Here are our top gay and Vancouver news picks from December 4th to 11th.

West End News

• Women-only section of downtown Vancouver gym to be phased out: Member livid that her Steve Nash club is going entirely coed, Vancouver’s nearby West End has a large gay population that was consistently fielding complaints about having a space dedicated to only one gender.
• Dine Out Vancouver 2014: how to choose the best restaurants and menus: For anyone who’s been wintering in Mexico for the past 11 years, Dine Out Vancouver takes place annually in January. Restaurants offer three-course dinner menus at one or more of three price points: $18, $28, and $38.

Gay Vancouver News

• Vancouver men featured in Kevin Truong's Gay Men Project: "As a kid, I remember being excited any time I saw an Asian person on TV, in a movie, or in a music video," he said. "I also remember what it was like to not see it. A part of that has always stuck with me, and as an adult, as I look around at representations of gay men and women in media, I don't see a lot of reflections of myself. I know the Gay Men Project is only a blog, but I do hope by showing men over the age of 50, men of varying body shapes, men of color—I hope it's providing something for someone..."
• Our (gay) guide to Club PuSh 2014: Gender identity and drag queens are centre stage for Club PuSh, part of the tenth anniversary of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

Gay World News

• The Rev. Robert Nugent, priest who ministered to gay Catholics, dies at 76: Robert Nugent, a Catholic priest who became nationally known for his pastoral work with gay men and lesbians, a ministry that was officially ended in 1999 when the Vatican declared it “erroneous and dangerous,” died Jan. 1 at a religious retirement community in Milwaukee. Rest in peace.
• Gay-Marriage Fight Takes a Toll on Utahns: The recent flurry of court rulings legalizing and then halting gay marriage in Utah has whipsawed residents of this predominantly Mormon city, a conservative enclave that saw its first-ever gay pride celebration only last summer.
• Russian Orthodox Church Pushes For Gay Ban Referendum: Russia's powerful Orthodox Church proposed Friday a referendum on banning gay relations in the face of Western pressure over human rights ahead of next month's Winter Olympics in Sochi.

A response to the recent reinstatement of colonial-era anti-homosexuality laws in India, Sher Vancouver, a social and support group for queer South Asians, has launched The Out and Proud Project.

“The members of Sher Vancouver came together to decide how to respond and how to support our brothers and sisters in India and in other parts of the world where gays and lesbians are oppressed and discriminated against,” explains Sher Vancouver founder Alex Sangha.

Designed to showcase the diversity of queer South Asians, the interviews consist of five questions that highlight the subject’s background, their coming out story, inspirations, achievements and an opportunity for the interview subjects to tell readers how they “feel the world can change for the better”.

Read More at GayVancouver.net »

There is no better time than now to make your New Year’s resolution to take in some live performing arts in 2014 as we present our January guide to what’s happening on Vancouver stages.

• Part of the 2014 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, this year’s Club PuSh includes Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon exploring their failed attempts to fit into gender binary in Gender Failure (16 & 17 Jan) and Isolde N. Barron and Peach Cobblah unearth the history of the drag movement in Vancouver with Tucked & Plucked: Vancouver’s Drag Herstory on Stage (24 Jan).
• Metro Theatre presents its annual family-friendly holiday pantomime, Jack and the Beanstock (closes 4 Jan).
• It’s a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious holiday season as Mary Poppins flies in for a visit with the Banks’ family in this jolly holiday treat (closes 5 Jan).
• James Bond has provided not only some of film’s most thrilling moments in his fifty year screen history, but some of the most thrilling music, too.  The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra presents Fifty Years of James Bond featuring the most memorable songs and music from past and more current James Bond films. (10 & 11 Jan).
• The inaugural Italian Film Festival will showcase five new films from Italy and five films from Italy’s historical repertoire of cinema (10 – 16 Jan).

Read More at GayVancouver.net »

Get ready to plunge in to the cold waters at the English Bay (or just watch on the sidelines if you're too scared to, like me) for the Polar Bear Swim. The local tradition returns for another year, on January 1st, to help kick off the new year. The plunge is scheduled for 2:30pm, and participants and spectators are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food or cash donation for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.

