Subject: OutCharlotte 98 Festival Events
From: "Jay Moseley" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 12:59:42 -0600

OutCharlotte 98 Festival Events

October 2-31
A Family Album: art exhibition at the Blue Pony Gallery

Wednesday, October 7
Films "It's in the Water" (7:15pm) and "Alive & Kicking" (9:15pm),
Park
Terrace Cinemas

Thursday, October 8
Potluck Dinner (6:30pm), St. Luke's Lutheran Church 

"June Bride" (8:00pm), Theatre Charlotte

Friday, October 9
"The Best of A Real Read" (7:45pm) and Michele Balan (9:30pm),
Theatre
Charlotte 
Welcome Out Party (10:00pm), Moon Room

Saturday, October 10
Front Runners Fun/Run Walk (9:00am), corner of Morehead & Dilworth
Road East

Workshops and free Child Care (10:30am-4:00pm) 
Marketplace and free Mammograms (11:00am-4:00pm)
"Fixing Things" (12:15pm) all at the Great Aunt Stella Center 

"June Bride" (6:45pm) and "Comin  Straight at Cha" (9:15pm), Theatre
Charlotte

Tinseltown~the dance! (10:00pm), Carolina Theatre

Sunday, October 11
Metropolitan Community Church of Charlotte Sunday Service (10:45am),
MCC-Charlotte

Closing Ceremony with the Atlanta Feminist Women's Chorus (2:00pm),
Theatre
Charlotte

Tea Dance (4:30pm), 300 Stonewall
____________________________________________________________________

