The Colorado Theatre Guild Announces Recipients of Special Honors at Upcoming Henry Awards

The Colorado Theatre Guild's 12th Annual Henry Awards will take place Monday, July 17, 2017 at the PACE Center in Parker, Colorado.

Established in 2006, the Henry Awards honor outstanding achievements during the past season and serves as the Colorado Theatre Guild's annual fundraising event. The awards are named for longtime local theatre producer Henry Lowenstein. 

The Special Award categories are nominated by the theatre community and the winners determined by a vote of the CTG Board.

Lifetime Achievement in Theatre goes to Ed Baierlein and Sallie Diamond

Sallie Diamond was born in Tucson AZ, raised in Philadelphia PA, and received her BA in Theatre Arts from Penn State University in 1965; Ed Baierlein was born in Wilmington, DE and raised in Jersey City, NJ and in Claymont, DE. He received his BA in English from Gettysburg College in 1965 and his MA in Theatre Arts from Penn State University in 1967.

In 1967 Sallie and Ed married and moved to Denver after Ed enlisted in the Air Force. He was assigned to Lowry AFB, where he was an instructional film writer for three years.

During that time Sallie acted at The Changing Scene Theatre in Denver from 1968 through 1971 and helped form the resident company at The Third Eye Theatre in 1972. Ed was Playwright-in-Residence at The Changing Scene Theatre in Denver from 1970 to 1972 and Associate Director and Production Coordinator at The Third Eye Theatre in Denver from 1972 to 1973.  

In 1973 they co-founded Germinal Stage and, in 1974, opened their 82-seat theatre at 1820 Market St with “The Entertainer.”

At Germinal Stage, Sallie has played numerous leading roles since 1974, many of them twice. In addition, she has costumed more than 125 productions at Germinal Stage and has directed On the Verge and All in the Timing. 

She has received three Denver Critics Circle awards: "Best Performance by a Leading Actress" (Julia in The Philanderer, 1984), "Best Supporting Actress" (Melanie in Quartermaine's Terms, 1986), and "Best Season for an Actress" (1988-89), and has been nominated for three more. With Ed Baierlein, she received achievement awards from the Rocky Mountain Women’s’ Institute and from Zeta Phi Eta.

Ed has staged more than 190 productions and performed more than 100 leading roles since 1974. Often, he plays in the productions he directs and designs set and lights. He has been nominated twice by the Denver Drama Critics Circle for "Best Performance by a Leading Actor" and, in 1985, won the award for "Best Season for an Actor.” He was nominated four times by the Denver Drama Critics Circle for "Best Director" (winning twice) and, in 1987, received Westword's "Best Director" Award. He received the Denver Post Ovation "Best Year for a Director" award in both 2005 and 2010 and, in 2007, received the Ovation as "Theatre Person of the Year."   Productions he has produced or directed have been nominated for more than 125 local awards.

Ed received a Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts from Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm, a Mayor's Award for Excellence from Denver Mayor Federico Pena and the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Award for the Arts & Humanities. From 1998 to 2001, he was a member of the National Theatre Conference.  For twenty years, Ed served as Chairman of the Colorado Theatre Producers Guild, which he helped found. He has sat on the boards of the Greater Denver Arts Council and the Metro Denver Arts Alliance, on the advisory board of KCFR-FM (NPR), and on the Denver Mayor's Commission on Art, Culture, and Film. As a teacher, he has been a guest instructor in acting and directing at the University of Colorado at Denver, Colorado Womens' College, Denver University, and has also taught privately.

Sallie Diamond and Ed Baierlein side by side for 50 years.

Todd Debreceni for Excellence in Special Makeup Effects

Todd Debreceni began his career in entertainment with PBS while a graduate student in television at the University of Tennessee.

Before starting his own small effects shop in Denver, Todd worked for cable pioneer Ted Turner at TBS in Atlanta, 20th Century-Fox Television in Los Angeles, Warner Bros., Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Television Animation. Among his feature credits are Die Hard II, Contact and Batman and Robin. He sculpted and molded wounds used in the 2013 Tom Hanks film, Captain Phillips. Television credits include JAG, and numerous projects for Starz/Encore.

