Archive

N.Y. Scene October 2011: GLAAD Amplifier Awards, Ally Sheedy hosts Ali Forney Center Benefit, The Shondes at CMJ & NYC Halloween

N.Y. Scene is a monthly column that chronicles events of interest for lesbian and bi women in New York. Grace Chu has come out of lesbian scene retirement to navigate the vast and ever-evolving New York City scene, so you don’t have to.

GLAAD Amplifier Awards – October 4, 2011

Formerly called the GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising, The GLAAD Amplifier Awards feature and spotlight individuals and campaigns in advertising and marketing for positive representations of the LGBT community. Recipients this year include Google Chrome’s “The Web is What You Make of It: It Gets Better Project,” Absolut Vodka’s “Cocktail Cabaret” campaign, and American Airlines’ outdoor “Beach Towel” advertisements.

Among the ladies who walked the red carpet were two time Tony Award winning actress Christine Ebersole, out reality show star Tabatha Coffey, and Sonja Morgan.

Broadway star and The Voice contestant Frenchie Davis channeled the power of her pipes to close the awards show. The full list of awards recipients is here.

Ally Sheedy hosts benefit for the Ali Forney Center, October 6, 2011

The Ali Forney Center, an organization that benefits homeless LGBT youth, was founded in June of 2002 in memory of murdered youth, Ali Forney. Forney, a gay teen, was forced to live on the New York streets in the 1990s. He aggressively lobbied the NYPD to investigate a series of unsolved murders of several of the homeless gay youth he had befriended. Sadly, in December of 1997, Forney himself was found murdered in Harlem. His murder was never solved.

On October 6, the Second Annual Dinner to benefit the Ali Forney Center was held at Studio 450 in Manhattan. Actress Ally Sheedy, known for her roles in critically acclaimed film High Art and several popular 80’s films such as The Breakfast Club, hosted the event. Sheedy has become an avid supporter of LGBT initiatives in the past two years. Her 17-year-old daughter Rebecca is an out lesbian, and she has said that the reason she supports organizations such as the the Ali Forney Center is because she feels “a personal pull.”

To find out more about how you can help get LGBT youth off the streets and other unsafe environments into safe shelters, please visit the Ali Forney Center website.

The Shondes @ CMJ, October 21, 2011

For five days in mid-October, over 900 bands descended upon New York for the annual CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival, including several bands with queer female members. One local band, The Shondes, made its debut at CMJ this year. Highlighted once by Spin Magazine as “Artist of the Day,” The Shondes held its record release party on October 21 at Littlefield in Brooklyn to a sizeable and enthusiastic crowd. Most of the set came from the band’s new album Searchlights, and they played a couple of favorites from their previous two albums, The Red Sea and My Dear One, as well. Photos from the show are below.

The Stonewall Inn, October 21, 2011

After The Shondes’ show at CMJ I stopped by The Stonewall Inn on the way home and caught an energetic crowd tearing up the dance floor upstairs. DJ Kristine was whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Yes indeed. Halloween week – or grown adults’ excuse to dress up in silly outfits and act like children – had begun.

Third Annual Vampire Bash @ The Phoenix, October 29, 2011

The following weekend zombies, ghosts and evil mutants took over the streets of New York City. Fortunately, there were people dressed like Alice from Resident Evil, Ghostbusters and the X-Men as well, so the Big Apple wasn’t turned into a blood-soaked, smoldering crater filled to the brim with the undead and other ungodly creatures.

On Halloween weekend there were enough events for women to place me in a coma until Pride 2012, so I took it easy and hit up only two of them. At Danielle Presents and Sir Sabrina‘s third annual Vampire Bash, the ladies came out in full force. Check out the photos for impossibly large gold chains and gravity defying hair. See if you can spot Waldo.

Stiletto Halloween Party @ The Maritime Hotel Cabanas, October 30, 2011

On October 30, Maggie C closed the season at her award winning and always well attended Sunday women’s night, Stiletto, with a Halloween bash attended by ninjas, winged faeries, and a blood sucking attorney in a gold hockey mask.

Want to see more? The rest of the Stiletto photo set is here, in Time Out New York.

But wait! There’s more!

The Hetrick Martin Institute is holding its 25th annual Emery Awards on November 10th at Cipriani Wall Street, and the after party, Après Emery (sponsored by Viacom, AfterEllen.com’s parent company) will be an upscale affair thrown by and for the many lesbian and bi ladies of New York City who want to give to a good cause. Proceeds will go to Hetrick Martin, an organization that helps create a safe and supportive environment for LGBT youth. And the gravy? There will be plenty of eye candy and top shelf open bar. Click here to buy tickets.

All photos in this article ©2011 Grace Chu

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button