Arts & Entertainment

Art, books, bar parties, concerts and more make for busy Rehoboth summer

Voices from Stonewall, Best Shots from Africa among events planned

Published

3 years ago

May 17, 2019

rehoboth summer 2019, gay news, Washington Blade — The Kinsey Sicks performs July 20 at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. (Photo by Vixen Pin-up Photography)

As D.C.’s signature sweltering summer approaches, make plans to take a mini-vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Del. From book signings and art auctions to dance parties, there’s plenty of upcoming events for your ultimate gay beach getaway.

Blue Moon (35 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) presents its Legends Show every Saturday at 9:30 p.m. The cast will portray legendary singer such as Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Etta James. Each week is a different show with original choreography. Admission is free. For more information, visit bluemoonrehoboth.com.

Blue Moon (35 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) hosts Sunday Tea with singer Pamala Stanley every Sunday at 6 p.m. For details, visit bluemoonrehoboth.com.

The Pines (56 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) has Wine Mondays all summer long with wines by the glass half off. For details, visit thepinesrb.com.

Purple Parrot Grill (134 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) has karaoke every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday night at 9 p.m. Every Sunday at 10 p.m. there will be the “Birdcage Girls Drag Show” hosted by Julia Sugarbaker. For more information, visit ppgrill.com.

Diego’s Hideaway presents a Memorial Day weekend party. On Thursday, May 23 from 9 p.m.- 2 a.m. DJ Steve Sidewalk will play music. DJ Riddic and DJ Biff will play music on Saturday and Sunday. For more details, visit diegosbarnightclub.com.

Browseabout Books hosts an author luncheon with “Queen of the Beach Reads” author Mary Kay Andrews at the Crab House (19598 Coastal Highway, Rehoboth Beach, Del.) on Saturday, May 25 from noon-3 p.m. Andrews will discuss her new book “Sunset Beach,” answer questions and take photographs with attendees.Tickets are $55 and include an autographed copy of her book “Sunset Beach,” lunch and a non-alcoholic beverage and a Browseabout canvas tote bag. For more information, visit browseaboutbooks.com.

Browseabout Books (133 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) hosts an author signing with Jackson Coppley for “The Code Hunters” on Saturday, May 25 from 2-5 p.m. “The Code Hunters” tells the story of a group of scientists who discover a 10,000-year-old tablet with mysterious codes from the future. They must race from the western U.S. to the Mediterranean to search for missing pieces while being tracked by men who want the codes. Visit browseaboutbooks.com for more details.

CAMP Rehoboth (37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) presents “Best Shot from Africa,” a photography exhibit, on display from June 8-30. Forty people joined Murray Archibald for safaris in South Africa and Botswana. Every traveler selected their best “shot from Africa” which will be displayed. There will also be a reception with the photographers on June 22 from 1-3 p.m. Proceeds from photo sales will benefit Camp Rehoboth’s arts programming with a portion of proceeds being donated to converge indigenous wildlife that was observed on the safaris. For more information, visit camprehoboth.com.

“Voices from Stonewall,” a theatrical tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, will have performances at CAMP Rehoboth (37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) on Saturday, June 22 at 4 and 7 p.m. The show, written by Michael Gilles and Fay Jacobs, will star Michael and Sally Giles, Eloise Ullman and more as they bring the words of the bar patrons, protestors and the stories of reporters who witnessed the uprising to life. Tickets are $20 and benefit Camp Rehoboth. Visit camprehboth.com for details.

CAMP Rehoboth (37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) hosts Families Pride Weekend on June 28-30. The weekend begins with Parents Night Out on Friday with babysitting offered by the YMCA. On Saturday, families can enjoy a boat ride, story time from Rehoboth Public Library, beach bonfire and dinner and a group trip to Funland on the boardwalk. Sunday kicks off with brunch, free time to explore Rehoboth, dinner and drag bingo at Camp Rehoboth Community Center followed by an evening trip to Funland. Adult tickets are $50 and include one Camp Families Pride Weekend T-shirt and admission to the family welcome party at Camp Rehoboth, beach bonfire and dinner, brunch at Camp Rehoboth and dinner and bingo. Child tickets are $35 and include one T-shirt and admission to the family welcome party at Camp Rehoboth, beach bonfire and dinner, brunch at Camp Rehoboth and dinner and drag bingo. The boat ride takes place on Saturday, June 29 from 10 a.m.-noon. Boat ride tickets are $20 and sold separately. Babysitting provided by YMCA is also a separate fee for Parents Night Out. For more details, visit camprehoboth.com.

The Kinsey Sicks perform at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center (229 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) on Saturday, July 20 at 8 p.m. The Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet’s new musical will delve into Trumpism, racism, AIDS, Bette Midler and more.Tickets range from $35-500 and proceeds benefit CAMP Rehoboth. For more information, visit camprehoboth.com.

Gay Women of Rehoboth meet for coffee and conversation at Java Jukebox (37169 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) on Sunday, July 28 from 10 a.m.-noon. This is an open event for attendees to meet other Gay Women of Rehoboth members. For details, go here.

