What’s Hot June 25th 2009

This past weekend was the annual Stonewall Parade and Street Festival on Wilton Drive. The parade featured some of the best floats I have seen in Fort Lauderdale including (not to toot our own horn) the After Dark float covered with hot models from FabScout Entertainment and high atop the float was Jeremy Bilding courtesy of C1R and Swiss Navy.  Thanks to Malcolm Neitzey and Craig Stevens for being great emcees!  The Sunday portion of the event featured outdoor displays and live entertainment.  With temperatures well into the 90s, many of the boys had to remove their shirts to keep cool (thanks guys)…
This was also the weekend that launched After Dark (AfterDarkHotspots .com), a brand new website that premiered at the parade and is brought to you by Hotspots Magazine and Fabscout. The main component of the site is filled with social networking features, articles and the latest news on the adult gay scene here in Florida and around the world. The best part is its free!  If you want to go a little deeper, the website is also filled with the hottest collection of gay adult websites around; a sort of one stop shop (sorry boys, past this point you are on your own).  Have fun, and play safe!

 

Thursday – June 25
Lavender Writes presents their Pride Reading 2009 an open mic event to celebrate Stonewall’s  40th anniversary. Come read, listen and laugh for free at 7 pm at Borders Books and Music, 2240 E. Sunrise Boulevard Fort Lauderdale. For more info call 954-566-6335. Sign up to read at LWrites@mindspring.com. Pride themes not necessary, they just want to showcase local gay and lesbian writers.

Friday – June 26
The Depot presents Bodshotz. com art exhibit from 7 pm to 11 pm benefitting the Wellness Center.
Noche Latina Fridays at the Sea Monster presents the 3rd annual Puerto Rican Pride starring Alyssa Kartiar, Justice Divine and DJ Bill Hallquist spinning some of the hottest Latin sounds and featuring the HOTTEST BORICUA  contest at 1:30 am with $300 in cash and prizes.
Jorge Ameer’s theatrical distribution company Hollywood Independents International opened its theatrical distribution operations in Central and South America in 2006. Their newest release, Sabor Tropical, opens this today at The Sunrise Gateway. Mattew Leitch, headlines this carnival romp as Brian, a foreign journalist, who travels to Panama on vacation during one of Latin America’s premier festival celebrations- the carnival of Las Tablas- finds himself in a relationship of desperation and violence. Jorge will be there all weekend to answer questions.
Friday and Saturday Scandals Saloon dance troupe Richochet will perform some of their routines they will be taking with them to Washington DC July 4th weekend to compete in the national finals.  Ricochet will have several raffles with great prizes. All proceeds will help Richochet with their expenses while in Washington.

Miramax Films will be releasing the movie Cheri starring Michelle Pfeiffer (What Lies Beneath, Scarface), Kathy Bates (Titanic, P.S. I Love You) and Rupert Friend (Pride and Prejudice) and directed by The Queen’s Stephen Frears. It is turn of the century in Belle Epoque Paris and a scandalous romp is underfoot.  The resulting escapades involve power struggles over sex,  money, age and society – and unexpectedly, love itself — as a boy who refuses to grow  up collides with a woman who realizes she cannot stay young forever. 
Men On The Verge Of A His-panic Breakdown by Guillermo Reyes starts today through July 18.  Actor Angel Perez takes on the task of five roles and proves more than equal to the challenge, endowing Reyes’ characters with grace, wit and dignity — and most importantly in a one-man play, differentiation and diversity. Men on the Verge was first performed in Los Angeles in 1994 and won L.A. Ovation awards for Best Production and Best World Premiere.  It’s also gone on to San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and New York, where it was staged off-Broadway in 1997.  This series of comedic monologues, which the New York Times called “Glorious,” chronicles the lives of various Latino immigrants dealing with transcultural shock of race and gender identity known as the “Hispanic breakdown.”  The play is bracketed by the misadventures of the naive Frederico or “The Gay Little Immigrant That Could” who arrives in Los Angeles during the first day of the 1992 riots and believes he’s witnessing the filming of another Lethal Weapon sequel. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm. Admission is $20 with reservation, $30 at the door. To make reservations go online go to SolTheatre.com or call 954-801-9207. Sol Theatre Project 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Fl.

Boom presents Studio 54 revisited with DJ Richie Rich.

Saturday – June 27
The 7th annual St Pete Pride takes place today from 11 am to 5 pm. For more info see the feature in this week’s issue of Hotspots Magazine or visit StPetePride.com
The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s eighth annual gala awards celebration, “Red, Simply Red!” is at the Hilton Miami downtown. Major recognition is planned for Michael Aller (“Mr. Miami Beach”) who will receive the prestigious ‘Hilton Miami – President’s Award’ and Jason Loeb (“Sudsies”) as recipient of ‘AT&T – Business Person of the Year Award.’  For more info see the feature in this issue.
The Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus will be having auditions at 1 pm at the Sunshine Catheral (1480 SW 9th Ave). For more information call 954-832-0060.
The Sunshine Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church is honored to host “An Evening with Vickie Shaw” at 8:00 pm in the Walt Lawrence/Stephen Lewis Center for Worship and the Arts located on the campus of the Sunshine Cathedral, 1480 SW 9th Av in Fort Lauderdale.  The evening is also partially underwritten by the Fort Lauderdale Women’s Chorus. Vickie has performed in almost every state in the US over the last five years and has headlined in various venues. Today, Vickie Shaw is a seasoned comedian hilariously addressing the triumphs and trials of being a woman, a mother and gay in America. Vickie’s own life provides the best material for her show as an out, lesbian mother, she has successfully raised two sons, has a teenage daughter still living at home, is married to her ‘husbian’, Sgt. Patch, and on top of all that she is a recovering S.O.B. (Southern Baptist).To date, Vickie Shaw has her own CD: “You’re Funny?” My Mom’, and is a featured artist on the “Best of Lesbian Comedy” release on Rising Star Records. Tickets are $20 Balcony, $30 General Admission, $40 VIP seating includes an after show reception with Vickie, and $60 Very VIP on stage seating and after show reception with Vickie. Tickets are available on the Sunshine Cathedral Website Sunshine Cathedral.org.
Score’s BIGGER Saturdays presents a bigger CD giveaway from resident DJ/producer Drew Tribe .

