Bay Area Reporter - November 12, 2009
compiled by Cynthia Laird, c.laird@ebar.com

Patrick Carney, who helped launch the effort in 1996, was pleased with the honor.

"This really has turned from a renegade crafts project into a true community building event," Carney said in an e-mail. "It is always a thrill to see so many people show up every year to make the display a reality."

The project was started to bring attention to the discrimination gays faced during the Nazi era and draws attention to the fact that homophobia still exists. The pink triangle has its significance for the LGBT community in that people accused of being homosexual had to wear pink triangles in Nazi concentration camps in the 1930s.

This year, arsonists struck the pink triangle early in the morning of Pride Sunday, June 28. At the time, Carney said 20 to 30 feet of the triangle was burned. He also said wooden stakes with placards explaining the triangle's significance had been jabbed through the tarps into the triangle and one of the triangle's borders was torn.

San Francisco's arson task force investigated the incident, but no one has been charged in connection with the case.

The NEN awards will be distributed at a celebration in San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday, November 18, starting at 6 p.m. Registration is free to attend but space is very limited. To sign up, visit http://nenawards.eventbrite.com.

Ritual theater group to perform

The Circle of Dionysos, a ritual theater group, will perform The Bacchae: A Ritual of Coming Out this weekend at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory, 1519 Mission Street in San Francisco.

Patricia Kevena Fili, a member of the troupe and its communications director, said that the group is adapting The Bacchae by Euripides and producing it as a coming out ritual. "We are devoting the production to all LGBT folk who have been damaged by relationships and cultures for being who they are," Kevena Fili stated in an e-mail.

The Circle of Dionysos is dedicated to the exploration and celebration of spiritual traditions that honor gender fluidity and sexual variance.

Showtimes are Friday and Saturday, November 13-14, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20, although no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more information, visit www.circleofdionysos.org.

HIV-poz group holds 10-year reunion

The Positive Living for Us Seminar, a program of the Stop AIDS Project, will hold a 10-year reunion and award ceremony on Friday, November 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Swedish American Hall, 2174 Market Street (cross street Sanchez) in San Francisco.

The PLUS program, as it is known, is a weekend retreat providing education and emotional support. Stop AIDS provides five PLUS seminars a year, including Black PLUS.

"I think that the program is incredible, it was a godsend for me," said Tony Lane, a past PLUS participant from December 2006. "I realized that I was going to be okay and live a very long time."

Since his participation, Lane has attended almost every PLUS as a volunteer facilitator and panelist and has helped support programs in his hometown of Fresno. Like several of his fellow PLUS participants, Lane created friendships that continue to endure.

The reunion will feature music, dancing, food, and a chance to catch up with past PLUS participants. State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) is expected to present a proclamation to Stop AIDS recognizing the program. Ellen Goldstein, a longtime volunteer, will receive the Alfredo Armendariz Award, named after the driving force behind bringing PLUS to San Francisco.

To RSVP, call (415) 575-0150, ext. 250. The venue is not wheelchair accessible.

Benefit for local NLGJA chapter

Members of the northern California chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association invite people to attend a beer benefit fundraiser at the Mix bar in the Castro on Saturday, November 14 from 4 to 8 p.m. The event is being hosted by Bay Area national board members Matthew S. Bajko (Bay Area Reporter), secretary Ken Miguel (ABC7 News), and president David Steinberg (San Francisco Chronicle).

The event costs $8 for beer (or soda), and also will feature raffle prizes.

"So come raise a glass to help support NLGJA as it readies to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2010," Bajko said.

The Mix is located at 4086 18th Street.

'Dine Around' fundraiser is next week

The AIDS and Breast Cancer Emergency Funds' popular "Dine Around" benefit, whereby participating restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds, will take place Wednesday, November 18. This year the event is being expanded to include bars and stores, and is called "Dine Around, Shop Around, Drink Around."

Recent trends suggest that in these tough economic times, consumers are shopping with their hearts and prefer to spend money with local merchants who support their community, AEF noted in a news release.

P. Tyrone Smith, AEF development director, said that since 2003, more than $150,000 has been raised during the Dine Around events for both AEF and BCEF.

For lists of participating businesses in each category, visit http://dineshopdrink.aef-sf.org/.

DIFFA's 'Dining by Design' tour stops in SF

The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS will continue its "Dining by Design" tour with two days of events at the Galleria at the San Francisco Design Center, 101 Henry Adams Street, on Wednesday, November 18 and Thursday, November 19. The event will bring together some of the leading design talent in the worlds of furniture, interior design, fine art, and architecture to create spectacular, over-the-top dining environments.

The San Francisco event is a partnership between DIFFA and the AIDS Research Institute at UCSF. The event benefits the UCSF Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital, the world's first HIV/AIDS-specialized clinic, and currently the city's largest care provider for HIV/AIDS patients.

"In light of such significant state and city cuts in health care, DIFFA is especially honored this year to raise grant funds for HIV/AIDS primary care services," said David Sheppard, DIFFA executive director.

For Dining by Design, each designer/sponsor receives a space to work in at the Galleria. The only requirement is that each table must accommodate at least 10 dinner guests. All tables will be open for ticket holders to view during the November 18 table hop and taste preview party, where guests will sample selections from 15 of the Bay Area's best restaurant and food purveyors. Tickets for the event, which is open to the public, are $100. It takes place from 6 to 10 p.m.

On Thursday, November 19, the gala dinner takes place from 6:30 to 11 p.m. An opening reception will be followed by a three-course gourmet dinner. Individual gala tickets are $500.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.diffasf.org.

'Grim Reaper' coming to Castro for Smokeout

The Gay American Smokeout will take place Thursday, November 19, and this year, organizers are highlighting the tobacco industry's exploitation of the LGBT community over the years. Dozens of local concerned citizens with the grassroots group Butt Out will dress in black and wear skull makeup to represent those who have died from tobacco and will chase the tobacco companies' proxy, the Grim Reaper, out of the Castro. The rally takes place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Harvey Milk Plaza, located at Market and Castro streets.

State Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who has pledged to refuse campaign donations from tobacco companies, will be speaking at the rally.

"We want to make a strong statement that acceptance of tobacco companies in our communities has to stop immediately," said Brian Davis with Breathe California, a group that fights lung disease and advocates for clean air.

The Gay American Smokeout is a day when LGBT Americans can choose to quit smoking for a day - or a lifetime. According to the 2004 California LGBT Tobacco Use Study, the LGBT smoking rate (30.4 percent) is close to double that of the general population (15.4 percent).

Free group support classes for smoking cessation are held regularly at the LGBT Community Center (visit www.lastdrag.org) and UCSF provides an online quit program at www.iquit.medschool.ucsf.edu.

For more information on next week's event, visit www.butt-out.org.

EVPA to consider name change

The Eureka Valley Promotion Association will meet on Thursday, November 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Castro Community Room, above Bank of America at 18th and Castro streets.

Outgoing President Scott Wiener, who is running for District 8 supervisor, said that board members for 2010 will be elected. Alan Beach-Nelson will succeed Wiener as president. Additionally, the group will be hearing from the Whole Foods project sponsor and consider an informal name change to the Castro/Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association.
091112
BR091107

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2009. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2009. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .