatre in chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/elphaba" rel=tag&gt;elphaba&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Theater in Chicago</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/20/wicked-to-close-in-chicago-january-2009.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">8cc32ce3-5244-4ecc-a0cd-3192c1bb0dd1</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:24:14 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>LGBT Consumer Index Survey</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/19/lgbt-consumer-index-survey.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;A href="http://216.235.248.162/survey/216876/171e/?LQID=1&amp;amp;num=109&amp;amp;nam=BBG"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/lgbt_glbt_gay_survey_community__marketing.gif" width=300 border=0&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;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™.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Complete the survey by September 14th and you will be entered into a drawing for &lt;STRONG&gt;two roundtrip airline tickets!&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://216.235.248.162/survey/216876/171e/?LQID=1&amp;amp;num=109&amp;amp;nam=BBG" target=_blank&gt;TAKE THE LGBT SURVEY NOW.&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;</description><category>News and Happenings</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/19/lgbt-consumer-index-survey.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">bb7a8dbc-070d-49d1-9935-5904db33fac5</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:26:03 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>PAWS CHICAGO Presents Annual ANGELS WITH TAILS Sunday August 24th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/16/paws-chicago-presents-annual-angels-with-tails-sunday-august-24th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/angels_with_tails_paws_gay_chicago.jpg" width=300 border=0&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Eleventh Annual &lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pawschicago.org/Events/angelwithtails.htm" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Angels with Tails &lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;Walking Tour is a day of fun for the entire family!&amp;nbsp; Come press your nose against storefront windows and experience the joy a pet can bring to your life.&amp;nbsp; Hundreds of homeless pets will be available for adoption. This years event will happen Sunday, August 24th .&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.pawschicago.org/" target=_blank&gt;PAWS Chicago&lt;/A&gt;, 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 &lt;STRONG&gt;neighborhood of Armitage and Halsted Avenue.&lt;/STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Stop by and find a home for a pet!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 12pm - 4pm&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago and the &lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/paws+chicago" rel=tag&gt;paws chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/angels+with+tails" rel=tag&gt;angels with tails&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+pets" rel=tag&gt;gay pets&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/pet+adoption" rel=tag&gt;pet adoption&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/lincoln+park" rel=tag&gt;lincoln park&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;</description><category>Animals and Pets</category><category>Summer Fun</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/16/paws-chicago-presents-annual-angels-with-tails-sunday-august-24th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">8b6fe54b-72b1-475d-bba2-1522ebb50e48</guid><pubDate>Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:35:15 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Windy City Gay Rodeo August 22nd-24th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/13/windy-city-gay-rodeo-august-22nd24th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/gay_chicago_gay_windy_city_rodeo.jpg" width=379 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;4 days of hot butch &amp;nbsp;men and gay cowboys! Brokeback Chicago? &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;No, it's the annual Windy City Gay Rodeo!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Kicking off August 21st, the main events run through August 22nd - 24th. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The &lt;A href="http://www.ilgra.com/" target=_blank&gt;Illinois Gay Rodeo Association&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;(ILGRA).&amp;nbsp;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.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;This years schedule - &lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Thursday, August 21&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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. 
