This Day In Gay Utah History May 26th

26 May

1697-The Massachusetts Bay colony revised its sodomy laws. The name was changed from "sodomy" to "buggery," and it was lumped together with bestiality. Both remained capital crimes. Buggery was an English Common law term for anal intercourse.

1963- A feature story on the taverns located on 2nd South and West Temple stated “You can see a young man, gay and aggressive guzzle beer and proudly announce for all to hear, ‘My wife’s coming home tomorrow so I’m on the loose tonight.” The reporter wrote that in the bars, ”the language is vile, obscene.”  There are 6 beer taverns along 2nd south around the south east corner of West Temple only a block from Main Street which attracts bums, drunks, and panhandlers. “You see drunks, panhandlers, panderers, bums, and prostitutes.” (05/26/63  page B1 col. 2 SLTribune) Gay did not have the same meaning as today. 

2nd South SLC

2nd South 600 West

1968 Total amount of arrests for soliciting sex for hire since Jan 1st were 73 people, 31 men and 42 women all on west 2nd South in Salt Lake City.[Where the Gay bars would emerge in the 1970s and 1980s]

1969 Monday-- Police Chief Dewey J. Fillis asked the Salt Lake City Commission to ban beer in city parks following an incident involving several hundred persons Sunday at Sugar House Park. Chief Fillis said he was at Sugar House Park Sunday when several hundred persons gathered while police were arresting a person believed to possess Marijuana.  The crowd he said jeered the police, shouting “Turn him loose,” and “Everybody Smokes Pot”. Chief Fillis said police dogs were released to disperse the crowd but to his knowledge no one was bitten. Starting a few years ago, the chief said Sugar House Park became a gathering place for undesirable persons. He said that 80 per cent of the persons who called his office say they are “tired and fed up with permissiveness of this element.”  Spencer Lee Anderson age 22 of 523 Browning Ave. was arranged for assisting an escape and bail set at $250. Those arrested for failure to disperse were Brent Suter Olsen, 19, 2826 Hartford Street (1610), James Claud Galloway, 21, of 2184 Wilmington (2185 So.), David Ernest Homer, 18, 1952 South 11th East, Michael Dexter O’briest,23, no address. (05/27/69 SLTribune page )

1971-Serial killer Juan Corona was arrested for the murder of twenty-five menin California. His lawyer blamed the murders on deranged homosexuals, though evidence included Corona's bank receipts found in one of the graves, a journal Corona kept of the murders, and the murder weapon which was found in his home. There was no evidence of a sexual element to the crime.

Lee Trinka

Annie Daniels

1985 The 10th Coronation of the Royal Court was held with Lee Trinka and Annie Daniels stepping down. The new elected officers were The Eagle Emperor Emperor  X Scott Stites and the Dove Empress Empress  X Mother Bob. Prince Royale X was Brad Erickson and Princess Royale X was Desiree'. As the R.C.G.S.E grew and established itself as a community based volunteer organization with a cause to help combat the AIDS epidemic, still to this day, the AIDS Awareness Week is one of the most educational and community building activities the

Scott Stites

court has in Utah.  Emperor X, Scott Stites, issued a proclamation,

Mother Bob

which created AIDS Awareness Week for the court each October to raise funds and awareness.  The reigning Emperor is responsible for this annual event. During the 33rd Reign, Emperor X, Scott Stites issues a changed to the resolution regarding AIDS Awareness week, changing it to be held in March instead of October.  This change went into affect during the 34th reign.

1988 Thursday. While laying out at Memory Grove I saw Garth Chamberlain and told him about some of the real serious concerns I have about The Youth Group, especially the lack of adult supervision and the obvious hitting upon members by the leadership.  Later when I came home from work I had a real nasty message on my answering machine from Garth Chamberlain saying in effect that he didn’t appreciate “my interference” and that The Youth Group doesn’t need any help or advice from me.  Well that’s fine.  One less thing I have to be involved with so I took the Youth Group off my Gay Information Line and changed the pass code. If they are so independent of Unconditional Support now let them be off on their own.  But I certainly don’t feel good about referring people to an organization that seems to be a cruising ground for tricks rather than educational and supportive.

1988 On May 26, the U.S. Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, launched the U.S.’s first

coordinated HIV/AIDS education campaign by mailing 107 million copies of a booklet, Understanding AIDS (PDF 1.1 MB), to all American households.

