GuidePost: Puerto Vallerta

Illustration by Scott McPherson

With a bigger gay scene than Cabo and Cancún combined, Puerto Vallerta isn't just the resort- and nightclub-land it was once known as. Check out the gay lodgings, tours, beaches, coffee shops and retail therapy we found at this beach lover's spot on the Mexican Riviera!

Artfall: Autumn Queer Arts Round-Up

Photos in order: Courtesy The Andy Warhol Museum (5); WOTM (1);  Courtesy PTWF (1); Stephen Kunken (1)

The return of two great queer arts and literary festivals this fall -- the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival from September 25th--28th and the Writing Outside the Margins Festival, which blew up Toronto last Sunday -- only confirmed that early Fall is a great time to travel artfully.

Writing Outside the Margins, or "Canada's Festival of Queer Literary Arts", took over Church Street for it's 2nd annual incarnation, outdoing itself with panels, open mics, poetry slams and exclusive readings with John Cameron Mitchell -- Hedwig and Shortbus -- Michelle Tea -- creator of Sister Spit -- and livewire Mohawk-Canadian Kinnie Starr, whose slam poetry, art, and often-radical race and gender politics have made her an underground legend.

All this, of course, in addition to a fab party DJ'ed by John Cameron Mitchell and Bruce LaBruce, good vibes, hilarious hosts, and a dozen other queer literary personalities. Keep an eye out for this one next year!

Down in Provincetown, the 3rd Annual Tennessee Williams Festival will be welcoming Academy Winner Olympia Dukakis, showcasing performances from the New York production of "Eccentricities of a Nightingale" -- which won rave reviews from Charles Isherwood -- performing scenes from a Portugal-based company's version of "The Night of the Iguana", and world premiere a production of "Green Eyes".

Opening September 13th in Columbus, Ohio's Wexner Center, the only U.S. opening of Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms is a massive, multimedia collection of over 700 of the queer Pop Art master's visual, video and audio works. Curated by a Cologne, Germany-based Eva Meyer-Hermann, originally organized by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and designed by Berlin-based architect chezweitz & roseapple, this show emphasizes Warhol's transgressions between high and low culture, his engagements with sexual identity and his preoccupations with rampant consumerism.

Further emphasizing Warhol's international appeal, a parallel exhibition of Other Voices, Other Rooms will be showing at London's Hayward Gallery from October 7th. Like two parts of one of Warhol's famous four-paneled prints, the two exhibitions will be strikingly similar, but not identical.

Key West WomenFest!

Photos: Courtesy WomenFest; Courtesy Key West CVB
Story by Joseph Alexiou

Key West, a historic destination for LGBT voyagers, will drive away your end-of-summer blues lesbian-style by hosting the 22nd annual Womenfest, a week-long celebration of the fair sex from September 2-7. Sure to please queer ladies from all walks of life, the almost innumerable number of activities include daily sunset sails, kayaking, parasailing, reef snorkeling and dolphin watching. Janis Joplin-esque rock singer Jen will perform 6-9 p.m. every night at the Hog’s Breath Saloon.

Some of the highlighted activities begin with a kick-off opening night party, featuring performances by Caribbean American artists Lenore Troia and Laura Wood and the all-female band Sister Funk (6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, at Chelsea House. The party also commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Key West Business Guild, America’s oldest LGBT “Chamber of Commerce,” who is also sponsoring a luncheon earlier in the day.

Wednesday will be a favorite those who love Sappho and Elizabeth Bishop at the Art Exhibit Poetry Reading and Open Mic on September 3, in the Crystal Room at La Te Da. Thursday, although chock-full of day activities, could be the most scandalous (or messiest) lady’s night at the Body Paint Dance Party at Club Zu (the “demure” are offered the option of wearing a t-shirt as a canvas for this event). Friday will be, more than any other, concert day at Womenfest, with Lori Michaels performing at Aqua (one of several scheduled appearances throughout the week), high-energy Sister Funk, and hip hop duo God-des and She performing in the Sunset Rock Concert at Dante’s in Marina Conch Harbor.

The big weekend finish-off starts with the Womenfest Street Fair, with the celebrated Duval Street transformed into an open-air market from noon to 7 p.m. Lady’s all-day pool parties on Saturday and Sunday are at award-winning lesbian resort Pearl's Rainbow and the Southernmost Hotel.

