GayMardiGras.com GayEasterParade.com May 5-18, 2015 Facebook.com/AmbushMag The Official Mag : AmbushMag.com 21

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1 GayMardiGras.com GayEasterParade.com May 5-18, 2015 Facebook.com/AmbushMag The Official Mag : AmbushMag.com 21

2 them out online: The categories include Male Interview; Solo Talent; Evening Gown; On Stage Question and Talent. Registration is at 1:00 p.m. contestants must come in their Male Interview attire and interview will happen immediately after registration at 1:30pm. The pageant starts promptly at 5 p.m. Performers for the evening include Reigning MGLA Santana Pilar Andrews, Dominique DeLorean, Starr Alexander, Monica Synclaire Kennedy, Aubrey Synclaire and Anastacia Davenport. Saturday, May 16, 2015 B is for Big Easy Sisters. Yes, it s that time again for Big Easy Sister Bingo at the Phoenix! Come out and have some fun, laughs, and win some great prizes. Bingo cards are $1 a piece, 6 cards for $5, or 12 cards for $10 and you can play as many cards as you like each round. Bingo starts at 8 p.m. and the New Orleans Phoenix is located at 941 Elysian Fields. Sunday, May 17, 2015 It is once again time for Toby Lefort s Annual Crawfish Boil and Auction Benefitting the NO/AIDS Walk at the Four Seasons Bar located in Metairie at 3229 N Causeway Boulevard from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Enjoy some of the best Crawfish by none other than Bayou Chad and Kevin for $20 all you can eat. Party Down As Spring moves along at a steady clip so does the event. New Orleans is a city of constant entertainment. I started my two weeks of events on Tuesday with the Brennan s Opening Party for the Hospitality Community. It is heartwarming to see one of the foremost New Orleans dining establishments re-opened for business with a well-deserved facelift. Brennan s is gorgeous, brought back to her once majestic look with a grand courtyard, well-appointed private dining rooms, delicious cuisine and outstanding staff. My friend Jeff (aka Elizabeth Bouvier) joined me for the soiree, then afterwards we attended the premier of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat starring American Idol finalists Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo. The show was wonderful and Ace and his half naked brothers abs were well worth the price of admission. On Wednesday, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted their Business After Hours networking event at the World War 2 Museum Freedom Pavilion. It was a great event to see the space and enjoy the always entertaining Victory Belles. I followed up with those two days with a hosted happy hour in the House of Blues Foundation Room. This members only club located on the top floor of the House of Blues is a hidden hideaway in the city. It has a peaceful, Zen atmosphere, but incredibly fun and lively. Afterwards, I stopped for the first time at the Allways Lounge for their drag bingo with Vinsantos. This week Reba Douglas was the guest and the duo played off each other nicely delivering a hysterical evening of unique bingo and comedy. Vinsantos is maktrodding the boards by Brian Sands bsnola2@hotmail.com On the Air at The WWII Museum s Stage Door Canteen through May 31 Four years ago, in On the Air, the WWII Museum s Stage Door Canteen introduced us to the folks at local radio station WSDC as they soldiered through a broadcast on Mother s Day Now, On the Air returns for another broadcast three years later (though shouldn t it be called On the Air 2 or On the Air Again?). Peace may be prevailing overseas, but in the studio there s a bit of a battle brewing. When two of the performers on the station s musical variety show elope to Niagara Falls, it looks like Musical Director Frank (Tom Hook) and singer Melba (Troi Bechet) will have to fill in and stretch things out with solos and re-arranged tunes that could disrupt the show s usual smooth-flowing harmony. But then two repairmen show up to fix the broken Coke machine and it turns out that one is a WWII vet who happened to have served in Europe in an entertainment Special Services unit (with Sammy Davis, Jr. no less!), and, under the gaydar...from 20 well, I bet you can see where this is going. What makes this significant is that the repairmen, a father and son team, are African-American who, along with Ms. Bechet, represent the firmest display yet of the Canteen s commitment to diversity on its stage. And by acknowledging the often strained race relations in the post-wwii South, the [continued on 25] The auction starts at 5:30pm. ing quite a name for himself in the drag circles both locally and nationally. Good for him, keep up the good work. The weekend started relaxing with happy hour Uptown at Phillip s Bar. It has changed quite a lot since the last time I was there a few months ago. The interior is nicer, the menu has improved to feature more gourmet selections, but they removed the happy hour which use to pack the place at the end of the week with gay men. But even without Happy Hour, the drink prices are still affordable and the courtyard is divine this time of the year. We followed up cocktails with dinner right down the street at The Sammich. If you have not had a chance to try this fabulous eatery, make it a point to check it out. There are amazing dishes like fried beets and flash fried escargot; and any of the sandwiches are sure fire winners. Saturday was devoted to St. Anna s. Elizabeth Bouvier and I emceed the 5 th Annual Dodwell House fundraiser for St. Anna s at Generations Hall. It was quite the evening with wonderful entertainment that included Topsy Chapman & Solid Harmony, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence 9or my new nickname for them The Sisters of the Perpetual Double Booking) and The Treme Community Choir. Their silent auction was filled with some incredible art pieces and baskets. I managed to make quite the donation to their cause. My favorite part of the night was when Elizabeth and I were selling absolutions from sin to people for $5 a pop. Not every sin, mind you, that would be chaos, just the fun ones like Envy, Lust and Greed. Sounded like a deal; so I bought enough to keep me good through June. I ended the week with the kickoff Halloween Host party at the Uptown Mansion of Bryan Francher and Daniel Brockhoeft. Their gorgeous mansion was the ideal setting to introduce the new theme Fall of the Pharaohs. Now I have six months to come up with a fabulous costume. My events the next week began on Wednesday with New Orleans Magazine s Hobknobbers Networking social at the newly opened space The Jaxson located in Jax Brewery. This spacious and beautiful venue space incorporates the beauty of the Mississippi River with its patio spaces and the French Quarter with the large pane windows in the front. The city now has a fresh space in the French Quarter for weddings and corporate events. After the party, I did something I rarely do during the week; I strolled down to the gay bars and had a few cocktails at Oz and the Pub. Oh, the days of my youth when I could party mid-week and still be fresh the next day at work in the morning. Thursday, the city was gearing up for Jazz Fest. Through the throngs of tourists, I attended the Peter Max Art Show at the Angela King Gallery. It seemed like the whole city turned out for this special night. Max is a German-born American illustrator and graphic artist, known for the use of psychedelic shapes and color palettes as well as spectra in his work. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for fourcolor reproduction on product merchandise. Following his success with a line of art clocks for General Electric, Max s art was licensed by 72 corporations. Max has appeared on the cover of Life magazine, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Ed Sullivan Show. He was also the official artist for many major events, including the 1994 World Cup, the Grammy Awards, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Super Bowl. He was also the Official Artist of New York City s 2000 Subway Series, the World Series of Major League Baseball, between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. Recently, Max painted Taylor Swift s portrait as a gift to the singer for her Grammy-winning album Fearless & Speak Now, and has recently painted new portraits of Taylor Swift to commemorate her worldwide success. This world renowned artists had taken local photographer Steven Forster and reimaged some of his amazing shots of singing stars for the show. Everyone was on hand to see this master s newest works, in our little old city. It seems that everyone loves NOLA and that is a wonderful. My weekend began and ended on Friday, since there was a huge convention in town and I had to work the remainder of the weekend. Armeinius held their new member mixer at the den which was a fun get to know you event that included a few round of speed networking and ended with a cocktail contest which I was lucky enough to judge with the delightful Monique Michaels. The winner of the contest would have his drink featured at the Glitter and be Gay soiree in May. Winners Augustin and Nick created a lovely libation that was a twist on Margaritas that added Vanilla Vodka to the tequila concoction, quite sumptuous and potent. Then a friend and I went to dinner at this great new comfort food restaurant called the Big Cheesy on Broad Street right across from the courthouse. Who does not like grilled cheese sandwiches and this place has an array to choose from which were absolutely delicious. We ended our night with a final drink at the Mid-City hotspot, The Tulane Avenue Bar. Vanessa Carr was performing this evening showing off her vocal talents to the crowd. She was followed up by the Femmes de Faraday show. There is quite an entertainment line-up at this quaint little watering hole. That concludes my two weeks of fun, hope everyone enjoys Jazz Fest (or any of the other numerous outdoor events this city offers). 22 The Official Mag : AmbushMag.com May 5-18, 2015 Official ficial Southern n Decadence Guide since 1982 SouthernDecadence.com