Bruce Harmon

Bianca

1991 The 16th Coronation was held with Bruce Harmon and  Bianca  stepping down. The new elected officers were The Red Scorpion Emperor, Emperor XVI Jeff Smith and The Crystal Butterfly Empress Empress XVI Stephanie Thomas. Prince Royale XVI was  Berry Prindiville and Princess Royale XVI was  Mickie Holland. Jeff and Stephanie were incredibly close, so close in fact that they had a child together, Zachary. Concerned with making sure that the organization ran as a wall oiled machine, this reign focused tightly on the workings of the court. Budget controls were implemented to insure tight controls and the number of Court titles were limited to 64 per reign to make them more meaningful to the recipients.  Jeff was known for his business sense and served for several years as President of the Board.  Stephanie was our first Lesbian Empress and still remains an active member of the R.C.G.S.E.

Marshall Brunner

1994 The 18th Coronation of the Royal Court of the Golden Spike

Walter Larabee

was held with Marshall Brunner and Walter Larabee stepping down. New officers elected were The Italian Stallion Emperor, Emperor XIX Wop and The Empress Extraordinaire Empress XIX Marci Malloy. Prince Royale XIX was Mark Erickson and Princess Royale XIX was  Chyna Cartier. Marci and Wop were the second pair of Monarch's to serve previously together as PR's.  Wop is our second Lesbian Emperor. Marci is known far and wide as one of Salt Lake City's most exciting and energetic performers.  Marci also created, by proclamation, the "Excellence of the Spike" award which is presented to and individual chosen by the reigning monarchs, who has shown extraordinary support to each reign yearly at coronation.  Marci was a passionate and emotional empress at times.  She often broke into tears in her many dramatic and poignant performances. The reign was marred by Chyna Cartier being arrested for being involved in a drug deal gone wrong when a elderly lady’s was mistakenly firebombed.

Lee Ann Mortensen

1996 Sale to Spotlight Works by Gay, Lesbian Artists Byline: BY LANCE S. GUDMUNDSEN Page: E3 THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE An art show spotlighting what organizers describe as ``some of the hottest painters, photographers, poets, musicians, sculptors and potters in the gay and lesbian community'' is on deck Saturday in Nunemaker Place on the campus of Westminster College of Salt Lake City, 1840 S. 1300 East.  The public exhibit and sale runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Suggested donation is $5. In addition, local caterers will serve up edible artwork at an event titled ``Eat Your Art Out,'' from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the same venue. Ordinary food will be transformed into famous

Randal Myers

works of art -- like one of Georgia's O'Keeffe's flowers or a Van Gogh canvas. Tickets to ``Eat Your Art Out'' are $10 in advance or $15 at the door, and may be purchased at the Utah Stonewall Center, 770 S. 300 West, Salt Lake City.   Among guest artists:     -- Lee Ann Mortensen, award-winning writer, will read excerpts from her upcoming collection of poetry, ``Fluid.'' Winner of the short-story category of the 1995 Utah Arts Council writing competition, she is assistant professor of creative writing and literature at Utah Valley State College, Orem.   -- Randal Meyers, a visual artist who uses diverse mediums -- sculpture, painting, collages, sounds, smells and lighting-- to create room-sized environments with the aim of engulfing viewers.   Sponsors are Gay and Lesbian Community Council of Utah and Utah Pride Day Committee

1

Adam Ganz  

1996 The 20th Coronation was held with Peter Christie and  Sheneke Christie stepping down. New leaders elected were The Crystal Clear Emperor Emperor XXI Adam Ganz  and The Crystal Slipper Empress Empress XXI Tasha Montiel.  Prince Royale XXI

Tasha Montiel

was Scott Wilson and Princess Royale XXI  Chaise Manhattan. During the 21st Reign by proclamations, Adam instituted an Emperor's ring which is now given to each Emperor as they complete their reign.  In order to recognize individuals who are dedicated to our court from outside of our empire, he created the position of two Citizens for Life per reign.  Tasha was responsible for creating Cancer Awareness Week in March 1997 to raise funds for our Cancer research and assistance fund.  The reigning Empress is responsible for this annual event. During the 33rd Reign, Empress 21, Tasha Montiel issues a changed to the resolution regarding Cancer  Awareness week, changing it to be held in October instead of March. This would put the week in correspondence with Cancer Awareness Month This change went into affect during the 34th reign. She also made the top ten titles for each reign working titles with responsibilities and duties.  This ensures more individuals participating in more activities to create awareness and help raise funds for our community.

