So you're queer and geeky and in New York City in June but at a loss for what to do? Have no fear -- Geeks OUT is here! We've compiled a list of events to attend throughout the month. There's something here for everyone, from the art geek to the gaymer to the comic book enthusiast.
Afraid we've left something out? Don't worry! Just drop an email to patrick@geeksout.org and we'll be happy to update the page with relevant events. Also, be sure to post/email comments -- if there's enough support, this will become an annual project!
Tuesday, June 5th
Reading: Kristina Wright "Lustfully Ever After"
With Emerald, Sacchi Green, and Michelle Augello-Page
Bluestockings (172 Allen Street, btwn. Stanton & Rivington Sts.)
7PM – Free
Join anthologist Kristina Wright and contributors Emerald, Sacchi Green, and Michelle Augello-Page as they read from “Lustfully Ever After: Fairy Tale Erotic Romance.” This delicious collection of re-imagined fairy tales will lead you down a magical path into forbidden romance and erotic love. You won’t need those bread crumbs to find your way home– for home is where the heart is, and the authors of "Lustfully Ever After" know your heart’s most wicked and secret desires.
Game Night: Big Queer Trivia with Geeks OUT
Rockbar (185 Christopher Street, btwn. Washington & West Sts.)
8PM - Free
Jason Romas and Geeks OUT's Jono Jarrett and Patrick Yacco team up to bring you the world's finest queer geek trivia. Test your might in "Name that Tune" and drawing competitions. Prizes for the winning team and an individual $50 bar tab!
Wednesday, June 6th
Marjorie M. Liu Signing Astonishing X-Men #50
Midtown Comics Downtown (64 Fulton St., btwn. Gold and Cliff Sts.)
6p - 7p
Midtown Comics welcomes writer Marjorie M. Liu who will be signing Astonishing X-Men #50 at the Midtown Comics Downtown store. Marjorie is known for her work on such Marvel titles as X-23, NYX, Dark Wolverine, and most recently the much talked about Astonishing X-Men.
Thursday, June 7th
Reading: Pavarti K. Tyler "Shadow on the Wall"
Bluestockings (172 Allen Street, btwn. Stanton & Rivington Sts.)
7PM – Free
Controversial and daring, "Shadow on the Wall" is a novel detailing the transformation of Recai Osman from complicated man into a superhero known as the SandStorm. Forced to witness the cruelty of the Morality Police in his home city of Elih, Turkey, Recai is called upon by the power of the desert to be the vehicle of change, encountering issues of religion, gender, corruption and the basic human condition along his journey. Join DC-based author Pavarti K. Tyler as she reads from her book and answers questions about Islam, feminism, and our role in the world community.
Sunday, June 10
The Municipal Art Society of New York Celebrates Pride Month: LGBT Harlem
www.mas.org/tours
2p
Most people are aware of Greenwich Village's historic importance for LGBT life. However Harlem also played a major role in the development of LGBT culture and life in NYC particularly during the Prohibition era. If the drag balls of Greenwich Village attracted hundreds of people, similar events in Harlem attracted thousands. The speakeasies and salons of Harlem were major haunts for those that were "In the Life" as the LGBT experience was known. Many leading intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance were gay or lesbian. White LGBT people from downtown often felt less inhibited in Harlem than even in the Village. Many prominent entertainers were gay and lesbian or bisexual. Some performers even made their sexual identity a central part of their act. Join us for a walk through Harlem's amazing lavender past in honor of Pride Month. All are welcome! Cost $20 / $15 Members. Meeting locations are provided after tickets are purchased.
Gay Geeks of New York Geek Trivia Gathering
The LGBT Center (208 W. 13th Street, btwn. 7th & 8th Aves.)
5:30pm until 8:30pm
Gay Geeks of NY is an ongoing social gathering for all gay, lesbian, bi, trans and otherwise queer "geeks" of all backgrounds and ages meeting at the LGBT Center once a month. Gay supporters welcome as well!! This is a place to make friends and discuss your favorite comics, video games, TV shows, role-playing games, books and more with fellow geeks of all genres. Each gathering centers around our four round Geek Trivia, which covers all aspects of geek genres, with a prize bag going to the winner. Two rounds of trivia, followed by a mingling period, then the final two rounds!
Thursday, June 14
Artist Talk: Efrain John Gonzalez with Jonathan Weinberg
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (26 Wooster Street, btwn. Grand and Canal Sts.)
6p - 8p
In conjunction with The Piers: Art and Sex along the New York Waterfront, the curator of the exhibition, Jonathan Weinberg, will host a conversation with local photographer Efrain John Gonzalez who will present a slideshow of his work depicting the life and culture along the old West Side Highway, the abandoned piers, and the Meat Packing district of New York City during the 80s and 90s.
Sunday, June 17
The Municipal Art Society of New York Celebrates Pride Month: Pre-Stonewall Greenwich Village
www.mas.org/tours
2p
From the drag balls at Webster Hall to the lesbian owned haunts of Macdougal Street to the clubs featuring "Pansy Acts" to the slummers who would comb the Village to ogle the "fairies and dykes" cavorting openly in public, Greenwich Village was a major center of LGBT life almost half a century before the Stonewall rebellion. What made it possible for LGBT people to emerge from the shadows and partake in society on a level never seen before? What was behind the complex relationship with this subculture and society at large? How did LGBT society express itself in the intellectual and cultural life that was so central to the Village’s identity? Join us for a walk through pre-Stonewall life as embodied in NYC's quintessential enclave for those escaping the restrictions of mainstream society. Everyone is welcome!
