By Sister Dana Van Iquity
Sister Dana sez, “Donald Trump and Ben Carson could dangle the possibility of independent runs for president well into the primary season next year. State filing deadlines would give the two Republicans until about March to launch independent or third-party campaigns, experts say. That would give a well-financed campaign enough time to gather sufficient signatures on petitions so the candidate could appear on the ballot in every state. So, Santa, my only wish this year is to have both Trump and Carson file as independents – thus siphoning off votes from the Repugnican candidate for Prez and giving the Democrats the well-deserved victory!”
On the eve of WORLD AIDS DAY, the NATIONAL AIDS MEMO-RIAL GROVE again held its annual LIGHT IN THE GROVE fundraising gala at Nancy Pelosi Drive & Bowling Green Drive. This year’s “Light in the Grove” was expressly dedicated to celebrating the unrelenting hope that has carried our community over the past 35 years. This iconic event offered a unique evening in Golden Gate Park; an outdoor, transparently-tented celebration with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and dinner; music, performance, art, and evocative light displays. This stellar event always receives nationwide media attention and drew over 600 attendees. It was a chance to experience the exquisite beauty of this national memorial “after hours.” aidsmemorial.org
RICHMOND ERMET AID FOUNDATION’s annual holiday show, HELP IS ON THE WAY FOR THE HOLIDAYS XIV at Marines’ Memorial Theatre was utterly delightful, especially with two featured classic disco divas, original “Weather Girl” Martha Wash and Mary Wilson of the Supremes. The cast also included the Tony Award- Winning cast of A Gentleman’s Guide To Love & Murder; Steve Grand: Internet sensation, singer-songwriter and recording artist; Sharon McNight: Tony nominee/cabaret star; Jake Simpson: two-time Star Search Grand Champion winner/recording star; Shawn Ryan: America’s Got Talent/ TV/cabaret star; Jason Brock: Factor, cabaret star; Lea Bourgade: concert violinist; Phantom’s Leading Ladies: Teri Bibb, Mary D’Arcy & Karen Culliver; Barbary Coast Cloggers dance team; Russ Lorenson, Carly Ozard & Jessica Coker: cabaret stars; andBAY AREA MUSICALS’ cast of How to Succeed in Business With- out Really Trying. Next up is producers Ken Henderson & Joe Seiler presenting another in their ONE NIGHT ONLY CABARET series featuring the cast of Jersey Boys, February 1st. reaf-sf.org
ACADEMY OF FRIENDS put on Sister Lida Christ, Sister Dana Van Iquity, ABC-7 newcaster Cheryl Jennings and Sister Kitty at SF City Hall for the Rainbow World Fund Tree Lighting their annual holiday event at Williams-Sonoma Union Square. AOF started as a gathering of friends, and the legacy continues with attendees including past board, volunteers, corporate sponsors, and beneficiaries coming together to support the organization alongside new friends and new faces. Coming on February 28 is this year’s A GATHERING OF ROYALS Gala at the Design Center. Advocate magazine calls it, “The Place to Watch the Oscars in San Francis- co.” academyoffriends.or
HOLIGAYS ARE HERE at Nourse Theatre was the SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS prelude to the Christmas Eve show at the Castro Theatre. Highlights included brand- new pieces by Broadway and Cabaret composers Ernie Lijoi and Lawrence Rush; a medley of Meghan Trainor’s “I’ll Be Home” and that old holiday standard “I’ll Be Home For Christmas;” an incredible world premiere by award-winning composer Laura Karpman set to a text writ- ten by best-selling authorRebecca Walker honoring the role that mothers play in our lives; and raucous, joyful new takes on classic favorites. All with incredible choreography. And guest performers were HomoPhonics, The Lollipop Guild, SWAG, and Vocal Minority. Upcoming HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS will include some of the “HoliGays Are Here” program, but at the Castro Theatre on December 24th – 5pm, 7pm, and 9pm. In 1990, the Chorus gathered for the first time on Christmas Eve at the Castro Theatre to truly bring the holidays home to those who had none. This year, the 25th Anniver- sary of that first musical celebration is a real milestone. While things may have changed in the community, it is still the only place to be on Christmas Eve. sfgmc.org/events/home-for-the- holidays
