Category Archives: Lesbian
Chicago Market Days Entertainment
Northalsted Serves Up Summer’s Best Fest
Market Days Returns August 11-12
The Northalsted Business Alliance delivers a diverse and dance heavy line-up for this year’s Market Days set for August 11 and 12. The must-do Midwest fest returns to the heart of Boystown with non-stop entertainment from four stages, shopping, food and more.
Multi-faceted entertainer Todrick Hall graces the stage as part of his Forbidden tour on Saturday, while Betty Who brings the beat on Sunday with her power pop. MAX, of gold single “Lights Down Low” fame closes out the festival on Sunday night. Additional national and local acts round out the line-up.
Northalsted Business Alliance Executive Director Chad Honeycutt explains the popularity of Market Days. “For more than 30 years Northalsted Market Days has set the bar for Chicago festivals and this year is no exception. We can’t wait to welcome our neighbors and visitors alike to celebrate summer in Boystown.”
About the Northalsted Business Alliance (NBA)
Formed in 1980, NBA represents more than 100 businesses along the Halsted Street corridor. The organization hosts major events throughout the year including Chicago Pride Fest, Northalsted Market Days, the Halloween Parade and Frost Fest. For information about NBA visitwww.northalsted.com.
Northalsted Market Days
North Halsted (From Belmont to Addison)
August 11-12 11 am – 10 pm $10 Suggestion Donation
Northalsted Market Days 2018/Saturday, Aug 11th
Addison North Stage
1:30P-3:30PM Drag Show
2:30PM-3:30PM Todrick Hall
3:30PM-4:15PM Trenyce
5:00PM-6:30PM Cat Fight
7:00PM-7:45PM Kimberly Locke
7:50PM-8:35PM Ultra Nate
8:40PM-9:25PM Martha Wash
Roscoe Stage
1:15PM-2:30PM Hello Weekend
3:15PM-4:30PM Girl Power Night
5:00PM-5:45PM DJ
5:45P-6:25PM Crystal Waters
6:25PM-7:00PM DJ
7:00PM-7:45PM Ty Herndon
8:20-9:45PM Hank & Cupcake
Aldine Jazz Stage
130PM-3:00PM Sam Fazio Quartet
5:30PM-7:30PM Feathered Beaus
NORTHALSTED MARKETDAYS 2018/Sunday, Aug 12th
Addison North Stage
1:00PM-2:00PM DJ
2:00PM-2:45PM Betty Who
3:30PM-4:30PM Sushi Roll
4:45PM-6:15PM DJ
6:15PM-7:00PM Expose
7:00PM-9:00PM DJ
9:00PM-9:55PM MAX
Roscoe Stage
1:00PM-1:45PM Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus
2:15PM-3:45PM Boy Band
4:15PM-5:00PM Kristine W
5:15PM-7:15PM Rod Tuffcurls
7:45PM-9:45PM 16 Candles
Aldine Jazz Stage
1:30PM-3:00PM BMR4
3:30PM-5:00PM Joe Policastro Trio
5:30PM-7:30PM The Flat Cats
Sarah and Rachel – Lesbian Vloggers
We recently discovered these lesbian vloggers, who have been creating YouTube content for some time now! They recently relocated to Chicago. They create new vlogs as frequently as possible, plus unscripted comedy, challenges, travel and entrepreneurship videos, and LGBT advice content. Vegetarians and devoted moms to their kitten, Mumford.
Well it looks like you moved here from Iowa? How long have you been here in Chicago?
Yeah! We moved to the city in July and have loved every minute of it so far!
What brought you here?
Besides the appeal of a vibrant city with so much energy and activity, we were attracted to the opportunities to advance our career goals. There’s such a great LGBTQ+ community here that we love and we do a lot of traveling, so it’s a great centrally located hub with a big airport! There are, of course, it’s other perks: deep dish pizza, the amazing Chicago sports teams, and tons of vegan restaurants for us to try out!
How long have you been together?
We have been together for 5 and a half years! It’s been such a crazy ride, but we’ve loved exploring the world and starting a business together. It’s so special that we get to share our relationship online to help so many other people and document the things we do together.
How long have you been doing videos?
We started making videos in March of 2015. At that time we wanted to start a channel as a way to have a creative outlet and a place to practice our cinematography and editing skills, because of our interest in film. As we started to pick up a following, we realized that we really had an opportunity to share some of the difficult experiences we’ve been through with coming out, self acceptance, etc with our audience. We began to share our stories online and have since been able to help literally thousands of people who send us messages and use our channel as a resource for similar struggles. Our videos have led us across the world to countries in Europe and the Caribbean to create travels films, vlogs and attend conventions for YouTube creators. We would love to see one of these conventions come to Chicago someday!
Besides vlogging, do you both do other work in Chicago?
We both have small part time jobs within the city, but what we spend the most of our time doing and what we love the most is our work on YouTube and other social platforms. Being in Chicago has already afforded us some opportunities to attend events and get involved locally using our videos. We’re looking forward to continuing to grow that more and more!
Check them out here!
Also check their podcast “Between The Sheets” that comes out every Wednesday on iTunes and soundcloud!
Howard Brown Health Celebrates Womens Health
Howard Brown Health Celebrates Women’s Health at Garden of Eve: Forward
Music, Dancing, Specialty Cocktails, Food and More Will Benefit Howard Brown Health
Howard Brown Health invites Chicago’s LGBTQ women and allies to join together to celebrate queer and lesbian women’s sexual and reproductive health at Garden of Eve: Forward, taking place on Friday, April 28 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Venue SIX10.
Partygoers will enjoy delicious food, cocktails, photo booth, silent auction, raffle, a very special night of dancing to music spun by DJ Slo ‘Mo, and other wonderful surprises!
Funds raised at Garden of Eve: Forward will enable Howard Brown Health to continue providing clinical, behavioral health, and community health services, which include gynecological care, alternative insemination, breast and cervical cancer screening, HIV and STI testing, and prevention and wellness education for the LGBTQ community.
WHEN: Friday, April 28, 2017 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
WHERE: 610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL.
TICKETS: Early Bird: $75 per person (limited time offer)
General Admission: $100 per person
(at door $150) VIP: $200
For more information and to reserve tickets, visit www.howardbrown.org.
Founded in 1974, Howard Brown Health serves more than 18,000 adults and youth each year in its diverse health and social service delivery system focused around four major programmatic divisions: clinical care, research, education and advocacy. Howard Brown Health is also one of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations. To learn more, visit www.howardbrown.org.
Howard Brown Health provides affirming, sliding-scale healthcare to all LGBTQ women and allies, including breast / chest cancer screenings, contraceptive management, alternative insemination, transgender healthcare and more.
Pandora Boxx at Center on Halsted
TKO – September 6th, 2015 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Center on Halsted brings you the hottest Labor Day bash!
TKO: greatest t-dance ever.
battle for your pleasure and a Technical Knock Out
jump in! groove to the killer sound of our dueling djs.
Billy Brown vs. Gina Kozar……mc Pandora Boxx officiates
sept. 6 2015 T-time: 3 – 6 pm……..coh rooftop & indoors
$20 entry/one drink, cash bar feat. our one-two rum punch
community.centeronhalsted.org/TKO
Say you’re attending on Facebook!
Pride Films & Plays: LezPlay Weekend – September 11th – 13th, 2015
LezPlay Weekend features five outstanding new works* – the finalists of this year’s Pride Films and Plays’ LezPlay contest!
LezPlay enhances the visibility and advances the viability of women who write plays, screenplays, and teleplays. The program not only advocates for more dyke drama; it honors excellence in scripts written by women in which lesbian characters and themes – past, present, and future – play a pivotal role.