He has created a variety of makeup effects for many stage productions, including Shrek the Musical; Spamalot; The Whipping Man; Young Frankenstein; Man of La Mancha; Peter Pan; Oliver!; Dracula; Bat Boy, the Musical; Hoping to See God; Into the Woods; The Wiz; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Urinetown, the Musical; Elephant Man; The Snow Queen; Sleuth and Sideshow.

Todd is the recipient of a 2015 True West Award, as well as a 2006 and 2009 Denver Post Ovation Award for special makeup effects, and a 2010 Henry Award nomination for Disney's Beauty and the Beast. He is also the recipient of a 1992 Los Angeles Drama Critics Award.

Todd conducts regular seminars, workshops and classes in special makeup effects for film, television and theatre both in the U.S. and overseas, consults internationally, and has literally written the book on special makeup effects for Focal Press called Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen (2009). It is hailed worldwide in the entertainment industry as' the bible' for makeup effects artists. The much anticipated second edition was released in January, 2013.

Outstanding Improvisational Theatre - SCRIPTprov™

 SCRIPTprov™ is an award winning show, developed by the comedic minds behind the Dishwater Blondes improv group and co-produced by Cindy Laudadio-Hill, LeighAnn Gould and Linda Klein.  Since 2010 they have performed a unique blend of theatrical scenes and long-form improv comedy that is unlike anything else.

Creator/Producer Cindy Laudadio-Hill says, “The show began as a product of my love of both improv and scripted theatre. As a member of the Dishwater Blondes and starting to work in the Denver scripted world, it felt like a natural fit to develop, produce and perform with my favorite people in a show that celebrates and welcomes artists from both worlds.”

How it works is this. In the first act, after two “legit” actors perform a classic scene word-for-word, we swap in an improv performer with no idea what’s going on. It’s up to them to try to patch the scene together as they react to the scripted lines and create their own context on the spot. In the second act, the “legits’ perform cold monologues and the improvisers create an improvised long form on the information gleaned from the monologues.

The Dishwater Blondes includes Cindy Laudadio-Hill, Sarah Kirwin, Nanna Thompson, Natalie Kilkenny, Britt Swenson and Kathleen Boland. Linda Klein, Barbara Gehring, Matthew Taylor and Jessica Austgen have all been special guest improv players.   Along with the core “Legits” LeighAnn Gould, Shauna Earp and in the earlier years, Megan Heffernan, SCRIPTprov has had the honor of welcoming more than 75 different artists from a variety of theater companies.

SCRIPTprov has performed at the Avenue Theater, Boulder Fringe Festival, The Bug, CCTF Festival (winning the “Out of the Box” award), DCPA as part of OFF Center, The Dairy Center, Miners Alley and Vintage Theatre.

The tag line is - We put improv in their scripts, they put scripts in our improv. Hilarity ensues.

Outstanding Theatre Benefactors:  Les Crispelle and Glenn Tiedt

Les Crispelle, a Colorado native, is a retired attorney who has served in a number of roles in the substance abuse and mental health fields. He incorporated the Colorado Lawyers Health Program in 1993. Les was instrumental in founding the Mile High Institute on Alcohol and Addictive Behaviors, offering summer programs for mental health and substance abuse professionals.

Les states, “My parents tried to expose me to as many things as they could but, many years ago, Denver didn't have a great deal.  However, those early experiences with touring shows began my lifelong love of the theatre.  When

Stories on Stage invited me to be on their board it ignited my desire to get involved more with small theatres and it has grown since then.”

Glenn Tiedt, also a retired attorney, was born in Alaska and raised in eastern Washington. He served the National Park Service in a variety of positions, including those with the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation and the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service and served as an advisor to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

He says, “My first exposure to live theater came when I went to college in Seattle. I arrived in Colorado in 1973 where my spare time was quickly consumed with officiating soccer. After I retired from both work and soccer I began to attend more live theater than had ever been possible for me before. I soon wanted to do more than merely attending performances, but since I couldn't act or direct, I began making modest financial contributions to the theaters.”

OUT on DVD/VOD: Kept Boy

Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to writer/director George Bamber’s (The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green, ‘Bloomers’) second feature film KEPT BOY. Breaking Glass acquired the rights to the film in January in a deal negotiated between Breaking Glass CEO Rich Wolff, and writer/director George Bamber and Kept Boy, LLC. The film is slated for a DVD/VOD release August 8, 2017.

