Warm Up at THE OUT NYC this Winter with Hot Deals! 

Urban Resort steps from Times Square offering up to a 25% discount for January and February

To kick-off 2013, THE OUT NYC is offering guests discounts of 15%, 20%, or 25% through February 2013. Now is the perfect time to visit THE OUT NYC and Manhattan to get the New York experience without the crowds of the holiday season.  




Valid through February, THE OUT NYC’s discount includes:

·15% discount off a one and two nights stay

·20% discount off a three and four nights stay

·25% discount off a five (or more) night stay  

*Pre-discount rates for THE OUT NYC start at $179 per nightand are based on availability, exclusive of taxes. Blackout dates apply. This offer is not combinable with other promotions or packages.

Guests can experience some of the THE OUT NYC’s key amenities that helped distinguish it has a2012 Fodor’s 100 Hotel Award winner. Some highlights include the just-opened Spa at THE OUT NYC that features a 5,000-square foot wellness center with luxury treatment rooms, hot tubs, cabanas and a private gym; a Winter Wonderland alpine snow lodge complete with ice skating rink, seasonal cocktails and fondue; KTCHN Restaurant where Executive Chef Dale Schnell serves modern American cuisine, fixed in tradition and inspired by the seasons; and XL Nightclub which has featured performances by the likes of Cher Lloyd and Carmen Electra. 

Conveniently located within walking distance of “must-see” NYC landmarks including Times Square, the Empire State Building and Central Park, THE OUT NYC also serves as a great home base for sightseeing in Manhattan.

For further information or to make a reservation, contact the hotel at (212) 947-2999 or visitwww.theoutnyc.com.    

ABOUT THE OUT NYC
THE OUT NYC, located on 42nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, encompasses a 105-room hotel, the 14,000 square foot XL Nightclub, Cabaret & Lounge by John Blair, Beto Sutter, and FV Events, a late-night restaurant called KTCHN, three courtyards, a business/conference center, function space, and a wellness center. Rates start at approximately $250.

WHAT:            
Repair, Rebuild, Restore, a holiday benefit for Habitat for Humanity hosted by Nest Seekers International. Supporting Superstrom Sandy relief efforts.

WHO:               
Celebrity Chef Jason Roberts, Star of ABC’s “The Chew” designed menu and other celebrity supporters include Katie Couric, Alec Baldwin, Zac Posen, Kelly Bensimon and Million Dollar Listing Star Ryan Serhant.                   
 
WHEN:             
Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The 20th Original GLBT Expo
Saturday March 9, 2013 & Sunday   March 10, 2013

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
38th & 11th Aves, New York City, NY. 10014

#1 in Attendance #1 in Exhibitors
#1 Advertising & Promotion
#1 Expo

2013 is the 20th anniversary and a huge milestone for the GLBT Community.  For the past 20 years, the EXPO has helped to present the finest products & services available to the GLBT consumer. Starting in 1993, the EXPO has generated over $80,000,000 of dollars spent within the Greater Tri-State area. This includes the GLBT friendly companies from every industry, both large and small, Fortune 1000 and Gay-owned companies. They have all discovered the GLBT Community is affluent, brand-loyal, well educated and business minded. It is the truest of definition of "THE PERFECT NICHE MARKET".

Connextions Magazine will be there for the 3rd year in a row.  We hope you stop by and connect with us!

For more information about the Expo, click to: http://www.originalglbtexpo.com/ or call 800-243-9774

To see photos from our past experiences at the Expo, click here.

dot429 and StartOut invite you to celebrate the season with an evening of cocktails and conversation. 

XL Nightclub, NYC
Saturday, December 8, 2012
7:00 - 10:00 pm

Enjoy a silent auction, two-for-one cocktail specials and complimentary access to XL Nightclub all night long.

Tickets available at: http://bit.ly/Xvh96a
Suggested $10 donation benefiting StartOut

Hosted by: Elliot Tomaeno, Jennifer Brown, Jason Dorn, Juan Ortiz, Kelvin Chen, Merryn Johns, Montgomery Frazier, Nithan Narendra, Patrick Grosso, Sasha Seven, Shelly Straub, Steph Watts

StartOut is an organization which strives to educate, to inspire and to support entrepreneurs. They also work to foster LGBT leadership in the business community.

