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District C Councilwoman KristinGisleson Palmer joins Oz pro-prietor Johnny Chisholm for

Oz's fabulous annual Christmas Partywhich brought in hundreds of unwrappedtoys for children in need in New Orleans.

Partner Heath Trammell andDoyle Yeager join their “bestgirlfriend” Niki Butterworth for

Oz's annual Christmas Party. Doyle is notonly one of the proprietors of Oz but is thedesigner for all of the spectacular holidaydisplays at the club in New Orleans.

Bar Baron Matt Giglio andnaughty elf shot guy Ryan wel-come revelers to 700 Club's

annual Christmas Party which raised over$400 for Belle Reve and Project Lazarus.Additionally, Lil’ Jon and Derek helpedraise $900 for the Sadie Hawkins partybenefiting St. Jude along with the help ofBearForce 1.

The famous Corner Pocket danc-ers joined bar baron MichaelElias welcoming guests to the

Pocket's annual Christmas Party cateredby Quartermaster: The Nellie Deli in NewOrleans.

Wood Enterprises KenGrandpre and Belle Reve'sVicki Weeks celebrate

raising $1,863 for Belle Reve during GoodFriends 17th annual Christmas Gala: Win-ter Wonderland in New Orleans.

Club LAX's Toby Lefort and AlHerrera joined guests for theclub's first Christmas Party in

Metairie, Louisiana.

New bartender Tim, barbaronessa Cookie St. Annand bartender Paul Harris cel-

ebrate during Michael’s On The Park's firstChristmas Party raising $1,300 for BelleReve in New Orleans.

Right-Bar BaronOrlando Aloejoins Princesse

Stephaney for his annualChristmas Blowout atOrlando's Society Page in NewOrleans.

Spirit of Giving Award winners TJ Rogers accepting for NO/AIDS Task Force,winner Tony Leggio, with House of Blues General Manager Robert Rizzuto,and Jerry Fredieu accepting for Halloween New Orleans (winner Bryan Batt

not pictured) during the House of Blues Heaven party in New Orleans,

Proprietors Bill Miller and ChuckTurner, and the staff of TheDouble Play welcomed patrons

to the bar's annual Christmas Party in NewOrleans.

A glamourous bar baronessaColette Ambrose, and GMCandise Holman greeted

guests for Le Roundup's annual Christ-mas Party in New Orleans.

Director of LGBT Marketing atCaesars Entertainment Rich-ard Brower joins Bourbon Pub

and Parade proprietor Sandy Sachs as hewas awarded the 2011 Founders Award bythe LGBT Community Center of New Or-leans for “contributions to the New Or-leans’ LGBT community” on behalf ofHarrah’s New Orleans / Caesars Enter-tainment. It was presented at December’sPride Night at Harrah's.

Bar Barons Chuck Turner andBill Miller hosted 4 Seasonsannual Christmas Party and

Carol-OKE in Metairie, Louisiana.

Oz won “Best Commercial” in the Christmas Decorations Contest hosted byPatio Planters announced at Caroling in Jackson Square in New Orleans.Congratulations designer and bar baron Doyle Yeager!

celebrazzi

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David Wagner, PhD, LPC, NCC, CHT

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under the gaydar

Bartender of the Month

It’s a new year and what better wayto ring in 2012 with a cocktail. Ibelieve my next choice as bar-

tender of the month is a twofold first for mesince writing this series. Misty has thedistinct honor of being my first bartenderchosen from the Friendly Bar, as well asmy first female bartender. Yes, ladies andgentlemen it is ladies night and the feeling’sright. That is true anytime you go to theFriendly Bar when Misty Costanza is work-ing. She is just a ball of energy and bubblyall the time. Armed with a sharp wit andamusing anecdotes, Misty brings a breathof fresh air to the neighborhood bar thathas been a gay institution, as well as aFaubourg Marigny one for years.

Recently, Jeff (aka Elizabeth Bouvier)and I had cocktails there and watched theSaints game. First the bar is a great spoton game day, with great complimentaryfood and drink prices. But the icing on thecake so to speak is when the Saints score,everyone in the bar gets one of Misty’sfamous pudding shots. OMG, it is so muchbetter than regular shots, like a creamyburst of sweet heaven in your mouth. Gaymen will love this drink (and straight la-dies).

But all joking aside, Misty has all theright qualities as a bartendress. She isquick, efficient, professional, welcoming,and of course friendly. So make it a point tocome and pay her a visit at the Friendly Barlocated at 2301 Chartres Street.

12th Night Doth Cometh

Mardi Gras is here people, areyou ready? Kicking off theseason is the Mystic Krewe

of Satyricon’s 12th Night Ball. This elegant

event will be held at the home of Dr. MarcBehar and his partner Jeff Sbisa on Satur-day, Jan. 7 from 7 – 10 pm. 12th Night is thekickoff of the Mardi Gras season and eventhough it is technically on the day before,Satyricon has an evening of amazing en-tertainment in store for everyone.