Based on the novel of the same name by Robert Rodi, KEPT BOY is the second feature film directed by George Bamber, who is well-known for his successful AD career on films such as Pitch Perfect, The Lincoln Lawyer, Jeepers Creepers, and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. The film is proudly produced by Laura Reich, Haley Christensen, and Ben Simons.

KEPT BOY follows interior designer/reality show star Farleigh Knock, who has a knack for keeping beautiful things, like adonic Dennis, around his home. But when Fairleigh gives Dennis an unthinkable ultimatum for his 30th birthday, to get a job or get out, Dennis goes from Kept Boy to Lost Man. George Bamber directs this dark gay comedy that shows life with a sugar daddy is bittersweet and poses the question: what is love and what is the price to keep it?

TIME: Will 2017 Be the Year of the Transgender Candidate?

When she’s speaking at campaign events or giving interviews, Danica Roem likes to do this thing with her shoe to show all the hours she’s spent pounding the pavement to meet potential constituents.

“How many doors did we knock on?” Roem asks, taking off and holding up a battered loafer, worn thin at the heel. “That many.”

Roem, 32, thinks this approach to retail politics, and her focus on quality-of-life issues like transportation, helped her defeat three other Democrats in a recent primary to represent the 13th district in the Virginia House of Delegates. Now she’s preparing to take on Republican Bob Marshall, who’s held the Northern Virginia post for 25 years, in the November general election.

But that’s not why her campaign is becoming a magnet for national attention. If elected, Roem would be the first openly transgender state legislator in the U.S. and one of just a handful to serve in elected office at any level of government. And her opponent is a vocal social conservative who authored a so-called “bathroom bill” aimed at restricting transgender people’s use of sex-segregated spaces, as well as the state’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Marshall did not respond to requests for comment.)

Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at University of Mary Washington in Virginia who studies commonwealth politics, calls it “arguably the state legislative race of the year in America.”

Roem’s campaign also fits into a larger story. Trans United Fund, a political organization that helps support transgender candidates, estimates that more than 20 transgender people are running for public offices across the country in 2017—a dramatic spike from previous years. Those candidates range from Andrea Jenkins in Minneapolis, who is running to be the first transgender woman ever elected to a major city’s council, to Misty Snow, who would be the first transgender member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Aisha Moodie-Mills, president and CEO at the Victory Fund, an LGBT advocacy group, calls 2017 “ the ‘year of the trans candidate.’”

Groups like Trans United, founded just a year ago, and the Victory Fund are providing campaign donations, candidate trainings and small armies of volunteers to help trans candidates challenge conservative incumbents. Roem cites a Victory Fund “candidate boot camp,” which offered campaign strategies for LGBT political hopefuls, as a major boost to her campaign.

It’s not clear yet how many trans candidates, who are all running as Democrats, according to the Victory Fund, are favored to win. Most are running in down-ballot contests with little early polling. But Daye Pope, organizing director of the Trans United Fund, says many are on track. With infusions of support from groups like Trans United, Daye says, some transgender candidates have had early success outraising their opponents. So far, Roem is out-raising Marshall, $65,851 to $57,247, banking donations from what Roem likes to call her “small-dollar army” of loyal grassroots supporters.

Advocates say the wave of trans candidates is a response to the setbacks transgender people have suffered in the early months of the Trump presidency. “I think it’s the year of people being pissed and galvanized against Trump,” says Snow, who became one of the first openly transgender people to represent a major political party in a race for a national office when she ran for the U.S. Senate in Utah in 2016. Now, she’s running for a seat in the House of Representatives “mostly because I feel like I needed to.”

In February, Trump rescinded Obama-era federal guidance from the Departments of Justice and Education that instructed schools to allow students to use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identities. Meanwhile, some 16 states have considered legislation limiting access to sex-segregated facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms (so-called “bathroom bills”) since the start of 2017. Six have weighed legislation that would preempt local anti-discrimination laws, while 14 are considering legislation that would limit transgender students’ rights at school. Virginia is on all three of those lists.

In a charged political environment, trans politicians like Roem must navigate a tricky balancing act. Like all candidates, trans contenders need to be deeply engaged in the nuts and bolts of local policy—perhaps even more so to convince voters they don’t represent a special interest or “fringe” candidacy, as Virginia Republican Party Chairman John Whitbeck said of Democratic challengers in the Washington Post.