The finalists’ scripts showcase Sapphic-centric narratives with a positive outlook. These are stories that elevate and celebrate us, refine and redefine us. Regardless of how you identify (or ident-defy) and even if your identity is not queer-cut, you’ll have a gay old time at LezPlay Weekend, where we’ll introduce you to women whose writing reflects, resonates with, and is relevant to your lives.
*The scripts will be presented as enhanced staged readings.
The performance schedule is as follows:
Friday, Sept 11, 7:00 pm
Black-Hearted Bitch, a teleplay by Lynn Kear
Saturday, Sept 12, 2:00 pm
The Patron Saint of Dead Dogs, a stage play by Katie Grotzinger
Saturday, Sept 12, 7:00 pm
Resolution, a play by Nancy Nyman & Heather McNama
Saturday, Sept 12, 2:00 pm
Missed Connections, a play by Hallie Palladino
Sunday, Sept 13, 5:00 pm
The Terror Fantastic, a play by Nicole Jost
For play synopses, visit the Pride Films and Plays website.
Queer Clothing Swap – September 13th, 2015 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Please join Center on Halsted and GenderQueer Chicago at the 3rd Annual Queer Clothing Swap! Trade in your skirts for a pair of slacks or your loafers for a pair of heels or maybe you’re just looking to update your wardrobe!
This event is free, but we ask that each participant bring at least 3 items of gently worn clothing (or shoes and accessories) to be donated to the swap. In exchange, you’ll have the chance to take home the new items you find! BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag). Please refrain from donating stained clothing, t-shirts and undergarments. While the swap is particularly intended for Trans* and gender-variant folks to have a safe and fun space to exchange clothes, the event is open to all queer-affirming allies!
Say you’re attending on Facebook!
New Years Eve in Chicago
Our top picks for New Years Eve include:
Scarlet bar. Scarlet New Years Eve 2015
4th Annual Mustaches and Bowlers Party! $5 Cover Charge
$199 Belvedere and Moet table package
Includes:Bottle of Belvedere, Bottle of MoetNo Cover For Table Guests
email party@scarletbarchicago.co
DJ Joey Luna and DJ Scotty T
Looking to ring in the New Year with some class this year? Come join ELIXIR for a night of sinful cocktails and fun! Seating is limited, so email chad@elixirchicago.com for table reservations!
HYDRATE ….Join them as they lift the veil on a slew of treats and fantasies that are sure to tempt you throughout the night. Peek inside a world where excess is the norm, where inhibitions cease to exist, where the new year brings a clean slate to sin all over again.
Intoxicate your mind with the pulsating sounds of DJ Dan De León (Los Angeles) at the turntables until 4 a.m. His unique brand of body-shaking House rhythms will deliver a crowd experience that will tear up the dance floor and will live on long after the night has ended.
Hot gogo dancers will be at hand providing sinful visual stimulation within a totally immersive black, white and red experience unlike anything Hydrate has seen before.
Dress code is not enforced, but black, white and Sin City red are highly recommended.
No cover before 11 p.m.
Limited $35 VIP Tickets available, which include NO LINE/NO WAIT privileges as well as IN/OUTs all night long.
Champagne toast and party favors at midnight.
Opening set by DJ NMF
Ring in the New Year in style at the Kit Kat Lounge!
On December 31st, we’ll be hosting a FABULOUS NYE party featuring world famous Kit Kat diva, Kinley Preston, AND amazing specials!
11:30 p.m.-2 a.m. bar package/$45 advance/$50 door: includes martinis, cocktails, wine, beer & party favors. For table reservations, please call Kit Kat at 773-525-1111.
The sexiest womens NYE is at HALSTEDS! All VIP are sold-out and now very limited General Admission remain …..$35.00
Doors Open at 9pm – General Admission
Passed Hors d’ Oeuvres
DJ’s
Champagne Toast at Midnight
Breakfast Buffet After Midnight
Black and White Party Favors
and at REPLAY, enjoy free arcade games, no cover all night, champagne toast at Midnight!