2000 The 25th coronation of the Royal Court was held with  Chris Trujillo and Veronika stepping down. The new officers were The Silver Stallion Emperor, Emperor XXV Rhett Larsen and The Silver Lining Empress, Empress 25 XXV Felicia. Prince Royale XXV was Christopher and Princess Royale XXV was  Vanessa Michaels. The 25th reign enjoyed immense popularity not only out of town on the International Court Circuit, but also at home as well. Connecting with people and enjoying the social aspect of the court system made the year a year of making and rebuilding friendships and relationships.  Understanding the power of teamwork, Rhett and Felicia believed that including their Prince and Princess in

Felicia

Rhett 

all their doings would be an important factor to the success of their reign.  Therefore, the main goals between the four of them were to be strong leaders who led by example, strengthening the friendships within the organization and the community as well as providing assistance to anyone who needed it.  The 25th reign broke many records and did many things considered to be firsts.  They had a membership body of over 100, providing an information booth at Gay Pride Day and raising large amounts of funds from Carnival are among the many things they were able to accomplish. The 25th reign believed in taking the R.C.G.S.E to the new century with an updated and professional website, a newsworthy, informative and on time newsletter and reevaluating and rewriting the by-laws of the R.C.G.S.E.  The 25th reign reflected on the powers of past years and the good works they did, yet always prepared themselves for the future.

1999 A Free Utah Stonewall Historical Society of Utah Lecture  series  held at the GLCCU Center  on  “Death In the West:  The Killing of Gays in Utah Part 2” was presented by Ben Williams

Bobby Childers

2002 The 27th Coronation of the Royal Court was held with  Franke

Agnes of Cheesecake

Holt and Cortney Cartier stepping down. The new officers were The Patriotic Diamond Star Emperor, Emperor XXVII Bobby Childers and the Only Authentic Exotic Fire Lotus Kohinoor Diamond Sultana Empress, Empress XXVII Agness of Cheesecake. Prince Royale XXVII was Austyn Riley and Princess Royale XXVII Syren Vaughn.

Courtney Moser

2003 COURTNEY MOSER Subject Logan Activities- PLAN ON HAVING A "GAY OLD TIME" THIS SUMMER Summer Activities for MCC (Metropolitan Community Church) and the GLBT Community of Cache Valley Please forward these events to interested individuals. We have many fun activities and camping trips planned this summer for the Gay community. We have tried to plan something for everyone's taste. As usual, everyone is welcome to attend the events. Last year the Faith and Fellowship Center board of directors removed MCC Pastor Kelly Byrnes from the board and evicted the Metropolitan Community Church from their building. As a result, the associated gay men's community activities are also no longer welcome at that facility. Please pay attention as this necessitates some venue changes. For all events held at Courtney and Kelly's House: Courtney and Kelly's house 50 park Circle Entrance to park circle is at 535 West 400 South. PARKING IN THE CIRCLE IS VERY LIMITED.IF THERE ARE 4 CARS PARKED IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE, YOU MUST PARK OUT ON THE STREET NEXT TO THE LOGAN AQUATIC CENTER AND WALK INTO THE CIRCLE. We are trying to be good neighbors to the other people who live in the circle. RECURRING WEEKLY EVENTS: * GAY MOVIE NIGHT When: Sunday evenings 7:00 PM Where:  Courtney & Kelly's House Details:  Please bring a pot luck food item to share We are watching Queer and Folk and Six Feet Under until they are finished for the season, then we will watch gay themed movies and shows. Occasionally with advanced notice we sometimes go to a theater and see a new release.  WEENIE WORLD MEN'S COOKOUT When:  Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM Where:  in the "Fruit Loop" 3 miles up Logan Canyon across the highway from Zanavoo if there is rain, we will meet at Kelly and Courtney's house. Details:  Hot Dogs will be provided, please bring a pot luck picnic item to share.

2005  Club161 and the Royal Courts presents The Mr. Salt Lake City Man contest on: Thursday May 26th, 2005     Doors open at 7:00 P.M. at: Club161 2nd South 1440 West S.L.C.