On the other hand, candidates like Roem say they see their campaigns as an opportunity to serve as trailblazers and role models for other potential LGBT policy-makers. Roem, who grew up in Manassas, Va., and has spent her career covering transportation and politics as a journalist, built her campaign around parochial concerns, from reducing traffic on Route 28 to bringing up teacher salaries in the district and drawing jobs back to vacant offices along Manassas Drive. Keeping her campaign focused on those local issues—even amid a flurry of media coverage, and critics’ attempts to recast her candidacy as a stunt—has been a priority.

That struggle is familiar to transgender candidates. But it may be even trickier in the aftermath of a 2016 presidential campaign dominated by identity politics and gender-based attacks. Hillary Clinton’s defeat in that contest has revived a debate within the Democratic Party about how it can best energize its diverse coalition.

“Whenever I speak to an LGBTQ crowd, I say it’s really important for us to serve the whole community,” says Mel Wymore, who ran for New York City council in 2013 and, prompted by the rhetoric of the 2016 presidential election and dissatisfaction with Republican politics, has launched a second campaign this year. Like Roem, Wymore is a transgender politician who has felt the difficulty of balancing local policy issues with the wider, historic implications of seeing transgender candidates on the ballot. “I would prefer if at the local level we were talking about policy,” he says.

While transgender political hopefuls still face opposition and ad hominem attacks, those who have run before say things have changed rapidly. When Dana Beyer first ran for political office in 2006, “it was a different world,” says the candidate for a seat in the Maryland State Senate. “The only thing the media was interested in with my campaign was my gender history. That was it.”

These days Roem’s race is drawing plenty of outside eyes, and it’s shaping up to be a fierce contest. Marshall, her opponent, has so far this year proposed a few pieces of legislation that would hinder LGBT people, including his “bathroom bill” and a measure that would allow Virginians to refuse to officiate same-sex weddings. But the district, which is located just outside Washington and encompasses fast-diversifying Manassas, is becoming bluer. It went for Clinton in 2016.

For now, Roem continues to crisscross the district to advocate for local issues. On June 21, she joined residents at the suburban conference center where the Prince William County School Board voted on a motion to add language protecting LGBT students to their nondiscrimination policy. After months of impassioned, sometimes vitriolic debate, the measure passed by a single vote. Purple-shirted supporters of the initiative had showed up hours early, toting hand-painted signs. During the open meeting, board members on both sides of the issue were brought to tears.

“More than 20 transgender people across the country right now stepped up and said, ‘I’m willing to run,’” Roem explains after. “We know the risk that we’re putting ourselves at by engaging in a campaign.”

She says that on evenings like this one, she feels like she’s becoming the kind of role model she never had growing up. “Maybe if we take the plunge and we run this year, someone else might feel inspired to do that later,” she adds. “I want to be that advocate for every LGBTQ person across this country who needs someone to champion what they believe in.”

Superfruit - Bad 4 Us

 

Superfruit is comprised of Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying, both founding and current members of the 3x Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum a cappella group Pentatonix. The first part of their two-part debut studio album Future Friends - Part One is out now via RCA Records; Future Friends - Part Two will follow on September 15th.

Stonewall Fitness: Sports for Change

By Dirk Smith

  

There has been a lot of discussion lately regarding the role that sports play in greater political causes. With athletes like Colin Kaepernick who use their platform as professional athletes to make a statement for a particular cause and other athletes like Michael Sam whom make a statement just by participating in their sport as an openly gay individual.
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The question lies here, do sports create an effective platform for enacting real world change within a community on the local, national and international level?

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The Olympic movement itself was built upon this ideal…

“The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

While some might argue that this goal while with good intentions, hasn’t been nearly as successful as it may seem. After all, despite the existence and growth of the Modern Olympic Games over the past 120 years yet we still commonly face issues of discrimination, enmity and war. On the flip side, the Olympic movement has also brought those who might otherwise be enemies together on the world stage to share a friendly spirit of competition. So where does sport truly lie in the role it takes toward creating a positive change within the world?​

