Tag Archives: masquerade ball

Lots to do this Halloween night

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This Halloween is full of treats

So many treats tonight, and so little time. Saturday is all about decisions and it’s like you can’t make a wrong one. If you’re handy and have a couple of 5-Hour energy drinks, you could fit in a haunted house, The Women’s Chorus of Dallas masquerade ball and of course, what’s Halloween without the block party? The best part is, this is just a sampling of all that’s going on tonight. Keep your eyes open for more Halloween events and parties. Or just pick up this week’s issue. Happy trick-or-treating.

DEETS: Oak Lawn Halloween 2011, 3900 Cedar Springs Road. 7 p.m. PartyAtTheBlock.com.

Masquerade 2011. Sammons Center for the Arts, 3630 Harry Hines Blvd. 7 p.m. $25. TWCD.org.

Screams Theme Park, 2511 FM 66, Waxahachie. 7:30 p.m. $25. ScreamsParks.com.

—  Rich Lopez

Best Bets • 10.28.11

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Friday 10.28img_9302

She’ll folk you up
Boston folk singer Catie Curtis brings a new set of tunes to town. Promoting her latest album Stretch Limousine on Fire, Curtis says this album has pushed her to her musical boundaries. So her live show must be just as inspired.

DEETS: With Melissa Greener. Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse,
555 N. Central Expressway. 8 p.m. $15–$18.
UncleCalvins.org.

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Saturday 10.29

This Halloween is full of treats
Saturday is all about decisions and it’s like you can’t make a wrong one. If you’re handy and have a couple of 5-Hour energy drinks, you could fit in a haunted house, The Women’s Chorus of Dallas masquerade ball and of course, what’s Halloween without the block party?

DEETS: Oak Lawn Halloween 2011,
3900 Cedar Springs Road. 7 p.m.
PartyAtTheBlock.com.

Masquerade 2011. Sammons Center for the Arts,
3630 Harry Hines Blvd. 7 p.m. $25.
TWCD.org.

Screams Theme Park,
2511 FM 66, Waxahachie. 7:30 p.m. $25.
ScreamsParks.com.

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Saturday 10.29

Diablos drag you to Hell
Before the costumes and the candy hits the fan, there’s Hellfest 2011 to get through. The Dallas Diablos host the annual rugby tournament with men’s and women’s teams from all over the country competing for top honors. Teams be warned. The Diablos say “in Hellfest, no one can hear you scream.”

DEETS: Lake Highlands Park,
9500 Lake Highlands Road. Noon. 
DallasDiablos.org.

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Thursday 11.03

She can dance
Judith Jamison is kind of a big deal. She danced with Baryshnikov, won an Emmy and went from being the principal dancer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to being its artistic director. She appears for one night as part of the Brinker International Forum. The Kennedy Center honoree and National Medal of Arts winner likely has some great stories to tell. And we’re all ears.

DEETS: Winspear Opera House,
2403 Flora St. 8 p,m. $12.50–$125.
ATTPAC.org.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 28, 2011.

—  Kevin Thomas

Masquerade ball at Dallas Eagle tonight

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Who are those masked men?

The Dallas Eagle knows how to throw a bash. As part of Leather Pride Week (who knew?), the club hosts Masquerade: A Night of Men, Leather, Fantasy and Intrigue. OK, you got us — we’re intrigued. The leather and fetish ball assures no Cinderellas on hand. Gear and masks are encouraged. Just don’t be that guy without one.

DEETS: Dallas Eagle, 5740 Maple Ave. 10 p.m. DallasEagle.com

—  Rich Lopez

Carnivale returns to Oak Cliff

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CARNIVALE ON PARADE | Entries in the Oak Cliff Mardi Gras parade set for Sunday reflect an eclectic mix, with everything from the Oak Lawn Band to the Catholic School Dad’s Club participating.

Oak Cliff Mardi Gras celebration promises an eclectic mix of participants and sponsors, including many from LGBT community

DAVID TAFFET  |  Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com

Oak Cliff celebrates Mardi Gras with a two-day event this weekend, beginning with the second annual “Dash for the Beads,” a 5K run, one-mile walk and costume contest.

As with many Oak Cliff events, the sponsor list and participants in the weekend include an interesting and diverse mix. Sponsors range from GayBingo, Hewitt Habgood Realty, Monica Greene’s new restaurant Bee and attorney Chad West to the Oak Cliff Lions Club and Oddfellows.

“It’s why I love it over here,” said Old Oak Cliff Conservation League President Michael Amonett. “It’s an interesting, eclectic mix.”

The walk begins in the Bishop Arts District on Saturday, March 5, at 8:30 a.m. and the “Dash for the Beads” run at 9 a.m. Runners will proceed west on Davis Street, turn north on Tyler Street then east on Colorado Boulevard, with a detour through scenic Kessler Lake Drive, and return to the starting point on Bishop Avenue.

After race participants return, race awards will be followed by costume awards. Judges for the contest include Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Councilwoman Delia Jasso.

Vendors will have booths in the Bishop Arts District throughout the morning. The Cliff Blues Band will provide live music. DJ Ish follows and Ballet Folklorico performs.

A masquerade ball begins at 8 p.m. at the newly restored Kessler Theater on Saturday night. Lil Malcolm and the House Rockers will headline the evening. Zydeco Blanco will open.

Weekend organizer Amy Cowan called OCarnivale at the Kessler a semiformal masquerade ball with people dressed in everything from jeans to black tie — with lots of masks.

The Mardi Gras celebration continues on Sunday with a crawfish boil at 3 p.m. in Bishop Arts. Tickets are $15 in advance and a limited number will be sold at the door for $20.

