Video | Jennifer Tilly at the 2008 Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

On YouTube:

Jennifer Tilly and producer Steven Wolfe at the screening of their film Relax ... It's Just Sex at the 2008 Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Video | Jay McCarroll fashion show at the 2008 Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

On YouTube:

Aqua Girl VIP cocktail reception May 10 with Bravo's Top Chef ladies

From Yesi Leon:

Saturday, May 10, 2008 VIP Reception

MEET BRAVO´S TOP CHEF LADIES,
preparing delicious hors d´ouevres in an intimate tropical setting. Dance, mingle, and enjoy an evening of entertainment, recognition, and a premier silent auction.

BRAVO’S TOP CHEFS
Sandee Birdsong
Tiffani Faison
Josie Smith-Malave

SMOOTH JAZZ & LOUNGE MUSIC BY
DJ Heather Holiday

OPEN BAR SPONSORED BY
Bacardi, Barefoot Wines, 42 Below,
Presidente & Prosecco

HOST COMMITTEE
Alicia Apfel, Esq., Nelida Barrios, Cindy Brown & Michelle Simons, Elizabeth Katzen, Vivian Marthell, Lisa Niven, Nina Boniske, Esq., Francesca Roderick, Richard Milstein & Eric Hankin, Carol Moran & Nancy Godwin, Merle & Dan Weiss, Dionette Kalkhofer, Thea Sommer & Maria Di Preito, Amy Alonso & Mariana Ferro, Tracy Young, Alyson Calagna & Jennifer Safina, Elizabeth Schwartz, Vanessa Brito, Rosemary Wilder, Esq. & Karen Costello, Maria Ruiz, Dr. Hope Wine & Mary Prados, Maike Jorge, Deborah Kall, Yvonne Rohrbacher, Karen Brown, Theresa Verges & Carmen Garcia, Jennifer Parrado, Liza Santana

TICKET PRICE
$85 in advance
$95 evening of

LOCATION
At the home of Olive Watson & Joanne Grover/Watson

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS
De Palazzo
Heddy Peña

FOUNDERS AWARD
Carol Coombes

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER AWARD
Maria Pino

Aqua Girl ´08 STEERING COMMITTEE:
Alison Burgos, founder, Soraya Swingen, Maria Pino,
Martha Sternberg, Alicia Beceña, Jennifer Blunier, Merill Camel, Sigrid
De Guzman, Kristie Escoto, Michelle Gaber, Megyn Greider, Ingrid Quallo, Tasha Shore, Ana Rivera, Liz Jiménez, Amarilys Tamayo,
Jennifer Kriz, Lissette Vasquez.

SUPPORT STAFF: Lynn Bové (AG Creative Coordinator),
Yesi Olivera-Leon (Business Coordinator)

Aqua Foundation for Women BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Alicia Apfel, chair eméritas • Alison Burgos, chair • Laura Steckler, vice chair • Yolanda Flores, treasurer • Robin Schwartz, secretary
Veronica Olivera-Leon, Rachel Robinson, Vivian Lamadrid, program director

AQUA FOUNDATION FOR WOMEN (AFW), INC.
The AFW is 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the equality, strength, health and visibility of South Florida lesbian, bisexual and transgender women. Monies raised from this event and the Foundation’s signature weekend, Aqua Girl, as well as through individual and group donations, go directly towards educating, empowering and fostering the women’s communities.

DIAMOND AND PLATINUM HOSTS:
Natasha Shore, Michelle Odefey & Amber Cooper, Kathy Perez & Isabel
Perez, Carmen Redondo, Tania Rodriguez & Elizabeth Leger, Natalie Clark, C Astin & Andrew Duberry, Kari Benson

1521 ALTON ROAD, SUITE 117 • MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139
PHONE 305.576.2782

WWW.AQUAFOUNDATION.ORG

RSVP (800) 494.TIXS or online at www.boxofficetickets.com.
For more information, please call 305.576.AQUA
or visit www.aquagirl.org

Photo gallery | Star Jennifer Tilly attends Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Day 3 of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival: Films included The World Unseen (attended by director Shamim Sarif and producer Hannan Kattan), When I Knew (with directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato), and a 10-year anniversary screening of Relax ... It's Just Sex (attended by producer Steven J. Wolfe and star Jennifer Tilly). All photos by Steve Rothaus.

The When I Knew booth at the Regal Cinemas South Beach, where attendees can record their own experiences for later viewing on the film's website.

Michelle Gaber and girlfriend Alison Burgos of Pandora Events.

Festival director Carol Coombs with The World Unseen's director Shamim Sarif, center, and producer Hannan Kattan.

When I Knew directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato before the screening.

When I Knew was presented in association with YES Institute, a South Miami-based group that works to prevent teen suicide and build self-esteem of young gay people. Representing YES Institute: FIU student Yariel Diaz and Joseph Zolobczuk, the group's education & training specialist.

After the When I Knew screening, Save Me director Robert Cary, left, and Dennis Williams of HBO.

Actress Jennifer Tilly arrives for the Relax ... It's Just Sex screening.

