| At 10, Fringe still features plenty of queer performance
Hundreds of avant-garde artists will gather in the City of Brotherly Love to perform in the annual Philly Fringe and Live Arts Festival, a two-in-one venue for raw performance art (Fringe) and work a little more cooked (Live Arts). The event, in its 10th year, runs through Sept. 16. Founded in 1997, the festivals were created to provide a home to dance performance, spoken word, theater and other art forms straying too far from the mainstream. And while the events have gained sponsorship and mainstream appeal over the years, they remain true to their independent spirit by defying convention and welcoming underground artists who raise skeptical eyebrows elsewhere. A host of GLBT performers are presenting work in the Fringe and Live Arts Festival, but no need to thumb through the splashy booklet.
Germany issues “tolerance” plea to gay community amid Pope ...
Germanys gay community has been urged to show tolerance to the Pope as he begins a tour of his country of birth tomorrow.
Pope Benedict XVI, referred to as Papa Ratzi in Germany, begins a six day tour of his native Bavaria on Saturday where he will visit the state capital of Munich and the village of Marktl am Inn where he was born in 1927.
The pontiff is known for his highly conservative attitude to homosexuality and has repeatedly spoken out against gay marriage, but Munich mayor, Christian Ude, has pleaded with the gay community to show tolerance for the moral positions of the Catholic Church.
The mayor of Munich is a Social Democrat who has worked for gay rights and has served as patron for the Christopher-Street-Day parades, a gay pride event, every year since 1994.
Jerusalem Gay Parade Postponed One More Time
As we went to press on Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post was reporting that Jerusalem police would not allow the gay pride parade, planned for September 21, the day before the start of Rosh Hashanah, to take place. Officials said the parade would interfere with police work in the Jerusalem area during this particularly busy time. It will be recalled that the parade was to have taken place on August 6 but was postponed in the thick of the Lebanon war. .
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