Archive for THE G-SCENE

THE G-SCENE: @KenLikeBarbie @IamButtaFlySouL‎ & @D2PR (David Dodd) Host Sex Panel Discussion In Chicago

May 23, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
2013-05-22 - Project RSP Panel Discussion (10)
TGLS-2013-05-22 - Project RSP Panel Discussion (10)

ButtaFlySoul, David Dodd & Ken Like Barbie

TGLS-2013-05-22 - Project RSP Panel Discussion (8)

Ken Like Barbie (far right)

Our friends Ken Like Barbie, David Dodd and ButtaFlySoul joined forces in Chicago last night to host an intriguing and engagingly raw conversation about a new program that encourages sexually active people to be more proactive about maintaining good sexual health in the prevention of HIV/AIDS.  They introduced a new health initiative where men and women in sexual high-risk demographics participate titles Project RSP.

Project RSP! (Ready, Set, PrEP) is a Chicago-based initiative to educate our communities about PrEP. PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, and is a new FDA-approved method of preventing HIV which involves taking a pill every day.  This is good news for those who love the feeling of bareback (raw) sex but are exercising safer sex with condoms or maybe less-concerned in committed relationships.

The discussion included a panel which included a health expert from one of America’s leading health organizations that had launched this new initiative as well as a patient who has successfully became a patient in the program.  ButtaFlySoul challenged the packed-out audience to be accountable over their sexual health while Ken Like Barbie and David engaged the audience and additional health experts to further the discussion.

Two hours may seem like a long time to talk about a new sexual health initiative, but it was so engaging and filled with questions that a couple of audience members volunteered to be part of the study as other became transparent with their stories and questions about their sexual health.  This was not an event to miss.

TGLS-2013-05-22 - Project RSP Panel Discussion (12)

Rod McCullom, Tim’m West, Ken Like Barbie, ButtaFlySoul, David Dodd & Craig Johnson

TGLS-2013-05-22 - Project RSP Panel Discussion (14)

Waddie G. & Ken Like Barbie

 

Check out all the photos below.

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THE G-SCENE: @CenterOnHalsted Hosts Annual “Human First” Gala In Chicago

May 20, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
Center on Halsted Human First Gala 2013

Center on Halsted”Human First” Gala 2013 in Chicago

Center on Halsted Human First Gala 2013

Center on Halsted”Human First” Gala 2013 in Chicago

On Saturday night, the Center on Halsted held their annual “Human First” gala, a fundraising event for the landmark safe space for Chicago’s LGBT community. Held in Chicago’s Hilton Hotel on Michigan Ave., the night-long affair honored community philanthropists and leaders who impact to the LGBT community leaves a legacy for today’s and tomorrow’s generation to feel safe and respected as out and proud gays and lesbians.

Tonight’s”Human First” honorees were Richard Turner and couples Sarah Schmidt & Julie Matthei and Brad Lippitz & Toni Pizer.  Allstate Insurance Companny were honored with the Community Spirit Award for the years of dedication to LGBT inclusion and community service to creating educational programs for Chicago youth.

This black-tie was glorious from the first pre-gala reception to the gala’s closing of a spectacular concert by headlining R&B queen Chaka Khan.

Center on Halsted Human First Gala 2013

Center on Halsted”Human First” Gala 2013 in Chicago

Center on Halsted Human First Gala 2013

Center on Halsted”Human First” Gala 2013 in Chicago

Check out the rest of the photos from this glorious affair below.

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THE G-SCENE: Chicago LGBTQ Professionals Mix & Mingle Hosted By @BBLYSS Productions

May 17, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
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Anthony Galloway (2nd from left) & Darrell Hill (far right)

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Tamara Allen (left)

Of course, last night was about the TV season finales of “American Idol” and “Scandal,” but if you live in Chicago, you missed out on a fun time at the LGBTQ Professionals mixer hosted by B.Blyss! Productions.  It is a monthly Thursday set where friends and new acquaintances gather to celebrate the ending of a work week and the beginning of the weekend.

The mixer hosted a beverage tasting sponsor by Passion XO liqueur. There were three delicious flavors that patrons sampled throughout the night.  Our favorite one was the yellow – we forgot the actual flavor name, but it was good.  It tasted even better in a mixed drink that included peach vodka and tea.  YUM!

Check out the pictures taken from the event below.