STAY IN THE HEART OF BOYSTOWN! (2 night stay required).
HAPPY NEW YEAR!~
Chicago Gay Adoptions
If you are interested in expanding your family through adoption and have questions about how to get started, we are here for you! Join us at “Growing Your Family: A Guide for Prospective LGBT Adoptive Parents,” an Equality Illinois presentation co-hosted by the Cradle on Tuesday, January 13, from 5:30-7PM. You can sign up for this event here.
At this event, we will cover an overview of adoption law and answer your legal and procedural questions about adoption in a safe and friendly environment. In addition, you will receive the new Equality Illinois adoption guide, which includes an extensive list of recommended adoption agencies.
Space is limited. Register today by clicking HERE.
Chicago LGBTQ Youth – FACES
FACES is Back!
November 7th, 8th, and 9th
Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave, ChicagoLimited seating. Wheelchair accessible.
Click here to purchase tickets online!
YEPP’s mission is to seek a safe environment for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer street-based youth to explore their history, investigate new ways to address their struggles and celebrate their strengths through the process of developing a theatrical performance piece.
Girls Girls Girls! BackLot Bash Chicago 2014
Where the girls come and play!
Back Lot Bash is an outdoor music and entertainment festival started in 2004 and one of the most highly anticipated and attended pride weekend events for lesbians in the country!
FOUR DAYS of events Showcasing local and emerging musicians as well as established performers of different genres, Back Lot Bash highlights unity, equality and inclusiveness in an environment that is festive and celebratory of everyone in our community.
AND MUCH MUCH MORE!
Grab a weekend pass while they are still available and save!
Remembering Vernita Gray
Vernita Gray, who passed away last night after a tenacious battle with cancer, served Chicago’s LGBTQ community with distinction for over 40 years as was one of its early leaders and strongest advocates. She organized a gay and lesbian hotline in 1969 and hosted support groups from her home. She was instrumental in forming the first Lesbian Caucus of the nascent Gay Liberation organization and the first Chicago lesbian newspaper – Lavender Women.
ville, Center on Halsted’s community newszine, had a chance to sit down with Vernita this past winter about the future of the LGBTQ movement.
“In 1969, I didn’t really have a clue about a career, what I wanted to do with my life. As an African-American woman coming out as a lesbian, I knew I wanted to be free and wanted to be afforded all the opportunities in our culture to be who I really was. I knew that I did not want to be a closeted lesbian,” Gray told the Times’ Tracy Baim as part of the Chicago Gay History project in 2007. “I knew that I wanted to be gay and wanted to enjoy my life with other gay people.”
It wasn’t long before Gray immersed herself in activism. That same year she helped develop a telephone hotline, and started organizing support groups for gay and lesbian Chicagoans at both local colleges and in her own home, according to her biography on the website of the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame, into which she was inducted in 1992.
Women for Women Event December 7th with Sandra Bernhard
Save the date for the next By Women For Women event on December 7th with Sandra Bernhard at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago,
as she arrives on stage with her band to perform a thrilling concert of
stand-up comedy and rock ‘n roll cabaret!
When Sandra Bernhard steps onstage, it’s a thrilling hybrid of
stand-up comedy and rock ’n’ roll—she performs with her four-man band
and “musicality to die for … a voice that swoops from the bluesey
basement to a top-floor falsetto and a campy soulfulness” (LA Times). Her take-no-prisoners shows are a raucous mix of political satire, pop culture commentary, and glamorous cabaret.
Bernhard arrives at MCA Stage with Everything Bad and Beautiful,
a work she originated in New York but has never before toured, in a
performance that careens through the worlds of fashion, celebrity, rock,
and religion.
Recommended for mature audiences
To reserve your tickets, call 773-661-0957.
Womens Work Weekend September 13-15, 2013
Women’s Work Weekend runs September 13 to 15, 2013, at Center on Halsted’s Hoover-Leppen Theatre. Find the schedule and information on the readings HERE.
sreenplays and stage plays written by women with lesbian characters or
themes.