XL Nightclub
512 W. 42nd St., New York, New York 10036

About XL Nightclub
XL Nightclub, Cabaret, & Lounge is New York City's largest, newest, and hottest gay nightclub. We are open 7 days a week within THE OUT NYC urban resort complex, with an ever-changing calendar of parties, cabaret performances, and special events.

Fall Fun for the Whole Family in Macedon, NY

The Amazing Maize Maze at Long Acre Farms in Western New York is much more than a walk through the corn. 

It is a 5 acre game with 2 1/2 miles of paths, music piped throughout, 2 bridges, a tower, 12 hidden mailboxes, 12 clues, and a beautiful walk.  There's enough to do for an entire day of fun for the kids, along with wine tasting for the adults.  Check out Western New York's first 'jumping pillow!' 

View below for a photographic look at Long Acre Farms corn maze.  Open annually during September and October.

www.longacrefarms.com

The second annual eQuality Film Fest, benefiting
the Q Center at AIDS Community Resources, will take place over three days with an extended list of award winning films.   Shows will be at the Q Center on September 28, and at the Palace Theatre on September 29 and 30, 2012.  

Friday, Sept. 28th Youth Series at the Q, doors open at 4:00 p.m.
 
Pariah  (5:00 p.m.)
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.

Tomboy  (6:45 p.m.)
A 10-year-old girl, settling into her new neighborhood outside Paris, is mistaken for a boy and has to live up to this new identity since it's too late for the mistake to be clarified.

Gun Hill Road (8:30 p.m.)
An ex-con returns home to the Bronx after three year in prison to discover his wife estranged and his teenage son exploring a sexual transformation that will put the fragile bonds of their family to the test. 

Saturday, Sept 29th at the Palace, doors open at 6:00 p.m.

August (6:30 p.m.)
August tells the story of two former lovers, Troy and Jonathan, who reunite after a long ago painful breakup.

Pageant (8:30 p.m.)
A portrait of five men competing in the Miss Gay America pageant – the pageant has more talent and drama than the Miss America, Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants combined. 

*Specialty cocktails served by our special guests

Sunday, Sept. 30that the Palace, doors open at 1:00 p.m.

Outrage (2:00 p.m.)
A searing indictment of the hypocrisy of closeted elected officials who vote for anti-gay legislation.   A talk back with local lawmakers will follow the film.

Loose Cannons (4:00 p.m.)
The youngest son of a large, traditional southern Italian family decides to tell his parents the truth about himself. 

*Followed by our “Coming Out”pasta dinner (Pasta dinner only $10.00)

 Intouchables (7:30 p.m.)

After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects
to be his caretaker. 

Admission: Friday-Youth series $5 or Q Pass for all 3 films, $10.

Saturday and Sunday: $10 per film or $30 Fest Pass which includes pasta dinner.   

The Q Center serves 250 young people through its year-round programs including education and support groups, school outreach, social events, arts programs, summer workshops, the Gifford LGBTQ Library and Learning Center, the David Bohnett CyberCenter, after school programs, HIV and STD prevention education, Youth Voice Advocacy programs, and counseling services.  
 
Funding for the Q Center comes from a collection of sources that recognize the previously unmet needs of LGBTQ youth of Onondaga County: the United Way of Central New York, ONCARE, the Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth, the Allyn Foundation, and private donations.  

For information about the films and the eQuality Film Fest, contact Maureen Harrington O’Neill at 475.2430 x 706 or [email protected].

The Cooperstown Rotary Club’s 16th Annual AppleFest will be held this weekend, September 15 and 16 at the Fly Creek CiderMill & Orchard just minutes from Cooperstown. 

This popular annual festivalattracts apple and fun lovers to celebrate the harvest with live musicalperformances, antique tractors, fresh apple tasting, children’s games andactivities, and freshly pressed cider.  
 