Jennifer Tilly poses before the screening.

Longtime festival attendee Christopher Reda awaits the Relax ... It's Just Sex screening.

Relax ... It's Just Sex producer Steven J. Wolfe introduces the film ... and his star, Jennifer Tilly, below.

Jennifer Tilly and Steven J. Wolfe talk to the cheering audience.

Video | Men of Laguna Beach calendar

There's a campaign going on in Laguna Beach, Calif., to save the Boom Boom Room dance club, which has been sold, along with the adjoining Coast Inn, to make way for an 11-room hotel and restaurant.

From the Save the Boom website:

"For over 100 years, Laguna Beach has been a welcome home to gays and lesbians. But now that legacy is at risk. ... Laguna Beach has no shortage of hotel space, but the Boom is a historical treasure. Housed inside the city's second-oldest hotel, it is the oldest gay bar in the western United States and an anchor of Laguna's gay community. If the Boom were demolished, an important local institution would be lost forever.

"On our website, you'll find out out what's at stake, why you should care, and how you can help SAVE the BOOM!!! This is a fight for Laguna's past and its future, and we need your support!"

To raise money, Save the Boom began selling a Men of Laguna Beach calendar. Here's a brief video about the project, including auditions:

Jesse’s Journal | Tales from the Gay Outdoors

(A revised version of this column appears in Express Gay News.)

BY JESSE MONTEAGUDO

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people love camp, in both senses of the word.  According to CampGayUSA (www.campgayusa.com/CAMPGROUNDS.html), there are over a hundred GLBT-owned or GLBT-friendly campgrounds in the United States alone. My own State of Florida has two popular gay campgrounds:  the Sawmill Camping Resort in Dade City (www.flsawmill.com) and Camp Mars in Venus (www.campmars.com).  Most of the time, GLBT campgrounds were created with little or no controversy.  This is not the case of a camp established on Route 226 near Casar, North Carolina; one which bears the provocative name of Camp Lickalotta.

Camp Lickalotta is the child of Nancy Leedy and Joanie Beasley, two business and life partners who describe themselves as “unabashed environmentalists, Christians and lesbians.”  According to the Camp Lickalotta Web site (www.camplickalotta.com), “our dream is to establish a LGBT Campground for adults in Western North Carolina that is earth-friendly.  A SAFE place, where ALL who come are welcome to enjoy camping in a non-threatening environment.  Where they can relax in nature.”  According to an article published in the Gaston Gazette (a local paper), Leedy said that she and Beasley chose the name Lickalotta because their goal is to “Lickalotta prejudice,” “Lickalotta pollutants” and “Lickalotta pessimism.”  To these ends, the women rented space at the straight-owned Golden Valley Campground, and planned to inaugurate Camp Lickalotta with the first annual Bushstock, a women’s music festival, on May 16-18 (www.bushstock08.com).  Leedy and Beasley planned to use the money raised at Bushstock along with public donations to buy land for a permanent Camp Lickalotta.

Unfortunately, Leedy and Beasley reckoned without the residents of their Bible Belt community.  When the women tried to attend services at nearby churches, they were told to leave outright or to attend early, less-attended services.   When news about Camp Lickalotta spread around the community, the neighbors were outraged.  They complained to Golden Valley owners Joe and Lynn Hoyle, threatening to keep themselves, their children and their grandchildren away from the camp if the Hoyles allowed the dykes to stay.  Though Leedy and Beasley expected a fight - they knew what they were getting into when they picked the name Lickalotta - Mr. and Mrs. Hoyle caved in.  According to a letter that they wrote the women, the Hoyles “decided that the best thing for all parties involved is for [the camp] to find another place to host their events.  This also means that Nancy Leedy and Joanie Beasley will have to find another campground to park their camper.”  The Hoyles also complained that the women promised that Bushstock was going to be a “family-oriented” festival, not the “adults-only” event that it eventually became.

Perhaps Leedy and Beasley were foolish to make their intentions so blatantly clear, and to give their Camp a name that served as a red flag for the local bigots.  But the Hoyles were wrong to cave-in to local pressure, out of fear, greed and prejudice, even as they claimed that “there has never been any dispute between any of these parties related to or arising out of the sexual preferences of Joan [sic] Beasley and Nancy Leedy.”  “Joe and Lynn have a strong commitment to the citizens,” said the Hoyles’ lawyer, O. Max Gardner III, “and would never knowingly and willingly take any actions that would do anything to tarnish the image of this area with respect to our high moral standards and commitment to traditional family and religious values.”  Beasley and Leedy were only given seven days to pack and leave Golden Valley, under the protection of the local sheriff’s office.  Undeterred, the women found a new location for Bushstock and are working hard to find a new home for Camp Lickalotta.  We wish them all the luck.