	A traditional Jewish lesbian wedding, an African-American
les/bi/gay/trans
performance ensemble, musical visions of bell bottoms and platform
shoes,
an ad-libbing comic princess and a "premiere" dance event is coming
to
OutCharlotte 98, Charlotte's fourth annual cultural festival
celebrating
the diverse contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
(LGBT)
community.
	Festival Steering Committee co-chairs Joe O'Connor and Shelly
Schoenfeld
have been working with a team of ten members since the beginning of
the
year. "Early on, the concept of  family  as a theme for the festival
took
hold," said O'Connor.  Added Schoenfeld, "With so much happening in
the
greater Charlotte community, we find ourselves more determined than
ever
before to show others who we are.  The LGBT community is uniting and
bonding   a stronger sense of family is evolving as we share our
commonalities."
	Twenty events will be held over five days, October 7-11, at
various venues
around Charlotte.   If people are interested in learning who 'gay
people'
are, the festival is the perfect opportunity to meet us," said Dan
Kirsch,
Executive Director.  "Come dine with us (at the potluck dinner), come
learn
with us (at the 15 free workshops), or come laugh with us (at one of
the
many theatre performances).   The festival s purpose is to foster
awareness
and appreciation of LGBT culture through arts-related, educational
and
historical programs.
	A solo artist from San Francisco, Sara Felder, and Chicago's
A Real Read,
an African-American LesBiGayTrans performance ensemble, will join
OutCharlotte as artists-in-residence for the 1998 Festival.
	Since legalization of same-sex marriage is such a national
hot topic,
OutCharlotte will bring the debate home with performances of Sara
Felder's
"June Bride."  The title describes a traditional Jewish lesbian
wedding  
only with a little more juggling!  The show takes us from an awkward
first
date to the culmination of the wedding ceremony the shattering of the
glass
under the wedding canopy.  In between, we meet the reluctant parents,
the
blissful brides, and the ageless spirit of the Jewish tradition.  The
show
features juggling, sharp knives, colorful scarves, a rhyming poem, a
crystal ball, and (hopefully), a strait jacket escape!  
	A Real Read is a collection of artists brings to the stage
original works
of poetry and prose, giving a voice to an often overlooked community.
Artistic Director Byron Stewart describes the ensemble this way, "In
a
society that often misreads as well as misrepresents who we are, the
voices
of our people are seldom heard.  We are silenced by the dominant
culture
simply for being black and silenced by our own community simply for
being
gay.  Through poetry, prose, music and vignettes, we hope to testify
to the
distinctive experiences of a minority within a minority, with the
goal that
other communities find something they can relate to as well."  A Real
Read
will perform two shows at OutCharlotte 98: "The Best of A Real Read"
and
"Comin  Straight At Cha," their newest work, a series of humorous and
thought-provoking pieces on the emotions and conflicts straight
people
experience in dealing with the sexual orientation or gender identity
of
people they care about.
	Comedian Michele Balan, born and bred in Brooklyn, writes her
own
routines. Manhattan subway ads, taxi drivers, bagels and Miami are
all fair
game to this self-proclaimed  neurotic Jew.   When she s single ( not
single   between ex s ), she s sure to turn her raucous humor on
dating
angst.  She s been appearing in Provincetown the last few summers,
where
Provincetown Magazine said she is a  cute, funny, high-energy,
quick-witted, ad-libbing comic princess. 
	Musical visions of bell bottoms, discotheques, platform
shoes, 8 track
tapes and  The Brady Bunch  will fill the theater as the Atlanta
Feminist
Women s Chorus presents "We are Family A Celebration of the Music of
the
70 s" as part of the Festival Closing Ceremony.  The concert features
the
great disco hits, love songs and TV themes that made the 70 s what
they
were!  The Atlanta Feminist Women s Chorus (AFWC) is an 80 member,
community-based group, and is under the direction of  Robert Glor. 
Their
appearance at OutCharlotte will be co-hosted by One Voice, Charlotte
s Gay,
Lesbian and Gay Affirmative Chorus.
	Lights! Music! Action!  It's a night of Hollywood excitement
and fantasy
at "Tinseltown~ the dance!"  OutCharlotte's annual fundraising dance
will
be at the historic Carolina Theatre in Uptown Charlotte.  The red
carpet
will be rolled out for stars and star-gazers alike, so come see and
be seen
at this "premiere" event.  The dance celebrates the Golden Age of
Hollywood, the 1930s-50s.  There will be a costume contest for those
dressed like a true star of that era.  Clark, Bette, Bogart   come as
your
favorite or come as the star that you know you are.  The music will
be 90s
and hot, provided by Charlotte DJ Randall Warren.
	Two films will be shown as part of the festival: "It s in the
Water,"
Kelli Herd's sexy feel-good comedy masquerading as a Steel
Magnolias-style
potboiler.  The setting is conservative Azalea Springs where
underneath
classy wealth, big hair and county clubs lies a hotbed of sexual
frustration.  The film was voted Audience Favorite at the Laguna
Beach,
Copenhagen and Washington, D.C. gay and lesbian film festivals.
	 Alive & Kicking,  a lively romance between unlikely lovers,
stars Jason
Flemyng and the acclaimed Tony-nominee Antony Sher.  The mismatched
pair
stumble along the rocky path of commitment in a sometimes poignant,
often
hilarious, always believable portrayal of a gay courtship in the new
 Swinging London.   The film received the Audience Award at the
London
International Film Festival.
	The 1998 OutCharlotte art exhibition s theme is family within
the LGBT
community.  OutCharlotte solicited photographs from the community
that
illustrate the various examples of traditional and non-traditional
families
within our community.  In addition, three local photographers will be
adding their photo interpretations to the exhibit: Jason Kinney,
Kelly J.
Owen and Kim L Amoreaux.  The exhibit is curated by Bill Schinsky,
and will
be displayed at the Blue Pony Gallery from October 2-31.
	The festival will also provide 15 free workshops and hold the
OutCharlotte
Marketplace at the Great Aunt Stella Center on Saturday, October 10.
Mobile Health Outreach will give free mammograms that day, and free
child
care will be available.  On Sunday, October 11, the Don King
Community
Service Awards will be presented at the Closing Ceremony.  There will
be a
potluck dinner, a tea dance, a fun run/walk, social events, and a
reading
of "Fixing Things," a new one-act play by Steve Willis.
	OutCharlotte 98 will be held October 7-11 at various
locations around
Charlotte.  The 1998 Festival is brought to the community by the
generous
donations of more than 120 individuals and businesses, including
Vision
Sponsors   Fund for Southern Communities, Wesley Mancini, and The
Parker
Foundation; Justice Sponsors   Sandy Berlin & Les Kooyman, Sue
DuChanois,
and Fan Watson; and Media Sponsor   The Front Page.
	A complete festival schedule is now available.  Tickets go on
sale
September 23 at White Rabbit Books & Things, 834 Central Avenue,
Charlotte.
 Tickets range in price from $5-$15 for major events, and many events
are
free.  A Festival Pass is available for only $58, a 50% discount off
at the
door prices, which allows admission to all events and gives some
special
benefits.
	To receive a festival schedule, order tickets, make a
donation, volunteer,
get a vendor application, write or call OutCharlotte 98 at PO Box
32062,
Charlotte, NC 28232-2062, 704/563-2699, or visit our website at
www.outcharlotte.org.
__________________________________________________________________

From: "Jay Moseley" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 22:16:02 -0600
Subject: OutCharlotte Event Added

OutCharlotte Event Added

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9TH
 
GRETCHEN PHILLIPS (formerly of 2 Nice Girls) and VIOLET STRANGE (9:30 pm at
Tremont Music Hall)
WOMEN'S DANCE (midnight at Tremont Music Hall)

For more information contact OutCharlotte at 704-563-2699 or Tremont Music
Hall at 704-343-9432.
____________________________________________________________________

The Charlotte Rainbow Newsletter is an e-mail newsletter providing local,
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bisexual, and transgender community of the greater Charlotte, North
Carolina area.

The newsletter was established April 4, 1997 as a result of the Mecklenburg
County "Gang of Five's" decision to cut funding to area arts organizations
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