The Festival’s traditional program includes scarecrow making, antique tractors, pumpkin and face painting, games and bouncy houses.  New this year to the Kids Corner is a dime toss.  A small town carnival favorite, the dime toss is sure to be a new favorite at AppleFest, bring your piggy bank full of dimes for your shot at some great prizes. As part of Cooperstown Rotary Club's literacy drive, all children visiting the Storytelling Tent will receive a free book.  Creative cooks are encouraged to enter the apple baking contest for prize ribbons awarded to the Yummiest, Most Visually “Apple-ing” and Best Use of the Apple (most original.)  The popular raffle and silent auction of items donated by local businesses will be held under the Rotary tent along with a coloring contest for coloring contest for grades PK – 4.
 
Musical performances, a highlight of AppleFest, include theCooperstown Jazz Band, Bourbon & Branch, The Milkweeds, Red, White & Bluegrass, Stoddard Hollow String Band, and the Mountebank Brothers.   
 
"Attending AppleFest is agreat way to have fun and support the work of Rotary," says Angie Erway, chairperson of this event.  "AppleFest is our club's biggest fundraiser and last year we raised over $20,000, the most ever, all of which is distributed back into the community" added Erway.  
 
The Festival is held on the grounds of the Fly Creek CiderMill & Orchard, a water-powered cider mill where visitors can witness old time cider-making using an 1889 Boomer & Boschert press.  New York-grown apple varieties now available for tasting include McIntosh, Gala, Ginger Gold,Cortland, Macoun, Fuji and Empire.  Another feature of the weekend is a focused tasting of Apple
Salsas plus more than 40 samples of specialty foods, many of which are Pride of New York Products.
 
AppleFest runs 10:00 until 5:00 on Saturday and noon until 5:00 on  Sunday.  Admission to Rotary’s Festival is $4.00 per person, children under 12 are free.   Parking is also free.  The Fly Creek Cider Mill& Orchard, located at 288 Goose Street in Fly Creek, NY, is just 3-milesfrom Cooperstown and 24-miles south of Herkimer.  For more AppleFest information, music schedule, baking contest entrance form and  information on the Mill visit their website at www.flycreekcidermill.com.

GAY CAMP

Gay artists tackle anti-gay issues with laughter in Gay Camp at the HERE Mainstage Theatre starting August 11, during The International Fringe Festival in New York City.

Gay Camp is a a new comedy play by Philip Mutz and Susan-Kate Heaney, and directed by Phillip Fazio.  Gay comedic actors Christian Mansfield (BroadwayBares, National Tour of 42ndStreet), Ken Urso, and Philip Mutz (also co-author) will star in the production of Gay Camp in this year’s New York International Fringe Festival,
running from August 11 –August 22.
 
With Mansfield, Urso, and Mutz playing more than a dozen different zany characters, Gay Camp is a quick-change farce that followsthe stories of several young campers at a gay reform camp.  They have beensent away by their parents to be ‘fixed’.  Instead, they learn how to love– themselves and one another.  
 
Partners Philip Mutz (co-author) and Phillip Fazio (director) find the project particularly near and dear to their hearts. Believing laughter is sometimes the best medicine, this production leaves no (comedy) stone unturned. While successfully dissecting stereotypes and sending a powerful message about tolerance and acceptance, Mutz and Fazio still find a way to inject every
moment with humor. 
 
Startwith a deliciously evil headmaster and a closeted lesbian guidance counselor,throw in a few electrified fences, disco balls, boy-boy love, girl-girl love, gay Twister, Rick Santorum surprises, slow-motion fantasies, whips, handcuffs, flannel, and more innuendos than you can shake a dildo at, and you've got Gay Camp.  Gay Camp is fast, funny, and not pulling its punches as it takes onthe anti-gay morons in America.
 
It’s gay.  It’s camp.  It’s Gay Camp.
 
Gay Camp showing:
HERE Mainstage Theater, 145 Sixth Avenue, NYC. 
75 minutes 
SAT 8/11 @7:00-8:15pm
TUE 8/14 @ 9:15-10:30pm
FRI 8/17 @ 2:00-3:15pm
SAT 8/18 @ 10:00-11:15pm
WED 8/22 @ 9:45-11:00pm
 
Tickets will be on sale starting July 20 at www.GayCampThePlay.com.
 