Whatever you might say about the wisdom of their methods, Joanie Beasley and Nancy Leedy were clearly in the right.  More controversial are the gay and bisexual men who, since time immemorial, have used public parks and preserves for sexual activity.  In the Dutch city of Amsterdam, long-known as a center of sexual liberty, men have sought sexual satisfaction in the city’s Vondelpark, around the rose garden (or so I’m told).  Recently the City government shocked conservatives there and elsewhere when they moved to allow public sex in the Park.  (However, most of the complaints came not from moralists but from dog owners, who still have to keep their dogs on leashes.)  Even so, City Alderman Paul Van Grieken defended their decision, asking “why should we impose a rule on something you can’t impose a rule on?  Moreover it isn’t a nuisance for the other visitors and gives a lot of pleasure to a certain group of people.”  Cruisers are still expected to pick up their used condoms and other trash, stay away from the children’s playground and limit their sexual activities to night hours.  The Netherlands Police National Diversity Expertise Center asked other cities to follow Amsterdam’s example, noting that it would free the police to deal with more serious matters, such as anti-gay violence.  The Dutch approach to park cruising is sensible, reasonable and humane, which means it will never be adopted in the Untied States.

Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and gay American who lives in South Florida with his life partner.  Write him a note at jessemonteagudo@aol.com.

Sharon Gless, 'Breakfast With Scot' director Laurie Lynd at Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

On YouTube: Actress Sharon Gless and director Laurie Lynd before Friday's opening night screening of Breakfast With Scot at Gusman Cultural Center in Miami:

Photo gallery | Day 2 of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Scenes on Saturday from Day 2 of the the 10th annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. All photos taken by Steve Rothaus.

SAVE volunteers outside the Colony Theater on Lincoln Road. SAVE sponsored the evening screening of Save Me, a film about ex-gay ministries starring Chad Allen, Robert Gant and Judith Light.

Longtime festival supporter Ruben Rosario.

Festival development and operations director Keith Cromley introduces the SAVE volunteers.

Save Me director Robert Cary takes questions after the screening.

Festival Manager Kareem Tabsch before the Saturday night screening of Boystown (Chuecatown).

Festival Manager Kareem Tabsch and Michael Bath of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which sponsored the Boystown screening.

Two gay journalists, Alejandro Zarate of Buenos Aires, left, and Martin Schacht of Berlin, each visiting Miami Beach for the festival.

Photo gallery | Opening Night of the 10th annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Here are dozens of photos I took Friday night at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival opening night at Gusman Cultural Center. The evening's feature film, Breakfast With Scot, was a big hit with the audience, which celebrated afterward at Jungle Island.

Among the celebrities attending: Sharon Gless, star of Cagney & Lacey and Queer As Folk; Breakfast With Scot director Laurie Lynd and producer Paul Brown; Project Runway season-one winner Jay McCarroll; and Robert Rosenberg, the festival's founder 10 years ago.

Stephen Herbits and Dr. Hope Wine.

Honoree Robert Rosenberg and Festival Manager Kareem Tabsch.

Martha Sternberg and Vivian Lamadrid.

Maria DiPietro-Sommer and Thea Sommer.

Festival intern Kori Duboff and special guest Sharon Gless.

Steve Rothaus and Sharon Gless.

Actor Vincent De Paul, Project Runway's Jay McCarroll and Edison Farrow.

Richard Milstein and Merle Weiss.

Mary Prados, Dr. Hope Wine and Richard Milstein.

Franc Castro and Mark "Marky G" Gilbert open the evening.

Sharon Gless is introduced.

Sharon Gless presents festival founder Robert Rosenberg with an honorary award.

Festival director Carol Coombes.

Festival development and operations director Keith Cromley and Carol Coombes.

Breakfast With Scot producer Paul Brown, director Laurie Lynd and Carol Coombes.

Breakfast With Scot director Laurie Lynd and producer Paul Brown.

Matt McClellan, festival publicist Jim Dobson and model Antoine Rozox.

Retired Joffrey Ballet associate artistic director Cameron Basden and MiamiARTzine.com publisher Harvey Burstein.

Carol Coombes and Raquel Berman.

 

Breakfast With Scot director Laurie Lynd and Pietro Bonacossa.

Israel sanctions overseas gay adoption

JERUSALEM, April 25 (UPI) -- Israel has agreed for the first time to register an overseas adoption by a gay couple and to grant citizenship to the child, an attorney for the parents said.

An attorney for the parents told Haaretz the decision in effect recognizes same-sex marriages in Israel.

The landmark case grants Israeli citizenship to an 8-year-old Cambodian-born boy, adopted in 2000 by two men in the United States. The men hold both U.S. and Israeli citizenship and returned to Israel shortly after the adoption.

Israel, however, wouldn't recognize the adoption and since 2001 the child has lived in Israel on a temporary residence visa that is extended annually. Seven years later, officials ruled in favor of the boy "in view of the special circumstances of the case in question and the long time the minor has resided in Israel legally," Haaretz reported.

Attorney Irit Rosenblum, head of the New Family organization that represented the parents, said the decision's significance goes well beyond the one case.

"The meaning of the decision is clear," she said to Haaretz. "The state directly and fully recognizes same-sex couples as parents, akin to heterosexual couples, who can adopt a child overseas and register without constraints as his parents."