If you wish to participate in the polar bear swim, you'll be required to sign up prior to the event. Registration takes place at the English Bay Bathhouse between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m on January 1st - and good news - it's free!

Here are some swim tips from the City of Vancouver to help keep you safe (and warm!):

• If you have a heart problem - just watch!
• Children must swim and stay with an adult
• Please leave your dog at home
• Do not drink - alcohol does not warm you up - it accelerates hypothermia.
• Do not stay in the water longer than 15 minutes. Body heat is lost 25 times faster in water than in air.
• Do not remove your clothing until swim time. The swim will be started by a flag and siren.
• Entrants in the 100 yard race - meet in the front line on the north side (Stanley Park side) of the enclosure.
• First 3 swimmers to touch the marker buoy by the lifeguard boat - give your names to the lifeguard.
• After you swim, pick up your commemorative button at the large polar bear or at the registration table.
• Warm up with coffee or hot chocolate.

Here are our top gay news picks from Vancouver and around the world for December 21st to December 28th!

Vancouver News

• #VanKiss Mistletoe Brings Out Vancouver's Lovers: Things are getting a little romantic in Vancouver thanks to a takeover of poles donning mistletoe in the city's West End. A group who call themselves the #VanKiss Elves erected 10 poles around the neighborhood, encouraging passerby to snap a picture kissing someone special under the mistletoe and post it to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #VanKiss.
• New “Greenhorn” In West End Looking To Hire Barista Crew: Greenhorn Espresso Bar is a new, independently owned café, small gallery and flex retail space nestled in a residential pocket of one of Vancouver’s most historic neighborhoods.
• Sher Vancouver's Out and Proud Project to counteract India's antigay legislation: When the Indian Supreme Court reinstated a colonial-era law that makes homosexuality illegal on December 11, local Metro Vancouver resident Alex Sangha decided to do something about it.

Gay World News

• Boy Scouts open ranks to gay youth on Jan. 1: The Boy Scouts of America will accept openly gay youths starting on New Year's Day, a historic change that has prompted the BSA to ponder a host of potential complications — ranging from policies on tentmates and showers to whether Scouts can march in gay pride parades.
• 2013 LGBT year in review: A great year for gay rights
• Chaos in conservative Utah after gay marriage ruled legal: Hundreds turned away without licenses as state asks for emergency stay on same-sex couples
• Gwynne Dyer: Anti-gay laws still strong: After a decade when the struggle for equal rights for gay people made great progress, it looks like the counter-revolution is underway. In the past six months, there have been major defeats for gay rights in Africa, in Asia, and even in Europe.

Just shy of last year’s record-breaking number of shows seen and reviewed, my list of the best shows of 2013 is another eclectic mix.

As always I remain grateful to the theatre companies who invite me to see their shows and I once again encourage everyone to make a new year’s resolution to experience some live theatre in 2014.

#10- “Glee-fully” blurring the lines – Speech & Debate (Twenty Something Theatre)

While at times laugh-out-loud funny, it was Claire Hesselgrave’s performance as the quirky Diwata that made this show so memorable.

#9 – All hail the Fringe ensemble – 5 Lesbians Eating Quiche (Black Rook Theatre)

Not the first time a Vancouver Fringe production has made my list over the years, but it is the first time it hasn’t been a one-person show.  It totally got overlooked as one of the best of the Fringe.

#8 – Buckle up for this hilarious ride – Boeing-Boeing (Arts Club Theatre Company)

Never mind the new Dreamliner, the trio of McNee, Wheeler and Lipman were the new Dreamteam in an absolutely hilarious production that rarely flew below 30,000 feet.

#7 – Just what the doctor ordered - Hotel Bethlehem (Ruby Slipper Theatre) 

It’s no wonder this one is now into its third year.  Irreverent, funny and not a trace of sugary sweetness found in the shows normally found during the Christmas season.

6 – A cacophony worth experiencing – Balm in Gilead (Studio 58)

What makes Langara’s Studio 58 standout as one of the best theatre training grounds in the country is its willingness to take risks.  Gritty, provocative and real, this one pushed both actor and audience.

#5 – The summer of women – Elizabeth Rex (Bard on the Beach)

Ironically this was not one of the Bard’s plays, but Colleen Wheeler’s gripping performance as the Queen made it impossible to ignore.

