ALGBTICAL

Birmingham: The Quest Club, The Phoenix, Joe's on Seventh, Our Place, Club Pulse Elevation, Lakeview Yacht Club, Club 729, Misconceptions Tavern, Steele Urban Lounge

Huntsville: Club Ozz, Club Upscale, Partners Bar & Grill, Albany Bistro, Vieux Carre, Matrix

Mobile: B Bob’s, Gabriel’s, Trooper’s, Midtown Pub, Bacchus, Vision’s Twist

VACATION INFORMATION
LGBT Travel Tips

Gay and lesbian people in search of vacation destinations are well served by an array of LGBT-friendly and LGBT-operated hotels, resorts, cruise lines, and tour operators worldwide. Organizations like Alyson Adventures, Atlantis Events, Hanns Ebensten Travel, Olivia, R Family, and RSVP Vacations cater exclusively to gay and lesbian clients (and their families) seeking first-rate travel accommodations in an environment in which they can relax and be themselves.

GAY NIGHTLIFE
Top Five LGBT Cities

If a party is what you crave for your lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender holiday, there are some well-known hotspots where you will not be disappointed in the rich variety of LGBT fun. Here are some of the most popular and populated cities for you to see and be seen:

New York City – Host to over 50 gay bars and hot clubs, the Big Apple has something for every flavor of LGBT nightlife. The city that doesn’t sleep is available for entertainment seven nights per week at places such as Mr. Black for indie dance parties of the het-homo variety, and Sugarland for gritty hipster.

San Francisco – For a world-class range of LGBT nightlife options, San Francisco is the choice. From the upbeat The Bar on Church to the gay Latino club Esta Noche, this city will have something for everyone.

Los Angeles – For young and old, L. A. has the scene for your LGBT holiday. From the lesbian Normandie Room to the bohemian Funky Akbar, the nightlife sizzles. WeHo and Silver Lake are the destination venues.

Toronto – This Canadian jewel served as the film location for “Queer as Folk” and will not disappoint those in search of hot nightlife. Woody’s and Fly Niteclub, both of QAF fame, still garner large crowds of gay and lesbian patrons.

Chicago – For a more relaxed and less image conscious destination, Chicago will fit the bill. In Boystown and Andersonville, you can find the largest concentration of gay clubs. Sidetrack is the most popular and Circuit has the largest 3-D glitter dance floor.

R FAMILY VACATIONS
Ro, Ro, Ro Their Boat!

Rosie and Kelli O’Donnell take their family—and hundreds like theirs—on an R Family cruise to equal rights and a whole lotta love and fun

It’s a nice surprise to walk into Rosie O’Donnell’s house. Located in a quiet town along the Hudson in upstate New York, the residence is discreetly set back from the street, but it’s no celebrity fortress. It’s a place to rake leaves and toss a football and eat ice cream—a real home for a real family.

It feels right that Rosie and Kelli have invited me here to talk about All Aboard! Rosie’s Family Cruise, airing April 6 on HBO. The documentary, which follows 2004’s inaugural R Family cruise, is a family affair, with all four O’Donnell kids on deck beside their famous moms. Indeed, when Rosie and Kelli O’Donnell attended the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, they took the kids as well. “We wanted them to have a full understanding of what it was and why we did it,” Rosie says. “Because it really meant a lot to them, this cruise, and the movie. They’re in it, and it’s gonna be forever, you know?”

Inside the O’Donnells’ house, light pours in from windows facing the river. Oversize chairs flank a massive coffee table neatly piled with picture books and playthings. Blond and gracious, Kelli O’Donnell blends right into the sunbeams. My eye shoots toward the dark knot of energy sitting quiet on the couch. Rosie O’Donnell, in sweatpants and socks, gives off major mojo.

The force field turns out to be a crackling intelligence. For the next hour, Kelli at her side, Rosie is candid, reflective, and realistic about her journey to date. The 44-year-old comedian who once wrote a memoir called Find Me now seems to be a happy woman who knows just where she’s going.

Her millions of fans know all about Rosie’s turbulent life. (On her blog, they often write her about their own.) Devastated at age 10 when her mother died of breast cancer, Rosie learned early how to give back as good as she got. She struck gold as a grown-up with The Rosie O’Donnell Show, which ran from 1996 until she left in 2002. But she was clear that building her own family was more important. When she came out publicly in 2002, it was as a gay parent in support of adoption by gays. Even before Rosie’s bruising 2003 lawsuit with publisher Gruner + Jahr over the rights to Rosie magazine, the O’Donnells were brainstorming about a new travel company to serve gay families.

R Family may turn out to be Rosie O’Donnell’s biggest hit yet. But it’s not a solo show. In the next hour I’ll learn how Rosie came to build her nest with the former Miss Kelli Carpenter of Baton Rouge, La.—and how these two women from opposite points on the map found such strength together that they had enough left over to float the biggest cruise ship on the ocean.

