Members of the Mile High Freedom Band head to Washington.

This Monday, January 21, Members of Colorado's Mile High Freedom Band will be joining the Lesbian and Gay Band Association to perform in the Presidential Inaugural Parade. Chosen from more than 2,800 marching band organizations across the country, this will be a celebrated second round for the musicians, who performed in President Obama's 2009 Inauguration parade as well.

See also:
- AIDS Adagio: photos by Wes Kennedy and Albert Winn exhibition opens
- The Shower of Stoles exhibition shares GLBTQ voices of faith
- Denver hosts 2012 Gay Bowl XII this weekend

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Akedah, Albert Winn, 1995.

The AIDS Adagio: Wes Kennedy and Albert Winn exhibit opening tonight connects the work of two photographers and each man's personal experience with AIDS: Wes Kennedy passed away in 1993, but Albert Winn continues to shoot. This is just the second show in the gallery at the brand-new Fulginiti Pavilion for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and it offers an emotional and humanizing look at the AIDS epidemic.

See also:
- How To Survive A Plague: An AIDS and GLBTQ activism film primer
- Photos: The Red Ball combines funds and fashion for AIDS awareness
- Catholic fund stops aid to immigrant advocates over link to LGBT group

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LIP prototypes

Poetry can be a form of catharsis, but often the poems are forgotten after they're written, banished to a closed notebook in a dark drawer. Lesbian Inspired Poetry wants to make those poems public -- by sharing them in a free publication. The first issue of LIP is scheduled to hit the streets in January, and will be available at various venues around the city.

See also:
- From the Archives: the prison poetry of Minoru Yasui
- Serena Chopra's new poetry chapbook examines geology, language, and trust
- Bullying: Analysis shows only 37 percent of school policies protect LGBT kids

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nucliawaste.com

Big Gay Holiday Sing In's host, Nuclia Waste.

There's no audition necessary to be a part of Harmony: A Colorado Chorale's all-inclusive chorus. "That is part of our mission -- to make sure everyone feels welcome," says William Loper, artistic director for the chorale. At 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, December 8, at Messiah Community Church, anyone who loves to sing is invited to celebrate the holiday season by joining a multi-generational chorus. Hosted by one of Denver's most notable queens, Nuclia Waste, the evening of non-denominational cheer will also feature drag performances and vocal help from 5280 A Capella.

See also:
- Light up the night in 2012 with the Denver area's best holiday displays
- Creche landing: Shedding light on the holiday display at City Hall
- Voices Carry: Harmony has something to sing about

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Koko Brentano

Nina Flowers

As both the official photographer for the monthly Drag Nation and a longtime supporter of local art, Koko Brentano had a vision: to see the two worlds collide. Friday night's Pop Drag at EXDO Event Center is the result, a convergence of the work of artists Louis Recchia and Zoa Ace with the multidimensional performances of RuPaul's Drag Race alums Nina Flowers and Ongina -- plus a rotating cast of Drag Nation regulars.

See also:
- Slide show: Pop Art Drag Nation at Tracks
- Slideshow: Drama Drag at Tracks
- Dana Cain's Art Collection: Louis Recchia
- Don't call him queen: Paul Soileau talks about more-punk-than-drag persona Christeene Vale

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In 2012, you can be gay at church camp. Well, on MTV's Awkward, anyway.

Waking up on November 7, I felt like a million bucks. A million bucks that could breathe again, knowing that my president was still mine, my uterus was in the clear, and so many people had exercised the right to vote. That part, the voting part, was the most exciting, because after months of the impending "voter apathy" spin put on 2012's election by both sides, we could see that it was just that: spin.

But something else came out of this year's election: gay. A whole lot of it, in the form of legislation, "out" elected officials and an overwhelming move toward the acceptance and embrace of gay that I didn't think I would see so strong in my lifetime.

See also:
- Breeality Bites: What a wonderful, genderqueer world!
- J. Edgar to 8: Dustin Lance Black's artistic triumphs for gay rights
- Mark Ferrandino chosen as Colorado's first gay Speaker of the House
- Death of the civil unions bill got you down? Just do what I'm doing, and marry a gay guy

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Brian Landis Folkins

Miss Shirley Delta Blow

As Shirley Delta Blow, actor Stuart Sanks has been entertaining audiences through his charity-supporting drag shows at Hamburger Mary's. But his performances blow away standard drag routines -- the trained actor is known for his comedic timing and infamous retelling of Steel Magnolias using Barbie dolls, a feat that won him the "Queen of Aces" drag title in 2011. Emily Tarquin, co-curator of Off-Center, the versatile programming component of the Jones Theatre, caught wind of his work, and, after Sank did a few hosting stints at the venue, she asked him to turn the Shirley Delta Blow show into a full-on performance for the 2012 season.

And so Drag Machine was born. This Friday, November 2, Blow & Co. will travel through time in a tricked-out time machine (also known as the Jones Theatre covered in glitter gussied up to look like an airplane cockpit) to tell the story of drag and GLBTQ civil rights history. In advance of the three-show run, Sanks spoke with Westword about Drag Machine's creation, and what brought the actor to drag in the first place.

See also:
- It ain't easy being queen: Luke List on the "anti-masculinity" stigma of drag performance
- Slideshow: Drama Drag at Tracks
- Don't call him queen: Paul Soileau talks about more-punk-than-drag persona Christeene Vale

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IFC Films

From How To Survive A Plague, activist Peter Staley

In 1987, ACT UP -- the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power -- was born in New York City, an activist-centered response to the growing HIV and AIDS epidemic that was largely going ignored by the American government. Through How To Survive A Plague, a documentary opening Friday, October 12 at the Denver FilmCenter, the story of these activists is told, sewn together by the underlying tale of how ACT UP restructured and gave power to modern social, political and health issue-related movements by the people.

How To Survive A Plague succeeds at contextualizing the direct action movement from all sides, delving into key activists' personal lives when warranted, but pulls back to show the bigger social and political picture. Straightforward interviews with those who were there -- Peter Staley, Mark Harrington, Derek Link and dozens of others -- are juxtaposed with footage of public funerals, activist-police clashes across the country and the hysteria-inciting TV news shots of individuals dying of AIDS-related complications.

In advance of How To Survive A Plague's Friday opening, here are five more films digging into the history and activism around AIDS and HIV and the GLBTQ civil rights movement that continues today.

See Also:
- David France examines the history and survival of ACT UP
- In Theaters: How To Survive A Plague
- Cinema Q kicks off a weekend of queer films tonight at Denver FilmCenter

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The Deer Pile's turning into Denver's stand-out salon, a cozy place where art and comedy and poetry mingle. Here no one's considered an outsider -- no matter how disenfranchised they might feel on the outside. It's the kind of place where an event like Baby Hair can catch hold. Billed as an open mike for women and queer writers to read, perform or otherwise present their work, the monthly event now hosts featured readers, too.

See also:
- Baby Hair
- Sara Century on Ladybug 2012, this November's Titwrench-style festival in Fort Collins
- The Narrators returns with real-life storytelling at the Deer Pile

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Pavlovia's Mistress Saskia will be at the Exile Fetish Ball.

Denver kinksters have big balls -- bouncing both to the left and to the right -- as they'll prove at the Exile Fetish Ball at Tracks this Friday night.

The ball will also feature fetish demonstrations, dancing and other examples of darker artistry, including live musicians, DJs, stylists, visual artists and vendors -- as well as plenty of fetish fashions being modeled by the ladies of Denver's premier dungeon, Pavlovia.

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