Read More at GayVancouver.net »

Here are our top gay news picks from December 14th to December 21st.

Gay Vancouver News

• Happy hour among B.C. liquor policy changes: The government is recommending that minors be allowed to dine with their families in pubs, legions, and membership clubs, and that restaurant patrons no longer be required to order food with their beverage in food-primary establishments. Diners will also be allowed to move freely with a beverage from one licensed area to another.
• Vancouver pub doesn’t plan on opening doors to minors: The Fountainhead Pub says that particular change to BC’s liquor laws doesn't fit their demographic.
• Gay Vancouver councillor meets with Russian Honorary Consul: Immediately after city council unanimously voted to send Coun. Tim Stevenson, who is gay, to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation called him to ask for a meeting.
• Qmunity's Dara Parker tackles homophobia against gay tenant in Vancouver: The issue was raised in response to the recent news story about 25-year-old Jonathan Pretty, who went public about how he signed a lease to rent a Kitsilano suite but the landlord later told him that he didn't want Pretty as a tenant when he found out Pretty was gay.

Gay World News

• Ugandan parliament passes antigay law: While homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda, the maximum penalty for the new offence of "aggravated homosexuality" is life imprisonment. The death penalty clause, originally included when the bill was introduced in 2010, was removed from the final version adopted by Uganda's parliament.
• ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Suspended Over Remarks About Gay People: “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson has been suspended from filming the A&E reality series following his remarks about gay people where he called homosexuality illogical in a recent interview with GQ magazine.
• Gay couples rejoice with weddings in Utah after federal court ruling: It was an unlikely scene that unfolded in one of the most conservative states in the U.S. as same-sex couples rushed to get married at the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office immediately after learning that a federal judge had overturned Utah’s ban on gay marriage.

Are you looking for something to do this New Year’s Eve?  Here are the LGBTQ parties in Vancouver to help you welcome in 2014.

• RuffNYE –the 2nd annual RUFFnye features DJ Shane Stiel (San Diego) and DJ Nick Bertossi (Vancouver) and the crowning of Mr Ruff 2014.
• New Year’s Eve with Queer As Funk – ring in the new year with Vancouver’s only queer Motown/soul/funk band.
• Cream New Years Eve – a New Year’s Eve party for girls who like girls who like with DJ’s Tracey D and Kasha Kennedy.
• Magic NYE – Big Roger Events presents DJs Dreaddy, Del Stamp and Nick Bertossi.

Read More at GayVancouver.net »

Here are our top news picks from December 8th to December 14th:

Davie Village News

• The Daily Catch is opening a new store in the Village: I think it's a great fit for our community. More information coming soon?

Gay Vancouver News

• Gay Vancouver councillor Tim Stevenson going to Sochi Winter Olympics: Vancouver decides against boycott, sending gay councillor to Russia to "make a statement".
• GLBTQ Issues Counsellors: A great resource for gay-friendly counselling for the LGBTQ community.

Gay World News

• LGBT community protest in Delhi: Holding placards and banners that read “we are not criminals” and “loving another human being is not an offence”, the protesters, comprising members of LGBT community, their families, female sex workers, and women’s groups, demanded the Supreme Court decision condemning homosexuality be repealed immediately.
• When LGBT role models get exposed: Earlier this month we found out that Dustin Lance Black, the 39-year-old Oscar-winning writer of Milk, was dating a 19-year-old diver from Plymouth, England. Literally overnight, it became one of the latest buzzed-about gossip items relating to a same-sex couple in the public eye.
• No Red Kettles: reasons to boycott the Salvation Army and donate to alternative charities.
• When Love Prevails: Latino Families at the Center of Immigrant and LGBT Rights

India Bistro is one of Vancouver's finest dining locations for a taste of authentic Indian cuisine. Located in the heart of the Davie Village and serving the community for over 22 years, this is a place you have to eat if you're living in or visiting our neighborhood - it's that good.

Optik Local (Telus) recently had the chance to interview the owner, Kamal Mroke, and learn more about this popular West End eatery, as well as a quick tutorial on how to make a classic Indian yogurt dish, Raita.