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Kelly Robinson (right)

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THE G-SCENE: High Society Parties At @8Fifty8′s RSVP Lounge With @DJGucciRoxx

May 6, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
High Society party at RSVP lounge
Jojo McClure & DJ GucciRoxx

Jojo McClure & DJ GucciRoxx

High Society party at RSVP lounge

High Society party at RSVP lounge

Sunday night, The G-List Society hung out with our friends at High Society (DJ GucciRoxx & Co.) inside the RSVP lounge in Chicago’s west loop district.  It was the end of Cinco de Mayo, and we had to end the celebration with a bang where there was a hosted bar and hot sounds spun all night by DJ GucciRoxx.

We will stay in Chicago during  Memorial Weekend, a.k.a. IML (International Mr. Leather) Weekend, and will hit up their summer kick-off party at club 8fifty8.  Make sure you meet us there on Sunday, May 26.

Check out these few snapshots below.  As you see Chicago socialite Jojo McClure was there, and we were so happy to catch up with him and talking about exciting things.

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THE G-SCENE: @IGTLA Conference & @HyattChicago Host 2014 Host City (Madrid) Reception & Closing Ceremony – Sponsored By @TurismoMadrid

May 5, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
2013-05-04 - IGLTA Conference (48)
2013-05-04 - IGLTA Conference (47)

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) Conference 2013

2013-05-04 - IGLTA Conference (51)

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) Conference 2013

2013-05-04 - IGLTA Conference (44)

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) Conference 2013

2013-05-04 - IGLTA Conference (52)

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) Conference 2013

Gay and lesbian travel professionals from all over the world gather annually at the IGTLA Conference (International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association) in select host cities.  The G-List Society was fortunate to attend the 2013 Conference in Chicago and meet travel and hospitality industry leaders, media and tastemakers from all over the US and several countries including Curacao, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Thailand, Suriname, Greece, Argentina and Austria at the Conference’s workshops and plenaries.

Last night, we celebrated the closing ceremonies with the IGLTA members inside the Hyatt Regency Chicago. We made some really good allies whom we will feature on The G-List Society in the future as we learned about exciting trips and adventures you and your friends should incorporate in your travel plans.

Check out the photos from the one of the closing ceremonies that was hosted by the 2014 city host Madrid and their travel organization Turismo Madrid.  Make plans to attend the 2014 Conference in Madrid next May by visiting igltaconvention.org.

Check out all the photos from this fun-filled event below.

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THE G-SCENE: @Wade_Davis28 & @Moore_Darnell Launch “You Belong” LGBTQ Sports Camp At Chicago’s @CenteronHalsted‎

May 5, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
2013-05-05 - Wade Davis & Darnell Moore - You Belong (2)
2013-05-05 - Wade Davis & Darnell Moore - You Belong (2)

Darnell L. Moore, Tim’m T. West & Wade A. Davis, Jr. at You Belong Press Conference – Chicago

Safe Space Day at Center on Halsted in Chicago, IL

Safe Space Day at Center on Halsted in Chicago, IL

LGBT advocate/educator Wade A. Davis, Jr. and writer/educator Darnell L. Moore came to Chicago this morning to announce the launch of their joint organization for LGBTQ youth in American titled You Belong.

You Belong is a four-day camp that will travel to select cities across America that engage local LGBTQA youth free access to sports such as basketball and football while providing them with leadership skills, empowerment and safe space training.  The camp will begin in Chicago on July 25-28, 2013 at the Centre on Halsted.  Participating mentors will come from the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, Outsports, You Can Play Project, the Center on Halsted, The Center for Gender Sexuality and HIV Prevention and other organizations.

Both Davis and Moore credit Center on Halsted’s Youth Program Associate Director Tim’m West – also one of our favorite rappers – for engaging them into bringing the launch of this exciting initiative to Chicago.

The event took place during the Center on Halsted’s inaugural Safe Space Day, which brings the Chicago local LGBTQA youth to the venue to learn all kinds of skills and trades such as photography and computer programming throughout the afternoon.

Check out the photos taken from the event below.  Stay tuned for the video from the event’s press conference tomorrow.

