GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • Facebook.com/AmbushMag • • • • • The Official Mag©©©©©: AmbushMag.com • 2121212121

22 • 22 • 22 • 22 • 22 • The Official Mag©©©©©: AmbushMag.com • Mar• Mar• Mar• Mar• March 24-April 6, 2015 • Ofch 24-April 6, 2015 • Ofch 24-April 6, 2015 • Ofch 24-April 6, 2015 • Ofch 24-April 6, 2015 • Official Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.comficial Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.comficial Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.comficial Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.comficial Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.com

by Tony LeggioEmail: ledgemgp@gmail.comPhoto by: Larry Graham

under the gaydar

Book of the MonthIntrigue and espionage in exotic loca-

tions blend well to create the perfect com-bination in a spy thriller. Add to this one sexyJames Bondesque anti-hero named Shawand you have a fast paced book series thatleaves the reader waiting for more. Thiswas my first foray into reading DavidBaldacci, a gifted author with numerousbest sellers and several different characterseries mostly focusing on governmentespionage.

I read both novels in the Shaw seriesvery quickly, “The Whole Truth” and then“Deliver Us From Evil.” The first novelintroduces Shaw who now works for asecret United States agency whose mis-sion is to bring down the extremely badguys. But his background has been lessthan stellar working on the opposite side ofthe law before being captured and given aconvincing choice, jail for the remainder ofhis life or helping the “good guys.” Thestoryline begins quickly setting up the ac-tion and delivering lots of twists at everyturn. There is an especially surprising plotdevelopment in the first third of the book,that I never saw coming. What I enjoyedmost was the intricate dealings of the gov-ernment agencies and the powerful ma-nipulations of public relations firms thatoffer “Perception Management.” UnlikeSpin Doctors who manipulate facts, thesepeople create them, which was a captivat-ing concept.

The second novel, “Deliver Us FromEvil” brings Shaw back to battle anotherdelicious evildoer. Shaw’s organizationruns afoul of another group also going afterthe same target that is both dangerous anddeadly. Considered a philanthropist by theworld, this guy harbors a dark secret that heis willing to torture and destroy anyone inhis path. In each book, Baldacci paints avivid portrait of a world that can be broughtto the brink of chaos by simple acts ofviolence and the people that thrive oncreating this effect.

If you are a fan of spy thrillers like Bondand Jason Bourne, then check out theShaw series. For more information, go towww.davidbaldacci.com.

Hot HappeningsEaster is upon us which means things

are hopping in the city. Here are just a fewof the fun things the city has going onaround the holiday.

Thursday March 26, 2015John Waters is coming to NOLA with

his one-man show celebrating his film ca-reer and obsessional tastes entitled ThisFilthy World: Filthier and Dirtier. He bringshis act to the Joy Theatre starting at 8:30pm.The Joy Theatre is located at 1200 CanalStreet. To buy tickets go to www.dworld.usor www.thejoytheater.com.

Friday March 27 – Sunday, March29, 2015

Another production chronicling the

Upstairs Lounge is coming to New Orleans.Originally performed as part of NOLA FringeFestival 2014, Melange Dance Company ispresenting an encore performance featur-ing extended choreography. For the gaycommunity in New Orleans, The UpStairsLounge was a safe haven where the pa-trons could love, laugh, and even worshipfreely. On June 24, 1973, an arsonist setfire to the lounge, claiming 32 lives, markingthis monumental tragedy as the most deadlyattack on the LGBT community in US His-tory. Sadly, even in New Orleans, this eventis still largely unknown. Step ‘UpStairs’ andexperience a celebration of the loungethrough the tale of contemporary danceand film intertwined. Mélange presents avariety of choreographed works inspired bythe true stories of the patrons, from cabaretdrag to a beautiful tribute to those who werelost. Come ‘Take a Walk on the Wild Side’with Us!

The show will feature collaborationswith documentarian, Royd Anderson, cos-tume designer, Kaci Thomassie, and setdesigner, Shena Troia of The Vintage Com-mune. Tickets are $12 and can be pur-chased by going towww.melangedanceofnola.com.

Friday March 27 – Sunday, March29, 2015

N The NOLA Pah (stands for Puppiesand Handlers) are celebrating their Kick Offweekend of the first ever puppy contestheld in Louisiana with events every dayleading up to the crowning of the SouthernMost Puppy. Events include Beer Bust,Contestant Meet and Greet, Pup Play Demoby Current IPTC winners Justin and Tork,Drunken Puppy Beer Crawl, ContestantInterview, MOSH, Puppy and Handler LubeWrestling, Southern Most Puppy Contestand Survivors Mosh. All events take placeat the Phoenix located at 941 Elysian Fields.For Contestant Application and more infor-mation, emailSouthernmostpuppy@gmail.com.

