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DIVERSIONS
Edmunds has special ties to the land
Down Under; her partner, choreographer
and dancer Roz Warby, is an Aussie. Hav
ing spent the summer in Australia, the cou
ple will return to Portland in September—
with their new baby.
Edmunds will attend a public presenta
tion of the Bronson Fellowship on Sept. 30
at Reed College’s Kaul Auditorium. Details
to be announced.
Nothin’ but JUNK
Straining the notion
of “ team player”
A
D
s news of Gay Games VII has filtered through during the
past few months, I’ve gotten more and more pissed off at
Montreal.
Some background: Every four years, a city is chosen
from several applicants to host the weeklong Gay Games, which
bring in about 14,000 athletes, artists and plain old enthusiasts.
There are more than 30 competitive events and a huge arts and
culture festival. Parties, parades, performances, circus acts,
pageantry. It’s like the Olympics but with ballroom dancing
queens and figure skaters who can actually be out.
Gay Games VI in 2002 was held in Sydney, Australia, and,
by all reports, was a well-run, amazingly successful week. For
Gay Games VII in July 2006, beautiful Montreal, Canada, was
chosen back in 2001. Late last year, two years into the planning
process, Montreal’s organizing team, according to Federation of
Gay Games officials, “walked away from the negotiating table”
because of a refusal to scale the event (which regularly runs in
the red) down. The Montreal committee argued it has budgeted
for a larger number of participants.
Rather than adhere to the Gay Games’ consistent policy to
keep the event at 12,000 active participants, Montreal not only
bailed but is going ahead with its own queer sports and cultural
festival, now dubbed OutGames, scheduled for August 2006.
The federation moved the Gay Games to Chicago.
How dare Montreal be honored with hosting the only inter
national queer event of such magnitude and blow it off. How
dare they win such a rigorous application process only to not
live up to the bargain. They threw a wrench into the staging of
an event that queers around the world plan for and work toward
for years— and spend thousands of dollars attending.
1 decided to talk to a few members of Team Oregon. (Unlike
me, they actually go to the Gay Games.) And all three 1 spoke
to are whistling a different tune. Something like “O Canada.”
“The last three or four Gay Games have ended in the red;
they’ve lost millions of dollars,” says Loma Wolvin of Rogue
River, a volleyball player who has been to three Gay Games. “If
the federation is so hotshot, what the hell are they doing wrong?
.. .They should let Montreal see if they can do it better.”
This is an especially interesting perspective considering it’s
been bantered about that Montreal was chosen to host Gay
Games VII because its organizing team waved a big check, liter
ally, at the federation during its annual meeting in 2001 before
the vote on which city would host in 2006.
So then when Montreal tried to spend all that money, includ
ing resources from the city government, which was 100 percent
behind the Games, the federation got nervous and balked.
“ 1 feel the Federation of Gay Games was wrong— that they
should have worked harder with Montreal to work out their dif
ferences,” says Team Oregon treasurer and Portland swimmer
Chris Gaarder. Montreal paid a lot of licensing fees up front and
had procured sponsorships very early, Gaarder adds. “Montreal
really wanted to try some new things to have the Games make
some money for a change.”
Whether that would have been the case is difficult to say,
particularly as they wanted to increase attendance. Still, many
Team Oregon members are breaking from the Gay Games to
visit our neighbors to the north, particularly as so much
excitement has been worked up around it. "I’m leaning toward
Montreal," notes Gaarder. “I’ve been looking forward to it for
two years.”
It’s difficult, after heanng from so many who have a grudge
against the somewhat insular federation (doesn’t that sound like
Star Trek?) to know whom to side with. But Montreal’s Out-
Games is planning to mn again in 2009 and then every four
years after that. Maybe a little competition will make the Feder
ation of Gay Games rake a bit more notice of its critics. JT1
Relive the glory July 19 on Channel 23
Relive Pride again and again
and again
F
or the past month, a video of Portland Pride 2004 has aired
on cable access Channel 23. The last planned airing is
11 p.m. July 19. If you miss it, you can purchase a copy of
the video, which contains two hours of coverage of the June 20
parade and includes interviews with attendees and parade par
ticipants. Call 503-288-1515.
Queer eye for the arts world
A
ll things just keep getting better for Portland queer artist
and curator Kristy Edmunds. On Sept. 30 she will receive
the prestigious Bonnie Bronson Fellowship Award, which
is given annually to an artist who has made important contribu
tions to Northwest arts. The fellowship was founded in 1991 in
honor of a Portland sculptor who died in a 1990 climbing acci
dent.
Perhaps best known as the mastermind behind the interna
tionally respected Portland Institute for Contemporary Art,
Edmunds is a talented artist in her own right. Originally trained
in filmmaking and theater, her work has evolved to include site-
based installations, choreography and printmaking. She is repre
sented by Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland.
Next year, Edmunds will do a stint as artistic director for the
Melbourne International Arts Festival in Australia. “This is a
wonderful match between an artist at the forefront of the inter
national arts arena and our own outstanding international arts
festival,” says Australia’s Victorian minister for the arts, Mary
Delahunty.
evon Devine is bringing JU N K : An
Evening of Queer Underground Cine
ma to Portland’s Disjecta Aug. 4.
The
San Francisco media artist is one of
•r
those kind of guys with his hand into every
thing: makes little movies, stars in little
movies, organizes sex and gender confer
ences, performs in drag (as “Slutty Kinney,”
which I can’t believe no one ever thought
of before).
The festival is made up of a bunch of
rather cutting-edge queer shorts from all
over the country with titles such as “Ghost
Boobs,” “A Nightmare on Castro Street,”
“A Tale of Two Plushies” (starring Devine
himself), “Hip Hop Homos” and “Carve,” which explores body
cutting as an artistic practice.
Touring all over the United States with stops in Canada and
Europe, too, the films are made up of “no-budget, campy, under
ground, independent, fagalicious, genderfuck, pro-fattie, furry and
freaky images,” says Devine. “We want to give representation...to
radical subcultures. This includes people of color, trans, working
class, fatties and anyone else who doesn’t fit into a box.”
Screenings begin at 8 p.m., and $6 gets you into the multi
use space at 120 N.E. Russell St.
Two queers run
for American
Candidate
v
A
ll stoked for the fall election?
Showtime is counting on that
for the success of its new real
ity show American Candidate.
This summer 12 contestants
“from all walks of life,” including
two queers, are competing to be
the “people’s choice” of a presi
dential nominee. The show pre
mieres in September, and the win Former Clinton staffer
ner will receive $200,000, but
Keith Boykin is featured
Showtime notes whether the win in Showtime’s American
ner actually runs for president is
Candidate
up to him or her.
Keith Boykin, who worked in the Clinton White House as
director of special media, is one of the 12
finalists chosen ffom hundreds of entries.
His partner, Nathan Williams, will serve as
his campaign manager, making them the
first gay black couple on a reality series.
The other gay candidate is Chrissy
Gephardt, daughter of Congressman Dick
Gephardt (who, as you might recall, failed
in his recent presidential bid). The
younger Gephardt was a mental health
social worker in Washington, D.C., before
joining her dad’s campaign last year.
Both candidates are running as Demo
crats, and both have a focus on supporting
the welfare program, avoiding privatizing
Social Security and providing health care
for all Americans.
Just Out wishes them both the best of
luck because there’s nothing more fun
than watching an even more transparent
campaign than either of the real presiden
tial candidates. J H
PICA director Kristy Edmunds will be awarded the Bonnie Bronson Fellowship at
a reception in September
Compiled by L isa B radshaw , M eg D ai . y
and G raham T urner