Within the LGBTQ+ Community itself lies many different types of events and organizations for the community to come together with a common purpose, that is the sport itself. Through the organization of national and international level gatherings of sports, be it one sport or multi-sport events. The unifying factor to bring people together from all over the planet is for the common goal of participating in sport itself. This has the potential to create a very positive and empowering impact on the LGBTQ+ and has already changed the community in many ways.
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In 1982, the first of now man,y large-scale LGBTQ+ sporting events took place in San Francisco. The brainchild of one Dr. Tom Waddell, an 1968 Olympic Decathlete had organized the first ever “Gay Games” a large, quadrennial, gay and lesbian multi-sport event that sought to

“Foster and augment the self-respect of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and all sexually-fluid or gender-variant individuals (LGBT+) throughout the world and to promote respect and understanding from others, primarily by organizing and administering the international quadrennial sport and cultural event known as the “Gay Games.”

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In the 35+ years since the Gay Games begun, the movement has continued to grow and inspired countless other LGBT+ sporting events which seek a similar goal and purpose. Since the 1980s the LGBTQ+ community has undergone a lot of turbulent times but with that a significant period of growth and expansion as more people starting coming out of the closet. Taking action to advocate for equality and taking the risks (sometimes with fatal consequences) to simply be and live as who they are.
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While Gay Games and most other LGBT+ sport events have not taken any specific stance or action on political issues, they have played a significant role in inspiring and empowering generations of LGBTQ+ people to live and thrive as an individual. Simply by creating an inclusive environment that offers the opportunity for participation and to achieve their personal best, LGBT+ sports have made a big impact on where our LGBTQ+ community stands today.

 

A lot of people have questioned, why do we need a “Gay Games” anyway. Simply put, because the need for it is still there. A large majority of participants at such events tend to come from Europe and North America where we now live in the most inclusive and equal time in recent history for LGBTQ+ people.  However the Gay Games feels more exclusive toward those who, frankly, can afford the trip. Yet the purpose and mission of the Games is still very much relevant, the question is how can we increase participation from countries and communities where being LGBTQ+ is still grounds for prosecution, harassment and even execution?
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Can communities from countries like Russia, Kenya, Uganda, Jamaica and China benefit from participation and representation in Gay Games and other similar, legitimate LGBTQ+ sporting events? You bet they can. With homophobia, transphobia and other forms of discrimination still very much prevalent, those communities need the opportunity and support to take part in the games. Gay Games offers a welcoming, inclusive environment that has inspired and empowered LGBTQ+ youth for generations to be more involved. The same is still very much true today and by increasing the participation and representation from countries and communities where LGBTQ+ people face significant harassment and prosecution. We can continue to inspire and empower them to return home with the courage to take a stand against the discrimination and harassment they face every day. 

All that simply comes, not from making any political statement or gesture, but by simply taking part in sport. It shows that the true power of sport lies within the game itself. Taking true action simply by playing a game, or in a race. Through participation, inclusion and personal best we can enact real and positive change in the world. That is the future of LGBTQ+ sport.

 

Donate to the Gay Games scholarship fund which exists specifically for this reason, to provide the financial support for athletes from underrepresented communities to be able to take part and participate at the 2018 Gay Games in Paris. Click Here for More Info and donate to Dirk's Gay Games Scholarship Fundraiser here.

Do You Want To Reach Denver's Gay Community? Advertise With Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Do you want to advertise to Denver’s gay community? Of course you do, it’s the 7th largest in the United States! And the best way to reach them is with MileHighGayGuy – Colorado’s Best Gay Blog.
 
Just click the Advertising page or email sales@milehighgayguy.com to get started today.

Rhein Haus: Serving Up Weiners Und Balls in Downtown Denver

Rhein Haus is a gay-owned, two-story, 14,000 square-foot Bavarian-inspired restaurant in Downtown Denver with house made sausages, pretzels, and other authentic eats, 24 German and local drafts, Bavarian-inspired cocktail list, and four indoor bocce courts.

Denver Limo, Inc.: The Hottest Limos In Colorado Now at the Lowest Prices of the Year!

Denver Limo, Inc. is the leader in ground transportation in Denver, Colorado. Providing limousine service in Colorado for over 17 years, Denver Limo, Inc. has the hottest limousines, SUV limos, and Party Buses in the state - and they're currently available at the lowest prices of the year! 

Are You Gay With Something To Say? Bloggers Wanted For Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Are you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum for you than MileHighGayGuy?

MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.

These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.

If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at drew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.

