In my last article, I promised to

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1 St. Anna s Ihave always considered myself a very spiritual person, believing in a higher power. And like many others, my faith is an important part of who I am. Recently I went to JohnPaul s on a Sunday and they were holding a special fundraiser for St. Anna s Church. John and Paul, the owners of JohnPaul s have been a A Question of Truth under the gaydar by Tony Leggio tonymgp@hotmail.com Photo by: Larry Graham, GrahamStudioOne.COM the pink pastor by Rev. Clinton Crawshaw pastor@bigeasymcc.com Pastors have a very bad habit of understanding certain truths about their faith, but being afraid of teaching them to their flocks for fear of damaging the poor darling s feeble minds. I don t actually believe people are too weak to know the truth; their leaders are just too weak to tell them the truth! Pastors even in conservative denomination fully understand that the Bible is a complex, sometimes contradictory collection of documents spanning over a thousand years written by many different people for many different reasons and audiences. It is part history, part theory, part prophecy (often re-written after the events it is prophesying about) and part politics. It contains four gospels that do not always agree with one another. They also understand that The Book of Revelation was written to a cluster of early churches in what is modern day Turkey. It was written in a thinly veiled code intended to allow the author to slam the Roman Empire and specifically the Emperor; not as a sort of Supermarket tabloid guide to the end of the world for modern American Fundamentalists. To add to all this, the established church has been on the wrong side of history so many times that any other institution would have hung it s head in shame and closed up shop centuries ago. Every issue from the Earth going round the sun (Galileo), Evolution, Women s rights, slavery and racial segregation to LGBT equality has seen the church on the side of the status quo and stupidity, willful ignorance, selfinterest and even unalloyed evil. It seems clear to me that if the truth of Christianity lies in the infallibility of a deeply flawed man in Rome, or in the list of must believes that most churches peddle, or in driving force behind raising funds for St. Anna s Food Bank. Not knowing much about the church, I decided to attend their gospel brunch fundraiser. It was a lively way to spend an afternoon. For $10, you received a wonderful spaghetti meal cooked by John and Paul themselves, while enjoying their choir appropriately titled the Annanotes. Made up of the literal interpretation of scripture then it must be cast aside as dangerous nonsense that threatens the future of society that leads potentially clever people to check their minds at the door of the church and parrot children s tales to one another. Thankfully it doesn t. This easy caricature of Christianity misses its entire point. Christianity is not just another religion. In many ways it is not a religion at all. It functions at its best when stripped of what the old Anglican prayer book called fond things vainly invented. In essence it is the way of a man from Galilee who called all of us to God. Nowhere does it attempt to too narrowly define just what or who God is. This man showed God s lovingkindness in his own flesh, and put that lovingkindness above his own wants, needs and ego. He urged us to remember that God loves us all, and that not only were we created equal, but we remain equal. He urged us to love one another even as we love ourselves. This forces us to embark upon a risky journey of self discovery that must lead to self love and self respect of the most truthful kind, and through that self love, to love of neighbor and God. All this works without any supernatural element at all, but through being on this journey we cannot fail but form a deep and abiding relationship with God. This is profoundly super natural! Through it we are transfigured beyond our sweating selves, beyond creatures that endlessly want and desire and control, and into something closer to Christ himself. All this is available to real people, to grown-ups who doubt, and question, and enquire. You do not have to turn into a ranting televangelist or a credulous simpleton to fully embrace this Christianity. Nobody but Jesus Christ has the authority to tell you that you do not in fact follow Jesus Christ. Just follow the truth, and it will surely lead you to God. Follow God and abandon truth and you will find it was not God at all. members, this group was very entertaining. St. Anna s is located at 1313 Esplanade Avenue and has been a very good friend of the LGBT community. If you are searching for a spiritual awakening, St. Anna s may be your answer. Thoroughly liking the people I met from the church, I thought you would benefit from a little background about St. Anna s. The liturgy at St. Anna s is Anglo- Catholic in ceremony and ritual, which represents the splendor and joy of the eternal banquet in heaven which is displayed in their celebration of the Mass. As Christians, the congregation strives for justice and peace among all people and respects the dignity of every human being. Their fellowship welcomes everyone without regard to economic status, race, ethnicity, sex, age, or sexual orientation. They are a reconciling fellowship that attempts to bring diverse peoples into one house to worship Jesus as Lord and to begin to understand the vast tapestry that is God s good creation. As they say, All are welcomed, none