2005 Thursday, 11:30am Center Space Brown Bag Lunch Series Everyone is invited to have lunch with the board & staff of the Center to discuss issues of relevance to the GLBT Community and to ask questions.   Occurs the fourth Thursday of every month 11:30 – 1 PM in the Center Space.

2006 Lara Jones of KCPW is interviewed Stuart Merrill of the Campaign To End AIDS-Utah he topic is 25 years of AIDS remembered. You can tune in at 88.3 FM in the Salt Lake City area,-

Bob Waldrop

2010 Bob Waldrop: Reverend and Publisher by JoSelle Vanderhooft QSaltLake wouldn’t be where we are today without the many gay and lesbian publications that came before us, such as Babs DeLay’s The Salt Lick and The Open Door, the main newspaper for Utah’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community from 1977 to 1981. The paper, named with the phrase “coming out of the closet” in mind, was owned and operated in party by Rev. Robert “Bob” Waldrop, a pastor at the gay-friendly Metropolitan Community Church. Although short-lived, the paper published a number of weighty articles, including the famous “Payne Papers,” a rebuttal against a BYU professor’s anti-gay lecture by gay BYU student Cloy Jenkins. Waldrop arrived in Utah in 1977 to replace MCC-SLC’s outgoing minister, Rev. Alice Jones. Here, he found an environment that was very different from the one he had left behind in California. Just weeks before his arrival, Lt. Governor David Monson had rescinded permission for the church to hold a dance in the State Capitol Rotunda. Further, an arsonist whom Waldrop describes as “amateurish” had also attempted to set fire to the MCC’s files. “There was a lot of fear and worry,” he recalls. “Gays were becoming more visible nationally, and the LDS leadership began making statements against

gays and that didn’t help anyone’s paranoia. There were tales of BYU security, aversion therapy, suicides. One evening while handing out invitations to come to MCC at the Sun Tavern, a jeep with four guys in it pulled up to the curb and I went over and handed them a flyer inviting them to church … and then I noticed they all had baseball bats. They looked at the flyer, and then I looked at the guy sitting closest to me, in the eyes, and he said to the driver, “Let’s get out of here.”” As the pastor of the state’s only gay-affirming church at the time, Waldrop says he soon became the “go-to person for the media whenever a gay story came up.” “That in itself was controversial, as the way the community had survived for a long time was by remaining ‘under the radar,’” he says. From there, it was an easy leap from being the so-called spokesperson for the fledgling gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to providing a forum for others to speak. In 1979 Waldrop purchased _The Open Door_ from activist Ken Kline, who had previously acquired the paper from its founder, Ray Henke. “I thought it was providing a needed service and shouldn’t just disappear,” he says. Under Waldrop’s leadership, the paper was, as he recalls “mostly news and politics” with “commentary about problems with the Mormon Church” (such as the aforementioned “Payne Papers”) appearing frequently. Like many papers of that time, content about and for bisexual and transgender people was scarce, and layout was primitive by today’s standards. Waldrop pasted articles by hand onto sheets that he sent to the printer in rural Utah (who, says Waldrop, told him that his money was “as green as anyone else’s”).  Headlines were created from letters cut from film sheets. “I was always running out of one letter for a headline at 2 a.m. when the stores were closed,” he laughs. “I remember being excited that The Open Door had a fancy electric typewriter that would allow you to make columns with a justified right margin via a complicated process.” Along with this laborious preparation process, the paper faced a lot of hostility from the community at large. Waldrop recalls getting “a lot of hate mail and threatening phone calls.” And while threats didn’t stop the reverend from publishing, financial problems did in 1981. Despite attempts to generate ad revenue and even to charge a quarter per issue to raise money for gay-affirming organizations like Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons and the Imperial Court of Utah, the paper folded just two years after Waldrop purchased it. But though the paper’s time was brief, its mark on Utah’s queer community was not, and neither was Waldrop’s. In his time of Utah he participated in a spirited demonstration against singer and anti-gay activist Anita Bryant at the Utah State Fairgrounds, and attempted to raise awareness in his own way about the 1978 murder of his friend, a fellow gay man named Tony Adams — a case which is open to this day and about which QSaltLake columnist Ben Williams has written