Knitting: Dyke Knitting Circle
Bluestockings (172 Allen Street, btwn. Stanton & Rivington Sts.)
4PM – Free
Come in and knit, make new friends, drink some tea, and learn a craft at a self-help and member-led group. The Dyke Knitting Circle is open to all levels of queer experience and all levels of knitting proficiency. Bring yarn and needles. Join us any third Sunday of the month.
Monday, June 18
Samuel R. Delany with Kenneth James -- A Reading from 'Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders
Barnes & Noble (2289 Broadway, at 82nd St.)
7p
Prolific author Samuel Delany, whose works of science fiction and on sexual identity have won him numerous awards, reads from his new novel, Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders, and discusses writing with literary scholar Kenneth James.
Wednesday, June 20
Midtown Comics Same-Sex Marriage Ceremony
Location and Time TBD
Midtown Comics intends to host a Northstar/Kyle/Astonishing XMen #51 wedding event on the morning of June 20th, and we are actively searching for a same-sex couple that would like to be married at Midtown Comics on that day.
Geeks OUT Presents A Mighty Mutant Marriage Extravaganza
Elmo Lounge (156 Seventh Avenue, btwn. 19th & 20th Sts.)
6p - 9p
Celebrate New York City Pride with Geeks OUT! This year, we're honoring two landmarks: the one year anniversary of marriage equality in New York State and the (presumed) queer nuptials unfolding in Astonishing X-Men #51! We'll have the downstairs lounge all to ourselves, decked out in faboo queer wedding decorations, and, of course, a big gay wedding cake. Watch this space for more details, including GIVEAWAYS and SPECIAL GUESTS!
"Out in Africa" Artist Talk: Lyle Ashton Harris with Jonathan D. Katz
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (26 Wooster Street, btwn. Grand and Canal Sts.)
6p - 8p
This lecture is part of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art Lecture Series in collaboration with the Visual Studies Department at University at Buffalo. There is a suggested donation of $10. Admission is free for museum members. Please RSVP to info@leslielohman.org.
Hardcore -- Gaymer Costume Gala!
Vlada Bar (331 W. 51st Street, btwn. 8th & 9th Aves.)
10p - 2a
Time for another edition of Hardcore! Once again, we'll be featuring Wii, 360, and N64 games for free play upstairs at the VIP Lounge at Vlada! So bring your best trash talk and let's go! (You'll lose, but you might out trash me.)Featured Games: Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart 64, Left4Dead I'll also be ready to go with Pokemon Black and White for all your Pokerus infection or ass-whoopin' needs! (But bring your own DS; I only have one spare!) COSTUME CONTEST! Stop by for our special costume contest! We even have prizes! Third Place: a Mario Kart! (actual size may vary) Second Place: $15 bar tab Grand Prize: $35 bar tab (Drink up, boys!) And if that wasn't all awesome enough, don't forget that Drag Queen Tag Team is going nuts! Misty Meaner and Mocha Lite march out the girls to entertain us, so with all this going on, you've got no excuse! Now who wants to coordinate a costume with me?
Friday, June 22
Minions of Gozer: Pride Weekend Gender Bent Event!
IFC Center (323 6th Avenue, btwn. West 3rd & 4th Sts.)
12 midnight
TICKETS AVAILABLE SOON! These are gonna be awesome, and part of the proceeds will help Geeks OUT! (Also screening on Saturday, June 23)
Saturday, June 23
D20 Burlesque: 8-Bit Beauties
Parkside Lounge (317 E. Houston, btwn. Attorney and Clinton Sts.)
Two Shows: 9:30p and 11:30p
For its latest show, D20 Burlesque (3-time Time Out NY Top 5 Nightlife Event) will bring you a night of scintillating burlesque themed around those old school videogames near and dear to our hearts. If you still remember blowing into cartridges and can enter the Konami code in your sleep, this is the show for you!
Skin Tight USA: Gay Pride NYC 2012
The Ritz, 3rd Floor (369 W. 46th Street, btwn. 8th and 9th Aves.)
10p
Kick off NYC Gay Pride 2012 with NYC's Hottest Hung Spandex Heroes around! Skin Tight USA thanks The RITZ Bar and Lounge for providing an amazing space for this years Gay Pride festivities. We have the entire 3rd FLOOR of the club, and FULL reign of the club all night long. Special guest DJ Davicho spins all night long keeping the beat pumpin' all night long! Cum say Hello and see Batman making out with Robin only at Skin Tight USA! There are always great prizes to be won with heros that are hung! Come Get Your Gear On with Skin Tight USA, Saturday, June 23rd, 2012 at 10 pm. Great prizes and fun and for NYC Pride $8
--Costume rental and changing space provided--
Sunday, June 24
Gay Geeks of NY Pride March and Post-Pride March Party!
Vlada Lounge (331 West 51st Street, btwn. 8th and 9th Aves.)
March: TBD Party: 6p
Interested in marching with Gay Geeks of NY during the NYC Pride March? Click here for more details
Join us after a day at the parade for some Pride celebration with your fellow geeks! There will be a DJ for dancing! Drink specials! And following our party, a drag show by Paige Turner! More info will be added as the date gets closer!
Tuesday, June 26
Game Night: Horror!
Rockbar (185 Christopher Street, btwn. Washington & West Sts.)
8p
Jason Romas and Rob Russin are back (from the dead) with another gruesome night of horror trivia! What better way to close out a month of NYC pride festivities by adding a few blood spatters to the rainbow? Compete for team prizes and a $50 bar tab for one lucky winner!