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Friday, August 22&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Registration at the Doubletree Alsip, 6PM-9PM&lt;BR&gt;Welcome Party at Club Krave (formerly The Edge), 9PM-2AM&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Saturday, August 23&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Windy City Rodeo - Six Guns Ranch and Arena&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rodeo Slack Events, 11AM (if needed)&lt;BR&gt;Grand Entry, Noon&lt;BR&gt;Performance of the Rodeo, 1PM-5PM&lt;BR&gt;Dancing/Entertainment, 1PM-7PM&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;EM&gt;ILGRA does plan an organized event on Saturday night. We encourage you to enjoy the nightlife in Chicago and support our sponsor businesses.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: right; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/gay_chicago_windy_city_gay_rodeo_cowboy.jpg" width=240 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Sunday, August 24&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Windy City Rodeo - Six Guns Ranch and Arena&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Rodeo Slack Events, 11AM (if needed)&lt;BR&gt;Grand Entry, Noon&lt;BR&gt;Performance of the Rodeo, 12:30PM-5PM&lt;BR&gt;Dancing/Entertainment, 12:30PM-7PM&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Rodeo Awards Ceremony&lt;/STRONG&gt;, Doubletree-Alsip, 9PM&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Meet the Champions Party&lt;/STRONG&gt;, Club Krave, 10PM-2AM&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.ilgra.com/wcr2008.php" target=_blank&gt;Shuttle buses will run from Boystown out to the Gay Rodeo event&lt;/A&gt;.&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/windy+city+rodeo" rel=tag&gt;windy city rodeo&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+rodeo" rel=tag&gt;gay rodeo&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/brokeback" rel=tag&gt;brokeback&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+cowboys" rel=tag&gt;gay cowboys&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>Summer Fun</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/13/windy-city-gay-rodeo-august-22nd24th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">aaf42ef5-752e-4314-8620-da662fec6fe1</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:46:47 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Dance For Life - Chicago Benefit - Saturday August 23rd</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/13/dance-for-life--chicago-benefit--saturday-august-23rd.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/dance_for_life_gay_chicago_AIDS_hiv_benefit.jpg" width=380 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Saturday, August 23, 2008&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Harris Theater for Music and Dance&lt;BR&gt;205 East Randolph Drive&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.millenniumpark.org/" target=_blank&gt;Millennium Park&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt; 
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.danceforlifechicago.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;DANCE FOR LIFE&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Join Chicago's most renowned, talented and exciting dance companies for one spectacular, celebratory evening of dance - on one stage! Proceeds benefit the &lt;A href="http://www.aidschicago.org/" target=_blank&gt;AIDS Foundation of Chicago&lt;/A&gt;, &lt;A href="http://www.howardbrown.org/" target=_blank&gt;Howard Brown Health Center&lt;/A&gt;, &lt;A href="http://www.anypositivechange.org/"&gt;Chicago Recovery Alliance&lt;/A&gt;, &lt;A href="http://www.thenightministry.org/"&gt;The Night Ministry&lt;/A&gt;, and the Dance for Life Fund. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The event is hosted by Dean Richards, Entertainment Critic and Reporter for &lt;A href="http://wgntv.trb.com/" target=_blank&gt;WGN-TV&lt;/A&gt;, Chicago. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;B&gt;5:00 pm Gala Reception - Millennium Park Rooftop Terrace located above the Harris Theater&lt;/B&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Featuring a light buffet dinner by J&amp;amp;L Catering and a complimentary martini bar. &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;7:30 pm Dance for Life performance - Harris Theater for Music and Dance&lt;/B&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Participating companies include: &lt;A href="http://www.deeplyrootedproductions.org/" target=_blank&gt;Deeply Rooted Dance Theater&lt;/A&gt;, &lt;A href="http://www.giordanojazzdance.com/"&gt;Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago&lt;/A&gt;, &lt;A href="http://www.joffrey.com/" target=_blank&gt;The Joffrey Ballet&lt;/A&gt;, &lt;A href="http://www.jrjp.org/"&gt;Jump Rhythm Jazz Project&lt;/A&gt;, &lt;A href="http://www.rivernorthchicago.com/" target=_blank&gt;River North Chicago Dance Company&lt;/A&gt;, &lt;A href="http://www.thodosdancechicago.org/" target=_blank&gt;Thodos Dance Chicago&lt;/A&gt;, 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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;$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.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;"&lt;A href="http://https//afc.aidschicago.org/NETCOMMUNITY/SSLPage.aspx?pid=633&amp;amp;srcid=633" target=_blank&gt;Buy Tickets"and reserve your spot for Dance for Life 2008&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago &lt;/STRONG&gt;and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/dance+for+life" rel=tag&gt;dance for life&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/aids+/+hiv" rel=tag&gt;aids / hiv&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chicago+benefit" rel=tag&gt;chicago benefit&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/theatre+chicago" rel=tag&gt;theatre chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/joffrey+ballet" rel=tag&gt;joffrey ballet&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Non-Profits</category><category>Theater in Chicago</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/13/dance-for-life--chicago-benefit--saturday-august-23rd.