Dinner tonight at Mojave - 7PM - a few notes - and the weekend!

Yes it's time for the next OA dinner and tonight it's going to be at Mojave at the Ditmars Blvd stop in Astoria, but before we get to the specifics of that we'll have to bring up a few public service announcements:

Because Out Astoria is now an official 501(c)(3) non-profit social organization we have to be very careful about the Out Astoria name appearing in anything politically oriented...yes that's just the nature of the IRS...making everything as complicated as possible...so to that end our official statement is that "Out Astoria does not endorse any political candidate for any office."

However because there is a LOT going on directly concerning all of our members we have been referring interested parties to the following groups that are geared specifically to our demographic - LGBT and being in Astoria:

NYS Senate District 12 is a group site designed specifically for marriage equality to address the issue of Sen. Onorato

http://groups.google.com/group/SD12

and also Astorians for Marriage Equality

http://www.astoriansformarriageequality.com/

and on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=67509268636

for those of you looking to get more involved locally these would be your best bet and you'll probably meet some of our other members there as well! :)

speaking of other members...have you heard Mimi Imfurst (your hostest with the mostest at Lavish Lounge) is running (in heels no less) to get on the second season of Rupaul's Drag Race!? Never mind that you already know she's fierce enough to hold her own against anybody else on that show, Out Astoria is proud to support her in her effort and asks that you do so as well...what better way to show her your appreciation for all her work at Lavish than to put her on that show and get her some of the recognition she deserves!

http://rupaulcasting.com/people/MimiImfurst

she's been in 30th place, then 1st place, then 5th place, then 2nd place...we're all hoping to keep her in the top 5 until the first on line elimination which is taking place around 41 days from now...so remember...VOTE DAILY...and do what i do...if you have a smart phone...vote from your phone too :)

okay end of announcements, on we go to dinner and upcoming events:

TONIGHT - MAY 13 - OUT ASTORIA'S MAY DINNER AT MOJAVE - 7PM
22-36 31 Street, Astoria, NY - 718-545-4100
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=84569742896

In this adobe hacienda, the décor is subdued and soothing. Warm cream color walls, dark wood floors and furniture allow one to focus on the artistic design of the room, with three separate pitched ceilings made from spruce and fir strategically placed with hidden lighting on the walls. When evening falls, the flickering glow of candles adds comfortable warmth to the already pleasant ambiance. The food is Southwestern with of course authentic Mexican flare. From starters such as the hand hacked Hass avocado guacamole and MotherRoad Roadhouse Chili to entrees such as slow & low braised Short ribs of Angus beef, Mojave’s menu is both fun and interesting.

http://www.mojaveny.com/

Perhaps you're feeling wild and crazy - perhaps you're still giddy from cinco de mayo and want to try something new...why not try Mojave's "Punisher" drink?

100% agave tequila infused with Habanero Peppers.

If you can drink it (and keep it down without any help), it's on them... ( 5 minute rule applies) After drinking the punisher, one can be immortalized on the wall of FAME, or reside with the masses on the wall of SHAME.. it all depends on who is drinking it.

Even I'm not that crazy! But I might be crazy enough to check out Karaoke at Lavish afterwards...:)

SUN - MAY 17 - OUT ASTORIA AT AIDS WALK NEW YORK - 8AM TO 5PM
Central Park, NY - OutAstoriaNYC@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=63881378435

I think it's too late for you to register now - but if you want to walk the walk with most of nyc you know where we'll be!

but AFTERWARDS there's been an interesting development:

SUN - MAY 17 - MARRIAGE EQUALITY NYC RALLY - 6TH AVE AT 45TH STREET - 5PM TO 7PM - FREE
6th Avenue at 45th Street, New York, NY - contact@broadwayimpact.com
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=79264887545
(this event is hosted by Broadway Impact and is NOT an Out Astoria event)

The NY State Assembly PASSED Marriage Equality!

It now moves on to the Senate where we only need to convince about eight more senators to vote for the bill and Gov. Paterson will sign it into law. We are so close and have to do everything we can to make sure New York joins the momentum that is sweeping the nation. We have just six weeks to get the people to call their senators and make their voices heard before the session ends and the bill dies.

The National Organization of Marriage (the anti-gay organization that created the "Gathering Storm" video and now have Miss CA as their spokesperson) will be protesting at Governor Paterson's Manhattan office on Sunday. They are protesting him for presenting the marriage equality bill and being such a strong supporter of civil rights.

As a response to their protest we are throwing a Marriage Equality Rally in Midtown to show the Governor and the State of New York, that we support equality for all. We have been working with Broadway Cares, HRC, Civil Rights Front, Empire State Pride Agenda and Marriage Equality NY to ensure that our response to their hate is LOVE.

Performances by:

Audra McDonald
Gavin Creel
Cheyenne Jackson
The Cast of HAIR

Appearances by:

Cynthia Nixon
Kristin Davis
David Hyde Pierce
Senator Tom Duane
Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell

*other performances and speakers pending.

and upcoming:

FRI - MAY 22 - OUT ASTORIA'S MAY MIXER AT LAVISH LOUNGE - 8PM TO 11PM
34-01 36 Avenue, Astoria, NY - 718-361-0022
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=77047166309

We're starting the mixers at 8:00 PM now to basically give everyone enough time to go home and put on their face before coming back out to our little soiree! Yeah we know this is the start of Memorial Day weekend but we made our schedule and we're sticking to it...besides I know it's not a Fire Island weekend for EVERYONE heh some of you start the weekend before :)

So anyway, make sure you come out to what's become the largest local gathering of Astoria queers since it started becoming a hot place to live for all of us homo boys and girls!

http://www.lavishloungeny.com/

As usual we'll be doing 2-4-1 beers/well-drinks and $3 cosmos from 7pm to 11pm - and the lovely ex-astorian DJ Kevin Graves will be starting an hour early at 9PMish to round out our mixer and play on till the wee hours of Saturday morning!

http://www.myspace.com/kevingraves

we've also got lots of fun stuff coming up for the summer, move nights in socrates sculpture park, the warm up party at ps1, perhaps an outing to the original Water Taxi Beach! Keep an eye out for emails from me!

THE USUAL "IN CLOSING" BLURB:

Remember - we're on Facebook now and if you're not already friends with the Out Astoria profile you should friend us!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1169807844

And once you're friends with us, if you're not already a member of the Out Astoria facebook group you should join that too!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6026204257

And of course, don't forget - we're also on Why Leave Astoria?! - I went to a round table discussion they were having and these people are a hoot - even if you're not gay you can get a lot from poking around their site - there's tons of stuff going on locally that even my jaded ass didn't know about!
http://www.whyleaveastoria.com/group/outastoria

see you all at dinner!

--jonathan(blue)
www.outastoria.com