CAMP Rehoboth hosts Sundance 2019: Ultraviolet Disco Day-Glo Sunrise for a two-night event at Rehoboth Beach Convention Center (229 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth, Beach, Del.) on Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1. The Sundance Auction is on Saturday from 6-9 p.m. There will be an open bar, silent and live auction with music provided by Stephen Strasser. On Sunday, the Sundance, which includes two parties, is from 7 p.m.-2 a.m. Open bar runs all night. DJ Joe Gauthreaux will spin tracks for one party. Studio54 DJ Robbie Leslie will also play music for the Sundance Disco Twilight Tea which also starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $90 for both the dances and auction or $50 for one event. Proceeds will benefit Camp Rehoboth. For more details, visit camprehoboth.com.

Rehoboth Beach Bear Weekend is at the Atlantic Sands Hotel & Conference Center (1 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) is Sept. 19-22. On Thursday, there will be a meet and greet cocktail reception. Tickets are $25. On Friday at 7 p.m., there will be a dance party at the Atlantic Sands Hotel and Convention Center Ballroom. Tickets are $25. Saturday, the group will jump on the bear bus to spend a day at the beach and travel to Gordon’s Pond. Tickets are $25. Saturday night there will be a comedy show ($40) at 7 and 9 p.m. Sunday closes out the weekend with a closing party ($5). A full weekend pass is $115. Details here.

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Out & About

DC Center to host estate planning seminar series

Three sessions presented by Murray Scheel

Published

3 days ago

January 15, 2022

Tinashe Chingarande

The DC Center hosts a series of talks on end-of-life planning next week.

The DC Center for the LGBT Community and the DC Department on Aging and Community Living will host “Estate Planning Tools with Murray Scheel” via Zoom.

Scheel will walk guests through the process of taking care of the end-of-life planning business that needs to be addressed during the golden years. Scheel is Senior Staff Attorney at Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services.

This event series will consist of three 1.5-hour sessions:

Jan. 19, 3 p.m. – “Tools for while you’re living” (overview, general power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, disposition of remains, etc.)

Jan. 26, 3 p.m. – “Tools for after you’re gone” (living wills, last wills, assets, etc.)

Feb. 2, 3 p.m. – “Healthcare insurance & long term care” (Medicare, Medicaid, correcting misinformation, skilled nursing, hospice care, etc.)

To register for this event, visit the DC Center website.

Out & About

DC Center to host legal seminar for trans people

Attorney Richard Tappan and paralegal Miranda Shipman to give legal advice

Published

3 days ago

January 15, 2022

Tinashe Chingarande

The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host a “Gender and Name Change Legal Seminar” on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m. online.

Attorney Richard Tappan and paralegal Miranda Shipman will give legal advice and speak on the importance of the legal community within the LGBTQ community, the difficulties of the LGBTQ community in the legal field and name and gender changes.

Guests can find the link at the DC Center website.

Books

Seeking love and community in Nicaragua

‘High-Risk Homosexual’ explores author’s youth, coming out

Published

3 days ago

January 15, 2022

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Soft Skill Press)

‘High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir’
By Edgar Gomez
c.2022, Soft Skull Press
$16.95/304 pages

Here. Try this.

It fits you, but the color isn’t flattering. It’s too long, too short, too tight, too loose. That’s not your style, so try something else until you find the thing that looks like you. The perfect thing is out there. As in the new book “High-Risk Homosexual” by Edgar Gomez, when something’s right, it’s right.

He was 13 when he figured out that he was a problem to be solved.

Edgar Gomez’ mother had left him in her native Nicaragua with his tíos, just for a while because she had to return to Florida to work. He wasn’t there without her for long, but it took years for him to understand that his time with his uncles was meant to make him more masculine.

In retrospect, he says, nobody wanted him to be a man more than he did. He wanted to be liked by other kids and so he told lies in school to make himself stand out. He wanted his mother to see his love of pretty things and say that it was OK. He wanted his brother to acknowledge that Gomez was gay, and to tell him that he loved him.

Instead, after his brother left for college, Gomez got his first boyfriend, a boy he came out to but who couldn’t come out to himself. He was called names in school. He came out to his mother, who freaked out about it. He befriended a drag queen, but “Princess” used him.

Things he wanted: a real boyfriend. Love. A ban on the stereotype of a macho Latinx man.

Things he still had, while in college: his mother and older brother. A tormentor-turned-mentor. A part-time job. His weirdness. His virginity.

Things he wanted to lose, while in college: his room at his mother’s house. His virginity, but that wouldn’t happen until later, during a painful one-afternoon-stand with a hot man who said he had a girlfriend. That hurt, both physically and emotionally but like so many things at so many times, Gomez tried not to think about it.

If he never considered what he didn’t have, he says, “I wouldn’t miss it.”

In a way, you could say that “High-Risk Homosexual” is a book in search of a point. It’s really quite random and told (mostly) linearly, but not quite. It has its peaks, but also low valleys. And you won’t care about any of this, because you’ll be enjoying every bit of it.

Yeah, this memoir is good: author Edgar Gomez’s literary wandering makes it feel much like an honest conversation with readers. There are wince-worthy moments that allow empathy here, and experiences that are unique but oddly ubiquitous, that leave space for a sense of sympatico. There are passages that are so wistfully uncomfortable that you might squirm, or start “snort-laughing,” or want to stop a moment and just think.

And there’s room for that, too, so take your time. “High-Risk Homosexual” is an affable book with just enough seriousness to make it worth a try.