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  E Room/Weird Bar owner Kim Davis. Photo by Jamie Francis / The Oregonian Portland is a very homo-aware town but we are still small, and news travels fast. Here’s some of the things that caused the most uproar.
5 – Duende censorship, and the Pride parade route change
It was much more upsetting to witness the Rose Festival quash a chaste kiss in the Circus Project’s Duende, nearly forcing the performance to be canceled. There was nearly as much kerfuffle internally in the community when the Pride parade route was taken off the traditionally Stark Street triangle (aka Vaseline Alley). Sometimes the struggle comes from without, but the struggle within is just as powerful.
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  Burlesquire performs monthly at Burlesque in Boyland Tonight
Burlesque in Boyland with Burlesquire – The weekend just keeps getting earlier! Forget that I’m currently missing out on both Peep Show and Gay Survivor at the moment, tomorrow ushers in the inaugural boylicious burlesque show with Burlesquire. Though there may be male strippers aplenty no one has the sexy shakin’ it skills like these boys. They are loved by lesbians even. Which is why it is so appropriate that they bejoined by Rose City Siren Delilah Sinn and a host of varied sexy-as-hell genders.
Thursday
Welfare AIDS film premiere from ChiChi and Chonga – These amazing drag queens have exploded onto the scene in a mere few weeks. I’m already overwhelmed by their amazing performances and hotness. And they’ve already got a film premiere! Shit! It’s also a benefit for AIDS Walk Portland and oh so many drink specials…
Drop Shop afterparty – Don’t worry if the drink specials have you blazed already, just keep on keeping on at Red Cap for Drop Shop right after the film premiere. A combination of Portland favorites strippers and queer DS is helmed by DJ Mani who drops the booty shakin’, ass bouncin’ beats of Nola and the dirty dirty south. Or as close as you can get in this town. Plus pole dancing lead by DQ extraordinaire Exstacy Inferno. Hot.
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  Ivan Coyote, Anna Camilleri and Lyndell Montgomery perform Swell Bringing together a grand spectrum of masculinities Butch Voices Regional Conference comes to P-Town this weekend as part of its four state tour. The gathering butchies celebrate a vast array of identities.
We are woman-identified Butches. We are trans-masculine Studs. We are faggot-identified Aggressives. We are noun Butches, adjective Studs and pronoun-shunning Aggressives. We are she, he, hy, ze, zie and hir. We are you, and we are me. The point is, we don’t decide who is Butch, Stud or Aggressive. You get to decide for yourself.
This convention is part party, learning experience, performance and part art. It opens tonight with a A Taste of Butch Flavor art exhibition at the Q Center (4115 N Mississippi) with live music featuring a reunion of Portland’s all-womyn percussion troupe, The Rhythm Givers, with special guests. The exhibit will be up throughout the month.
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 Thursday
90s Bollywood Bike In with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge – Combining cultures outside the Q Center with the third installment of South Asian filmic goodness. Translated to English The Big Hearted Will Take the Bride follows Raj, a freewheeling party boy schooled in London, as he chases a traditionally raised girl across Europe and India.
Friday
 The Rose City Sirens say farewell to the E Room Friday This is the night you’re going to have to make some tough choices…and yet keep going for Saturday.
Echos an E Room Farewell with the Rose City Sirens – This week has been a whirlwind of emotions surrounding the trials and tribulations of that little dyke bar in Southeast. But not matter what side of the debate you fall on it’s going to be a damn fine celebration of the history of our community. With the trio of irreverent, sexy and soulful Rose City Sirens at the helm how could it be anything other than deliciously bittersweet. I’d want my goodbye party to be thrown by these girls.
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  There have always been the good times and "weirds" at the E Room Last week news of the longstanding lesbian bar, The Egyptian, revamping as the more inclusive Weird Bar flared tempers and ignited a storm of discussion. For the most part this was a healthy dialogue and the E-Weird boss Kim took the comments to heart.
Below is a response she wanted me to share with the community. It may not satisfy all the community’s curiosities or concerns but it is a real effort to explain and connect with E Room regulars and other local queers.
With an economy as slow as Portland’s currently is, there’s little room to hire truly crafted wordsmiths and artists to take care of business PR. It’s a DIY promotion atmosphere but even in a DIY-lovin’ town this tactic doesn’t always work. It is important to remember that although the E Room is an institution, those that maintain it are not. They are human.
Still…it may be time to enlist the help of humans that can write a press release, have some marketing savvy and an understanding of how language can offend.