WalletHub: Denver One of Top 10 Best Cities for Recreation

With July being National Parks and Recreation Month and America’s largest cities investing nearly $7.1 billion on parks this past year, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2017's Best & Worst Cities for Recreation.

To highlight the relative benefit of public spaces and recreational activities for consumers and economies across the country, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 100 largest U.S. cities across 44 key indicators of recreation-friendliness. For each city, WalletHub examined basic living costs, the quality of parks, the accessibility of entertainment and recreational facilities, as well as the weather.
 

	Best Cities for Recreation			Worst Cities for Recreation
	1	Orlando, FL		91	Toledo, OH
	2	San Diego, CA		92	Fremont, CA
	3	Las Vegas, NV		93	Gilbert, AZ
	4	Tampa, FL		94	Santa Ana, CA
	5	Atlanta, GA		95	Oakland, CA
	6	Cincinnati, OH		96	Jersey City, NJ
	7	Tucson, AZ		97	Chula Vista, CA
	8	Denver, CO		98	Hialeah, FL
	9	San Francisco, CA		99	Newark, NJ
	10	Chicago, IL		100	Irving, TX

Source: WalletHub

Debt Free Guys: How to Plan for Retirement When You’ve Delayed Planning for Retirement

By John R. Schneider, III & David Auten

In its 2012 LGBT Financial Experience Study, Prudential reported that LGBT respondents about their most pressing financial concern, the most common response was “retirement.” Respondents to Prudential’s 2016-2017 Study were “less likely to have started saving or investing for retirement . . . than those surveyed in 2012.”

Success is still ours. What can younger queer people do today to prepare for retirement with time on their side? What can older queer people do when they feel they’re in crunch mode?

Pay off debt
The number two financial concern of the queer community is paying down debt. Debt anchors our future to our past, so don’t sacrifice tomorrow for today.

Many retirees today are finding it harder to survive on retirement savings and Social Security because they have too much debt. For example, 30% of Americans 65 and older had mortgage debt in 2011. In 2001, only 22 percent of Americans 65 and older had mortgage debt. If you’re young with a low-interest rate mortgage loan, it may not make sense to pay off your debt instead of saving for retirement. But, have no mortgage debt by retirement.

Likewise, the Government Accountability Office reported in 2016 that Americans 50 years of age and older are having Social Security checks garnished to repay long-held, defaulted student loans. To avoid future garnishment of your Social Security checks, make paying off your student loans a priority.

Grow your cash flow
Robert Kiyosaki, of Rich Dad/Poor Dad, says wealth is when you have enough investment income to cover your expenses. There are three ways to create and grow investment income.

First, there are paper assets: stocks, bonds, mutual funds. Second, there are real estate investments, whether paper assets through REITs or physical properties. Then, there are personally owned businesses.

Todd Tresidder of The Financial Mentor believes that with this three-pronged approach, even those who have waited until their 40s or 50s to prepare for retirement can adequately prepare for retirement.

Get a financial planner
If you don’t have a financial planner, get one. Prudential’s 2026-2017 study showed that fewer queer people use a financial planner than the general population. However, an HSBC study showed that individuals with a financial planner have nearly 29% more in retirement income wealth than those without one.

To be sure, having a financial planner won’t make you rich, but not having a financial plan may cost you thousands over your lifetime. A 2012 CFP (Certified Financial Planners™) Board study showed that “the more extensively households plan, the better prepared they are financially in terms of their likelihood of saving, investing, and managing credit card debt.”

If you’ve procrastinated on retirement planning, don’t procrastinate any longer. By focusing on these three areas, you can make your biggest impact on your financial future. Whether you’re younger or older, though, starting your financial planning now is always the best strategy.

Canada Pride Is Ready With Over 200 Activities in Celebration of Sexual Diversity and Gender Plurality

Canada Pride Montréal 2017 (Fierte Canada Montreal), presents in collaboration with TD (Canada Trust) and Casino de Montréal, unveiling the programming weeks before the launch of festivities.  Over 11 days, festival goers and revelers will have an unprecedented choice of over 200 activities including DJ sets and the free large scale shows every night.

“The activities we offer are really diverse! The festival, cultural and community components all have something appealing to persons of sexual diversity and gender plurality, as well as to our allies,” explains Éric Pineault, Montréal Pride President, and founder.