3 GayMardiGras.com GayEasterParade.com May 5-18, 2015 Facebook.com/AmbushMag The Official Mag : AmbushMag.com 23

4 24 The Official Mag : AmbushMag.com May 5-18, 2015 Official ficial Southern n Decadence Guide since 1982 SouthernDecadence.com

5 The Rivers-Brown Family Cameron, Amber, King Stevie & Reba B-Bob s Mobile Gay Pride March 2015 Hello Skylar & Mike Mr. Tim & B-Bob s Gay Pride & The Whole Deal ~ Mobile, Alabama ~ Photos by Miss Cie mobile paparazzi Shey & B-Bob s Reba, Michael & Flip Side Patio Bar, Mobile Welcome home Lee Mark, Will & Company Lauren Mitchell & Reba Douglas B-Bob s, Mobile Hello Matthew The beautiful Queen Michelle with Caitlin Amber Douglas B-Bob s Colt Man Bob Hager with Miss B-Bob s One Love... Mobile Gay Pride 2015 Jawakatema is EVERYTHING! Happy Mobile Gay Pride Miss B-Bob s, Mobile trodding the boards...from 22 Canteen shows a more mature side of itself. It also allows the Canteen to broaden its repertoire to include what was once called race music, a category that included blues, jazz, and gospel music. Though, as a character rightly says, It s not race music. It s just music, good music. (That said, according to Wikipedia, the term race was not necessarily used as a derogatory term; especially pre-wwii, it was even used to connote pride.) Cavan Hallman s book is a little simplistic in its plot devices, its humor is somewhat corny, and logic doesn t always prevail, but, hey, this is the Stage Door Canteen not the Shakespearean Drama Canteen. Still, a few things could ve been made clearer such as that the Canteen s audience is functioning as the WSDC studio audience and that a few weeks have elapsed between the show s first and second sections. There s also a medley of food songs that allows Hook to dress up as chef Mme. Langlois; while cute, it feels extraneous and might have best been left for On the Air 3. For the most part, however, On the Air serves up a grand opportunity to enjoy a wide range of timeless hits done with style, flair and lots of heart. Victoria Reed, who conceived the show with Hallman, wisely imbues the show with an assured pace that keeps the focus on the music. With her creamy voice, Bechet can put over a song like Lover Man simply and beautifully, and then lead, on Sentimental Journey, a terrific blending of tones with her castmates. She also has a marvelous comic presence; don t miss her priceless deadpan expressions [continued on 28] GayMardiGras.com GayEasterParade.com May 5-18, 2015 Facebook.com/AmbushMag The Official Mag : AmbushMag.com 25