LookOut

by Tim Brookover

BREAK OUT THE BEADS

As Mardi Gras season looms, the Krewe of Olympus folks are putting the final sequins on their costumes ahead of the February 22 black-tie dinner ball at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Denise Martin is captain of the 33rd annual event, and Annie Couch is Krewe president. The event benefits Montrose Clinic Endowment Fund, Houston Buyers Club Women's Initiative, PFLAG/HATCH Scholarship Fund, and Casa de Esperanza.

On the island, the gay-and-lesbian Mystic Krewe of Oz will join in the increasingly popular Krewe of Aquarius Parade along Seawall Boulevard on February 22. Ball captains Dave Davis and Dennis Sikels then helm the "Dorothy Does the Circus" costume ball on February 28 at the Garten Verein. Some proceeds will buy school supplies for children with AIDS or children of parents with AIDS. Josette Tweddle is president of Krewe of Oz, whose motto is Ictus diffrentes (Different Strokes).

By the way, the big Mardi Gras Galveston event, the Momus Grand Night Parade, is March 1.

For the past few years, a group of friends has thrown the invitation-only Mardi Gras Mystery Fantasy Ball at Rich's Houston. The theme of the black-tie/costume soiree on February 8 is "18th Century New Orleans: Fantasies of the Night." Up to 1,000 guests attend. Tom Lewand is 2003 event president, and Dennis Armstrong is incoming president.

MORE DRESS UP

Dazzling chanteuse Sharon Montgomery, backed by Ronnie Renfro's big band, will sing and emcee at the Gay Men's Chorus of Houston benefit, "Silent Moon," on February 21. The gala evening at the Warwick Hotel La Fontaine Ballroom will include dinner, an auction, and dancing.

BE A VALENTINE

Popular and out comic Suzanne Westenhoefer headlines the February 14 Lesbian Health Initiative dinner/dance, "Giving & Receiving: A Celebration of Love," at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Gallery. Lucy Watson is president of LHI, which provides critical health screenings and mammograms.

On Valentine's Day, Ray Hill takes his show on the road with a performance of his one-man-show Ray Hill in Love at Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Church in the Woodlands. H.A.T.C.H. members and their dates get in free.

HOORAY FOR LOVE

On February 12, a pride of gay couples and lesbian couples will nuptial at Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church for Freedom to Marry Day. The public is invited to the 6 p.m. commitment ceremony, followed by a reception at Meteor. Betrothed pairs at press time included Christopher Bown and Jerry Simoneaux, John Nechman and Richi Ruiz, Christopher Rigdon and Sergio Sarmiento, and Felicia D. Tracy and Tammy M. Watson. Every year, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund organizes National Freedom to Marry Day. The local chapters of the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force and the Stonewall Law Association of Greater Houston are co-hosting the wedding here, the first such action in Texas.

Braced by activism, the newly hitched and friends might motor up to Austin on February 22 and heckle participants in the gay-conversion faux-conference Love Won Out, the Focus on the Family traveling roadshow (see page 00 for details on a counter event, Love Welcomes All). Held at the Promised Land mega-church, the day features ex-gay poster boy John Paulk, the self-described one-time drag queen who then asserted heterosexuality only to get caught in a D.C. gay bar in 2000. Love wins out, indeed.