GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE October 10, 2008 www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

communitygroups

World drag king show returns to Columbus

by Sile Singleton

Columbus C'mon, ride the train back to Columbus next week for the Tenth Annual International Drag King Community Extravaganza. Fast Friday Productions welcomes the return of gender play, performance, theory and art after six long years, from Thursday to Sunday, October 16 to 19.

Fueled in Minnesota in the fifth year, Chicago (6), Winnipeg (7), Austin (8), and Vancouver (9), the IDKE X journey back promises to delight your international tastes in drag king community culture.

The International Drag King Extravaganza is a first-of-its-kind event in that it is a collaborative, non-competitive gathering of drag king community performers, their fans, and the people who study, photograph and film them. It was originally started by a group of Ohio State University Women's Studies graduate students who assembled an "insider's view on FTM drag as a subculture and craved to network beyond the Midwestern boundaries of Columbus circa 1998. From its grassroots beginnings, IDKE has grown from 100 attendees to the thousands expected in Columbus this year.

IDKE X features a two-day conference, art and film festival, transman health fair, merchant fair, and international drag performances featuring performers from New Zealand, France, Rome, Canada and throughout the United States, all brought together to enjoy, learn, and indulge in our gender-loving culture.

The two-day conference is co-sponsored by Stonewall Columbus Center on High, the Multicultural Center and the Frank Hale Black Cultural Arts Center at Ohio State University. With the additions of a health screening fair and a career fair this year, the IDKE X Conference exhibits what we have learned about our historical "presence" as gender-queer beings; gender performance beyond the scope of the stage; gender-queer theory; mass popular culture and critical race theories; gender-queer community viability; the function of familial relations both past and present; Kingcommunity health & wellness, etc.

The art festival will include collections from IDKE artists displayed in the Columbus Short North businesses-as well as the debut of a new art anthology, the History of Drag Kings, exhibiting past IDKE memorabilia. The IDKE.X Film Fest presents films from drag subculture in the U.S., France,

Canada and more. Featuring a collection of Film Shorts on Friday, the Film Fest will take place at AXIS from Thursday through Saturday.

In the spirit of our ever-evolving gender world, IDKE culminates in a variety of stage events to delight every fancy-known or unknown. In its tenth year, Friday's Dragdom, once the greenhorn stage where new performers or new aliases amused and surprised audience members, will be held at Wall Street which formerly housed the grand weekend performance event, the Saturday night IDKE Showcase.

International Drag King Extravaganza

The Showcase will bring together the world's best drag performances on Columbus' finest stage, the Lifestyles Community Pavilion at Promowest. The pavilion will host a night of drag talent the likes of which you have never seen, acts that will leave you breathless for more, and a dance after-party with over 2000 international and national gender-queer, queer friendly, and queer curious party-goers.

If that isn't enough, on Friday swing by East Village for Viva's Red Light District

Burlesque Show, "Dames who Love their Kings," the hot and steamy loveliness of Viva Valezz and some of the most vavoomladen women in burlesque this century. These dames are smokin'!

Realizing the youth also need their own space to show their talents, IDKE will also host a Youth Speakeasy in coordination with Stonewall Columbus. The Youth Speakeasy turns the mike over to the new generation of performers. We welcome musicians, singers, spoken word artists and performers from ages 4 to 18 to their very own stage production.

The International Drag King Extravaganza ends on Sunday with brunch hosted at Columbus' newest lounge and dance club, Liquid. Come enjoy the wonderful brunch fare and reminisce with new friends and old before they depart, while getting one last gender boost of theatrical acts, spoken word, and live music.

IDKE.X is all you can ask for, and all the things you couldn't bring yourself to speak of. Don't miss the train. For more information, go to www.idkex.com. ✓

Sile Singleton is the convener and cofounder of the International Drag King Extravaganza.

Enter your short stories in bisexual fiction contest

by Kim Steele

Cleveland-In honor of National Bisexuality Day, which was on September 23, the Bisexual Network of Greater Cleveland

Bisexual Network of Greater Cleveland

is having a Bisexual Fiction contest.

The contest runs through December 23. Entrants can submit up to three short stories-no longer than 10,000 words eachbased on a romantic/erotic relationship between two or three people. The central

character must identify as bisexual.

No entry fee is required. The contest is open to all Ohio residents of any age, race, and sexual orientation. The first place winner will receive $75, second place $50, and third place $25. Winners will be notified by February 2009.

Entries can be sent to Kim Steele, c/o Bisexual Network of Greater Cleveland, 11118 Clifton Blvd., Apt. W-303, Cleveland, Ohio 44102.

Call 216-799-9775 for more information.

Kim Steele is the co-founder and coord nator of the Bisexual Network of Greater Cleveland.

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GAY PEOPLE'S

Chronicle

Friday bowling standings

Cleveland-These are the standings of the North Coast Bowling Association's Friday night bowling league at the end of play October 3.

The Friday night league is a fun social league with plenty of openings. No experience

is necessary. Bowling begins at 7 pm Fridays at Ambassador Superior Lanes, 1500 Superior Ave. in downtown Cleveland, and finishes by 9:30 pm.

For more information, contact the league at 216-228-6966 or 216-481-4417, or see www.ncbafriday.org.

Team

Won Lost

Team

Won Lost

1. The Pin Lizards

12. BFTS II

2. Cheap 'n' Easy..

13. Alley Katz

3. Sex Toys of the Gods

14. Mikey's Misfits

4. The Ten Pins

15. Ball Busters.

5. Tied Up & Twisted

16. Hangen on the Edge

6. Mines in the Gutter

17. Spank Me.

7. Spare Me the Details

18. Wicked Twistas

8. Superstars

19. Zen-Tini

9. Bruno's Boys

20. The Frames of our Lives

10. Lightning Strikes.........

21. Beyond a Mess........

11. Best of the Rest

22. The Center Clevettes

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