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">2cabada6-8e1a-40fb-bf75-25c06944cf23</guid><pubDate>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:43:54 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>August 23rd - Chicago is Burning - with PAINTED BALL and Father Al Ninja</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/10/august-23rd--chicago-is-burning--with-painted-ball-and-father-al-ninja.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/Painted_Ball_Cover___Back.jpg" width=500 border=0&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009UZGM8?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;tag=wwwinsideyour-20&amp;amp;linkCode=as2&amp;amp;camp=1789&amp;amp;creative=9325&amp;amp;creativeASIN=B0009UZGM8"&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Paris Is Burning&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;IMG style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; MARGIN: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" height=1 alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwinsideyour-20&amp;amp;l=as2&amp;amp;o=1&amp;amp;a=B0009UZGM8" width=1 border=0&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp;was a 1990 documentary film directed by &lt;A title="Jennie Livingston" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennie_Livingston"&gt;Jennie Livingston&lt;/A&gt;. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicled the &lt;A title="Ball culture" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_culture"&gt;ball culture&lt;/A&gt; of New York City and the poor, African American and Latino gay and transgendered community involved in it.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Last year a documentary&amp;nbsp;called &lt;A href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000WPFAKI?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;tag=wwwinsideyour-20&amp;amp;linkCode=as2&amp;amp;camp=1789&amp;amp;creative=9325&amp;amp;creativeASIN=B000WPFAKI"&gt;&lt;FONT color=#000000&gt;How Do I Look&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;,&amp;nbsp;by &amp;nbsp;&lt;A href="http://wolfgangbusch.blogspot.com/"&gt;&lt;FONT color=#5588aa&gt;Wolfgang Busch&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;was released, further exlporing Harlem's ball culture. 10 years in the making of this documentary, &lt;EM&gt;How Do I Look&lt;/EM&gt; captured the Harlem "Ball" traditions that originated in the 70s, which was historically an off shot from the Harlem "Drag" Balls from the 20s. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;On Saturday, August 23rd &lt;/STRONG&gt;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 &amp;amp; STARS! Doors open 10pm. Ball starts at 11:30. Seated tabels available, food, and special guests include &lt;STRONG&gt;Adonis Escada and director Wolfgang Busch&lt;/STRONG&gt;!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Ball culture&lt;/STRONG&gt;, the &lt;B&gt;house system&lt;/B&gt;, the &lt;B&gt;ballroom community&lt;/B&gt; 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 &lt;A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_(dance)" target=_blank&gt;balls&lt;/A&gt;. Those who walk often also dance and &lt;A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_(dance)" target=_blank&gt;vogue&lt;/A&gt; while in various genres of drag often trying to pass as a specific gender and social class.&amp;nbsp; 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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;More info 773-547-6503&amp;nbsp; or&amp;nbsp; email&amp;nbsp; ajsoulsta @&amp;nbsp; yahoo.com&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&amp;nbsp;&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/paris+is+burning" rel=tag&gt;paris is burning&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/how+do+I+look" rel=tag&gt;how do I look&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/wolfgang+busch" rel=tag&gt;wolfgang busch&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/drag+ball" rel=tag&gt;drag ball&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/ball+culture" rel=tag&gt;ball culture&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/LGBT" rel=tag&gt;LGBT&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/10/august-23rd--chicago-is-burning--with-painted-ball-and-father-al-ninja.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">04ac7073-e0dd-42fd-b2df-820db0f19c27</guid><pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:55:56 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>OUT MAGAZINE and CHICAGO HOUSE BENEFIT Wednesday August 13th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/06/out-magazine-and-chicago-house-benefit-wednesday-august-13th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/out_lounge_gay_chicago_travel_sidetrack_chicago_house_benefit.jpg" width=270 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/out_lounge_gay_travel_chicago_sidetrack.jpg" width=250 border=0&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Come celebrate the release of Out’s &lt;BR&gt;September Fashion Issue &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;at the first &lt;STRONG&gt;Out Lounge: Chicago Style.&lt;/STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;It's sure to be a fabulous event!