are shunned. The bedrock of the soul and life of St. Anna s is open and welcoming hospitality. And coming up, Miss Louisiana Leatherette 2010, Cathy Fox is presenting Divas Among Us 2 (they keep on making sequels) on Sunday, April 18 at 5pm. This event will be held at JohnPaul s and is a benefit for St. Anna s Food Bank. The line-up of performers is a who s who in the drag world with each lady being a diva in her own right. Tickets are $5 at the door and there will be a silent auction and 50/50 raffle. Keep an eye out for more upcoming fundraisers at JohnPaul s for the church. For more information, go to The Stritch Phenomenon In my last article, I promised to learn more about Elaine Stritch s, sorry, I mean Cathy Fox s sordid past and what is that mysterious secret she has been harboring for all these years. Recently I caught up with her as she poured herself into a lovely vodka martini with three olives. Darling, you never accept a martini without three olives. It is just not done. I remember right before a show, the bartender served me my fifth martini and without noticing it only had two olives, I downed it and went on stage. As you can imagine, it was a dismal performance, so from now on, all my martinis must have three olives or I do not grace the stage, she said pointing out her three olives. Ms. Fox (wink, wink), what is the secret to your success and can you tell me about your past. It seems you just popped up in the Crescent City and have become an instant stage darling, I continued the interview doggedly. She squinted her eyes at me and moved closer. This was it, she was going to tell me her secrets, her deliciously scandalous past was about to be revealed to me. All questions finally answered. She looked at me, her jungle red lips parted to speak. I was breathless with anticipation. Then she burped up an olive and passed out on the table. I guess we will have to wait until the next issue to find out more about this enigmatic Cathy Fox. Disco Inferno Who said disco was dead? Because it is alive and bigger than ever at Tubby s Golden Lantern. Princesse Stephaney is hosting the Disco Divas of New Orleans show every other Sunday at 8pm, next show April 25th. I went to her first show and it was a rollicking good time. There was lots of people in the audience singing along with their favorite disco hits. In addition to the Princesse, the performers that night included Starr Daniels, Selena and Linda Lucky. I had not been to Tubby s since the remodel and it looks great. The place has had a complete facelift and is bigger with a larger stage and lots of room for patrons. The bar has been renovated to now accommodate people in the performance room. There is also the Divas R Us show every Saturday night hosted by Rikki Red and on Thursdays you can play Ringo with Sister Mary Isahor. That hysterical bingo event starts at 8pm and there are always great prizes. So check out Tubby s and the new look of the Golden Lantern. Persana Rules Last Thursday, I went to Oz for the first Latin night and it was mucho fabuloso. The entire night was amazing with lots of hot people dancing the night away with DJ Luis spinning. There were salsa lessons from 9-10pm and the margaritas were flowing. So I downed some shots of cactus juice and started dancing with my friends David and Larry, who were in town from New York and New Jersey. I have known Persana for a while, but I never really got the opportunity to get to know her better until tonight. Persana is quite the performer and I can say one hell of a saleswoman. Honey, she can sell ice to Eskimos. She did the strip off at midnight and before you knew it she had eight of the hottest boys on stage gyrating to their little hearts content. I was one of the lucky people she chose to be a judge and for that honor, I am eternally grateful. Ladies and gentlemen, it is good to be a judge at this show. The boys were competing for $100 in cash for first [continued on 18] 16 The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM April 13-26, 2010 Official ficial Gay Easter Parade Guide GayEasterParade.COM

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3 under the gaydar...from 16 place and a $50 bar tab for second. These boys weren t just hot, they were smoldering. The winner was a six foot plus hunk with a beautifully sculpted chest and muscular legs. His tighty whities fit perfectly outlining the contour of his body. Persana put them through vigorous challenges in order to win the grand prize. One of the feats was to drop and give her 20 while she slid under them. Even I had to admit, that was some sexy. So checkout Latin Thursdays at Oz, you won t be disappointed. And besides everyone needs a little spice in their life from time to time. Another Fabulous Easter We did it again. Another incredible Gay Easter celebration and what wonderful events leading up to the big day. Lets start with the Purple Party which was held at the Double Play. Purple represents royalty and nobility and the Double Play had it that night. There were so many past grand marshals present celebrating Easter Grand Marshal XI Chuck Turner and his partner Bill s 39 th anniversary. Once again, the food was bountiful and delicious. Along with my co-grand marshal last year, Marcy Marcell, we got to place the grand marshal pins on Chuck and Tittie Toulouse. That little act gave me great pleasure because I knew two deserving people were about to enjoy one of the most incredible Easters of their lives. Next up was my event which I cohosted with Gay Easter Parade Board member Rona Conners. Bunnies in the Big