The
program is open to all women, regardless of sexual orientation, whose
writing is pertinent to the lesbian community and relevant to the world.
While gay scripts have had a steady production history – from Oscar Wilde to Tennessee Williams, Tony Kushner, and today’s brashest writers – lesbian scripts have a checkered history at best.
Your support of our Women’s Work Weekend provides performance fees for artists, marketing for the festival, and enables writers from around the country to work with our Artistic Ensemble Members on these scripts, which are so full of potential.
Women’s Work Weekend runs September 13 to 15, 2013, at Center on Halsted’s Hoover-Leppen Theatre. Find the schedule and information on the readingsHERE.
Live Nude Male Strippers Come to Chicago land : CREAM
CREAM is the newest night on Mondays featuring full on naked nude male dancers and strippers! Yep- full on junk in your face – because it’s outside Cook county line.
Out Lesbian Comic Judy Gold at UP COMEDY CLUB March 14-16th
JUDY GOLD! Coming to Chicago
star of the critically acclaimed long-running Off Broadway hit show 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, for
which she was nominated for a 2006 Drama Desk Award.
Show”. She was nominated twice for The American Comedy Award’s funniest
female stand-up. She has also appeared on Ugly Betty, The Glades, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, Hollywood Squares, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Conan O’Brien Show, to name a few. This funny lady HAS DONE SO MUCH!
SHY TOWN GIRLS Series of Books By Local Authors
A group of four women authors
in Chicago were looking to share their best tips on
the collaborative publishing process with you!
Four Shy Girls
Four Big Dreams
One Awesome City
Novel 1 in the Shy-Town Girls 4- Book Series
When beautiful, but shy 24-year-old, Bobbie Bertucci, arrives at her
new digs, an elegant brownstone in Chicago’s historic Gold Coast
neighborhood, she has no idea what her new life will be like. Between
balancing her job as a modeling agent and escaping a bad relationship,
she’s hit rock bottom.
But things change when she moves into the same building as her close
friend Meryl. Additionally, her two new twenty-something roommates, Ivy
and Ella, help bring Bobbie out of her shell. Barbara, landlady and
mother-hen of the house, watches out for the girls while sharing sage
advice.
Bobbie, Meryl, Ivy, and Ella, all variations of shy girls, brave the
city of Chicago together, forming a powerful bond of friendship. Their
nighttime roof deck conversations over glasses of wine instigate
laughter and even some tears.
Bobbie takes a bold step to redesign her life completely to ensure
she doesn’t fall into the romantic trap she fell into before. But
there’s a new suitor in the picture, and she will have to decide between
an old flame or a new one, taking a risk, something hard for any
girl–even harder for a shy girl.
writing and creating a technique that you can learn to use yourself or
with other writing partners.
Listen to a recent interview
with all four authors to learn how we got started on down this writing
path. We hope you’ll gain some valuable insights on writing, publishing
and marketing your own books and products. You’ll get to know each
author individually as we’ll write from our own perspectives and share
our own experiences.
Feel free to contact us for collaboration and speaking opportunities, to talk to your book club or just a drop us a line to say hello!
Sign up now to get free updates on that latest publishing techniques and best practices for writing!”
Fran Lebowitz in Chicago Oct. 2, 2012
Fran Lebowitz
Oct. 2, 2012 (7:30 p.m.)
*Harris Theater Debut
Fran Lebowitz
– acclaimed author and witty chronicler of the “me decade” – will
appear on the Harris Theater stage exactly one month before America
heads to polls. Her performance – “A State of the Union Conversation” –
will be moderated by Steppenwolf Theatre Company Artistic Director Martha Lavey.
The special evening of conversation will be followed by lively interaction with audience members. Lebowitz, considered by many as the heir to Dorothy Parker, is famous for her contributions to Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine, and she recently was the subject of Martin Scorsese’s HBO documentary “Public Speaking.” The show was a terrifically entertaining romp, and Fran even manages to almost sort of finally seem to come out as a lesbian at last.
