Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Area Reporter - April 23, 2009
Cynthia Laird
Additionally, several restaurants in the South Bay will participate this year. The Health Trust agency will benefit from the event.
Ted Allen, the openly gay star of the Food Network's Food Detectives, is reprising his role as a spokesman for the fundraiser, appearing in a video message on the Dining Out for Life Web site urging people to enjoy a meal at their favorite participating restaurant and to help in the fight against AIDS.
In San Francisco, the Stop AIDS Project is urging community members to dine at one of 117 participating eateries; 25 percent of diners' food bills will go to the agency. (Some restaurants also will donate 25 percent of food and liquor sales.) Last year's event raised over $220,000 for Stop AIDS, and Dining Out has become the agency's largest fundraiser. This is the eighth year that Stop AIDS has participated.
In the East Bay, proceeds from participating restaurants will benefit Vital Life Services. Last year Vital Life Services raised $110,000 through the event.
In the South Bay, about 16 restaurants are participating. The Health Trust provides HIV testing and also offers services for children and seniors.
Participating restaurants specify what meals are included; some are just for dinner, some include breakfast or lunch. To find a participating restaurant, visit http://www.diningoutforlife.com. Click on the San Francisco link to find restaurants in the city; choose the East Bay link for eateries in that location; or the Silicon Valley link for the San Jose area.
Dignity SF event Sat.
Dignity/San Francisco, the local chapter of the national LGBT Catholic organization, will hold its 26th annual Pax et Bonum awards dinner Saturday, April 15 at the Parc 55 Hotel, 55 Cyril Magnin Street. A reception starts at 7 p.m., followed by the dinner and program at 7:45. Dancing will follow.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera will receive an award for service to the LGBT community. Other honorees include members of Defenders/San Francisco, the spiritual voice in the leather community, for their service to Dignity/SF and the greater LGBT community; and Diana Wear, a Dignity/SF member, for her service to the organization and the greater religious community.
Tickets start at $89 per person. For more information, call (415) 681-2491.
Chronic pain support group
The San Francisco chapter of the American Chronic Pain Association holds monthly support groups that are open to the public. Facilitator Robyn Greenberg said that the group meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month, from 5:45 to 7:30 p.m. at the Kaiser Hospital (French campus), 4141 Geary Boulevard, in French Room 3. The next meeting is Tuesday, April 28. For more information, contact sf-acpa@comcast.net.
SFAF HIVision forum
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation will present its HIVision forum, "Is HIV Treatment HIV Prevention?" Wednesday, April 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Women's Building, 3543 18th Street (between Guerrero and Valencia). The panel discussion will be led by Judith Auerbach, Ph.D., vice president for science and public policy at the foundation. Panelists will include Dr. Carol Brosgart, vice president for public health and policy at Gilead Sciences; Dr. Moupali Das-Douglas, research director at the city's health department and an assistant clinical professor of AIDS and infectious diseases at UCSF; Dr. Robert Grant, endowed investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology and an associate professor at UCSF; and Dana Van Gorder, executive director at Project Inform.
The forum will discuss topics like recent studies that suggest antiretroviral medications can play a role in curbing the spread of HIV. But the studies also raise questions such as: are HIV-positive people who take the medication less likely to transmit the virus and can these same drugs taken by HIV-negative people help keep them negative?
To RSVP, e-mail HIVision@sfaf.org.
Marriage mocumentary at LGBT center
Out Bay Area filmmaker Tony Wilkins will premiere his mockumentary The Mo Diaries at the LGBT Community Center Wednesday, April 29 with a special showing at 6 p.m. Wilkins, 45, told the Bay Area Reporter that the message of his 98-minute film is that "basically, we want the same thing." The movie uses actors and real people to tell the stories of different relationships and touches on the subjects of same-sex marriage, HIV/AIDS, and politics and religion.
Tickets for the community center event are $30 and include admission to the after-party at Poesia. The center is located at 1800 Market Street. For more information, visit http://www.themodiaries.com/now-showing/
In the East Bay, the film will be shown tonight (Thursday, April 23) at 7 p.m. at the Cerrito, 10070 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. Tickets are $7.
Retreat for LGBT Jews coming up
The Jewish Community Federation, Jewish Mosaic, and other organizations are gearing up for the second annual Nehirim West, a unique spiritual gathering for LGBTQ Jews that takes place May 8-10 at the Walker Creek Ranch, 1700 Marshall-Petaluma Road in Petaluma. The site is about 40 miles north of San Francisco, in northern Marin County.
The retreat brings together LGBTQ Jews, as well as non-Jewish partners and straight allies, for a weekend of spirituality, education, and community. Teachers at Nehirim West include retreat director Dev Noily, a rabbinical student in Philadelphia; Caryn Aviv, research director at Jewish Mosaic; Rabbi Camille Angel of Congregation Sha'ar Zahav in San Francisco; Rabbi Joshua Lesser of Congregation Bet Haverim in Atlanta; and many others. Additionally, there will be musicians, singers, dancers, and celebrants of LGBTQ Jewish life.
The cost for the retreat ranges from $200 to $400. Financial aid is available thanks to support from the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and JCF of San Francisco. Student scholarships and financial assistance are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Register online at http://www.nehirim.org/west.
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