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Visit &amp;nbsp;to the &lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.out.com/outloungechicago" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Out Magazine RSVP page&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;When:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Wednesday, August 13th&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;Where:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Sidetrack&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;3349 North Halsted,&amp;nbsp; Chicago&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;Complimentary Tommy Bahama Rum cocktails from 7-10pm &lt;BR&gt;and a suggested donation of $10 goes to benefit &lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.chicagohouse.org/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Chicago House&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;!&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P class=bold align=left&gt;In 1985, a courageous group of people formed the first organization in the Midwest to provide housing for people with HIV and AIDS. &lt;SPAN class=content&gt;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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;BE THERE!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/out+magazine" rel=tag&gt;out magazine&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chicago+house" rel=tag&gt;chicago house&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/sidetrack" rel=tag&gt;sidetrack&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/tommy+bahama+rum" rel=tag&gt;tommy bahama rum&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/advocate" rel=tag&gt;advocate&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>News and Happenings</category><category>Non-Profits</category><category>Gay Bars</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/08/06/out-magazine-and-chicago-house-benefit-wednesday-august-13th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">7e09869f-6f38-4a52-bc65-d5a9f9396773</guid><pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:10:55 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Chicago Market Days - Saturday August 9th and Sunday August 10th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/31/chicago-market-days--saturday-august-9th-and-sunday-august-10th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/market_days_gay_chicago.gif" width=250 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Date: August 9, 2008 - August 10, 2008 &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Time: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Location: N. Halsted street, &lt;BR&gt;between Belmont and Addison&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.northalsted.com/" target=_blank&gt;Northalsted Area Merchants Association &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;$5 donation is requested to benefit&amp;nbsp; NAMA&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;4 Seperate stages - non-stop entertainment! &lt;BR&gt;Big names include Expose, Linda Clifford and Jennifer Holiday. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;See the entire &lt;A href="http://www.chicagoevents.com/event.cfm?eid=124" target=_blank&gt;Market Days entertainment schedule online&lt;/A&gt;. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp; and the&amp;nbsp; &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/market+days" rel=tag&gt;market days&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/boystown" rel=tag&gt;boystown&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chicago+street+fair" rel=tag&gt;chicago street fair&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/jennifer+holiday" rel=tag&gt;jennifer holiday&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>Summer Fun</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/31/chicago-market-days--saturday-august-9th-and-sunday-august-10th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">9e27d70c-d31f-4cba-9469-a4af8607d1b5</guid><pubDate>Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:50:17 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Instinct Magazine Turns 10!  Celebrate at Hydrate Friday August 8th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/31/instinct-magazine-turns-10--celebrate-at-hydrate-friday-august-8th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/instinct_magazine__gay_chicago_market_days.jpeg" width=224 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;Kick off Market Days &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;A href="http://instinctmagazine.com/component/option,com_events/Itemid,123/task,view_detail/agid,45/year,2008/month,08/day,08/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;Instinct&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;FONT size=3&gt;&amp;nbsp;style!&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://instinctmagazine.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;EM&gt;Instinct&lt;/EM&gt; magazine&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;A href="http://instinctmagazine.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;EM&gt;Instinct&lt;/EM&gt; magazine&lt;/A&gt; is on tour for 2008 in celebration of&amp;nbsp; &lt;STRONG&gt;10 Years&lt;/STRONG&gt; in the publishing industry and they&amp;nbsp;want all&amp;nbsp; their&amp;nbsp;friends in "Chi-Town" to join&amp;nbsp; them for a big celebration!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;UL&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;an &lt;STRONG&gt;EXCLUSIVE OPEN BAR&lt;/STRONG&gt; compliments of&amp;nbsp; 
&lt;LI&gt;the &lt;EM&gt;presenting sponsor&lt;/EM&gt; 
&lt;LI&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;A href="http://www.vodka360.com/ageverify.php?accesscheck=%2Findex.php" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;360 ECO LUXURY VODKA&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 9:30-11pm 
&lt;LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;LIVE MUSIC&lt;/STRONG&gt; from &lt;A href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&amp;amp;friendID=42768658" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;DJ LAURA B&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt; 
&lt;LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;a &lt;STRONG&gt;DESIGNER FASHION SHOW&lt;/STRONG&gt; featuring 
