The gay Mayor of Solvang, Ryan Toussaint on preconceived notions, social change movements and being a voice for the future. BY SEAN GALUSZKA Elected Councilman at age of 29 in 2016 then running for Mayor of Solvang in 2018 and receiving 61.47% of the vote, Ryan Toussaint says that serving as a city council member…
Elliot Musgrave talks to Steve Ganzell about being the first trans Mr. Los Angeles Leather. BY STEVE GANZELL | PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM Sitting in his living room not long after winning the title of Mr. Los Angeles Leather 2019 that took place at the end of March this year, Elliot Musgrave is open and…
Upcoming LGBTQ Pride Festivals throughout the state. Long BeachMay 18–19www.longbeachpride.com Laguna BeachMay 31–June 2\www.lagunabeachpride.org SonomaMay 31–June 2www.sonomacountypride.org Santa MonicaJune 1www.smpride.com VeniceJune 1–3www.venicepride.org Santa CruzJune 2www.santacruzpride.org Los AngelesJune 8–9www.lapride.org SacramentoJune 8–9www.sacramentopride.org San MateoJune 10www.SanMateoCountyFair.com Los AngelesTrans Pride LAJune 14–15www.lalgbtcenter.org Orange CountyJune 22www.prideoc.com San FranciscoJune 29–30www.sfpride.org ComptonJuly 6www.comptonpridefestival.com San DiegoJuly 12–14www.sdpride.org San PedroJune 15www.bridgecitiesla.com San FranciscoUp Your AlleyJuly…
An interview with Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. Pride, trans equality and making sure young people know they are not alone. BY MARK ARIEL This year Long Beach Pride is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. As the first openly gay mayor of your city—can you reflect on how the LGBTQ community has evolved since that…
This hate feels as if it’s slowly extinguishing my life force, killing me by a thousand cruel paper cuts of political indecency. BY ANDY NICASTRO “Go without hate, but not without rage. Heal the world,” wrote author, AIDS activist and personal hero Paul Monette shortly before the plague claimed his life in 1995 at the age…
City of West Hollywood’s One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival. Each year the City of West Hollywood celebrates pride with its One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival, which runs from between Harvey Milk Day (May 22) through the end of June Pride month (June 30). The theme for 2019 is “Love is Love”…
Dorwood Distillery, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company: palette enhancing experiences. BY SEAN GALUSZKA As promised, more recommendations for visiting Santa Ynez Valley—you know, the land where Dolly Parton and Pink (singer, not chef) chose to live! If you love spirits as much as we do, check out Dorwood Distillery (www.dorwood-distillery.com)—a small but mighty operation under the…
A journey in self-discovery: the story of Helix Studios model Kyle Ross. A coming-of-age novel Twink chronicles the tumultuous life of Helix Studios model Kyle Ross. Written by Taylor Saracen, readers meet a teenage Ross: a skinny, weak, gay adolescent living in rural America, trying to navigate his way through the most difficult time in…
San Pedro’s very first LGBTQ Pride festival takes place on June 15. Organizer Aiden Garcia-Sheffield reveals what it took to make it happen. BY VICTOR MELAMED Aiden Garcia-Sheffield, 34, the organizer of San Pedro’s very first LGBTQ Pride festival, Pride On The Port, says the motivation to create the event stemmed from “a [homophobic] incident…
The San Mateo County Fair has designated Monday, June 10 as Family PRIDE Day. Besides the addition of hopping kangaroos, sweet and savory crepes, and an all-new concert line up at the 2019 San Mateo County Fair, there’s something else new and exciting. For the first time ever there will be a Family PRIDE Day.…
Wulfpak’s Aaron Dolson on the cannabis industry, gender identity and bringing the power back to the Radical Faeries. BY BRENDEN SHUCART | PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM BEGINNINGS Aaron Dolson got into cannabis when he met the legendary Dennis Peron at Rainbow Gathering in 1998. “Dennis encouraged me to come out to California to the medical…
The Bay Area Drag Festival is Coming Back to Oakland! From Friday April 26th to Sunday April 28th, over one hundred drag kings, queens, and queer performers from the Bay Area and beyond will come together for the second annual Oaklash Drag Festival. Organized by Beatrix LaHaine and Mama Celeste, Oaklash is a weekend-long festival…
Our community has been affected by the trauma of societal and familiar homophobia. BY COLIN STACK-TROOST, MA, AMFT The first time that I made the connection between trauma the queer experience was in the title of a book: Alan Downs’ The Velvet Rage: Overcoming The Pain Of Growing Up In A Straight Man’s World. Downs…
“If you can bake a fierce pie, if you can do fierce drag, if you can dig a ditch or cut a potato generally into cubes, you can be a Faerie.” BY PHILIP HUANG “I know your type,” my therapist said, pointing her cigarette at me. I had just told her that, despite my feelings about…
There are numerous examples of LGBTQ activists and leaders in the psychedelic movement, such as Dennis Peron, who, beginning with the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, led the fight for the medical use of cannabis. BY GREGORY WELLS, PHD Queer people have long been part of both the modern world of psychedelics as well as…
“Some may call me a narcissist, and I’m inclined to agree with them. But is all of my mirror-gazing truly narcissism if I hate what I see there?” BY ANDY NICASTRO “I wish that confidence was all you could see in my eyes Like those interviews in locker rooms with talented sports guys I wish…
Find out what makes the Santa Ynez Valley the best undiscovered LGBTQ vacation destination. BY SEAN GALUSZKA Before “hand crafted,” “small batch,” and “farm to table” became hipster mantra, the Santa Ynez Valley employed these practices for decades. They continue these traditions unabated, but not boastful. These aren’t selling points here, they’re a time proven,…