Tony Adams

extensively. “At the time I spray painted [in] orange paint that question [“Who killed Tony Adams?”] on a bunch of construction walls in downtown SLC as it became clear the case would not be resolved,” says Waldrop, adding, jokingly, “ I hope the statute of limitations for graffiti is past for that deed.” When asked what prompted him to fight for Utah’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community as a minister, a publisher and activist, Waldrop says it was and is a matter of justice. “One thing that drove me on were the stories people came and told me,” he remembers. “In times of trouble, people often seek a clergy person to talk to, and throughout my time at MCC, one person after another came through my office, most of them not members of our church, but just seeking someone to talk to. I heard a lot of really terrible stories and heartache.  No one could go through that and remain silent.” “One theme in my life that has been consistent through all of my own journey is to stand with those who are rejected and persecuted, “on the edge,”“ he continues. “I have always had a thing about injustice and felt that the hoary cliché — the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing — was true.”

Ben Barr

2010 Ben Barr, Former Utah AIDS Foundation Director by JoSelle Vanderhooft Q Salt Lake: For many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who came of age during the time of antiretroviral drugs, the Ryan White CARE Act and local and state and national HIV/AIDS foundations, it is difficult to imagine the devastation wrought by the disease throughout the 1980s. Today, HIV/AIDS is a still a serious illness, but a manageable one with the right drug therapies; then, it was a death sentence. When AIDS first appeared in Utah early in the decade, a number of heroic people stepped up to the challenge of caring for the people affected by it, including Dr. Kristen Reis, for whom the Utah Pride Center’s annual community service award is named. Another was Ben Barr, the younger brother of actress and comedian Roseanne Barr, who served as the executive directors of a number of HIV/AIDS organizations, including the AIDS Project of Utah and the Salt Lake AIDS Foundation, which soon merged into the Utah AIDS Foundation that serves the state today. “AIDS brought about a lot of changes to the gay scene. I think the one that many people forget or can’t understand if they didn’t live through it is how fear and suffering changed our lives,” recalls Barr, now a graduate student at the University of Berkeley, California. “The impact of fear and anxiety during this time is hard to describe. People would start to look thin, then get really tired, and then often end up in the hospital with immune disorders that most people had never heard of like pneumocystis pneumonia. … It was overwhelming to watch this happen to people we knew and loved.” “I think that AIDS changed the gay scene by forcing many of us to confront our own mortality and death at very young ages,” he continues. “We lost a generation of some of the most talented and extroverted members of our community. The epidemic changed those of us who provided care. To put it bluntly, you can’t change the diapers of people you love without learning a lot of lessons about love, patience and about a different kind of intimacy.” Like all of the leaders profiled in this issue, Barr became involved in Utah’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community at a time when it was still coming out of the closet and finding itself. In the mid-1980s, much of the “gay scene” centered around gay-owned bars, the University of Utah’s Gay Student Union, and what Barr calls “the gay arts district” on 1st South St. between 2nd and 3rd East Streets, which was then a haven for independent theatres, restaurants and bookstores like the Cosmic Aeroplane. Around this time, Barr had dropped out of college and was unsure what to do with his life. Around this time he met psychologist Michael Elliot, who along with others in the health field was forming a group for people with HIV/AIDS. Elliot suggested that Barr get involved with Shanti, a San Francisco-based AIDS group that was training Utahns to be, as Barr puts it, “buddies for people who were dying of AIDS.” Barr soon joined the fledgling group — AIDS Project Utah — as a special event organizer. At age 27 he became “I had watched my older sisters’ involvement in the feminist movement and that motivated me to get involved in work with the LGBT community,” Barr explains. “Plus, I grew up in a community that included many Holocaust survivors. My grandparents worked for United Jewish Appeal in Salt Lake City in the 1940s and 1950s bringing survivors to America. I felt that AIDS would define my life in much the same way that the Holocaust had defined my parents and grandparents’ time. I didn’t want to be one of the people who sat on the sidelines who later-on would say, “I didn’t know what was happening.”” “Plus, I assumed that I was also HIV positive,” he continues. “I thought that I had a couple of years to live and that I wanted to create some change while I was still here.” In working to create some change for Utahns with HIV/AIDS — and for the community at large — Barr moved to Seattle in 1992 to get his masters degree in social work. He returned to Utah in 1996 and worked as Salt Lake Valley Health Department’s HIV/AIDS manager until 1999, during which time he also helped to found the Utah Harm Reduction Coalition (now known as the Intermountain Harm Reduction Project)  — a group, he says, that still does “great work around HIV and Injection Drug use and with women caught up in prostitution.” Barr says he is thankful for all of the hard work Utahns have put into fighting HIV/AIDS in the nearly 30 years since the virus’ first widespread appearance. And while the disease may be manageable for many today, he urges all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people not to become complacent. “I live in a community that has seen three AIDS service organizations close in recent years. It is terrible to see people in need without adequate services,” he says. “Salt Lake is lucky to have agencies like the AIDS Foundation, the People With AIDS Coalition [of Utah], The Harm Reduction Coalition and the Utah Pride Center. So go volunteer or send them some money — they can’t provide services without your help.” Showing support like this, he adds, is what will keep the community strong. “I continue to believe that something transformational happens, both for the individuals and our entire community, whenever LGBT people make a commitment to take care of each other,” he says.

