Pride Guide 20

Women's and men's choruses get set for San Jose

by Jeff Woodard

Cincinnati-When Muse: Cincinnati Women's Choir returned home from its tenday trip to the United Kingdom last November, it marked the beginning, not the end, of something special.

One of 27 women's choruses to appear at July's GALA Choruses Festival 2000 in San Jose, Calif., Muse will sing two 30-minute sets as well as join England's Deep C Divas onstage during a special women's program. Muse members met the Sheffield choir during Muse's visit to Sheffield, England, last fall.

Collaborative efforts for Muse don't stop there: The Cincinnati Women's Choir and Deep C Divas will sing two songs of internationally acclaimed singer and songwriter Holly Near, and appear in concert with Near.

Muse looks forward to introducing two of Near's new songs, "One Thousand Grandmothers" and "Uh-huh,” to Cincinnati audiences in the near future. Other guest artists are expected to make cameo appearances.

And while they're on the Left Coast, Muse members are planning a separate collaborative effort in San Francisco.

Locally, Muse recently performed "Take Heart: Her Songs Rise," a program depicting

New boat makes a whole new Ohio River cruise

Cincinnati-We're gonna rock the river with a whole new twist on a favorite Pride event!

The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Cincinnati invites everyone to the annual Pride Party Cruise on Saturday June 24. This popular long-time part of the Queen City's Pride festivities is getting a major makeover for the new millennium.

This year the Party Cruise will be earlier, longer, with catered food, and on a brand new boat. Celebrations Riverboats will be taking us for a beautiful evening cruise up and down the Ohio River from 7 pm to 10 pm. The delicious hors d'oeuvre menu will be prepared by chef Chuck Girmann and will include hickory smoked turkey, stuffed mushrooms with seafood dressing, chicken breasts in fruit chutney, gourmet cheeses, fresh vegetables and more. There will be a cash bar.

The cruise will feature a live DJ and dancing inside, plus lots of romantic moonlight on the outside decks. There will also be special live entertainers performing throughout the evening.

The boat will start boarding at 6 pm at the Steamboat Landing on Kentucky Route 8, by Deveril Street on the south bank of the Ohio River.

Tickets for the Cincinnati Pride Party Cruise 2000 are $35 each and are now on sale at several locations in the Greater Cincinnati area. This year, all tickets are sold in advance only. No tickets will be available at the event. So don't wait until the last minute, and miss the boat.

To purchase tickets or for more information, contact the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Cincinnati at 513-591-0200, or log onto their web site at http:// www.GLBTCenterCincinnati.com.

the progression of self-discovery and selfrealization. Featuring new works and familiar tunes with new arrangements, "Her Songs Rise" was a collaboration among Muse, composer Jennifer Stasack and friends of former Muse member Daveen Litwin.

Men's Chorus will be hearing voices

The Cincinnati Men's Chorus will be "Hearing Voices" this weekend. But don't be alarmed. Far from enduring a psychological malady, the group will be performing a program of the same name when it hosts the Columbus Gay Men's Chorus in performances Saturday night and Sunday afternoon June 10 and 11.

Commissioned by Men's Chorus artistic director Patrick O. Coyle, the 11-song program provides a look at the past 100 years of gay history through songs set in musical styles of their respective decades. "There wasn't anything like it in the litera-

ture," says Coyle, who helped the chorus obtain a $15,000 grant from the William O. Purdy Foundation of Cincinnati—the largest grant the chorus has received in its nine-year history. (Additional funding was provided by the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses' Commission Matching Grants Program.)

From the opening "Looking Back" to the ending anthem "Hearing Voices," vignettes of gay life throughout the past century are highlighted. “G.I. Swing" speaks to the recruitment of openly gay men into the military; "Wild and Gay," a '20s-style Charleston number depicts Harlem drag balls of that era; and "Making Strides" brings us from the '80s to present-day victories and defeats.

The Cincinnati Men's Chorus will team with the Columbus Gay Men's Chorus160 singing members strong-on four selections as it continues preparations for Festival 2000.

Tri-state Womonfest is set for June 17 in Kentucky

Cincinnati-Women from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky will gather on Saturday, June 17 for a fun-filled day at Womonfest, just south of Cincinnati.

This women-only, all day-into-the-night music festival will take place on a very private, woman-owned exotic pet farm in Dry Ridge, Kentucky known as Cedar Hill Ranch.

The day begins at 11 am with entertainment by HIS Kings, Rita Beach, Tracy Walker, Just the Band, Lee & Shelley, Jamie Fota, Frozen Feet, Meridian and Belinda Scroggins. The event will feature workshops on financial empowerment, pet first aid, "Tool Time" and women's health. Vendors include jewelry,

books, artwork and lots of great food.

Located about 40 miles outside of Cincinnati, Cedar Hill Ranch is a beautiful stretch of land with several lakes, swimming pool and a petting zoo. You are welcome to fish, take paddleboat rides and stay up all night with our late-night jam session. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the gate. Purchase tickets in advance at Crazy Ladies Bookstore or send a SASE and check or money order to Womonfest, P.O. Box 983, Covington, Ky. 41012 or e-mail womonfest@hotmail.com.

Volunteers can get in free, or half-off. Call 606-442-5993 for more info or e-mail Imries813@aol.com

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