Easy, which was held on Good Friday at Bywater Patio Bar & Secret Garden was practically sold out (95 tickets out of 100) and a huge success. Guests were greeted at the door by Ray the Rabbit from Alice and Wonderful and Rich the sexy Chicken Man. They entered the festively decorated garden entrance to Bywater Patio Bar and handed their tickets to our very own playboy bunny Barbara Ella who stamped their hands with a lime green bunny. Thanks to our liquor sponsors of Tito s vodka, Smirnoff coolers and Red Stripe light beer and donors Ken Granpre from Lafitte s, Bill McCarthy and the Krewe of Petronius and Chuck Turner. Hottie Eric was our very sexy bartender who kept the drinks flowing. And he had a happy trail that I wanted to hop down all night. Mike at Bywater outdid himself with the food which was passed by our hot bunny boys Jake and BJ. Behind the main bar was none other then Miss Rusty Laroux and my it boy Jonathan who was looking extra sexy in his bunny ears and flowing locks. Outside in the secret garden courtyard, DJ Buckley was spinning dance hits. We had scantily clad bunny boys selling raffle eggs throughout the night. And we had a live auction that generated lots of money. Items included a great piece of art donated by the very talented Bryce Landry, $250 worth of throws for the parade donated by Bill McCarthy, two porcelain dolls, an oversized Easter basket filled with candy, liquor and prizes, and the jeweled egg. But the premier auction happened later that night in the secret garden courtyard where we auctioned off the underwear right off the models butts. The lucky winners got to undress the models themselves and let me say it was quite the shocking scene. I had to say, I was left speechless at this auction and that is almost impossible to do. And, by the way, next year, please make sure my mother is nowhere near the auction area. I guess it is true what they say the apple does not fall far from the tree. Our three models Jason, Cage and Chase did an excellent job at looking drop dead gorgeous and garnering more egg sales. Thanks, go out to Keny and Kenny from Amon Ra for being the models handlers. Not a bad job. My special thanks go to Miss Elizabeth Bouvier (aka Jeff Mallon) whose generous support made this event a smashing success. And he even got the special treatment as he was the winning bid on one of the models and got carried off into the sunset by the very beautiful Jason reminiscent of the ending from An Officer and a Gentleman. I believe everyone should have a Bouvier backing. The next day, I participated in the Marigny Bunny Hop which was led by grand marshals Lisa and Joann from Kajun's Pub. There had to be almost 100 people participating in this 8 th annual event. The event started at JohnPaul s and made its was through the Marigny to Iggy's, Friendly Bar, Big Daddy s, Mimi's, Cutter's, the Phoenix and ending at Kajun's Pub. All the hats were fabulous and everyone had a great time. Then Sunday finally arrived and my friends and I began our day taking a limo to Bywater Bar.B.Que for brunch. Like always, Mike s Easter brunch was fabulous. My friends from New York and New Jersey, David and Larry joined me on my trolley, as did, my New Orleans contingent of Ben, Mollie, Matt, Valerie and Rachel. But not to be outdone, my trolley also had the lovely Barbara Ella looking very Joan Collinesque from Dynasty and the impeccable Patti Le Play Safe. The Contessa Breaux and Sheriff Nadja rounded out our group. The party started at Starlight with food and drinks flowing. Before joining the gang at Starlight, we stopped in to Bill McCarthy s house on St. Ann for a little libation. We got our throws on the trolley and we were off. I have to say this one truly is one of my favorite parades to participate in. This year the crowd has to be the largest I have ever seen. The people all seemed to be in good spirits and the weather was perfect. There was so many people, I went through three bags of beads and one case of hats before the end of the parade. Next year, I am going to have to bring more. The parade ended at 700 Club where Matt and Mike rolled out the red carpet for us. The food was great and the drinks continued to flow. But I have to admit after 700 Club, the night gets a little hazy. Oh well, that is when you know you had a great holiday. My Wicked, Wicked Ways The production of Wicked that was just at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre was one of the most amazing theatrical experiences of my life. This was my first time seeing it and I can honestly say that Wicked is probably one of my top favorite plays. The scenery, the acting and the powerful singers were just breathtaking. The costumes were great and the storyline was magical. I had read the book by Maquire, which was much darker than the play. The actress playing Glinda was a powerhouse talent, in fact everyone in the cast was just outstanding. After the play, I was luckily invited to the cast party at the Hotel Monteleone. The party was great and rubbing elbows with the cast was very special. But the cast of Wicked did more to help the city of New Orleans. On the Monday after Easter, they performed a cabaret called My Wicked, Wicked Ways at Le Petit Theatre to raise money for the NO/AIDS Task Force. This musical cabaret show was just simply fantastic. The entire night was filled with performances that just took your breath away. Richard Kline who played the Wizard (you may remember him as Jack s neighbor in Three s Company) co-hosted the event with New Orleans own Mad Man Bryan Batt, who also performed. His "Caveman" number was a riot and one of my favorite performances of the night. There were many notable numbers but the two that were really special were two duets performing songs from the show. The two Fiyero leads performed For Good as they looked longingly into each other s eyes and the other one was As Long As Your Mine performed by two gorgeous female members of the cast. Each number ended with a very hot and sexy kiss. After the show, my friends Larry and David and I went to a special meet and greet party with the cast. And let me tell you I made several special friends that night. I will never look at a flying monkey in the same way again. Lets just suffice to say, that I felt very Wicked after that night was over. If you missed Wicked do not fret because there is one more play to finish off this season and it is a good one. Avenue Q will be coming to the Mahalia Jackson Theatre June It is a wonderfully comical show. For ticket information, call the box office at Rushing into Mardi Gras It is never too early to think about Mardi Gras in the Crescent City. And if you are not a member of a gay carnival krewe, then this may just be your opportunity. On Sunday, April 18, 2010 from 3-5pm, the Mystic Krewe of Satyricon is holding their annual rush party at 700 Club which is located at 700 Burgundy Street. Their will be light hors d oeuvres and a chance to mingle with members of one of the most prominent krewes in the city. All are welcome, men and women, gay or straight. Mardi Gras is like life, you get out of it what you put into it. And, ask anyone in any of the krewes, nothing beats that adrenaline rush when you are on stage strutting a fabulous costume around for all to see. I am very lucky to have just been elected as Captain of Satyricon and I can honestly say that being a part of this organization has benefited me in many ways. First and foremost it is a social club with wonderful members. So come out on Sunday to check us out. For more information, go to Death in the South Pacific Tales of the Cocktail has announced the winner of their official cocktail competition for the First place goes to Evan Martin from Washington state with his winning Death in the South Pacific. The drink s name is a play on Love in the South Pacific and Death in the Afternoon and will be served throughout Tales of the Cocktail, July They had a launch party to introduce this cocktail at Lucy s in the Warehouse District and it was served to all who attended. This libation packs quite the potent kick. I mean, you have two or seven of these and you will be seeing Mitzi Gaynor walking around in a grass skirt washing that man right out of her hair. The drink has three types of rum and Absinthe in it, need I say more. Tales of the Cocktail is one of the most fun events during the summer. To get more information on this event, go to Have an event or have something of interest to the LGBT community, feel free to send press releases or information to tonymgp@hotmail.com. 18 The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM April 13-26, 2010 Official ficial Gay Easter Parade Guide GayEasterParade.COM

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5 celebrazzi (celebrations, paparazzi) Easter Grand Marshals XI Tittie Toulouse and Chuck Turner led the 11th annual Gay Easter Parade on Easter Sunday as some 30,000 spectators lined the streets of the French Quarter for the colorful and elegant parade. The parade minus expenses benefits Food For Friends raising $17, this year. Bill Miller and Easter Grand Marshal XI Chuck Turner celebrated their 39th Anniversary during the 11th Purple Party Easter Grand Marshals Reception. Hosted at The Double Play, party goers collected $250 for a Silver sponsorship in the 11th Gay Easter Parade in honor of the couple's 39th Anniversary. The 11th annual Purple Party Easter Grand Marshals Reception raised $3,522 for the Gay Easter Parade benefiting Food For Friends at The Double Play. One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of Easter Grand Marshal XI pins to Chuck Turner and Tittie Toulouse by outgoing grand marshals Tony Leggio and Marcy Marcy. Photo: (front) EGM X Tony Leggio, EGMs XI Chuck Turner and Tittie Toulouse, EGM X Marcy Marcell; (back) EGM IX Orlando Aloe, EGM VIII Michael Elias, EGM VI Lisa Beaumann, EGM V Princesse Stephaney, EGM I Marsha Naquin-Delain, EGM VII Opal Masters, EGM VIII Tom "Rona" Conners, EGM IX Safonda Peters. The 1st annual Bunnies in the Big Easy: Putting the Good in Friday brought Human Relations Chair and Easter Grand Marshal II Larry Bagneris to present official proclamations from the Mayor of New Orleans to Easter Grand Marshals XI Chuck Turner and Tittie Toulouse at Bywater Patio Bar & Secret Garden. Photo: Food For Friends Director Glen Kahrman, EGM XI Chuck Turner, EGM II Larry Bagneris, EGM XI Tittie Toulouse, NO/AIDS Task Force Executive Director Noel Twilbeck. First time participant Mitsy of The Friendly Bar took top honors as Best of the Best in the 8th annual Marigny Bunny Hop. The annual award was presented by Ambush Mag's Marsha out front of Kajun's Pub at the end of the bar crawl. Food For Friends Director Glen Kahrman joins Bunnies in the Big Easy chairs Rona Conners and Tony Leggio, and NO/AIDS Task Force Executive Director Noel Twilbeck as they celebrate raising an astounding $5,270 at the inaugural event hosted at Bywater Patio Bar & Secret Garden. The Gay Easter Parade benefits Food For Friends. 20 The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM April 13-26, 2010 Official ficial Gay Easter Parade Guide GayEasterParade.COM