&lt;LI&gt;&lt;EM&gt;sponsors&lt;/EM&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.2xist.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;2(x)IST&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt; &amp;amp; &lt;A href="http://www.rocketdogmens.com/rocketdog/pc/home.asp" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;ROCKET DOG&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt; 
&lt;LI&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;HOT GUYS&lt;/STRONG&gt; schmoozing on &amp;amp; off the catwalk &lt;/LI&gt;&lt;/UL&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;UL&gt;
&lt;LI&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;RAFFLES, PRIZES &amp;amp; GIVEAWAYS&lt;/STRONG&gt;* from all of&amp;nbsp;the sponsors,&amp;nbsp;including &lt;A href="http://www.joico.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;JOICO&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt; , &lt;A href="http://www.esurance.com/instinct/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;ESURANCE&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;** &amp;amp; &lt;A href="http://www.gophila.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;GPTMC&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt; 
&lt;LI&gt;and much, MUCH MORE! &lt;/LI&gt;&lt;/UL&gt;
&lt;P&gt;All donations made go to benefit&amp;nbsp;their &amp;nbsp;10 City Tour beneficiary &lt;A href="http://www.glnh.org/index2.html" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;THE GLBT NATIONAL HELP CENTER&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;! &lt;BR&gt;Be sure to inquire on how you too can donate and help GLBT people all over the United States.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Join us &lt;STRONG&gt;Friday, August 8th 2008 from 9PM - 12AM &lt;/STRONG&gt;@ &lt;A href="http://www.hydratechicago.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;HYDRATE&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; No Cover&lt;BR&gt;located at 3458 N. Halted St. Chicago &lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;21 and up &amp;amp; &lt;STRONG&gt;NO COVER&lt;/STRONG&gt;!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; See &lt;STRONG&gt;YOU&lt;/STRONG&gt; there!&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/instinct+magazine" rel=tag&gt;instinct magazine&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/anniversary+party" rel=tag&gt;anniversary party&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/hydrate" rel=tag&gt;hydrate&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+magazine" rel=tag&gt;gay magazine&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/market+days" rel=tag&gt;market days&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>Gay Bars</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/31/instinct-magazine-turns-10--celebrate-at-hydrate-friday-august-8th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">96c6dced-08f4-4f5b-b923-2b61655a52a5</guid><pubDate>Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:21:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Bette Midler Comes  to the Chicago area! August 8th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/31/bette-midler-comes-close-to-town-august-8th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/las_vegas_shows_bette_midler_filmography.jpeg" width=415 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Bette Midler, direct from her Las Vegas extravaganza “The Showgirl Must Go On” at The Colosseum™ at Caesars Palace®, will be the&amp;nbsp;&lt;STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.harrahs.com/EventsDetail.do?locationCode=UHA&amp;amp;detailName=bette-midler-080808-detail&amp;amp;eventTitle=Bette+Midler" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;grand opening performance at &lt;EM&gt;The Venue&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;on August 8th.&amp;nbsp; The Venue is the new theatre inside the Horseshoe / Hammand casino, just outside of Chicago.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The Divine Miss M is the winner of four GRAMMY® awards, an Emmy and a Tony.&amp;nbsp; 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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Later this month, watch for&lt;A href="http://www.harrahs.com/EventsDetail.do?locationCode=UHA&amp;amp;detailName=083008-lizaminnelli-detail&amp;amp;eventTitle=Liza+Minnelli" target=_blank&gt;LIZA MINNELLI&lt;/A&gt;.&amp;nbsp; August 30th. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt; 
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/bette+midler" rel=tag&gt;bette midler&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/liza+minnelli" rel=tag&gt;liza minnelli&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/horseshoe+hammond" rel=tag&gt;horseshoe hammond&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/the+venue" rel=tag&gt;the venue&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>News and Happenings</category><category>Theater in Chicago</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/31/bette-midler-comes-close-to-town-august-8th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">c4a012e2-f33c-41da-bc3b-142a4edb4053</guid><pubDate>Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:32:08 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Guichard Gallery Presents  Art Di Gras III Opening Friday August 8th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/31/guichard-gallery-presents--art-di-gras-iii-opening-friday-august-8th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/guichard_gallery_art_di_gras_chicago.jpg" width=400 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;Three years ago Guichard Gallery opened&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;near the corner of 35th Street and King Drive.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;3521 S. King Dr., the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. In the townhouses connected to the historic Supreme Life building. 