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THE G-SCENE: @GLBTTravelExpo Takes Over Chicago’s @CenteronHalsted

May 4, 2013 THE G-SCENE, TRAVEL & LEISURE No comments
2013-05-03 - LGBT Travel Expo
2013-05-03 - LGBT Travel Expo

GLBT Travel Expo 2013: Chicago (media partner Boi Magazine)

2013-05-03 - LGBT Travel Expo (3)

GLBT Travel Expo 2013: Chicago

2013-05-03 - LGBT Travel Expo (5)

GLBT Travel Expo 2013: Chicago

Yesterday, The G-List Society held a booth and networked at America’s largest travel expo for the gay and lesbian community title The GLBT Travel Expo inside of the Center on Halsted in Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood.  Hotels, airlines, travel services and retailers from every continent traveled to this expo to meet with locals and introduce them to exciting new adventures and travel benefits one can enjoy during the upcoming travel seasons.

Boi Magazine, as shown above, was the event’s main media sponsor.  The opening reception that preceded the Expo was sponsored by Pernambuco and Refice, Brazil.  They showed a rousing demonstration of all the beautiful views, engaging events and other perks that will allure a casual gay/lesbian traveler or group.

We met so many wonderful representatives from around the world.  Representation included Australia, Austria (Vienna), Ontario (Toronto), Thailand and Curacao.  We must take a trip to at least a couple of these destinations and share our travel journal with you all.

The travel expo is an annual event.  We attended last year, and thanks to the push of this year’s event by the Expo owner Steven Levenberg, this Chicago event [more than] doubled in vendors and attendees in comparison to 2012.

The GLBT Travel Expo will stop in other cities.  Make sure you go to www.glbttravelexpo.com for more info and the remaining 2013-14 dates.  Check out the remaining photos from the event below.

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THE G-SCENE: Chicago Black Pride Is Now One Unit!!! (And Hosted A Great Sports Bar Mixer Too)

May 1, 2013 LGBT PRIDE, THE G-SCENE No comments
United Black Pride
United Black Pride 2013 (Tim'm West, Jesse Hinton, Brenikki Floyd, Chris Wimbley, Lamont Robinson)

United Black Pride 2013 (Tim’m West, Jesse Hinton, Brenikki Floyd, Chris Wimbley, Lamont Robinson)

Since we are headquartered in Chicago, The G-List Society is more than excited to share the news that the separation of Black LGBT Pride organizations in Chicago are a thing of the past now.

For years, our beloved city had so many different Black Pride organizations divided and pitting themselves against one another to band-aid many fragile egos annually that their ugly feuds caused its constituents, especially The G-List Society, to stop supporting them altogether.  Even with the feuding amongst Chicago Black Pride, Windy City Black Pride, Chicago Windy City Black Pride, and others that fell into our sea of memory loss, none of the aforementioned succeeded at creating memorable in a good way events and raising funds to build a successful pride weekend due to playing the blame game and last-minute planning (i.e., waiting until late April/early May to begin “fundraising” a weekend full of festivities in early July only to blame “racism” when asking for support from “white LGBT groups” and sponsorships and “lack of community support.”)  We can provide examples, but not on this platform which was meant for the good news mentioned above.

Now titled United Black Pride, leaders from the aforementioned organizations, and the Rocks Coordinating Committee, have buried their long-standing feuds that divided and poisoned Chicago’s Black LGBT community and joined forces with one mission in mind: reviving the Chicago Black Pride experience.  We are extremely excited about this.

As the Chicago Black Pride weekend approaches, we hope to provide you updates of their scheduled events.

In the meantime, check out the photo above from the “Jocks, Jacks & Jills” NBA Playoff viewing party that took place on the rooftop of Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago’s booming south loop neighborhood.  The newly reformed board and volunteers, including Tim’m West, Lamont Robinson and President Jason Hinton hosted the fun-filled event where close to 100 men and women gathered to socialize, watch the nail-biting playoff games and played some of the outdoor games on the rooftop.

In case you missed it, Reggie’s Rock Club is one of must-eat-and-drink place to get your money’s worth on food and alcoholic beverages.

 

THE G-SCENE: @WillSheridan Performs & Parties At @ScarletChicago; @WorldWideWaddie Chums It Up With Mike Survillion

April 23, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
Will Sheridan & Waddie G.
Will Sheridan & Waddie G.

Will Sheridan & Waddie G.

Waddie G. and Mike Survillion

Waddie G. and Mike Survillion

Chicago was the place to be this past weekend as the men of the National Gay Basketball Association touched down to compete in the annual weekend tournament that took place inside University of Illinois Chicago.  Teams traveled from New York, San Francisco and Atlanta, among other destinations, to compete for bragging rights to boast having the best players in the league.