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  The E Room in better times. Pride 2010 No matter what our varied and occasionally uncomfortable feelings about Portland’s only dyke bar the E Room may have been, we were all saddened when they announced their impending closure this October. But the owner(s) appeared to want to move on and did not want to accept help in the form of a “Save the E Room” fundraiser. Everything for the past couple months has been a dedicated “last” as we all continued to slow funeral procession towards its final days.
Turns out, the bar itself is not dying, only its commitment to lesbians and gays. ERoomBoss announced this today on Facebook:
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 Hercules and Love Affair's Andy Butler (left) and Kim Ann Foxman getting frisky before the show Thursday
nomy lamm and the Whole Wide World with Tender Forever and Timmy Straw – A vague description to be sure, but an audience collaborative performance featuring nomy lamm? I wouldn’t dare miss it. This fat, disabled, queer activist has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard and an avant garde art sensibility like a hard candy coated version of Marina Abramovic. And that hipper-than-thou not really off-the-beaten path Disjecta location (8371 N Interstate) is a perfect venue. Sprinkle in the sweet and melancholy croonings of Tender Forever and the local electro flavor of Timmy Straw and you got yourself a show that would rival…well…
Hercules and Love Affair at the Hawthorne Theater – How could there even be any competition for this? Neo-electro-disco finely crafted with haunting vocals and danceable beats, unmatchable style and hotness for the girls, boys and everything in between should mean a packed house. And believe me, since it’s been about a decade since I have seen nomy lamm, and a lifetime since I’ve seen HLA, it’s going to be a really tough decision. Oh and did I mention I named the self-titled Hercules & Love Affair debut the best album of 2008? Either way I intend to try to cool off afterword at…
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  Jimme Jamma brings down the haus with homeSICK, Saturday. Photo by Peter Sorfa. Thursday
A-Wol Dance Collective presents Art in the Dark – Fit, beautiful amazing women dancing and flying through the air. And I hear that background looks like a giant fabric vagina.
Whip Cream Olympics at Red Cap – Yet another Red Cap party that some will be titillate some and disgust others, this is a week long championship of feats of athleticism involving that sweet, fluffy treat.
Friday
Pre-funk with DJ Lunch Lady – Low key Killingsworth coffee shop red e (1006 North Killingsworth) is one of my new favs, (even though I also love the nearby CoffeeHouse 5) and DJ Lunch Lady will be at the helm for an early evening art opening. I heard that his inaugural Cafeteria party at Vendetta was off the chain, so combine that with free alcohol and it’s the perfect start to your weekend.
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  Just some of the super hot go go dancers, Chase Bender, Chance McKinsey, & Storm Titley, appearing at Queer Cornucopia Looks like we are all finally recovered from Pride, because the weekends are back. There’s more than enough to keep you busy but the most exciting reunion of this week (cuz, yeah, there’s more comin’ up) is the return of Puppet and Stormy‘s Booty: Queer as Ye Be. But the past ain’t all the weekend, or Friday for that matter, have to offer. There’s foam, punchy go go dancers, and bar hopping unicorns.
Friday
Queer Cornucopia – The trannies and chasers are out in full force to hock their sexy wares in benefit of Tuff Luck and Original Plumbing and yet the best part is that it’s low pressure donation. Savory Pink‘s Sophia St James wanted the community to be able to “support TL and OP in a matter that they are comfortable [with]…” But you’ll want to contribute to these hotties as they dole out either kisses or punches. That’s right, it’s a very naughty “kissing” booth they’ve got goin’ on here and I have got to figure out a way to get back and forth from the south to the north.
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  Cazwell and Amanda Lepore will be at the Stark Street Block Party So yeah, the 11:30 step off time for the Portland Pride Parade is pretty much a guesstimate, and we’ve all just been partying for 4 days, so Gay Standard Time is general operating procedure. But it’s the 40th anniversary of the first Gay Pride (Lordy lordy look who’s 40…) so you better be there with your fairy-ass bells on, even if there is a little sprinkling. If there is any rain I’m sure it’s just “God” telling us to wake up and parade already.
And yes, qPDX will be there, tweeting (twatting), parading, handing out stickers, buttons and flyers, in our best supergay outfits including newly fashioned qPDX “beater” tank tops courtesy Mike Burt. There’s a couple extra so if you march with us and/or are real lucky, you might get one too.
And of course once we reach the Waterfront I usually tool around for awhile and giggle at baby dykes purchasing their first set of Freedom Rings, fully expecting to head home. But oh no, it ain’t over yet folks…
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