 

Sunday – June 28

From 4 pm to 6 pm the Alibi presents a fundraiser for the Alibi Angels. The event will feature a raffle for liquor baskets, artwork, 2 night/3 day stay at the Hard Rock and many other items. Tickets will be sold at the Alibi on Friday June 26th and of course on the day of event. Directly following the raffle catch Florida’s own Dame Edna performing in the Manchester Room.

Tuesday – June 30
The P.O.V. (“point of view”) series now in its 22nd year on PBS, premieres tonight at 10 pm and is broadcast June through October, with primetime specials in the fall and winter. In September 2002, three skinheads were roaming a park in Rheims, France, looking to “do an Arab,” when they settled for a gay man instead. Twenty-nine-year-old François Chenu fought back fiercely, but he was beaten unconscious and thrown into a river, where he drowned. The acclaimed French vérité film Beyond Hatred is the story of the crime’s aftermath; above all, of the Chenu family’s brave and heartrending struggle to seek justice while trying to make sense of such pointless violence and unbearable loss. With remarkable dignity, they fight to transcend hatred and the inevitable desire for revenge. Shot in direct-cinema style, with dark tones and long, evocative takes, Beyond Hatred forgoes third-party narration to let those who must deal with the crime’s aftermath tell the story — the lawyers and prosecutors as they seek justice through the courts, those who knew the victim and his murderers, and even the father of one of the perpetrators. Most of all we hear from the Chenus: François’ father, Jean-Paul, and mother, Marie-Cécile, and his two brothers and two sisters, as they try to reconstruct what happened and face the horror of François’ last minutes.

The One in Ten Screenplay Contest has gained respect and notoriety from Hollywood studios, agents and producers. New for 2009 is another contest from One In Ten organizers, The Gay (GLBTQ) Movie Title Contest.  So, even if you don’t have a completed screenplay and can come up with a great movie title you can still enter. There is no fee for the movie title contest. Entries for both 2009 contests are being accepted online at:  OneInTen ScreenplayContest.com. The 2009 One In Ten Screenplay Contest is sponsored by Cherub Productions, Hollywood Creative Directory, iScript.com, Brainstorm Warehouse, LLC, Michael Weise Productions, ScriptPIMP.com, ScriptDelivery.net,  TopFilmFestivals.com,  ScreenplayContests.com and Jungle Software. The submission deadline for 2009 One in Ten Screenplay Contest is September 1, 2009. Entry forms are available online through the contest website: OneInTen ScreenplayContest.com. Entry forms may also be obtained through the mail by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to: Cherub Productions, One In Ten Screenplay Contest, Post Office Box 540, Boulder, Colorado 80306 (303) 629-3072.
The Lounge Sushi and Saki Bar on Clematis street in West Palm Beach has started Karaoke Fridays starting at 10 pm hosted by Frank E Oke.
Coming July 5th, for the first time ever, US 99FM “Kiss Country” will broadcast from Scandals from 6 to 8 pm.  Lots of giveaways including tickets to see Kenny Chesney in concert in Tampa plus a $50 gas card to help the winners get there. Kiss Country has never broadcast from a gay bar, so this will be a major tribute to our gay community.

Listerine Whitening Vibrant White Pre-Brush Rinse is a multi-action rinse that gives you noticeably whiter and brighter teeth. Just simply swish before brushing, for 60 seconds twice-a-day, and you can prevent stains, fight plague build-up and control tartar. And because it’s from Listerine it kills the germs that cause bad breath. You’re mouth will be feeling super fresh and you might gain that confidence to go talk to that guy or girl you’ve been checking out from across the room!
 Listerine Whitening Pen is a tooth-whitening product that allows you to get a whiter smile wherever you go.  It provides a targeted application so you can use it on particular surfaces of your teeth that require special attention.  Better yet, the whitening pen can fit right into your gym bag, briefcase or purse – making it easy enough for you to carry.

 

 

After seeing how quickly the first and second runs of his Show It Underwear sold out, fashion designer Andrew Christian decided to cross it over and create a line of swimwear featuring the Show It Technology. Andrew Christian brings you the Show It Swim Trunk and the Show It Bikini which adds up to 1.5 inches to a man’s frontal measurement. Both the Show It Trunk and Bikini feature the comfy cup design inside that gently lifts and presents your best assets to the world. The comfy cup is lined with soft elastic to provide long lasting comfort the entire day at the beach. The Show it Trunk and Bikini are both made with Sport UPF Fade Resistant Fabric 50+ which means that over 95.7% of UV rays are blocked by the fabric. Sport UPF Resistant Fabric is also fade resistant meaning you will be able to wear it in the sun all summer before the fabric even begins to fade. “I was extremely surprised and happy to see how well the Show It underwear line did,” says designer Andrew Christian, “I never thought anything would top the Flashback in sales numbers, but the Show It line has not only matched but has surpassed the Flashback. Therefore I decided to introduce Show It swimwear just in time for the summer.” Andrew Christian Show It Technology Swim Trunk – $30 and Bikini – $28 Available in black/red, navy/white, and white/navy.