When discussing gay rights, she says it’s weird that gay people are
fighting to marry and be in the armed forces — those seem like the
antithesis of freedom, she says, adding that they’re not rights she
particularly wants for herself (though she’d vote for them since other people want them so badly).
She will make her Harris Theater debut at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, 2012. The Harris Theater for Music and Dance is at 205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago, IL. Tickets are available at 312-334-7777, or online at Harristheaterchicago.org/
University Club in Molene Refuse to Host Lesbian Wedding
The historical University Club in Molene created a stir this week. When a Taylor Shumaker, a lesbian got a tour and inquired about renting the hall, the manager Kristen Stewart said she could rent to homosexuals.
In a phone interview with WQAD, Stewart says it is all true, and defended her right to refusal.
“I am a biblical Christian and I do not
believe in homosexual marriage, that’s correct. And because marriage is a
covenant that God created for man and woman, as a biblical Christian, I
cannot help them into or celebrate that sin,” said Stewart.
Stewart is the wife of the president of the University Club, and daughter-in-law of its owners.
According to Illinois laws, this is against to law to refuse homosexuals couples!
Kristen Stewarts husband, who is President of the University Club, says his wife mis-spoke, and they WILL rent to homosexuals! – Perhaps his lawyer said he’d better correct the issue….
Fortune Feimster Kicks off Gay Pride Weekend for Back Lot Bash
Back Lot Bash is an outdoor live music and
entertainment festival started in 2004 by three Chicago women. Back Lot
Bash is now one of the most highly anticipated and attended pride weekend
events for lesbians in the country.
Showcasing local and emerging musicians as well as established
performers of different genres, Back Lot Bash highlights unity, equality
and inclusiveness in an environment that is festive and celebratory of
everyone in our community.
Thursday’s Comedy Kickoff event will be held at Mayne Stage Theater
1328 W. Morse Ave in Chicago.
Fri/Sat/Sun will be in the heart of
Chicago’s diverse Andersonville neighborhood at 5238 N. Clark St.,
Chicago 60640. Back Lot Bash is easily accessible by both of Chicago’s
major north side highways and by public transportation.
This years line up is awesome! With 4 days of events!
Lesbian comedian from the Chelsea Lately show, Fortune Feimster makes her Chicago debut on Thursday 21st with a night of comedy.
Get ticket info and complete details at Back Lot Bash Chicago
Womens Event April 28th for EQIL
The
Spring Women’s Social
is fast approaching…
and there will be fantastic giveaways, including Cubs vs. Dodgers tickets, an Anita Dee Yacht Charters sightseeing cruise, a stunning gift basket from Urban Orchard, a Mystic Blue Cruises dinner tour, Hamburger Mary’s gift certificates, and more!
The
social is taking place
Saturday, April 28
from 4 to 7pm
at Mignonette
(1747 W. Belmont in Chicago).
For just $50 you get complimentary open
bar, food, and great giveaways.
Plus you are supporting EQIL’s statewide
LGBT-rights work!
Click here for tickets or on the invitation below.
Candace Gingrich in Chicago March 29
It’s poetic justice (or perhaps just an accurate reflection of real
life) that GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has a half sister who
is not only lesbian, but also married and a gay-rights activist.
Candace Gingrich-Jones visits Northeastern Illinois University for a speaking gig Thursday 29.
Accidental Activist: A Personal & Political Journey
March 29, 2012
Thursday 7pm FREE
The Accidental Activist, the title of Candace Gingrich-Jones’
1996 autobiography, captures best her path to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender (LGBT) advocacy well. Her involvement in the movement for
queer equality began in 1995 when her brother, Rep. Newt Gingrich,
R-GA., was elected House speaker and she had an opportunity to make her
voice heard. Since then she has not stopped advocating for the issues
importance to the LGBT community.