Jackie Ohh Starr

2010 Miss CW Contestant: Jackie Ohh Starr By City Weekly Staff I Started doing drag in 2008 when I ran for Queen of Hearts 2008. Winning the pageant started me into the world of Drag in SLC. I have met so many wonderful people and learned from them all. I live in Provo. I am the second of 5 boys, out of the 5 of us, 3 are gay/queer. Being in a family with other Gays is wonderful because I have a built-in support system. I am 31 years old, and feel often that I am the only out gay man in Provo. 

• I'm Vienna Starr, daughter of Paris Starr, from Lehi, Utah. I'm 21

  

  Vienna Starr

  years old and have been doing drag for nearly a year.I'm in love with music, have been since I was born. And in the last few years I've become addicted to disco music.  I try to live life to the fullest and I'm loving the adventure... I saw the ad for Miss City Weekly Drag Pageant on SaltyGossip.com and thought I'd try out. I'm ready for this. :)

• 

  Nikki Steele

  Nikki Steele has been a performer since the age of 15, with more than 12 years of experience as a drag queen. She enjoys the glitz, glamour, and celebrity with being a drag queen; however, more importantly enjoys the creative outlet drag allows her. In her early drag career, Nikki performed for many youth events throughout the Salt Lake Valley to benefit the GLBT youth, also making an appearance on the television show Ricki Lake. Since then she has performed at dance clubs such as Bricks, Axis, Sound, Pure, Fusion, and Karumba. Most recently, Nikki was awarded the title of Imperial Crown Princess IX of the Imperial Rainbow Court of Northern Utah, a non-profit organization whose main purpose is to raise funds for various organizations such as the Cancer Society, the Utah Aids Foundation, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  

Champagne Starr

• My name is Champagne Starr, I live in Salt Lake City and have been doing drag for about 5 years. I enjoy performing at several local gay clubs including: Pure, Sound Edge Paper Moon and various Royal Court events. By day I am a regular guy with a full time job, and on the weekends I am Champagne, Drag Queen about town. I am the current reigning Miss Golden Spike Universe and the current reigning Miss Desert Star International. I love dancing, hanging out with friends, clothes and comfortable heels :)



It - Drew Landerman

• Winner of Miss City Weekly Contest 2010 "It" was born and raised in picturesque suburban Sandy, UT - youngest child of 6 from your "typical conservative Mormon household." "It" began gaining notority in SLC's underground nightlife scene in 1996 - decked out in outragious DIY fashions: this sharp-tounged / quick-witted club kid ferociously worked it out on the dancefloor nightly. However, that was not enough - there had to be something more... Over the years "it" has spotted constantly causing a scene, maintaining the ability to turn heads, and make innocent standers-by question their reality. what exactly defines "masculine" and what makes something "feminine" -- the lines are obviously blurred. Drew Landerman is always changing, while challenging gender sterotypes. and re-defining "drag" in "it's" own unique way.

