by Eric A. Crabtree
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Halloween '99 ~
Austin Style
There in the bars, there in the city, dressed in costumes to scare, through the streets they are treating or tricking. Halloween this year hosts events Austin style with various activities around the city. In addition to Halloween weekend, Daylight time falls back to Standard time at 2am on Halloween, Oct. 31 and that means Austin gets another full hour to drink in the bars. Although yours truly will attend Halloween XVI in New Orleans this year, Ambush's own Vinny DuDonis will be capturing your costume mugs locally in pictures around the city. The 1920's Club features regular hours for your pre-trick or treating adventures. Up at `Bout Time, look for their Halloween Buffet at 5pm on Fri. Sat. features their Halloween Dance under the stars and moon outside on the volleyball court under the Big Tent. DJ Ben will spin outside and DJ Nick inside. At midnight, they host their costume contest with prizes to be won from $150 for 1st place to $50 for 3rd place. Sun. offers patrons a Halloween Drag Show starting at 8pm. Congrats to TGRA and 'Bout Time in helping to raise over $515 for Pediatric AIDS League. (P.A.L.).
The newly opened Boyz Cellar offers the Devil's Dance on Sat. There is no costume needed at the Boyz Cellar because they offer a body paint party and feel that your body's too hot to cover with a costume. Halloween Sun. promotes Trick Your Treat Night and both nights offer $2 Witches Brew. Chain Drive features the Spiders Web. Come get caught at Chain Drive. On Lavaca St. at Charlie's Austin the Blair Witch Project premieres on their video screens and two costume contests are featured on Sat. and Sun. at midnight. Prizes for best costumes range from $150 for 1st place to $50 for 3rd place. Don't forget on Halloween night at Charlie's at 11:30pm, it's their weekly Sun. Super Show starring Lauren Taylor. Lastly, Charlie's Austin asks you to mark your calendars for Thanksgiving and Christmas when Charlie's Austin hosts the annual free Daddy Wayne's Turkey Dinner with all the fixings.
Dick's, where it's always all good, offers on Fri. their complimentary buffet at 6pm and Momma's Boyz till 1:30am. On Sat. The United Court of Austin invites all to come out to Dick's Halloween Party with cash prizes for best costumes, great food and other great prizes throughout the night. Special naughty shows will be performed by Momma's Boyz from 6pm till 1:30am. Dick's would also like to tell patrons that coming up Nov. 5-7 it's their Trailer Park Trash Weekend with lots of trashy activities happening including buffets, Sat. Night Fever Dance, Trailer Park Yard Sale and Karaoke. Gaby and Mo's on Manor Rd. offer delicious coffees and desserts for your Halloween treats and live music on Sat. The Butchies, a Dyke band from North Carolina, performs Sat, Oct. 30, from 2pm to 7pm. $5 cover includes additional bands featuring Ovary Action and Raunchy Reckless and the Amazons. Gaby and Mo's are closed on Halloween.
The Forum features Salvation Halloween this weekend, from Thurs. - Halloween Sun. Kelly Kline starts off Thurs. with the 2nd anniversary show of your Ticket to Fame starting at midnight. Fri. features the most lavish buffet at 6pm and male dancers from 10- midnight. On Sat. night, the Forum features a possible costume contest with DJ Ro spinning all night. Sun. it's the Forum's amateur strip-off for male and females hosted by Kelly Kline at midnight with cash prizes. Coming up on Nov. 9, the Forum introduces the country's hottest film star - J. C. Carter. On Fri., Nov. 12, DJ Mark Vallese, resident DJ of the Manhole in Chicago, guest spins with Kitty Meow hosting a show at 10pm. Lastly, the Forum's 3rd Year Anniversary will be honored the weekend of Nov. 17-21 when they present Forum2000 - Into the Silver Millennium. Midtowne Spa plays host Halloween weekend with a Flashlight party starting at 10pm on Sat. Remember, whether at Midtowne or elsewhere, if you are going to trick, please wrap that treat and play safe.
Oilcan Harry's is not to be outdone from last year's Studio 54 Party as they time warp into the Year 3000 with their Halloween '99 - Y3K Party. Fast forward and travel into the future for Year 3000 - Fri. 29 - Halloween - 31. A big costume contest is slated on Halloween with prizes for best costume, most futuristic and funniest. It's two-stepping fun at Rainbow Cattle Company starting with a complimentary buffet on Fri. at 5pm and then two-stepping C/W madness all weekend long. Get ready for Halloween at Splash Video Bar as they feature Halloween ' 99 with Circus So Gay. On Halloween Sun., check out their BBQ on the patio at 6pm. Splash offers great videos, staff, drinks, and friendship. Big Beefy Men are also featured at Splash where men come to play. Splash and Austin wishes patron Robbie Williams a speedy recovery on his recent illness. Still need leather supplies or Halloween costumes ideas? Check out the Leather Chest on San Jacinto and 6th St. for some great ideas. The HIV Wellness Center is once again partnering with the Forum for their new Sun. non-profits programs. Look for their cookout on the roof on Halloween Sun., from 5pm till dark. Proceeds benefit HIV Wellness Remedial Massage Program. Gods & Monsters Gala will be held in Austin on Oct. 29 at 8pm at the Westwood Country Club benefiting Jack Sansing Dental Clinic. Contact Aids Services of Austin (ASA) 512.406.6175.