Lightening the evening mood will be lesbian comic Lisa Koch, Womenfest’s headline performer and Olivia Cruise staple, who will keep the crowd in stitches at the Tropic Cinema, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. Finally, for the romantics on Sunday there will be a group commitment ceremony followed by a champagne brunch, starting at 1 p.m. at Pearl's Rainbow (for more info call (305) 292-1450), and bringing the festival to a close is DJ Harmony spinning on the Floating Tea Dance, hosted on the Fury Catamaran.

S.F. Sounds: 2008/2009 Season

Photos in order: Rich Stadtmiller; Lisa Canjura-Clayton

With all the California marriage rush coverage inevitably swirling around San Fransisco, it's easy to overlook the continuing stellar cultural offerings that the Bay Area puts forward. Perfect material for a relaxing date, part of a honeymoon, or just a fabulous night out for all us former band folks out there, check out the new season's line-up from the San Fransisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band.

Having 30 years of operation behind it, the Freedom Band was the world's first openly gay music organization and remains one of the best in the country. No wonder, then, that Michael Wirgler -- director and conductor of venerable Golden Gate Park Band -- came on board to guest conduct this coming season!

The 2008/2009 theme, Bands Across The Pond, will include British and Irish tunes from one side and, on the other, Sousa's ragtime "With Pleasure", among others. Keep an ear out for a handful of Wirgler's own original arrangements, too.

The series starts on Friday, September 12th. We would recommend buying tickets well in advance, but the entire series is free!

Vrroom! More Gay Motorsports

Illustration: Nikko Lencek-Inagaki; Photo: Courtesy FireballRun

The intersection of motorsports and queer culture doesn't happen terribly often. Actually, it's only happened once so far that I can think of: the Rainbow Rampage this past June. But, ever on the look-out for possible trends in gay travel, when we found out that the Fireball Run Transcontinental Race and Rally is heavily recruiting qualified gay teams to compete this October, it made us slam on the brakes.

One gay motosport festival is a fluke and two is an interesting coincidence, but three will be a full-fledged trend. Of course, Rainbow Rampage -- which kicks up it's well-oiled heels again with a drive through California at the end of September -- is less engine revving and beer guzzling than scenic tour, so it may not fully count.

Fireball Run, on the other hand, is dieseled-up competitive sports, even if it did boast the first openly gay rally team in motorcross history last year. This year, the 9-day cross-country rally is pushing even harder for diversity -- LGBT teams, all-women teams and people of color -- in addition to continuing it's "Recover America’s Missing Children" program, which assigns each team a missing child to try to help locate while traversing the U.S.

If you'd rather travel the leisure and luxe route, however, check out the bodies from the best auto shows and our top picks for road trips in California, Australia/New Zealand and Switzerland!

Note: LGBT teams interested in joining Fireball Run will be offered a discounted media entry rate and are welcome to secure their own sponsers.

GuidePost: Philadelphia

Illustration: Scott McPherson

Rising fast as a top and value-friendly destination on the East Coast, just off the beaten D.C. -- NYC -- Boston trail, Philadelphia isn't just picturesque antique row houses and soothing neighborhood cafés. Between the bustling Italian Market, rivalry-ridden Philly Cheesesteak market, thriving local gayborhood and up-and-coming young artist communities, it's a wonder we found a way to squeeze it all into our new Three Gay Days: Philadelphia guide!

The Buck's Big Bang: New Zealand

Photos: Courtesy New Zealand CVB

It may seem as though the easy days of breezing around the world on the American dollar are but a fading memory of sweet, sweet luxury, but let's be honest -- by "world", we really mean western Europe, Moscow, Japan, and maybe Canada. There's still a globe of trot-worthy destinations where our bucks still roam, and New Zealand is one of them.

With the exchange rates hovering near 1:1.5, a strategic traveler can add some extra days, a healthy handful of bonus amenities, and treat themselves to a better bottle of wine (or four).

Stunningly scenic, if not the biggest gay party country, New Zealand combines beachside lazing, vineyard bike rides, capital city culture, and Lord of the Rings style adventure antics -- bungee jumping, anyone? -- like few other countries. And there's that lovely, sexy accent to boot.

For the real deal and a ton of great recommendations, check out the New Zealand road trip we went on for our Summer 2008 issue!