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;"The bar is continously rising," said artist and part owner André Guichard about the&amp;nbsp; the 2,400-square-foot gallery. "This is a place where residents can come and feel at home because this is their home."&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;The mission of the gallery is to&amp;nbsp; 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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;"Bronzeville is quickly becoming stop for culture in the African-American community," he said.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Some of the&amp;nbsp;40 artists are internationally known from places like Brazil and France, nationally known from places like New York and&amp;nbsp;about 20 are &amp;nbsp;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.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;This weekend Guichard presents&amp;nbsp; &lt;STRONG&gt;ART DI GRAS 3&lt;/STRONG&gt;. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Friday&amp;nbsp; August 8th&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Opening reception.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Saturday August 9th 2p.m. - 2a.m. &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 12 hour indoor/outdoor celebration - with food, drink and entertainment!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Free admission&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; 773.373.8000 &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/guichard+gallery" rel=tag&gt;guichard gallery&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/bronzeville" rel=tag&gt;bronzeville&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/african+american+artists" rel=tag&gt;african american artists&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/diaspora" rel=tag&gt;diaspora&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/art+neighborhood" rel=tag&gt;art neighborhood&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/art+di+gras" rel=tag&gt;art di gras&lt;/A&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+artists" rel=tag&gt;gay artists&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/philippe+gibson" rel=tag&gt;philippe gibson&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/phillip+gibson" rel=tag&gt;phillip gibson&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>Art</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/31/guichard-gallery-presents--art-di-gras-iii-opening-friday-august-8th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">e8097ae6-463a-4e1f-aadb-88a7a626ff48</guid><pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:28:40 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Gay Chicago Cubs Baseball -  Out At The Ballgame July 27th</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/16/gay-chicago-cubs-baseball---out-at-the-ballgame-july-27th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/gay_chicago_gay_baseball_1.jpg" width=250 border=0&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;IMG style="WIDTH: 210px; HEIGHT: 287px" height=297 src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/gay_chicago_gay_baseball.jpg" width=250 border=0&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME!&amp;nbsp; Ah, Gay Baseball! Don't ya love it?!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Although only a couple of former MLB players (&lt;A href="http://www.outsports.com/baseball/2003/0617glennburke.htm" target=_blank&gt;Glenn Burke&lt;/A&gt; and &lt;A href="http://www.billybean.com/" target=_blank&gt;Billy Bean&lt;/A&gt;) and one umpire (&lt;A href="http://www.davepallone.com/" target=_blank&gt;Dave Pallone&lt;/A&gt;) have come out as gay, homosexuality is a hot button issue in baseball and anti-gay slurs are still around.&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/gay_chicago_gay_baseball_2.jpg" width=200 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.gaybaseballdays.com/" target=_blank&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Gaybaseballdays.com&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt; 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. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;"We encourage individuals and community organizations to work with their local teams in organizing these events."&lt;BR&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Here in &lt;STRONG&gt;Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt;, our gay day "&lt;STRONG&gt;Out at the Ballgame&lt;/STRONG&gt;" takes place Sunday July 27th @ 1:20 in the afternoon. The Chicago Cubs play the Florida Mariners. VERY FEW tickets are available - check &lt;A href="http://www.chicagofreepress.com/outattheballgame" target=_blank&gt;online at the FREE PRESS&lt;/A&gt;. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+baseball" rel=tag&gt;gay baseball&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chicago+cubs" rel=tag&gt;chicago cubs&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+baseball+days" rel=tag&gt;gay baseball days&lt;/A&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chicago+free+press" rel=tag&gt;chicago free press&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/out+at+the+ballgame" rel=tag&gt;out at the ballgame&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>Summer Fun</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/16/gay-chicago-cubs-baseball---out-at-the-ballgame-july-27th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">509738c1-c64d-46b4-8126-68a322933df1</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:55:41 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>GLAAD Comes to Chicago for a Special Event Thursday July 24th!</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/19/glaad-comes-to-gay-chicago-for-a-special-event-thursday-july-24th.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/GLAAD_gay_Chicago_Event_July_24_2008.png" width=300 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;DATE:&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Thursday, July 24, 2008&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;TIME:&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;6:00 PM to 9:00 PM&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;LOCATION:&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Blue Water Grill&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;520 N. Dearborn Street @ Grand Avenue.....Chicago&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.glaad.org/" target=_blank&gt;GLAAD&lt;/A&gt; President Neil Giuliano and the GLAAD Board of Directors invite you to join&amp;nbsp;them for a lovely Thursday evening, July 24th, &amp;nbsp;with hosted cocktails, gourmet hors d'oeuvres, great entertainment, and an update on&lt;BR&gt;GLAAD's latest work.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Think back to a time when the words "gay" and "lesbian" were taboo in the media - a time when your newspaper featured blatantly homophobic stories on the front page and the entertainment industry didn't give a second thought to producing images of lesbians and gays on television that pandered to the worst anti-gay stereotypes. It's not as long ago as you might think.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;P&gt;Having cultivated relationships with media professionals across two decades, GLAAD's list of accomplishments denotes a significant and continuing contribution to LGBT equality. It wasn't until after a 1987 meeting with GLAAD, for example, that &lt;I&gt;The New York Times&lt;/I&gt; changed its editorial policy to use the word "gay." Fifteen years later, GLAAD's Announcing Equality project has resulted in more than 140 other newspapers across the country -- including &lt;I&gt;The New York Times&lt;/I&gt; -- including same-sex union announcements alongside other wedding listings.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;HOST COMMITTEE&lt;BR&gt;Miriam Barnard ~ David L. Bradley ~ Earl Clarkston ~ J. Michael Durnil &amp;amp; Stephen R. Smoot ~ Timothy Frye &amp;amp; Richard Pfeiffer ~ Nina Fernandez ~ Hugh A. Mathis ~ Michael Mock ~ Ken Weil, Jr.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://https//www.glaad.org/events/purchase1.php?event_id=173" target=_blank&gt;PURCHASE GLAAD TICKETS ONLINE NOW&lt;/A&gt;!&amp;nbsp; $40, $80, or $125&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Join us for this important and social event!&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt;&amp;nbsp; and the&amp;nbsp; &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/GLAAD" rel=tag&gt;GLAAD&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+news" rel=tag&gt;gay news&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/blue+water+grill" rel=tag&gt;blue water grill&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Special Events</category><category>News and Happenings</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/19/glaad-comes-to-gay-chicago-for-a-special-event-thursday-july-24th.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">e56461e7-14e1-4896-8785-0b5d7398aa4b</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:18:48 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title>Evan D'Angeles to Join Bailiwick's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME</title><link>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/12/evan-dangeles-to-join-bailiwicks-hunchback-of-notre-dame.aspx?ref=rss</link><dc:creator>Best New Gay Travel Guide</dc:creator><description>&lt;BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;