Saturday March 28, 2015New Orleans Advocates for GLBT El-

ders (NOAGE) is hosting their monthlyCoffee Talk Discussion dealing with Pre-venting Financial Exploitation from 10 –11:30am at the New Orleans Healing Cen-ter. For more information, go towww.noagenola.org. The New OrleansHealing Center is located at 2372 St. ClaudeAvenue.

Saturday March 28, 2015

One Night Only at NOCCA!BROADWAY@NOCCA and Mark Cortaleproudly presents Ana Gasteyer featuringSirius XM Radio Star Seth Rudetsky aspianist and host for one night only at LupinHall at the New Orleans Center for CreativeArts starting at 7:30pm. Ana Gasteyer isbest known for her incomparable work onSATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. NOCCA is lo-cated at 2800 Chartres Street. To buytickets, go to www.broadwaynola.com.

Saturday March 28, 2015Purple is in fashion this season espe-

cially at the 16th Purple Party Easter GrandMarshals Reception happening from 8-11pm at the Double Play located at 439Dauphine St. hosted by Gay Easter ParadeBoard of Directors. This is one of the betterevents with show, food, auctions and more,that get people excited about the upcomingweekend filled with festivities. For moreinformation, go towww.gayeasterparade.com.

Friday April 3, 2015Get ready to the sexiest event over the

Easter weekend, Easter Grand MarshalsRona Conners and Tony Leggio in partner-ship with the Gay Easter Parade presentthe 2015 BUNNIES IN THE BIG EASY:Boys, Bonnets and Booze! featuring BON-NET COUTURE Modelled by some of thehottest Bunny Bodies in town. The eventtakes place from 7pm to 9:30pm at thePrivate Home of Kim Smith, 2516 ChartresStreet in the Marigny.

Join the 6th Bunnies in the Big Easy fora Bonnet Blitz like you’ve never seen be-fore! Our hostess Kim Smith opens herbeautiful “California modern” home andcabana—complete with heated pool—toour lucky guests.

• Enjoy our limited Open Barthroughout the event

• Dance to the jams by DJ MarkLouque

• Pet the boys and feed them Peepsin our “adults only” Petting Zoo

• Buy your Rubber Duckies for achance to win a fabulous grand prize

• Experience the biggest and bold-est in Bonnet Couture from costume de-signer Allán Herrera and bonnetista MeganCW

• Bring your very best bonnet for aspecial “guests only” Bonnet Contest!

The party benefits the NO/AIDS TaskForce “Food For Friends” program, nowpart of CrescentCare, and their ongoingefforts to provide regular, nutritious mealsto those affected by HIV/AIDS in our com-munity. Tickets are $35 for the event(advanced purchase only), including a lim-ited open bar for beer, wine and vodka. Afterparty to follow at The Friendly Bar (2301Chartres) featuring special drink prices anda dance party! Call Tony Leggio at504.252.5476 with questions or to reserveyour ticket in advance. You may also pur-chase your ticket online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-bunnies-in-the-big-easy-tickets-15851972677. Formore information, go towww.gayeasterparade.com.

Saturday April 4, 2015Grab Peter by his cottontail and come

on out for the 13th Annual Marigny BunnyHop starting at 2pm at The Friendly locatedat 2301 Charters Street. The event will beled by Bunny Marshal XIII John MichaelAlderson. Wear your favorite Easter bon-

net as you go to the following bars FriendlyBar, Big Daddy's, Cutter's, Mimi’s, Who DatCoffee Café, Kajun's Pub, Mags 940, andthe Phoenix. Easter bonnets will be judgedin the following categories Best Couple,Tallest Bonnet, Best Newbie, SissiestBonnet, Best Group, Butchest Bonnet, andBest of the Best sponsored by AmbushMagazine.

Sunday April 5, 2015In Your Easter Bonnet, it is time for the

16th Gay Easter Parade in New Orleanswith Presenting sponsor Ambush Mag.Come out and see all the “ladies” andgentlemen in their Easter finery as theparade rolls through the streets of theFrench Quarter Easter Sunday at 4:30pm.For more information, go towww.gayeasterparade.com.

