by Eric A. Crabtree
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Ambush Quote of the Times
Ambush is fantastic and does a great job for the community, Warren Dronebarger - Owner - Dick's
Stormie M. Graham,
A One-Human-Show
Billed as a One-Human-Show, entertainer/musician Stormie M. Graham makes another Austin debut with her unique show, "Hello...." (transition) a 75 minute theater piece, being presented by SMG Management. "Hello." plays the Vortex (formally The Planet Theater), 2307 Manor Rd., on Sat., Aug. 7 and 14 at 9pm. Tickets are $10 each or with groups of 10 or more at $6. Seating is limited but tickets are still available at the door, or at 512.454.TIXS (8497). Ambush reviews the show as "A magical melody of charm of attitude & music." Stormie's latest CD also titled "Hello..."(transition) is available at the Vortex or through SMG Management 1.800.316.2241. Stormie may be contacted at www.stormiemgraham.com.
Red HOT VIII Raises $14,000
Oilcan Harry's Red Hot VIII was quite a success recently when donations came aplenty from patrons of Oilcans raising over $14,000 benefiting Austin's Project Transitions. The silent auction itself raised over $11,000. Oilcans wishes to thank the community as well as Richard Fox for his commissioned artwork toward Project Transitions. "Most everything we had in the silent auction sold along with some things that were not even intended to be auctioned," commented Oilcan's Red Hot VIII fundraiser and bartender, Steve Higginbotham. "They even bought me a non-surgical facelift from the auction," he laughed.
"I have never been so proud of the Austin community as we raised over $6,000 from last year's event." Pictures from Red HOT VIII will be featured in the next edition of Ambush. Over 600 patrons came through the door to enjoy large red and white balloons covering the ceiling and around the bars draped with strings of red glow sticks. Ambush's own Eric Crabtree even commented that there were more glow sticks at Oilcans during Red Hot VII than any Austin circuit or party have ever even dreamed doing in one event. Over 500 additional pink glow sticks were given away throughout the night. Pumping the jams throughout Red HOT VIII were DJs Miss H, Dig'M and Licious along with NYC's DJ Chris Trope working the beat until dawn. The free music CD give-a-ways only enhanced the crowd's spirit. Last Year, Oilcans and Project Transitions helped to raise almost $10,000 during Red Hot VII.
UCA Voting & Coronation Slated
Emperor V Bob Hemby, Valiamor-Sioux and Empress V Cecilia Martay, Valiamor-Sioux, invite all to the United Court of Austin's Coronation VI - The Greatest Show on Earth on Sat. Aug. 14, 6pm at the Red Lion Hotel. Coronation is when the reigning Emperor and Empress will complete their year and a new reign will begin theirs. The new Court helm will be elected by Austinites. Candidates for Emperor VI 1999-2000 are David Pearson, and candidates for Empress VI are Ima Hoot (Ken Johnson), and Dee Dee Davis (Dale Bowersock). Any person within Travis County or surrounding counties with a valid Texas ID showing residency can cast their vote on Aug. 7 from 9am to 6pm at the HIV Wellness Center. An in-town, out of town pre-Coronation Show will be held at the Red Lion Hotel at IH-35 and Hwy 290 on Fri. Aug. 13 at 7pm. The Coronation Annual Bar Run starts after 10pm. Tour buses will first carry coronation revelers to Bout Time, then into Guytown and ending up the evening at RCC. Tickets for Fri.'s pre-Coronation show and bus bar run are $10. Tickets for Coronation can be purchased that night, Sat., Aug. 14, at Red Lion Hotel. The ball begins at 6pm with the doors opening at 5pm.
