Tag Archives: Black Tie Dinner

Caroline Rhea tapped as Black Tie M.C.

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Comedienne and actress Caroline Rhea will be master of ceremonies for the 2011 Black Tie Dinner, set for Nov. 12 at the Sheraton Dallas, BTD officials announced this week. Organizers called the addition of Rhea “the latest in a fresh approach” for the dinner.

Caroline Rhea

Although Rhea started out as a stand-up comedian working in New York, she ended up moving to Hollywood to pursue an acting gig. Her small-screen debut came in the NBC series Pride and Joy, with Jeremy Piven, but her breakout role was as “Aunt Hilda” in WB’s Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. When Rosie O’Donnell left her syndicated talk show in 2002, she chose Rhea as her replacement, and the show was renamed, obviously enough, The Caroline Rhea Show. And she was the host of The Biggest Loser in its first three seasons.

Those of us who have kids and therefore watch The Disney Channel Cartoons (along with those of us who like watching Disney Channel cartoons just because they’re fun), may recognize Rhea also as the voice of Linda Flynn, the clueless mom on Phineas and Ferb.

But Rhea’s biggest “gay cred” came from her role as Noleta Nethercott in Del Shores’ Sordid Lives: The Series. (She stepped into the role when Delta Burke, who played Noleta in the Sordid Lives movies, wasn’t able to re-create the part on the small screen.)

BTD Co-Chair Nan Arnold, in a statement released today, praised Rhea’s “fresh, smart and spontaneous approach to comedy,” adding that Rhea’s “innate curiosity and formidable talents give her the natural abilities we’re looking for in a master of ceremonies.”

In other Black Tie Dinner news this week, online table captain table sales started today. For more information, go here. And BTD officials also said this week that they expect to announce the 2011 Kuchling Humanitarian Award winner very soon. So stay tuned.

—  admin

Black Tie online table sales start Wednesday

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Online table captain table sales for the 2011 Black Tie Dinner begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The dinner, with a theme of “Shine!”, is set for Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Sheraton Dallas hotel. Go here to get your table and find out more details.

The site allows table captains to organize their tables (each sits 10 people), communicate with table guests and plan payments. Table captain tables are available on a limited, first-come, first-serve basis, and table captains can choose their placement in the ballroom based on when their payments are completed.

Sponsor level tables — which come with premium placement in the ballroom and other benefits — are also available here.

—  admin

‘A roomful of silent witnesses’

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NO LONGER SILENT | The Rev. Steve Sprinkle, assistant professor at Fort Worth’s Texas Christian University, donated his stole to the Shower of Stoles project in 2001. He added the line of bells along the bottom so that he would never again be silent about his sexual orientation.

Collection of stoles from LGBT clergy on display at Northaven UMC, including stole from local minister Stephen Sprinkle

DAVID TAFFET | Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

The Shower of Stoles — a portion of which is now on display at Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas — is a collection of liturgical stoles from LGBT religious leaders representing about 30 Jewish and Christian denominations from six countries on three continents.

Stoles are the religious garb worn by clergy around the neck, usually over a clerical robe. This collection, started by a lesbian minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) whose ordination was threatened when she came out, is designed to “connect with people emotionally,” creating an impact similar to that of the NAMES Project AIDS Memoral Quilt, said the Rev. Rebecca Voelkel of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Voelkel said the collection is an important artifact of the ongoing battle for ordination equality in mainstream churches.

In 1993, Voelkel explained, the Presbyterian Church called for a three-year period of open dialogue on human sexuality. The Rev. Martha Juillerat, a Presbyterian minister from rural Missouri, participated by traveling around her district participating in dozens of conferences and opening dialogues in churches throughout the area.

Despite the invitation to come out, there was no guarantee that Juillerat wouldn’t face repercussions.

And in fact, she did.

Voelkel said that when the Presbyterian Church threatened to revoke Juillerat’s ordination in 1995, she put word out for other LGBT clergy to send her their stoles and stories. Within a week she had 75.

When Presbytery officials gathered to discuss her case, “she lined the room with stoles,” Voelkel said.

Within a few weeks the collection had grown to more than 200.

After Juillerat retired, she donated the collection to the NGLTF’s Institute for Welcoming Resources, which now maintains it. The collection has grown to about 1,200 pieces.

