I Owe Bill Peduto an Apology

Pittsburgh Pridefest

Last night, Bill Peduto made his first official Pridefest appearance as Mayor at OUTrageous Bingo. He came in looking very relaxed and comfortable in a blue bowling shirt and took the mike like a pro. He acknowledged the longevity and importance of Bingo, Shepherd Wellness and the Gay & Lesbian Community Center. He called a […]

REVIEW: Pittsburgh Pride Theater Festival 2014

Pittsburgh Pride Theater

I like theater. I don’t attend nearly often enough for my own satisfaction, but I always come away with this inexplicable sense of wonder and puzzlement. I want to rush into the theater lobby and talk about it all to everyone, while also wanting to rush home and be quiet with my thoughts. Note. I […]

How to Spend $1 Million in Just One Blog Post

You just inherited $1,000,000 from an aunt you didn’t even know existed. What’s the first thing you buy (or otherwise use the money for)? Fun story – so there are missing branches of my family tree. No aunts that I’m aware of, but definitely cousins who are wayfaring strangers. For example, the babies in this photo I […]

Dan Savage’s “Hump Tour” WILL Play in Pittsburgh (And We Have Free Passes)

Earlier this week, we learned from the City Paper that anonymous grumps in Dormont complained so borough officials invoked an archaic law to ban the showing of “The Hump Tour” at the Hollywood Theater. Apparently, five minute dirty movies aren’t Dormont’s idea of a good time. Naftal says screening the festival would involve “multiple violations” […]

Giveaway: “Love Is Love” remix CD from Ariana Castelli

Ariana Castilli

In time for Pride, enter to win one of five copies of the new single from singer-songerwriter Ariana Castelli. This catchy song remixed by DJ Paige imagines club music as a source of inspiration and strength for the LGBTQ community. The music video features NFL player Erik Coleman and his wife Sabrina, Grammy-nominated artist Sky […]

Lunch with Randy Forrester

Randy Forrester

You can choose any person from history to teach you any topic you want. Who’s your teacher, and what do they teach you? Lately, I’ve been reading some LGBTQ memoir type books – learning about our history from the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s through the eyes of Sean Strub (“Body Counts“) and Kelly Cogswell (“Eating […]

UPDATE: ToonSeum Designates ‘Kitty Pryde’ Proceeds for LGBTQ Cartoonist Exhibit

Toonseum

ToonSeum Executive Director Joe Wos has been busy responding to support the organization has received in response to news that people were cancelling membership because of their support of the LGBTQ community. The ToonSeum is sponsoring a VIP event during Pride in the Streets – Kitty Pryde in the Streets VIP Lounge. Note – you […]

Storyteller Staci Backauskus From Pittsburgh Pride Theater Festival

Pittsburgh Pride Theater

The Pittsburgh Pride Theater Festival returns for it’s sixth season this weekend. We caught up with Judy Meiksin yesterday to learn more about the event. Today, we’ll talk with one of the authors, Staci Backauskus. You can read our interview with director Ted Hoover from last year. The festival runs the first two weekends in June on the third floor of Bricolage Theater on Liberty Avenue. […]

Adventures in CSA: Chapter One

CSA share

This summer, Ledcat and I took the plunge and signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share through Kretschmann Farm. We get one delivery of fruits/veggies a week plus one chicken per month.  Today, Ledcat picked up our first delivery. How exciting. We had no real idea what to expect, but here’s what arrived:   […]

Pittsburgh Museum Faces Backlash for Supporting PrideFest, LGBTQ Community

Toonseum

On Tuesday night, Joe Wos of the ToonSeum shared on Facebook that a community member had cancelled their membership because of the ToonSeum’s involvment in the LGBTQ community and PrideFest. We profiled Joe as an ally in 2013. Here’s his post: Today I got an email saying “we will not be renewing our membership because […]