Local Sashays Away on Drag Race
Hopes were high for Tampa Bay's entry in Season 4 of RuPaul's Drag Race. After all, St. Pete's Alexis Mateo finished in the top three last year. And Orlando's Tyra Sanchez took the crown in Season 2. But alas, Alisa Summers' stay on the Mt. Olympus of drag was short-lived. Despite being described as “beautiful and talented” by Ru herself, the regular performer at the Honey Pot in Ybor City was the first to be eliminated in the premiere episode Jan. 30. Contestants were asked to design a “zombie drag” outfit for the “Rupocalypse.” Week one winner Sharon Needles created a knock-out meth corpse look complete with spitting blood. Summers' heart-shaped pasties confused Ru and the judges, including Elvira and celeb photographer Mike Ruiz. And when forced to “lip-synch for her life,” Summers allowed the aptly named Jiggly Caliente to steal the spotlight. It was too soon for Summers to sashay away. It would've been fun to watch her develop throughout the season. Fortunately for us, we can catch her in person every weekend in Ybor City.
“A-Listers' grace Georgie's
As more proof that reality television will remain popular until at least the Mayan Calendar expires this December, swarms of LGBTs flocked to Georgie's Alibi in St. Petersburg Jan. 27 to meet The A-List New York's Austin Armacost and Derek Saathoff. The handsome yet picked-on Austin and “Tansexual' business owner Derek spoke with locals, performers and shared a few dances with fans and new friends. One person reported to Watermark that Alibi as so crowded for the meet and greet that people were literally lined out the doors. We here it was the same kind of crowded schmooze-fest at Pulse in Orlando the following night. If you missed your chance to see the handsome Logo stars, don't fret, they'll be back in our area in April when they join the entire cast of A-List New York at Sawmill Campground. That's RuPaul weekend, for those of you following that development. For details on that, see page 25.
Shaking things up at LGBT Live
There are some substantial changes happening at LGBT Live these days. The once weekly web-based talk show featuring Arica Love and Esme Russell is changing formats and adding programming. According to Love, Russell is no longer affiliated with the project and the two parted ways amicably in mid January. Love will continue to make on-camera appearances to talk about local news and happenings, but new shows are in the works on the mini-network. Shows in production include a fitness segment with young, handsome fitness trainer Jamarcus Mosely among others. Details are forthcoming and Love says a schedule will be released on the brand new LGBTLive.com website. In the meantime, catch Love at events throughout Tampa Bay and Sarasota, where she's typically raising money for worthy LGBT-focused charities.
Getting the vote out brick-by-brick
The Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus is looking to build support for democrats this election season from the ground up”literally. The group's Winter Conference Feb. 10-12 in Ybor City, is called “Brick by Brick”Paving the Road to Equality” and will focus on strategizing the message of progressive democrats throughout the state. But it's more than just meetings in the conference rooms of the Ybor Hampton Inn and Suites. Caucus president Sally Phillips says that a welcome reception, educational breakout sessions and special ghost tours of the historic district are all on tap. Details are available on the caucus' Facebook page.