Today, parts of the collection are exhibited in about 100 places each year. Voelkel said that some churches use the display as part of the welcoming process, but others bring in the collection before they are even ready to talk about it.

She called it “a roomful of silent witnesses.”

Those witnesses can have an impact. Just last week, 18 years later Juillerat’s fight, the Presbyterian Church voted to allow ordination of LGBT clergy.

A display of 50 stoles will be on exhibit at Northaven United Methodist Church through June 5, said the Rev. Eric Folkerth. The church is a welcoming congregation with a large LGBT membership. Northaven is also a beneficiary of the Black Tie Dinner.

Folkerth said his church has hosted the exhibit before: “It was very moving and an inspiring thing to see.”

While other churches use the collection to begin a dialogue, Folkerth said, “This is a reminder that we are so blessed.”

Folkerth said that in terms of creating change, it would be better for the stoles to be somewhere else. But, “It’s important to remind ourselves what’s going on in the rest of the church.”

Among the stoles in the collection is one from the Rev. Steven Sprinkle, an associate professor at Texas Christian University. In his accompanying story, Sprinkle said that he served several congregations as a single person. Congregants suspected he was gay and he was targeted with graffiti on his house and had his car ties slashed.

“In an attempt to drive me away, my pet Basset hound, Beau, and my English bulldog, Buck, were butchered and hung up in the back yard of my parsonage,” Sprinkle said. “There was a lot of fear in my life.”

But Sprinkle said he didn’t run. Instead he came out after a close friend told him, “If there are no secrets, Steve, there can be no ambushes.”

Shower of Stoles exhibit, Northaven United Methodist Church, 11211 Preston Road. Mon.–Fri., 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sun. 9:30 a.m.–2 p.m. through June 5. 214-363-2479. Northaven.org.

—  John Wright

Chely Wright continues her gay offensive, signs on with Olivia Travel’s Caribbean Sun Cruise

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In May, it was big news that country singer Chely Wright had come out of the closet as gay, with the release of a memoir and a new album. She followed up that announcement with word a few weeks ago that she would receive the media award at Dallas’ Black Tie Dinner in November.

But before she comes to Dallas, she’ll be hitting the high seas — and not the ones on the upper reaches of the treble scale.

Wright will be performing on Olivia Travel’s 20th anniversary Caribbean Sun Cruise, which weights anchor Oct. 30 through Nov. 6 … the latter date which is, by the way, the same day as the Black Tie Dinner.

That’s cutting it pretty close (though maybe she’ll helicopter out early). In any event, expect a newly bronzed singer at the often chilly gala.

For more info on the cruise, visit Olivia.com.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Stage star Gavin Creel to perform at Black Tie

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2-time Tony nominee will join with TCC to headline 2010 fundraiser

From Staff Reports editor@dallasvoice.com

From Broadway, to London’s West End to Dallas, two-time Tony Award nominee Gavin Creel is coming to Texas in November to appear as the headlining entertainer for the 2010 Black Tie Dinner.

Creel will join Dallas’ own Turtle Creek Chorale in performing a special arrangement in honor of BTD beneficiaries to open the dinner, BTD officials said.

BTD Co-Chair Ron Guillard said organizers are “thrilled these two talents will unite on one stage.”

“Gavin brings an incomparable and raw sense of emotion to every performance. Combine that with the powerful voices of the Turtle Creek Chorale and we know our audience will experience a real treat,” Guillard said.

Creel first won Broadway acclaim for his leading role opposite Sutton Foster in the 2002 production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” which earned him a Tony Award nomination as best actor. The show won the Tony for best musical.

Last year, Creel was in the revival of “Hair,” playing the hippie Claude. He earned his second Tony nomination with that effort.
He’s currently performing in London’s West End.

Off stage, Creel is one of the founders of Broadway Impact, an organization fighting for equality and LGBT civil liberties. He is a regular performer on R Family Cruises with Rosie O’Donnell and is planning the release of his second studio album. BTD Co-Chair Nan Arnold noted that the announcement of Creel’s performance with TCC at the dinner comes less than a week before table captain table sales begin for this year’s event.

Arnold said, “All of these organizations have been standing strong, providing valuable services and programs to our community — some of them for decades — and we look forward to celebrating them in this exciting manner this year.”