For a mere $30 per ticket, there will bean open bar, exquisite gourmet cuisine,entertainment, a silent auction, the coro-nation of King and Queen 12th Night and ofcourse, the announcement of the new roy-alty and the ball theme. This stylish eveningis either formal attire or costume. MarcBehar’s home is located Uptown at 1422Jackson Avenue. For more information ortickets, call 504.525.4498.

Oh Joy, Glitz Is Back!

On Thursday, Dec. 29,the Joy Theatre reopenedbringing a restored life and

vitality back to Canal Street. No longer acinema; the Joy has been transformed intoa concert venue and event space. And oneof the first shows they will have is Glitz:The Art of Female Impersonation onSaturday, Jan. 7 at 9 p.m. Glitz, a stageproduction that celebrates the art of fe-male impersonation, will shock and delightyou. Illusion becomes a night of celebritydelusion. Bianca Del Rio (Roy Haylock),the irreverent “Bitch” of New Orleans andNew York, introduces you to her glamor-ous friends… Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland,Carol Channing, Dionne Warwick, WhitneyHouston, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Mary J.Blige, Cher and recent additions – LadyGaGa and Amy Winehouse. In addition toDel Rio, the show stars local illusionistperformers, Teryl-Lynn Foxx, LisaBeaumann, Lawanda Jackson, BlancheDebris and introducing Dusty Debris. Ticketprices start at $35. Their performances willdeceive you. You never know what Biancawill say, and your eyes won’t believe whatyou see. A night of fabulous entertainmentawaits. So come and get glitzed! For tick-ets, call 1.800.745.3000 or go to the Joybox office at 1200 Canal Street.

Party Down!

There was definitely no rest forthe weary this holiday season.I honestly think I attended more

parties this year than ever before. I wouldlike to begin part two of my holiday party

escapade by thanking all those peoplewho invited me to their soirees and broughtlots of holiday cheer. I will start right whereI left off in the last issue. Monday tradition-ally has been a day with little excitementbut not during the holidays. On Monday,Dec. 12th, I attended two hopping parties,Woods Enterprises and the Bourbon Pub.Woods Enterprises employee and specialguest holiday fete is always a good time.Everyone from Rawhide, Lafitte’s, GoodFriends and the Clover Grill gather to ringin the season with drinks and a spreadbeyond belief. The food is prepared by allthe employees each contributing their ownspecial dish, so it is like having forty chefspreparing their best plates. After severalstrong cocktails, the karaoke started andguests got to see their favorite Wood em-ployee perform live. Afterwards I walkeddown the street to the Bourbon’s Pub holi-day gathering which was catered by thePraline Connection. Once again, the barrolled out the red carpet for their guestswho enjoyed food, an open bar andcelebratory company. It was a beautifulnight to connect with friends, sip libationson the balcony and make merry. One ofthe highlights of the night was when ownerSandy Sachs presented the NO/AIDS TaskForce with a check for $6,500 raised fromthe Pub's Oh What A Drag turnaboutshow. Now that kind of giving is the truemeaning of the holidays.

On Tuesday, the parties continuedwith Orlando's Society Page’s Christmasthrow down. As you can imagine the foodwas plentiful and the outfits were fierce.Princesse Stephaney and I did the roundsthat night, after their celebration, we hauledour cookies out to Metry for the LAX Tues-day show with Valerie Colby Carringtonand Dominique DeLorean. What a funcrowd they had that night. There is nothinglike a drag show to get bells jingling.Wednesday, two of the top gay bars threw

their holiday gatherings. Oz pulled out allthe stops for their extravaganza. The foodwas absolutely delectable and their deco-rations were outstanding. I understandthey won the best holiday décor in thequarter for a commercial property. Theplace was jammed packed with revelers.All who attended got a present early whenall the ladies of Oz put on an awesomeholiday drag show. The performers broughtthe house down with every number, espe-cially Dusty Debris with her dead on LadyGaGa impersonation. Simply fabulous.The 700 Club had a marvelous event thatdrew a huge crowd also. They had sexyelves passing out jello shots, an exquisitebuffet and specialty drinks being mixed bysexy staffers. They raised over $400 forBelle Reve and Project Lazarus, while Lil'Jon and Derek helped raise over $900 forSt. Jude. The holiday season was in fullswing at both events.

I have to say, that in my line of work,you have to be a chameleon, able to tran-sition from one social scene to the nextwith ease. Thursday, I went to two eventswith very different, lets’ say, atmospheres.The first was the Tales of the Toddy, which

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is Tales of the Cocktails holiday soiree thatdraws several hundred people every year.This year it was held in the newly reno-vated Hyatt and had over twenty differentrestaurants and bars serving their specialhot toddies and eggnogs, all made with thebest premium liquor. The firefighters werepresent with their 2012 calendars, artistsselling their wares, and unbelievable foodprepared by some of the top restaurants inthe city. I went with my friend Nick, andafterwards headed down to the CornerPocket for their party. Now that is what Icall a shift in crowds. The boys were notonly dancing on the bar, they were every-where. I love this place where the boysoutnumber the patrons two to one. Theyhad a lovely spread and once again therewas another holiday show, led by LisaBeaumann and the always entertainingKlorocks Bleachman.