Gregg Kaminsky has worked in the gay and lesbian travel industry for the past seven years developing and producing all-gay vacations for Atlantis Events in the Caribbean, Mexico, Australia, Europe and Africa.
Last year, Gregg and his partner Dan were featured on the Bravo television documentary, “Gay Weddings.”

Kelli O’Donnell is a former Nickelodeon marketing executive. She was
responsible for developing promotions and marketing materials targeting
children of all ages. She and her partner, Rosie O'Donnell, have four young children.

All Aboard follows a number of really personal, emotional stories. What was it like to have people filming this cruise?

Rosie: At first we were worried that it would taint the experience for the passengers. [When HBO’s John Hoffman and Sheila Nevins suggested making the film] we still didn’t know what the cruise would be. We didn’t even know if we were gonna sell a cabin!

Kelli: Also, it was our very first time to do this. To have cameras filming and boom mikes hanging over us, it was a little unnerving.
Rosie: But I’m thrilled that they did it, because I didn’t get to experience the cruise fully until I saw the documentary. When you see the movie you really realize the impact that this had for people, and it’s very touching.

How did you actually make this cruise happen?

Kelli: The idea’s been around for a long time, but it takes more than just an idea. There’s a lot of pieces that had to come together to make it work. It was really a group effort, wouldn’t you say?

Rosie: Yeah. It was as simple as we went to Provincetown [with Gregg Kaminsky, former executive with Atlantis Cruises] and we saw family week, and at dinner I was like, “It would be amazing if we could make a thing like this for gay people,” and Gregg said, “Well, you could. It would have to be a cruise, because you have to provide a safe environment.” I’m like, “Could it be a viable business?” “Yeah.” I said, “OK, let’s do it.”

By Anne Stockwell
Excerpted from The Advocate March 28, 2006

in a new survey of gay travelers conducted by the Travel Industry Association.

The top-21 gay-friendly U.S. destinations named by the panelists (in order) include:

San Francisco, CA (76%), Key West, FL (57%), New York, NY (51%), Fire Island, NY (48%), Provincetown, MA (46%), Los Angeles, CA (38%), Miami/ South Beach, FL (37%), Las Vegas, NV (35%), New Orleans, LA(34%), Palm Springs/Palm Desert, CA (33%), Boston, MA (29%), Chicago, IL (29%), Fort Lauderdale/ Wilton Manors, FL (29%), San Diego, CA (29%), Seattle/ Bellevue, WA (27%), Washington, DC (23%), Honolulu, HI (22%), Palm Beach/ West Palm/Boca Raton, FL (20%), Portland, OR (18%), Philadelphia, PA (17%), and Providence, RI (6%) and Rehoboth Beach, DE (17%) tied for
twenty-first.

The top-10 gay-friendly Canadian destinations named by the U.S. respondents in the survey include:

Montreal, QC (44%), Toronto, ON (39%), Vancouver, BC (38%), Quebec City, QB (20%), Victoria, BC (16%), Niagara Falls, ON (15%), Ottawa, ON (12%), Calgary, AB (9%), Halifax, NS (6%) and Prince Edward Island (6%).

OLIVIA FOUNDER & CEO
Named Entrepreneurs of the Year

Olivia, The #1 Lesbian Lifestyle Company in the World, today announced that Judy Dlugacz, founder and president and Amy Errett, CEO, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2006 Award in the Consumer Services category in Northern California. According to Ernst & Young, the award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses.

Dlugacz and Errett were selected by an independent panel of judges and the award was presented at an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 20th anniversary gala event at The Fairmont, San Francisco.

“For more than 30 years we have been evolving Olivia the company for the benefit of our extraordinary clients. This is an historic award, since we have been recognized by E&Y for doing what we love to do most, which is serving and empowering women, “said Judy Dlugacz, founder and president of Olivia. “Whether it is an Olivia cruise or part of our expanding lifestyle brand, Olivia is always looking for ways to empower, engage, embrace, unite and enrich the lives of lesbians and women of all ages and diverse backgrounds.”

“Being a part of a passionate team is the best part of the job,” said Amy Errett, CEO of Olivia. “It is that passion to provide our clients with countless outstanding services that motivated us to grow into a full services lifestyle brand. We will be launching Olivia.com, an online community, content and resource destination for lesbians, Olivia Magazine, a lifestyle magazine for lesbians, Olivia Membership, a program offering special benefits and resources for lesbians, including insurance and financial services, retail discounts, access to entertainment and heath and fitness resources, and Olivia Living, an active adult resort retirement community.”

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and continues to honor entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. “Ernst & Young is proud of its history in recognizing these outstanding leaders and their companies,” said Rick Fezell, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program director for Northern California.

HOTELS

Blue Chairs
Malecon y Almendro #4, Playa Los Muertos
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
322-222-5040
http://www.bluechairs.com

East Canyon Hotel and Spa
288 E Camino Monte Vis
Palm Springs, CA
760-320-1928
http://www.eastcanyonps.com

The Hacienda
586 Warm Sands Drive
Palm Springs, CA
760-250-7791
http://www.thehacienda.com