That will be followed at 4 p.m. with the Mardi Gras parade.

Parade entries reflect an interesting mix and include everything from the Oak Lawn Band to St. Cecilia Catholic School’s Dad’s Club. Cowan said they have 48 entries.

Following in New Orleans style, several Oak Cliff krewes have formed with names like Krewe of Winnetka Heights and Krewe du Cliff Temple. Cowan is part of the Kings Highway Krewe, which has a 24-foot float.

She said Krewe La Rive Gauche always has the best costumes and that Friends of Kidd Springs Park’s entry features a 10-foot Eiffel Tower.

Norma’s, a popular Oak Cliff diner since 1956, has a vintage fire truck in the parade. Valdez will march with a sheriff’s posse on horseback.

Cowan said most mayoral and council candidates will be participating.

The parade begins on Davis Street at Windomere Avenue. The route follows Davis Street to Madison Avenue where it returns to Bishop Arts on Seventh Street.

Among the parade sponsors is Hunky’s.

“We’re going to open at 10 a.m. on Saturday,” said Hunky’s owner Rick Barton, referring to the Bishop Arts location only. “We’ll be decorated and festive.”

Cowan said traffic and parking will be difficult.

“Take public transit or ride your bike,” Cowan said.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 4, 2011.

—  John Wright

Black Pride Weekend: Second annual Masquerade Ball at The Warehouse

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“Fierce” doesn’t begin to cover it

Dallas Southern Pride is bringing back its Masquerade Ball which looks to be the centerpiece party of the weekend.With special performances by Andre Misrahe, Back Rayne, Kage Khan, pictured, and JuJubee from RuPaul’s Drag U, the night doesn’t stop there. Prepare yourself for the ultimate sex siren battle on the dance floor and of course, the fab and fierce costumes and masks sure to be on hand. You’ll  have to see for yourself just what to expect. Just note the time of the event. It’s late, but that means more disco nap.

DEETS: The Warehouse, 1837 Corinth St. Doors at midnight. Ball begins at 3 a.m. $20–$25. DallasSouthernPride.com.

—  Rich Lopez

Dallas Southern Pride organizers predict crowd of 10,000-plus

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‘Drag Race’ star JuJu Bee, dance parties, pool parties to highlight city’s annual black Pride weekend

DAVID TAFFET  |  Staff Writer taffet@dallasvoice.com

Angela Amos
Angela Amos

More than 10,000 people are expected to attend Dallas Southern Pride, the premier annual black Pride event in North Texas, on Sept. 23-26.

Promoter Kirk Myers said that the event is moving from a regional event to a nationally recognized circuit party.

JuJu Bee from “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” will be one of the performers featured over the weekend. She will be at the Brick on Friday night, Sept. 24.

Myers traveled to Cleveland to see JuJu Bee perform.

“She’s very personable,” he said. “She gets out and meets everyone and is overwhelmed by the response.”

He said she didn’t realize she had such a large African-American fan base.

“A lot of people thought she should have won,” he said.

Myers said GloTV will be in town filming the Masquerade Ball on Saturday, Sept. 25, as part of a new reality series about the emerging ballroom scene in the black LGBT community.

Dallas Southern Pride has always been scheduled to coincide with the Grambling/Prairie View Classic football game generally held the first weekend in October at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park. This year, the game was moved back a week, so Pride moved, too.

Myers said he hopes the move encourages more people of all backgrounds from Dallas to participate in some of the events. With Dallas Southern Pride coming the week after the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade, Myers said he believes people will still be in the mood for more Pride celebrations.

“That party is really an opportunity for the mainstream LGBT community to party with us,” he said.

Myers said several things indicate this year’s event will be larger than ever. He said the Convention and Visitors Bureau has been very supportive. More sponsors have signed on this year as well.

To close the weekend, the Signature Black Party will be held at the host hotel on Sunday night. SizzleMiami, the largest black circuit party that attracts more than 100,000 each Memorial Day, is sponsoring the event.

Myers said that the various promoters represent the diversity of the community. To attract women, they added Her 4 Her last year.

T.D. Davis, a Her 4 Her organizer, said that the theme for Dallas Southern Pride is “Taste of Dallas — Best of Both Worlds.” She said the women’s events “bring different flavors to Dallas.”

The women’s parties begin with Bourbon Street at Victory Tavern near the American Airlines Center on Thursday, Sept. 23, presented by Sophisticated Fridays.

DeMarco Major from Logo’s “Shirts & Skins” will host “New York — A Taste of the Big Apple” at the Radisson Love Field, the host hotel, on Friday evening.

The Saturday afternoon pool party has a South Beach theme and “A Night in Paris,” the Saturday night party at Wendy Krispin’s in the Design District, has a French flair.

Sunday’s brunch with Church of the Solid Rock features New Orleans soul food.

“We’re continuing to build the Her 4 Her brand,” said organizer Angela Amos.

Amos said all of the most recognized women’s organizations in the Metroplex participated in organizing the weekend’s events.

“I’d like to keep building the alliances and reaching out on an individual level,” she said.

On Saturday, several workshops presented by Glamour Girls and Alpha Lambda Zeta, a nationally recognized gay fraternity, will be held at the hotel.

“Then Sunday is a concoction of everyone,” Davis said.

After Sunday brunch and worship, both the men and the women head to Bachman Lake Park for a picnic. Myers said the food is being provided by Buffalo Wild Wings.
That event is free.

The organizers all said additional highlights and entertainment are still being booked for next week’s events.

A full schedule of events is available at DallasSouthernPride.com and Her4Her.org.

This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 17, 2010.

—  Michael Stephens