Walking in a Leather Wonderland

Photos: Courtesy Folsom Europe
Story by Joseph Alexiou

What is a seasoned American leatherman’s dream European vacation? Most likely it does not include buying Christmas trinkets at Harrod’s or lazing in a Venetian Gondola. A leather enthusiast no doubt dreams of a modern city full of thick, tall men with no pretension and a healthy taste for light bondage.

Clearly, we’re headed to Berlin where Folsom Europe, a leather and fetish festival, is celebrating its fifth anniversary from September 3rd to the 8th. Originally a fair held on Folsom street in San Francisco, the headline event in Berlin is the fair on the Fuggerstrasse, which runs from noon to 10pm on September 6th. This year’s celebration will feature an outdoor DJ stage near Ansbacher Strasse. Considering the popularity of last year’s party (around 20,000 participants), be sure to polish your buckles and chains extra shiny for the crowd.

Guest celebs will include three winners from Mr. Leather competitions: Germany, Europe, and the International level. Their presence will aid in Folsom Europe’s annual cause of fundraising, which in the past has gone towards AIDS research and local youth education. This year one of the festival’s causes is also eliminating GHB use within the community, and the substance has been banned from all Folsom-related activities.

Also on the agenda are the two official parties for Folsom: perverts, which will take place on Friday, September 5th, and Pig on Saturday the 6th. Drawing crowds that have numbered in the thousands, Berlin’s version of the Folsom street fair will not disappoint even the hardest of hard-core leather daddies.

Drive-Thru Sins

Photos: Courtesy Visit Reno

Better known by its colloquial nickname, the divorce capital, than by its official one, "The Biggest Little City in the World", Northern Nevada's Reno has only recently become a real vacation destination, almost just by virtue of proximity to the gorgeously alpine Lake Tahoe region.

Then again, counting the masses who flocked to the city for its aptly named "Sin Solutions" between the roaring 1920's and the white-bread '50s makes Reno seem like an eternal tourist hotspot. Now, with a new eponymous driving tour of her "Sin Solutions", Reno's capitalizing on her "Sin Solutions" again.

Thriving on the concurrent industries that remained after local mining went bust, Reno signed booze, gambling and prostitution in law, lucrative "Sin Solutions" that kept the city afloat ever since.

The real happily-ever-after of Reno's finances, however, slashing residency requirements -- to three months in 1927, then six weeks in 1931 -- which threw open unprecedented access in the U.S. to divorce (and encouraged six weeks of vacation-like dissipation in legal gambling, alcohol and brothels).

Since it was couples divorcing and remarrying so rapidly, often in the same afternoon, it wasn't just the boys who lit up the casinos and cocktails either!

The new driving tour, which launches this October, hits every major "Sin Solution" in the city -- brothels, the high-traffic divorce/marriage courthouse, and the swinging hotels and clubs. But the best has to be the Gambling Museum, replete with exhibit of antique gambling machines, cheating apparatus and gambler's weapons!

Now, what kind of "Sin Solutions" we can come up with for this recession?

The Year of the Lesbian

Photo: Getty Images; Illustration: Nikko Lencek-Inagaki
Story by Joseph Alexiou

Community Marketing, a gay and lesbian market research firm which conducts studies on the trends of LGBT market trends, released the aptly named the “Lesbian Consumer Index” this year, promptly proclaiming 2008 "The Year of the Lesbian" based on the results.

The largest, most comprehensive study of lesbian consumer habits in history, this index of data and analysis from more than 10,000 U.S. lesbian consumers comes at a time when queer market targeting by corporate America concentrates on gay men almost exclusively, ignoring other groups that were purported to have less economic impact, according to president Tom Roth.

Providing a needed database of information that “distinguishes lesbian preferences and purchasing habits from gay men for the first time ever,” Community Marketing followed up their analysis with an LGBT travel study that also gives, more than ever, detailed information about lesbian-specific tourism: “the most-visited US destination for Lesbian Boomers and Gen-Xers is Las Vegas. Lesbian Seniors are most likely to visit Provincetown, and the Lesbian Gen-Y group prefers San Francisco.”

Ultimately, these studies will allow companies to market to women in the LGTB market more effectively, but they also challenge the widespread trend of targeting only gay men in product marketing, one that ignores an important segment of the LGBT community.

As an added bonus, these consumer indexes also make rather run party fodder, almost like horoscopes!