This annual charity event will specifically raise money this year for ALLGO/Informa-SIDA, The Pediatric AIDS League, Project Transitions and the HIV Wellness Center. Tickets are $25 and can be bought in advance by calling Ken Johnson at 512.258.2582 or from Gary Holley at 512.442.6415. This year's theme of "Greatest Show on Earth" will be an entertaining evening not to be missed with performers from around the USA and Austin's own Roy Lazano's Ballet Folklorico. Emperor V Bob Hemby and Empress V Cecilia Martay wish a big thank you to the community of Austin for making Reign V of The United Court of Austin such a success. So far, through your generosity, over $45,000 has been turned back to local charities. Reign V ends with a bang on the weekend of Aug. 13-15 with Coronation VI. Bob and Cecilia are anticipating a very large attendance of out of town dignitaries for this year's event which features a tour of local clubs, great entertainment, fabulous hospitality and the chance to give something back to Austin.
aGLIFF 1999
The 12th annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) is right around the corner - Aug. 27th through Sept. 9 - and will feature the largest film festival of its kind in the Southwest and the oldest film festival in Austin. The Festival runs for two weeks screening nearly 130 films and video projects produced primarily by and for the Lesbian/Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community. In the past 11 years, aGLIFF has welcomed renowned filmmakers, motion picture scholars & Academy Award nominees. To accommodate the ever-increasing festival moviegoers this year, screening venues are being expanded to include the Dobie Theater, the Paramount, the Village Theater, General Cinema Highland Theater and the Alamo Draft Cinema. Also new to the festival this year is aGLIFF's nationwide screenplay competition. The winner will receive a cash award and prominent producers in the industry will read the winning screenplay.
Highlights of this year's festival include the following film selections: Bedrooms and Hallways, Queer as Folk, The Velocity of Gary, When Love Comes, Hit and Runway, and Show Me Love. An outdoor screening of The Resurgence of the Drive-in will be held on Thurs., Aug. 26 at 4th and Guadalupe. A gigantic 25 x 35' screen will be hung on 4th Street and a surprise film will be projected right in the middle of the stompin' grounds. Join aGLIFF for a big Gay block party to kick off the twelfth. The opening night film for aGLIFF this year is Trick on Fri., Aug. 27 at the Paramount Theater. The icing on the cake this year for aGLIFF will be an evening with director and author John Waters co-sponsored by The Austin Film Society held on Thurs., Sept. 2 at the Highland 10 Cinema. The closing night film for aGLIFF will be Better than Chocolate on Thurs., Sept. 9 at the Village Theater.
Rikki Unique
Crowned Miss Austin USofA 2000
Miss Austin USofA 2000 was held July 26 at Top of the Marc. There were five contestants competing in the categories of Personal Interview, Talent and Evening Gown for over $1,000 in cash and prizes. Mistresses of ceremonies, Ashley Collins and Lauren Taylor, kept the audience entertained while the competition was fierce! Miss Collins, always graceful, kept the pace going, while Lauren Taylor got so drunk that the packed house laughed at her all night! At the end of the evening, Miss Rikki Unique was crowned Miss Austin USofA 2000, while Vanity Fair was 1st alternate. Both Divas will represent Austin at the Miss Gay Texas Pageant in Houston Aug. 18-22. 2nd Alternate was Denise Michaels-Perry & the congeniality award went to Lady Paul Ryan. Promoter Paul Parkinson was proud of all the contestants and thrilled for the winners and all the hard work that went into the preparation of the competition!
Perfect Day '99
Ben Parsley and Splash Productions present Perfect Day '99 (party formerly known as RIP'D) in Austin on Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 2-6. Special DJs will include David Knapp (NYC), Roland Belmares (Austin), Don Bishop (Palm Springs), Jamie J (San Francisco), Michael Tank (Houston) and Marton, Laurence (South Beach) VIP Weekend Pass are $120.00. (Includes all 8 events) More info. on Perfect Day '99 may be obtained by calling 888.558.1791 (478.1791 in Austin) to book your room or reserve VIP Weekend Pass. Watch www.partyaustin.com for updates. Host Hotels are the Radisson on Town Lake (walking distance to all events except the lake) and the HomeStead Village (on 1st and Barton Springs Rd. about 6 blocks further away from the Radisson). Those looking for airfare may get a discount with American Airline Discount by calling 800.433.1790 and using AN Number: 7899UK.