Friday finally came and even ex-hausted, I had a full agenda for the night.I got home early from work and whipped upsome tasty treats for Jeff Mallon’s holidayparty. He did an impromptu gathering offriends and supporters who he wanted tothank for attending his theatrical showsand ForePlay throughout the year. Forbeing an off the cuff event, he managed tohave a crowded house and it was probablyone of the top holiday events of the sea-son. The food was great, made by Lance,myself and La Liz. I also managed to scoreone of the firefighters as the bartender forthe night. Jarred kept people happilycocktailed with his special peppermintmartinis. After, everyone moved the partyto JohnPaul’s to catch DominiqueDeLorean’s new show Diamonds of theSouth. The crowd was amped up witheveryone singing, dancing and having agood time.

Saturday was not any easier than theprevious day. I actually had to work thatevening. Don’t you hate when your jobgets in the way of your social life. Anyway,after getting off work, I drove to Metairie forthe LAX holiday party. Toby and Al did avery nice job making it special. Although,showing up in the burbs, twice in oneweek, I thought they were going to fall out.For those who have not been to LAX, theyhave a really fun crowd, so you shouldcheck it out. It is an extremely welcomingatmosphere. From there, I went back tothe city to JohnPaul’s to attend the Kreweof Petronius’ Gospel Revival Dinner andShow. As always the enchanting ladies ofthe the krewe gave the audience a rollick-ing evening filled with lively and inspira-tional entertainment.

The following day, my friend LauraTennyson and I attended a holiday Saintsviewing party hosted by public relationsqueen Cheryl Lemoine at her home in MidCity. Now this is one lady who knows howto throw an upscale football party. Sheprovided a full champagne bar, which al-lowed guests to have their glass of bubblymixed with several different fruit juicechoices such as pomegranate, orange andpeach. No chips and dip for her, the poshfare included crawfish cheesecake, sundried tomato bruschetta with feta cheeseand pine nuts, and smoked salmon, andcaviar. This extravagant setting combinedwith a thunderous Saints win made for awonderful afternoon. We then made ourway back to the French Quarter to go to theparty of Jose Luis, a talented artist andfashion designer. His French Quarter

abode was transformed into a winter won-derland as he created an outdoor settinginside. Instead of a traditional Christmastree, he took a large dead limb from an oakand flocked it white, and positioned it justsuch in his living room so the branchessplayed out across the ceiling. From thatpoint he hung lights and clear ornaments,so the guests had the illusion that theywere partying under the oaks outside. Hethen had taken the tops of some deadChristmas trees and whitened them andplaced them around the house strategi-cally to continue the design from room toroom. There was wonderful food preparedby him and his partner Rene as well as lotsto drink before the caroling in JacksonSquare.

My third gathering on Sunday wasKajun Pub’s holiday/anniversary/Joann’sbirthday party which was held in the bar’sadjoining special events space. So withtired eyes, I mustered the strength to con-tinue the holiday cheer. They had a buffetand complimentary drinks as neighbor-hood denizens and well-wishers gatheredin honor of bar baronessa and now thanksto the book Nine Lives, local celebrityJoann Guidos. Guests enjoyed them-selves as a slide show featuring the wed-ding of Joann’s daughter played in thebackground. It was a nice way to end aweekend of fun.

The countdown to Christmas Day be-gan on Tuesday when the organization Iam president of, the National Associationof Caterers had their end of the year boarddinner at Stella’s. Now dinner at Stella’s isnot just an evening of great food, it is adining experience beyond imaginations.From their inspiring cuisine to the impec-cable service, my other guests and I weretreated to a memorable meal. Starting witha cold beverage entitled the Ice Queen weate and drank the night away. This restau-rant has now moved into one of my top tenplaces to eat in New Orleans. From theremy friend Alan who was at the dinnertransported me to my next party via hismotorcycle. There is something aboutriding on the back of a bike through theFrench Quarter that amps up your butchstatus. My next stop was the Double Playholiday shindig. Chuck always knows howto show his patrons a good time and thisyear’s holiday party was no exception.

On Wednesday, I took my mother todinner at Ralph and Kacoo’s in the Quarterthen to Cirque Dreams: Holidaze at theMahalia Jackson Theatre. This Cirque duSoleil style show was a great holiday de-light with acrobatics flying through the air,tumbling, spinning, balancing and a hostof other gravity defying feats. The holidaytheme just put the audience in the mood.That night was also Zsa Zsa d’LaHor’sshow Hump Day the Country Way atJohnPaul’s in which I have the wonderfulprivilege to emcee. They had a fun crowdas they did some of the best holiday clas-sics by the stars of country.

Thursday, I went to my first Chanukahparty hosted by Dr. Marc Behar and JeffSbisa at their lovely home in the GardenDistrict with my friend Laura. The charm-ing Gigi Zachou did the cuisine as guestssipped drinks and mingled the night away.They had a pianist playing holiday tunes inthe background and halfway through thenight played one of the most fun whiteelephant games I have ever participatedin. What was so special at this party was

under the gaydar ...from 8

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