DONNA SACHET’S 23RD ANNUAL SONGS OF THE SEASON was held at BeatBox this year. This annual benefit for AIDS EMERGENCY FUND featured gorgeous cabaret by Sharon McNight, Abigail, Brian Kent, Dan O’Leary, Brenda Reed, and Vicki Shepard, as well as Donna (who changed into different outfits several times). Michael Grossman played piano and Tommy Salami was percus- sion. As always, we smiled, laughed, applauded, and even shed a nostalgic tear or two as this talented group of performers and friends joined Donna in sharing the magic that is “Songs of the Season. For this year’s version of the SAN FRANCISCO LESBIAN/GAY FREEDOM BAND’s 30th annual DANCE-ALONG NUTCRACKER the Stahlbaum family took us on a hilarious adventure to the Land of Oz! We “Eased on Down” that Yel- low Brick Road at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum with a hybrid of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite meets Wizard of Oz meets The Wizmeets Wicked under the baton of Artistic Director Pete Nowlen, resulting in a rousing musical produc- tion that awakened our “inner Sugar Plum Fairy.” The characters of this unique fusion of two timeless fairy tales were brought to life by a stellar cast including Donna Sachet (Witch), Zelda Koznofski (Clara), Flynn DeMarco (Scarecrow), Joe Wicht (Lion), Noah Haydon (Tinman), Tina Sogliuzzio (Glinda), and Leigh Crow (Wizard). THE NUTCRACKER OF OZ was cleverly co-created by Heidi Beeler and Flynn De Marco, and brilliantly choreographed by Marilynn Fowler. As always, we Sugar Plum wannabes joined the actors on the dance floor to execute “flawless” ballet under the spotlights.
ARTSAVESLIVES presented a festive grand opening ceremony for the new Castro gallery displaying work from ten local artists: Sean Casey,Tim Burns, Martin Free- man, Joel Hoyer, Dominic Martello, Jerry Lee Frost, Ed Terpening, Buddy Bates, Jorge E Gamboa, and Thomasina DeMaio. The 518 Castro Street gallery is currently displaying works by those artists, including many oil paintings of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence by DeMaio. At the open- ing, there was an ongoing fashion show of hand-painted clothing by models (Sister Dana wore a gorge, fierce, elegant red couture dress with wine bottles painted on). DeMaio is the curator of models and artists, so please contact her on Facebook or at artsaveslives@aol.com if interested in showing your art or modeling. The ARTSAVESLIVES Castro Street Gallery also is the site of Tuesday and Thursday night drawing sessions with female models on Tuesdays and males on Thursdays, 6 to 9:30pm. Live music and snacks provided…15 dollars. facebook.com/ events/1507723316193523
The RAINBOW WORLD FUND’s WORLD TREE OF HOPE is a holiday tree decorated with thousands of white origami cranes, each containing written notes of hope & peace from children and individuals from around the world. The tree – remaining up through New Year’s – is a gift from members of the LGBTQ community to the world-given to inspire hope and promote peace, love, and humanitarianism.
The TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY at the Rotunda of San Francisco City Hall began with a concert by the Grammy Award- Winning San Francisco Boys Chorus, followed by “A Celebration of Hope” with emcee news anchor Cheryl Jennings. SF Mayor Ed Lee and the Deputy Consul General of Japan, Nobuhiro Watanabe exchanged peace cranes. Mezzo- Soprano Brianna Sinclaire sang to the rafters; Origami Artist Linda Mihara shared a message of hope; and RWF Founder Jeff Cotter spoke of how the LGBTQ communi- ty is promoting peace worldwide. Just before we lit the tree, we Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence led a blessing of the tree. World peace was achieved. Just kidding.
THE GOLDEN GIRLS: THE CHRISTMAS EPISODES – 2015 have just a few more performances now through December 20th, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays – 8pm; Sundays – 7pm at the Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th Street. The shows are dedicated to the late great Cookie Dough. The four drag stars playing the characters the entire world has come to know and love are Heklina (Dorothy), Matthew Martin (Blanche), and new for 2015 – playing Sophia and Rose are Holotta Tymes (Sophia), and D’Arcy Drollinger (Rose). Manuel Caneri, Nancy French and Tom Shaw are also featured in the cast. In “Dorothy’s New Friend,” Dorothy enjoys the intellectual stimulation of her friendship with new pal Barbara Thorndyke, a novelist; but Barbara’s superior air and snobby ways rub Blanche and Rose the wrong way.In “The Accurate Conception,” Blanche’s daughter, Rebecca, intends to become a mother, through artificial insemination, despite Blanche’s oppo- sition. Meanwhile, Rose decides to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming an ice skater. “Thank you for being a
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