&lt;DIV style="CLEAR: left; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 3px"&gt;&lt;IMG src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/114496-106833/hunchback_notre_dame_gay_chicago_bailiwick_theatre.jpg" width=281 border=0&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.bailiwick.org/" target=_blank&gt;Bailiwick Repertory's&lt;/A&gt;&amp;nbsp;Jeff Nominated production of Dennis DeYoung's new musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic &lt;STRONG&gt;THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME&lt;/STRONG&gt; has become a summer hit, playing to sold-out crowds and earning standing ovations every night. DeYoung's score has gotten fantastic reviews for ballads such as "Esmerelda" and "Paradise", along with rousing group numbers such as 'King of Fools' and 'Hail Quasimodo!"&amp;nbsp; &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;And Bailiwick is thrilled that Broadway veteran &lt;STRONG&gt;Evan D'Angeles&lt;/STRONG&gt; is stepping into the roll of Quasimodo.&amp;nbsp; He has been seen on Broadway in MISS SAIGON, PACIFIC OVERTURES, CHILDREN &amp;amp; ART: SONDHEIM'S 75TH BIRTHDAY. He has performed in the national tours of CATS and RENT where he played Angel for six months in Chicago.&amp;nbsp; He is a proud Filipino-American actor, writer, director, choreographer and grateful AEA member, since 1996.&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;Evan replaces the remarkable &lt;STRONG&gt;George Andrew Wolff &lt;/STRONG&gt;who is now performing at &lt;A href="http://www.chicagoshakes.com/" target=_blank&gt;Chicago Shakespeare Theater&lt;/A&gt; in&lt;STRONG&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.chicagoshakes.com/main.taf?p=2,22" target=_blank&gt;WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/STRONG&gt;. &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;Gregory Franklin, as the tormented priest Frollo, and Doug Storm as Phoebus, also join the cast for the extension period. Original principals Liz Pazik as Mahiette and Dana Tretta as Esmerelda continue their roles. &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;New ensemble members include Rachel Renee, Mark LeBeau, Jessica Lauren Fisher, Kelli Clevinger, and Kendel Lester.&amp;nbsp; New Musical director is Robert Ollis. &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME plays Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, and Sundays at 3:30 PM through August 31st. Tickets are $25.00 on Thursdays, $35.00 on Fridays and Sundays, and $45.00 on Saturdays through Aug 31. Group discounts of 10% are available for groups of ten or more. &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;This production of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is being presented in a unique and thrilling way that surrounds the audience with the epic tale of unrequited love.&amp;nbsp; We meet the deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo, the tormented priest Fr. Frolllo, and the Gypsy girl Esmerelda who entrances them both in a story of great power and beauty. Bailiwick Artistic Director David Zak directs. &lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;BR&gt;For tickets and reservations call 773-883-1090. Bailiwick also offers flexible subscription packages including Steel Pass (4 admissions for $95), Copper (6 admissions for $125), Bronze (8 admissions for $155), Silver (12 admissions for $215) or Gold (16 admissions for $275) that can be used in any combination for any show in the building any day of the week. &lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tickets and subscriptions may also be purchased at online @ &lt;A href="http://www.bailiwick.org/" target=_blank&gt;BAILIWICK.org&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/A&gt;
&lt;P&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Best of Gay Chicago&lt;/STRONG&gt; and the &lt;A href="http://www.newgaytravelguide.com/" target=_blank&gt;New Gay Travel Guide&lt;/A&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/theatre+in+chicago" rel=tag&gt;theatre in chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chicago+theater" rel=tag&gt;chicago theater&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/bailiwick+theatre" rel=tag&gt;bailiwick theatre&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/hunchback+of+notre+dame" rel=tag&gt;hunchback of notre dame&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gay+chicago" rel=tag&gt;gay chicago&lt;/A&gt; &lt;A href="http://turbotagger.brainbliss.com/"&gt;Turbo Tagger&lt;/A&gt;</description><category>Theater in Chicago</category><comments>http://bestgaychicago.com/2008/07/12/evan-dangeles-to-join-bailiwicks-hunchback-of-notre-dame.aspx#Comments</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">a22bd121-9cb5-44fc-8ab7-42464477d77f</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:37:05 GMT</pubDate></item></channel></rss>