Friday April 10, 2015Come Out For Life! Join the Louisiana

Equality Foundation at their 2015 ComingOut Party from 7 – 9pm at the New OrleansHealing Center and learn more about their“Together, We’re Holding On To Hope”Suicide Prevention campaign. There willbe a presentation about local suicide pre-vention resources and how you can helpsave lives in the LGBT community. CouncilMember Jason Williams will be there to givea welcoming greeting. The Coming OutParty is a FREE event, open to the public.The New Orleans Healing Center is lo-cated at 2372 St. Claude Avenue. PleaseR.S.V.P. at this link - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/come-out-for-life-tickets-15770317444. Ambush Mag is aproud sponsor of this event.

Saturday April 11, 2015We now have our Pride Grand Mar-

shals for Gay Pride this year, now it is timefor the 2015 New Orleans Pride Pageant tobe held at Oz from 5 – 8pm. Contestantseligible to compete should live in the NewOrleans or Southeast Louisiana/ South-west Mississippi area. There will be fourdivisions:

1. Miss New Orleans Pride: Male ortransgender (MTF) competitors presentingas female

2. Sir New Orleans Pride: Female ortransgender (FTM) competitors presentingas male

3. Ms. New Orleans Pride: Female ortransgender (MTF) competitors presentingas female

4. Mr. New Orleans Pride: Male ortransgender (FTM) competitors presentingas male

All contestants must be 18 years andolder. The theme this year is “An En-chanted Evening” and Pride Grand Mar-shals Persana Shoulders and Adikus Sulpiziwill be emcees. Oz is located at 800Bourbon Street. Visitwww.NewOrleansPrideFestival.com forcomplete details or to register.

Party DownMy events started on Wednesday when

I went to two hospitality functions startingwith the New Orleans Convention and Visi-tors Bureau’s Business After Hours at TheNew Orleans Jazz Market located on OrethaCastle Haley. This networking event intro-duced people to this new event venuefacility. After that I went to the unveiling ofthe Woldenberg Riverfront Park’s new

[continued on 24]

GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • Facebook.com/AmbushMag • • • • • The Official Mag©©©©©: AmbushMag.com • 2323232323

24 • 24 • 24 • 24 • 24 • The Official Mag©©©©©: AmbushMag.com • Mar• Mar• Mar• Mar• March 24-April 6, 2015 • Ofch 24-April 6, 2015 • Ofch 24-April 6, 2015 • Ofch 24-April 6, 2015 • Ofch 24-April 6, 2015 • Official Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.comficial Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.comficial Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.comficial Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.comficial Gay Easter Parade Guide© since 1999 • GayEasterParade.com

“dancing” fountains in front of the Aquariumof the Americas. The 90-foot linear waterfeature will open officially on April 17. Allguests enjoyed this special test run and Ilook forward to all the exciting new refur-bishments in store for this facility, a favoritefor locals and visitors alike.

Thursday was the opening of the LeMeridien Hotel with a memorable soireethat had everything for a perfect party,delectable cuisine, flowing cocktails, andincredible music. Entitled “First Night,” theLe Meridian which was the old W Hotel onPoydras Street wowed guests from themoment they entered the lobby. The enter-tainment included the Mardi Gras Indians,local jazz performers and Nouvelle Vaguedirect from Paris. The band is the hotel’sglobal music partner. Led by music produc-ers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, NouvelleVague is a collective of talented artists,featuring a rolling cast of popular Parisianmusicians. The group’s music pays hom-age to the swooping elegance of BossaNova, melancholic melodies of the “NewWave” era and 1960’s French cinema,providing a modern twist on the classics.They had guests dancing well into thenight. Sexy French flight attendants handedout champagne as gorgeous men passedappetizers. They even gave away severaltrips both domestic and international. Fromthe cool décor and chic ambiance of thehotel to the classic touches, Le Meridien isan excellent new addition to our hotel offer-ings in the city.

The Gay Easter Parade fundraiserscontinued on Friday with the 7thEggstravaganza at GrandPre’s. The eventwas hosted by GEP Board’s Opal Mastersand Darwin Reed with the fun talents of

Easter Grand Marshals XVI Johnny Pas-sion and Deja Deja-Vue’, Bootsie DeVille,Barbara Ella, Nikki Max, Scott Turbervilleas Boy George, and a kick ass performanceby Ken Grandpre as Lana Luscious andPhilip Anthony doing a soul inspiring “Look-ing For A City.”