Earlier this year, we’ve announced that Nelly Furtado would headline the festival as well as Montréal is proud, presented by Sirius XM Canada, with Gregory Charles and Marie-Mai, l’Acadie de demain, with Édith Butler and Radio Radio, Supernovas, with David Usher and Jonas, Drag Superstars, with 12 contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

New in 2017 

The new principal outdoor venue for the event, Parc des Faubourgs, near the entrance of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, will host the TD stage and the Pride House. Activities will also be held at the Casino de Montréal stage located at Place Émilie-Gamelin, a well-known site to Pride Montréal festival goers.

A two-day sports tournament has been integrated into the program featuring seven disciplines including badminton, rugby, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and water polo. Invitations to participate have been sent out to individuals and teams across Canada. The event is presented in the spirit and tradition of the 1976 Olympic Games and the 1st World Outgames of 2006.

Indigenous Peoples Participation

Vice President Jean-Sébastien Boudreault notes that this first edition of Pride Canada will be more diverse and inclusive, with a strong presence of Indigenous Peoples representatives. “We are honored to have an important and representative contingent to lead off the Parade as well as for the opening and closing ceremonies of the national conference on LGBTTIQA2S rights," he says. "Before each event, we will recognize that the lands on which we are assembled for Canada Pride Montréal 2017, are located in the ceded territories of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawks).”

Diverse Cultural Component

Throughout the festival, an art gallery will be set up in containers at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Hubert Streets. It will feature the works of 10 artists including paintings, drawings, photography and high fashion creations. A presentation on 375 years of LGBTQ+ history and the evolution of the Pride Movement in Canada will be featured at Pride House in the heart of Parc des Faubourgs. Theatrical productions will also be presented with two well-known comedies in English — Naked Boys Singing and Buyer & Cellar— and a promising drama in French by local author Denis-Martin Chabot: L’amant de Samuel.

An expanded Literary Pride segment will feature authors and their works throughout different bars in the Village. Activities will include: a book fair dedicated to trans and queer writers and authors of color, an interview with special guest author Kamal Al-Solaylee, the cabaret evening Authors Uncovered, a meet and greet with author Simon Boulerice and the popular Combat aux mots panel. Back for a 5th edition, L’Emmental expiré, coordinated by poet Simon DuPlessis, will present an evening of poetry performance involving a mix of dance, song, spoken word, and music.

Gay Help Wanted: Student Employment at the LGBTQ Student Resource Center

The LGBTQ Student Resource Center is looking to hire Student Program Assistants for the upcoming semester!

My story is your story.

By Sam Long
 
I'm a 26-year-old transgender man. I came out as transgender in high school, after struggling for years with an intense discomfort in my body. While other kids were dreaming about being doctors or astronauts, I simply dreamed of being comfortable in my own skin.

Accessing hormone therapy and gender-confirming surgeries was absolutely essential to my transition. It eliminated my inner dysphoria and allowed me to focus outward to my calling to become a high school science teacher. Every day, I stand tall and teach my students with confidence and excitement. When I teach, I feel like I am sharing the best of myself with my students. I wouldn't be able to teach without the services that I got because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

This isn’t politics. It’s personal.

We’re having a rally on Sunday, July 9th at 2 p.m. to tell Senator Cory Gardner to vote against the life-threatening ACA repeal bill. Will you join us?

Over the last ten years, my transition-related medical bills have totaled around $50,000 and I will have ongoing expenses for hormone therapy for the rest of my life.

The new, proposed health care bill waives critical protections, allows insurance companies to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions, and reinstates annual and lifetime caps to coverage. It allows insurance companies to deny me coverage for being transgender. I will accrue massive debt because my lifetime health costs are so high.

This ACA repeal bill will keep us from living our lives. Please join me at the state capitol on Sunday, July 9th at 2 p.m. to stop this bill from passing. See you there!

Get it While it's Haute at the 47th Annual Cherry Creek North Sidewalk Sale

Sizzling deals, four days only. Get it while it’s haute!

Come to Cherry Creek North July 13-16 for four fabulous days of hot deals, fashion and food! For its 47th year, a record-breaking 97 businesses will be participating in the Cherry Creek North Sidewalk Sale. Stores will take their sales to the streets of Cherry Creek North as shoppers search for the best bargains of the year.