Exclusive Interview with Scott Herman
By: Sam Washington

Before flexing his muscles on MTV’s reality show The Real World: Brooklyn, Scott Herman was just a regular American kid growing up in Salem, New Hampshire.  He remembers always protecting the little kids in his neighborhood.  However, it wasn’t until meeting Katelynn, his transgender roommate from the show, that Scott realized he needed to do more in the fight for gay rights.  Today, Herman is using his celebrity muscle and Colgate smile to recruit straight allies to the gay cause.

Read the exclusive interview and view all the photos of Scott: http://www.calameo.com/read/00039046760ee85338d6f 

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL 'NEWS & EVENTS' LISTED BY CONNEXTIONS MAGAZINE

Tim and his husband Dave who own the Element Lounge in New Hampshire, lost their 150 year old family home and 15 stall barn in a fire on July 23, 2011.   They lost everything, including Tim's Dad's ashes and many irresplacable items, as can be imagined.

Connextions Magazine had the pleasure of visiting the Element Lounge and meeting some unforgettable employees.  The care and concern about this tragedy by staff at the Element Lounge is testament to how wonderful Tim and Dave are. 

Please help us by sending a message of hope, prayer, and positive thoughts

A link to the story in WMUR 9 New Hampshire:
http://www.wmur.com/r/28642987/detail.html

From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to kindly request that you all post a prayer or positive thoughts on their facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Element-Lounge/149082688450688

Evening by the Rainbow Chairs with Jodi Picoult
June 25, 2011
Highlands Inn, New Hampshire

Bestselling author Jodi Picoult comes to the Highlands Inn for an event to benefit the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition.  This fundraiser promises to be a special evening.  Jodi and her friend Ellen Wilber, who recorded the soundtrack accompanying Jodi's latest book Sing You Home, will be the honored guests at a reception at the Highlands Inn in Bethlehem, NH.  The event continues at Bethlehem's Colonial Theater where Jodi will read from Sing You Home and Ellen will share some music from the soundtrack.   The author will answer questions from the audience and will be available to sign books afterwards.  A selection of Jodi Picoult's books will be on sale at the theater by the Village Book Store of Littleton.
 
Jodi tirelessly researches the subjects about which she writes, serving her commitment to portraying the realities of the lives that her characters represent. The quality of Jodi's writing was recently recognized when Ellen Degeneres bought the rights to make Sing You Home into a movie.   When Jodi sought to include a real property where the lesbian couple who are central to her story would honeymoon after they legally marry, she looked no further once she found the Highlands Inn.  The Highlands Inn is a resort especially for women that lesbians have been calling their home away from home since 1983.
 
Jodi writes: "It hasn't escaped my sense of irony that this little corner of open-minded paradise is set in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, that maybe this sleepy namesake town at the edge of the White Mountains could be the birthplace of a new way of thinking."  (from Sing You Home)

The event "An Evening by the Rainbow Chairs with Jodi Picoult" will be held Monday July 25, 2011 at 6pm.  One may attend the reception at the Inn for a donation of $50 or more.  Advance reservations are required for this part of the evening.  People who attend the reception are invited also to attend the reading. 
 
Tickets to attend only the reading at the Colonial Theater (2020 Main Street, Bethlehem) are available for a donation of $10 or more and are available in advance and at the Colonial Theater the evening of the event.  The Colonial Theater event will begin at 8pm.
 
Jodi describes the Highlands Inn's signature rainbow chairs in her book as evidence of the welcoming her protagonists find at the Highlands Inn.  This inspired the title of the event and why donors able to make a gift to the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition of $1,000 or more will be known as Rainbow Chair Sponsors. These special guests will be acknowledged at the reception and will receive preferred seating for 2 at the Colonial Event and lodging at the Highlands Inn on the evening of the event (subject to availability).  To learn more about being a Rainbow Chair Sponsor, contact Grace Newman at the Highlands Inn at 603-869-3978 or email   [email protected].
 
All proceeds from An Evening by the Rainbow Chairs with Jodi Picoult will go to the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition.  New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition is NH's LGBT education and advocacy organization, leading the fight to defend marriage equality in New Hampshire.  Those unable to attend are urged to make a donation to support the work of the Coalition at www.nhftm.org

Tickets to An Evening by the Rainbow Chairs are available by emailing [email protected] calling the Inn at 603-869-3978 or online at www.bethlehemcolonial.org