2010 AARDVARK’S BICEPS Is the strong arm of Community Services Development . . . reaching to find their gifts within. We wants to move to the old New Hope We have been inspired before, at least twice: We have remodeled private homes into commercial catering kitchens, the best being the GINGERBRAD HOUSE CAFÉ’… We renovated a hundred year old building  and made it breathe again, better than before. This little cottage café’ and catering kitchen served as the main fundraiser for our community help-lines. Father Gerald Merrill’s of the La Morenã Café advised us how to raise money to expand as Utah’s only non profit catering company.   We decorated the décor of the space using grandma’s drapes and antique glassware, our fundraiser scenery projects from School contracts, the Dickens Festival, salvaged doors and carpets, and with the help of community services workers transformed a condemned duplex into this doll house.  Due to our extensive catering quality and having joined the Utah Caterers Association, we were out-bidding several major commercial caterers in the valley.  We had the chance to be the only caterers serving  the movie catering business, but we had no space to grow.  Yet with virtually no parking for the many patrons to the GINGERBRAD HOUSE CAFÉ, [a prototype Gay Community Center]and with facing zoning changes, we knew we had to move on to expand. At the same time, unfortunately our director, [Michel Beauchaine] while working on a community service project, experienced a falling accident incurring a brain injury that totally changed our direction, and slowed us again. Fortuitously we learned of the availability of old Southern Plantation Restaurant building and its adjoining duplex at 243-249 West on Fourth South in Salt Lake City. The location was just East of the old Fotos Chevron Station, on the South East corner of Fourth South and 300 West.  The building was totally up to code with a great kitchen, plenty of parking out back but was in desperate need of repair from water damage. This was an “imagineers’” dream come true.  We used our stage and scenery experience to gut the second floor and install 100 antique leather seats from a torn down school in Morgan, some dimmable flood lights on track, and voila!: Aardvark’s Cabaret was born.  We grew for almost a decade. However after spending nearly a hundred thousand dollars on repairs, renovations, and wonderful innovations we were out of business.  Hampton Inn, which had recently replaced the gas station on the corner,  struck a deal with the owners to purchase the parcels on which our building was located. Still change is as good as a rest.  We regrouped, and directed all our energy into providing housing and mentoring for the TBI community. We fundraised by carving ice for the 2002 Olympics, leased and purchased TBI housing, contracted with insurance companies to mentor the TBI, and waited for a potential Aardvark building to appear so we could consolidate our massive creative fundraising projects all in one place. Earlier Plan B Theatre group, which performed at the Aardvark’s Cabaret before it closed, had moved temporarily to the New Hope Refugee Center, an old church at 1100 West and 400 North. This church was where the popular TV series “Touched by an Angel” was filmed.  Remembering Plan B’s move, we contacted Otis [who is he]  at the closed NHR Center, who had almost given up on it.  We made an agreement to use the space and had the power turned on in our name to begin renovation.  Unfortunately later we discovered that vandals had stolen most of the copper wiring and AC tubing.  Miraculously, having the power turned on did not start a fire in the beautiful old building!  We alerted Otis  that the building was continually being vandalized and left wide open.  We had been sending our maintenance man there several times to repair break-in’s and to keep the lawns mowed to deter more vandalism. Finally city officials intervened,  claiming the building was abandoned. Now the building is soon to appear up for RFP [what is this] …AND WE WANT IN! With this building, we could continue our catering/theatre/fundraising, ESL and computer classes, open a neighborhood day-care, install our ceramics studio for the handicapped and even hire them to work in the gift shop and catering.   We can just see it now…can’t you?

2013 Drake Silver Prespentt and Angela Devo Prespentt elected Emperor and Empress 38 of the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire   

2014 James Dabakis-Deseret News, time for an apology? On the front page, above the fold at the time of his decision, you bombasted JUDICIAL TYRANNY. You said some very nasty things about Judge Shelby. Now what say ye? After Shelby came Oklahoma, Kentucky, Virginia,Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho, Oregon, Arkansas and just last Friday, Pennsylvania. Every state, every judge asked, declared that state constitutional amendments or statutes banning same-sex marriage violate the Constitution of the United States. And guess what D News, almost every judge quoted Judge Shelby, who clearly got the law right. Judicial Tyranny, right. SAVETHETRIBUNE.COM

2018   LOVELOUD 2018 kickoff. We will be "covering the city” with posters, cards, and other materials to get the word out. These materials will be displayed in approved public areas and consenting businesses (restaurants, coffee shops, retail, venues, organizations, etc). Thank you for helping us in our mission to create a community of awareness and love, and build a safer community for our LGBTQ+ friends and family. *Free LOVELOUD T-shirts for those who come In preparation, we would like every participant to find one local business that would be willing to let us come on May 26th to hang a poster/bring flyers to their space. This business could be a restaurant, retailer, coffee shop, etc.  Interested businesses are asked if LOVELOUD can display a poster in your window or space. If your business would like to engage further (with social media, future volunteer efforts), please email