 For information on The International Fringe Festival, visit www.FringeNYC.org

The Metropolitan Room will present Cassandra Kubinski in concert for the official release of sister singles, “On My Way Home” by Cassandra Kubinski, and “Eleven Times Over” by Phil Zipkin, this Thursday, July 26. The event is co-presented by Swish Pride, a gay/straight alliance focused on educating straight allies on the LGBT rights movement.

The 70 minute performance benefits Swish and will feature a song cycle exploring the various phases of relationships, from the first flirtatious glances to heartbreak, grieving, and coming back to love again. The performance will feature originals by Cassandra and Phil Zipkin, as well as a well-known cover or two, supported by musicians Ryan Cavan, PJ Rasmussen, and Rich DeCicco.

This Singles Release event,  coincides with an online download campaign for "On My Way Home" and "Eleven Times Over", in which 25% of all download proceeds benefit Swish and their efforts to promote peaceful relations and human equality in the LGBT right movement.  The campaign runs July 16-August 16.  Both songs can be downloaded at iTunes Music Store or www.CDBaby.com

Cassandra is preparing to release her fourth studio album, "Just Being Myself," produced by noted composer/producer Edd Kalehoff (Monday Night Football, The View, Carnival Cruise Lines, Patti LaBelle, Jessica Simpson, Faith Hill, and more). According to Billy Joel, her original sound “proves that the singer/songwriter genre is not only alive and well, but still capable of being transcendent.” “Just Being Myself”features 16 theatrical pop songs, including the jazzy "Je T'aime", featuring Chris Botti, and a re-envisioned version of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." Cassandra previously appeared on the New York entertainment scene in the 2010 rock movie musical "Clear Blue Tuesday," and in the Drama-Desk-nominated Transport Group show, "The Audience." For more on Cassandra, visit www.JustBeingMyself.me, CDBaby.com, YouTube, iTunes.

Phil Zipkin has performed Off Broadway, regionally, nationally& in several Equity Showcases. In the last five years, his primary focus has been in the cabaret world, with shows including What More Can I Say: The Songs of William Finn (with William Finn as a mentor) & I Want It All: A Maltby & Shire Songbook (with Richard Maltby Jr. & David Shire as mentors). He has also performed with groups such as the MAC award winning Uptown Express, Dacoda, Harmonic Proposal, Broadway Voices & The New
York City Gay Men's Chorus. Phil, a recent newlywed on 11/11/11, wrote his vows non-traditionally as "Eleven Times Over" to pay tribute to his husband and their relationship.

Swish is a gay-straight alliance that educates and empowers straight allies to be involved in the LGBT right movement. This event is part of the Swish Nights Out monthly series to network, educate and activate allies and their LGBT loved ones to fight for equality and love. www.swishpride.org

Show Information:
Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Run time: 70 minutes
21+ please
Tickets $15, 2 drink min.
Reservations strongly recommended: 212-206-0440 
www.metropolitanroom.com
Metropolitan Room serves a full bar, small plates, and desserts

Lesbian comedian Michele Balan performed at Wise Guys Comedy Club in Syracuse, New York on Thursday night, March 8, 2012

This was my first experience at Wise Guys Comedy Club.  After the specialty drink "Temptation by Stein," shared over  conversation with some new friends at the bar, we were treated to a buffet style
dinner.  Unlike the traditional buffet line at a wedding, this dinner boasted a fresh, 'good-looking' salad, carved turkey and roast beef, green beans with almonds, sweet carrots, bread, and two pasta choices that were both outstanding. 

With a ticket price of only $50 for dinner and an hour and a half comedy show, it is certainly something I would highly recommend to friends!

By the time we left, my cheeks were hurting from laughing non-stop for over an hour and a half!  Michele brings such a diverse comedy skit to the stage that anyone and everyone in the audience will be able to relate and share in the laughter.  

If you weren't able to catch this show, she will be performing on April 18th at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City.  Check her website for more details and future events at: www.michelebalan.com 

Connextions Magazine recently featured Michele Balan, click here to view the digital issue, and find her article and photos on pg. 52.

For more info on upcoming CNY Pride events, click to www.cnypride.org