The OZ Parties Host Anniversary
The OZ Parties is having its 1st Anniversary Party, in celebration of having hosted over 200 HIV+ guests through this past year! This event will be held on Sat., Nov. 13, from 5-9pm at The Forum, 408 Congress Ave. The party is planned for the rooftop patio, but will be relocated to the downstairs back bar in the event of poor weather. A $5 contribution is suggested but not required, and there will be an Appetizer Buffet and Happy Hour drink prices with no buy-in. The OZ Parties is open to HIV+ singles of all sexual orientations, and is organized by volunteers without outside financial assistance. For additional info. call 512.406.6408.
Ginger & Sarah Band
Hop A Ride On Oprah's
Oxygen Media Tour
On Thurs., Oct. 28, The Ginger & Sarah Band, Austin's funky, powerful, harmonically-charged pop band, will kickoff their leg of the Oxygen Media "National Tank Tour" in New York City at Union Square. The Ginger & Sarah Band will be joining the tour for their New York City, Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles stops through the end of the year. The brainchild of Lifetime TV and Nickelodeon visionary, Geraldine Laybourne, Oxygen Media is a multimedia company aimed at women, that combines the power of television with the interactivity and specificity of the Internet. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Marcy Carsey, Thomas Werner and Caryn Mandaback, the team that created The Cosby Show and 3rd Rock From the Sun among others, partnered with Laybourne to create Oxygen Media.
The Oxygen Media Tank Tour is designed to introduce Oxygen Media's newest Internet site, www.oxygen.com, to women across the US. In addition to the musical stage, the Tour will feature an interactive area where visitors can tour the Web site and a Starbuck's refreshment pavilion. "We have been big fans of the Oxygen Media founders and are extremely honored to be recognized by such a visionary group of women," said singer and songwriter Sarah Dashew. "We are looking forward to sharing a little bit of our funky Austin groove with those New Yorkers!" Partner Ginger Leigh added, "Yeah, this is a perfect partnership for us. Our own Web site has been extremely successful and are psyched to be a part of theirs." Other New York Tank Tour performances will take place at the Southside Seaport and in Madison Square Garden's outer arena. The Ginger & Sarah Band will be returning to Austin for their Nov. 5 performance at The Caucus Club. This performance will be billed as a birthday celebration for both Dashew and Leigh. Log onto www.gingerandsarah.com for more info. on the Tank Tour, their birthday celebration and other upcoming shows.
TGRA Rodeo Slated - Austin
The 16th Annual Texas Gay Rodeo will be held this year from Nov. 11-14 with most events hosted at the Travis County Exposition Center located at 7311 Decker Lane or Rainbow Cattle Company (RCC). Austin is the Host City for this annual event sponsored by the Texas Gay Rodeo Association (TGRA) in affiliation with the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA). Grand Marshal for the TGRA Rodeo will be State Representative Glen Maxey. Schedule of Events for Rodeo Weekend start at 7pm on Thurs., Nov. 11 at Rainbow Cattle Company with a TGRA Royalty Competition. A $5 voluntary door donation is requested. On Fri. Nov. 12 at the Host Hotel, Holiday Inn-Austin South, registration is from 6pm - 9pm, in the Friendship/Mercury Ballroom. From 8pm to midnight it's the TGRA Y'all Come Party with free admission/cash bar in the Apollo Ballroom. On Sat., Nov. 13 at the Travis County Exposition Center is the New Contestant meeting at 9am and the TGRA Rodeo begins at 10am. After the day's Rodeo, a dance contest will be hosted at RCC with compulsories at 1pm. The Dance Finals/Freestyle competition begins at 6pm. A $5 voluntary door donation is requested. On Sun., Nov. 14 the Rodeo concludes at 10 am and Awards Ceremony at 8pm at the Apollo Ballroom at the Holiday Inn-Austin South. More info on TGRA or the Rodeo may be obtained by calling the Rodeo Hotline at 210.946.7787 or (210.9GO.SPUR) or from the Web site at www.tgra.org.