The next day was a flurry of activitystarting with me and my friends going to themonthly first Saturday Art Walk on JuliaStreet. There were some great exhibits inalmost all the galleries. This is one of thecity’s hidden fun (and free) things to do. Allthe galleries and shops on Julia Street inthe Warehouse District have art shows withcomplimentary wine. It is an excellent wayto see new and rising talent in the city aswell as some more established ones. LinEmery’s show at Arthur Roger’s Gallery isnot to be missed. Then we went to the NewOrleans Jazz Market which has now openedtheir bar on weekend nights with live music.With Jazz great Irvin Mayfield behind thefacility, you know you will get an impressivelist of talented performers there. Then wetraveled to the Pub in the French Quarterfor the Love is Love Prom, a celebration ofthe LGBT community. The common themethroughout the night was Love at this throw-back event that mimicked those nostalgicdays from high school. There was even aking and queen of the prom. We ended ourtravels that evening at the Tulane AvenueBar for Kitty D’ Litter’s Litter Box Review.Once again this young and up-coming en-tertainer in the city had a large crowd withsome wonderful drag queens performing.These girls in Mid-City know how to bringthe house down.

On Thursday of the following week Iattended the amazing performance of “Sud-denly Last Summer” staged by SouthernRep Theatre at the Ashe Power House.

This newly renovated state of the art 200-seat theater boasts an enormous lobby artgallery in the blossoming Central City neigh-borhood at 1731 Baronne Street. It wascalled the Ashe Power House since the 90-year-old structure was originally an electri-cal power switching station for streetcars.The play proves to be a powerful andmoving evening of theatre. TennesseeWilliams has a knack for combining the rightmixture of comedy and tragedy to create atheatrical classic. Southern Rep shines inthis production especially Brenda Currin asViolet Venerable who is just absolutelymagnificent. Whether you are a fan ofWilliams or not this play is worth the priceof admission.

The final weekend started on a sadnote, on Friday I went to the viewing of ChetErnest Pourciau at Schoen Funeral Homeon Canal Street. I know this may seeminappropriate to feature this in the “PartyDown” column, but I believe the event wastruly one of the most heartwarming celebra-tions of life gatherings I have ever seen.Chet passed away on March 6, 2015 fromLymphoma at his New Orleans home. Hewas the proprietor of Chet Pourciau Designon Magazine Street and was known to havethe best party on the block for specialoccasions like Art For Art’s Sake and theMagazine Street Holiday Stroll. Many peopleknew him as the host of Chet Chat onWLAE-TV and from his Thursday Fashionand Friday Design segments on Fox News8. Recently he was featured on the FoodNetwork’s Worst Cooks in America, a com-petition series that focuses on finding tal-ented chefs among cooking neophytes.

What was a marked sad occasion wasbrightened by the atmosphere no doubtcompletely designed by Chet who I knewwas looking down from above enjoying theevening. The entire building was devotedto Chet as guests were given a glass ofchampagne as they entered. A harpistplayed inside and a jazz combo was ser-enading guests on the wrap around ve-randa. The rain had cleared from earlier inthe day letting in the most brilliant sunsetsas if ordered especially for Chet. The entireplace was illuminated by his many friendsand family sharing this wonderful man’slight and love of life. Chet, my dear friend,you left us way too early in my opinion, butI am honored to have known you. Youtouched my life as you did many others withyour sense of style, beauty and elegance.I will always remember that larger than lifesmile that you had which just filled the roomwhen you entered. Rest in Peace.

Saturday my spirits were lifted withanother fantastic Gay Easter Paradefundraiser at Oz. The 14th Annual StarStudded Drag Extravaganza was a hugesuccess with performers from the royalty of

under the gaydar ...from 22

the Gay Carnival krewes, past and cur-rently reigning King Cake Queens. I wasvery lucky to emcee with the ever so grandOpal Masters this fabulous event that gar-nered a great crowd. Every person didshow stopping numbers starting withMarsha who kicked the night off with arousing number dedicated to Rip. KingCake Queen XXII Aubrey Synclaire andOpal Masters followed suit with equallyspectacular tunes. Bringing the housedown at the end of the show was a powerfulperformance by Dragzilla who nailed Adeleas well as the lively duo of Ms. Becky Allenand Marshal Harris with their rendition of“Proud Mary.” And no fundraiser would becomplete without the Big Easy Sisters lend-ing their special touch to the evening.Thanks to all who came out and supportedthis great event.

That concludes my two weeks ofevents; I look forward to seeing everyone atthe final Gay Easter Parade fundraisers.Until then keep chancing that cotton”tail.”