Though we missed out on the games over the weekend due to the barrage of high-profile events that took over the Windy City that we could not afford to miss, we had to come out to all the official NGBA after parties over the weekend that touched down in Chicago’s Boystown’s neighborhood.  Our must-attend event was the fun-filled, sold-out show featuring former college basketball player-turned-emcee Will Sheridan inside Scarlet Lounge in Boystown.  We have to point out that Sheridan’s performance of his medley of hits was the liveliest we have ever seen among LGBT rappers.  His fan interactions and stage antics were so timely and unpredictable that made us so awestruck that we almost lost focus on covering all the hotness on camera.

We have been a fan of Sheridan’s music here at The G-List Society.  Now, we recommend everyone to catch this artist’s live show if you are looking to be entertained and move along to the rhythm of hear bangin’ music.

The party carried on for a couple hours more as the revelers flowed into neighboring bars Roscoe’s and Sidetrack.

Waddie G. got the shock of his weekend by running into his long-lost “little brother” Mike Survillion of the the San Francisco Rockdogs (Sheridan’s teammate).

Catch Will’s electrifying stage performance and the fan interaction below.  It was a mini-concert-turned-party.  Also, more pictures from the event will follow.

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THE G-SCENE: DC’s @Al_Sura In Black Party In @LEnfantHotel [ALL PHOTOS]

March 13, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
Al Sura In Black Party 2013 (via Al Sura, Inc.)
Al Sura In Black Party 2013 (via Al Sura)

Al Sura In Black Party 2013
(via Al Sura)

As you see in the photo above, hundreds and hundreds celebrants gathered in Washington DC to support our friends at Al Sura organization’s Al Sura In Black party were everyone donned their finest black attire.

Many luminaries came through to support the Al Sura Board of Directors Abdur-Rahim Briggs, Herndon Davis and Ronald Lee McDonald-Thomas.  Jamil Fletcher (Swerv magazine), Kevin Sanders (Black Men’s Xchange), photographer Tep Gardner, Thomas McKinnie and Yardie Noir are some of the who’s who in DC who came to show support for Al Sura and have the greatest time at this February event.

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THE G-SCENE: First Look Photos At @Al_Sura In Black Party In DC’s @LEnfantHotel

March 12, 2013 THE G-SCENE No comments
Al Sura In Black Party 2013 (via Al Sura, Inc.)
Al Sura In Black Party 2013 (via Al Sura, Inc.)

Al Sura In Black Party 2013
(via Al Sura, Inc.)

Al Sura In Black Party 2013 (via Al Sura, Inc.)

Al Sura In Black Party 2013
(via Al Sura, Inc.)

Al Sura In Black Party 2013 (via Al Sura, Inc.)

Al Sura In Black Party 2013
(via Al Sura, Inc.)

Our friends at the HIV research organization Al Sura hosted their annual Al Sura In Black affair a couple weeks ago, and it seems like hundreds of revelers traveled to the L’Enfant Hotel to party in great spirits. The purpose of the Al Sura In Black event is to raise awareness to the organization’s mission.  Al Sura sets to improve communication, educate and promote awareness through advocacy and empowerment while addressing health disparities including, but not limited to, the fight against HIV/AIDS in our community.

Al Sura provided us almost 200 good photos from the event.  We had such a fun time perusing over these photos that we wish we were there.  For now, we will share with you this batch of fun-filled photos and unleash the remaining photos later this week.
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EVENT NOTICE: St. Maarten, The Ultimate Destination For Gay Men Of Color During Memorial Weekend

March 8, 2013 THE BUZZ, THE G-SCENE No comments
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rsxm-top

Memorial Day weekend is coming up in a few months. It is the beginning of what could be your most memorable summer if you travel to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten with me and my friends at Rubaiyat-SXM (also known as sanjuanbrothas).

sanjuanbrothas (now Rubaiyat-SXM) was the first annual summer destination for gay men of color that took revelers outside of the United States to the lovely island of Puerto Rico. Instead of bringing you back to the island you have become familiar with, the men of Rubaiyat-SXM now takes us to the blissful island of St. Maarten and its neighbors Anguilla and St. Barths.

You are probably thinking that this trip will be very expensive. Comparing the total costs of airfare, hotel, land transportation, parties, events, shopping, excursions, food and drinks, you will discover that this Rubaiyat-SXM travel destination is competitive and, in most cases, cheaper than the other popular Memorial weekend destinations for gay men of color.

Check out the flyer and details below. Read more

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