Black Tie officials announced earlier this year that the Rev. Carol West will receive the Kuchling Humanitarian Award at the 2010 dinner, and that this year’s Elizabeth Birch Equality Award will be presented to American Airlines. Officials said other announcements about the 2010 dinner are coming soon.

Dinner organizers have not yet announced the keynote speaker for the event in November, or this year’s Media Award winner.
Online table captain table sales begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 30 at BlackTie.org/tablecaptains. Sponsor level placements, which include premium table placement and other benefits, are already available at BlackTie.org/sponsors.

For more information about table captain sales, contact Mitzi Lemons by e-mail at mlemons@blacktie.org or by phone at 972-733-9200, ext. 7. For sponsor information, contact Maggie McQuown by e-mail at mmcquown@blacktie.org or by phone at 972-733-9200, ext. 8.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 25, 2010.

—  Dallasvoice

Rooting for Beckham …

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and no, I don’t mean the soccer player or his wife.

Laurie Foley, the 2008-2009 co-chair for Black Tie Dinner, has a black cocker spaniel named Beckham who won the Black Cocker Variety division today at the Westminster Dog Show. That means Beckham now advances to Sporting division competition tonight.

So take a break from watching the Olympics, flip over to the dog show and root for Beckham.

—  admin

Black Tie Dinner beneficiary application process underway

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Officials with the Black Tie Dinner have announced that they are now accepting applications for nonprofit organizations who want to be beneficiaries of the 2010 dinner.

The application is available online at BlackTie.org, and there will be an optional orientation meeting for groups interested in applying on Monday, Feb. 15, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Seminar Room on the second level of the Sheraton Dallas hotel. The orientation meeting will include a presentation on the application process and the requirements to apply, as well as a chance for applicants and potential applicants to apply.

For more information, go to BlackTie.org, and watch this Friday’s issue of Dallas Voice.

—  admin

Black Tie bidding is open

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Online pre-bidding for the B4Black Live Auction is underway now, and you can go here to get a look at some of the items up for sale.

Black Tie is holding two live auctions this year. There will be the usual auction during the dinner on Saturday night, Oct. 3 (along with the silent auction before the dinner that night). But new this year is the B4 Black live auction, taking place during the free admission B4 Black party Friday night, Oct. 2, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Sheraton Dallas in downtown.

(And yes, that is the same hotel where the dinner will be held the following night.)

But you don’t have to wait til Friday night. Bidding for the Friday night auction remains open through noon on Friday. You can view current bids in real time and get e-mail notifications letting you know if you have been outbid. There are also “maximum bid” and “Buy It Now” options.

Items up for bid on Friday night include: Black Tie Dinner Raffle Ticket and Parigi Dining; a mixer in the Penthouse at W Dallas catered by Doug Boster; a vacation at Harrah’s Rincon San Diego; four Titanium passes to Winter Party Festival in Miami in March; a weekend at the Santa Fe Opera and Buffalo Thunder Resort; two nights for two at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Las Vegas; a cocktail party for up to 24 people at the Roberto Cavalli Boutique NorthPark, catered by Doug Boster; a weekend for two offered byK Kimpton Hotels in the Monte Carlo Room at the Monaco Washington, D.C., AND a weekend for two in a deluxe room at the soon-to-open Palomar Philadelphia; a trip for four to the Breeders’ Cup race at Santa Anita Raceway in California; and a two-night weekend stay at Dallas’ Joule Hotel PLUS the use of a Bentley for the weekend.

Get all the details, register and bid here.

—  admin

Gavin Newsom is Black Tie Dinner speaker

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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom

Officials with the Black Tie Dinner announced today that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will be the keynote speaker at this year’s dinner, being held Oct. 3 at the Sheraton Dallas hotel.

Newsom became a hero in the marriage equality movement in 2004 when he ordered the San Francisco city/county clerk to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Supreme Court stopped the marriages a couple of months later and ordered that the same-sex marriages already performed there be annulled. But Newsom’s action sparked the lawsuit that led to the court’s 2008 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in California.

That ruling was overturned with the passage of the Proposition 8 voter initiative last November.

Black Tie Dinner officials have already announced that Judy Shepard will receive the Elizabeth Birch Award, that Steve Atkinson will receive the Kuchling Humanitarian Award and that Cyndi Lauper will receive the Media Award at this year’s dinner.

Watch Dallas Voice for a complete story in print and online Friday, July 31.

—  admin