In Other Gay NewsIf you are a connoisseur of the art of

drag than have I got the ultimate weekendgetaway for you. For One Weekend May 1-3, 2015, Austin, Texas will become the DragCapital Of The World! The Austin Interna-tional Drag Festival will be a three nightevent (including one day stage) of shows,parties, vendor fairs, meet & greets, FilmShowcases, and more. The festival willshowcase the best drag performers from allover the world, from up-and-coming dragartists alongside established and legend-ary drag superstars.

Congratulations to the city of Austin forbeing at the forefront and recognizing thisunique art performance. New Orleans ownVinsantos will be headlining. Drag all dayand all night, it is heaven.

There will be something for everyoneas all genres and genders of drag will becovered from Pageant Queens to the fringeand freaky. Headliners include: AdoreDelano, Courtney Act, Jackie Beat, CocoPeru, Kevin Aviance, Derrick Barry, SherryVine, Kelly Mantle, Pandora Boxx, JigglyCaliente, Tammie Brown, Delta Work,Heklina, Landon Cider, Horrorchata,Charles Busch, and Holly Woodlawn andso many more. This festival aims to boostthe camaraderie of the drag performer com-munity in a non-competitive environmentand to further educate the public at largeabout the world of Drag! So come out andsee your favorite performer or discover anew one. Austin is only a stone’s throwaway from NOLA.

For more information or tickets, go towww.austindragfest.org or http://www.facebook.com/austindragfest.

trodding the boards

by Brian Sands Email: bsnola2@hotmail.com

Daniel Nardicio Presents through April 18New York’s nightlife impresario Daniel Nardicio is planting a pole in New Orleans to

expand his event tent and NOLA is the better for it. After all, is anyone else bringing bothJohn Waters and Alan Cumming down here for one-man shows, with plans in the worksfor many more such luminaries to come?

Nardicio started his season off at One Eyed Jacks with someone new to the BigEasy, Dina Martina who hails from Seattle. Or “Seedle” as she tends to pronounce it. Shealso has trouble with her g’s, so hard g’s become soft g’s and vice versa. Poor jirl (but funnyfor the audience).

I hadn’t been familiar with Dina before and wasn’tsure what to expect. From her posters she looked likea berserk clown crossed with a demented housewife;not a bad combination but one which can take you onlyso far.

She came on stage wearing a red leather jacketover a torn white Liz Claiborne t-shirt over a blackleotard—quite a look—describing herself as someonewho’s been “a hostess for a little bit too long” andlaunched into a rock song whose lyrics I couldn’tunderstand. I wondered where this would lead.

But then she told how she had “found her daughter”who had a goiter on her neck which she painted a cameoon but then she used some rope and a door to separateit from said baby daughter and turned it into a goiterpinata. And, boy, did she have me grinning like a fool.

Advice followed on how we could reverse thechallenge of having “4/3 of Earth” covered with waterwhich involved selling pieces of coral like they did with the Berlin Wall. We were alsotreated to a video with Dina’s head superimposed on characters extending from GoneWith the Wind to The Brady Bunch to Toto in The Wizard of Oz.

If all of this sounds silly, it was. But itwas also rather sophisticated with a well-crafted structure underlying the madness,and one-liners that ranged from Wildeanepigrams (“No marriage is complete with-out divorce.”) to anarchic Marx-isms (“WhenI was in Europes [sic] I went to Australia.”).That’s Groucho, not Karl.

Self-described as a “tragic singer, hor-rible dancer and surreal raconteur” with hergash of a mouth outlined in stop-sign redlipstick and a bushy jet-black mop of hair,Dina could pass as a frowsy, pixilated dis-tant cousin of Elizabeth Taylor.

Combining a free-spirited faux naif per-sona, out-there humor, and subversive wit,Dina’s act is difficult to capture in words;

that might sound like letting myself off theproverbial hook but Gambit’s Kevin Allmanfelt the same way. All I know is that I had abig ol’ ear-to-ear smile on my face for mostof her wonderfully weird, transgressiveshow.

Whether juggling, giggling like a “tipsyJapanese prostitute”, or doing a renditionof Whitney’s Greatest Love of All like you’venever heard it before, Dina had the packedhouse, a combination of hipster and artytypes, gay and straight, loving every minuteof her hour-long performance. I don’t thinkNew Orleans has seen the last of her. Icertainly hope not.

[continued on 28]

Dina Martina

GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • GayMardiGras.com • SouthernDecadence.com • March 24-April 6, 2015 • Facebook.com/AmbushMag • • • • • The Official Mag©©©©©: AmbushMag.com • 2525252525