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by Rip & Marsha Naquin-Delain

1st Miss High Heel Drag Show June 13

The 1st Miss High Heel Drag Show & Contest will kick off the 7th Annual Charity High Heel Pool Tournament. Benefiting New Orleans Sports For AIDS, the contest is scheduled at The Mint, Decatur @ Esplanade, in the French Quarter, Sat., June 13, 9pm. For contest info, contact Billy at 4 Seasons, 504.832.0659.

The actual tournament, sponsored for the seventh year by Ambush Mag 2000 and Miller Brands, raising over $25,000 thus far, begins on Wed., June 17 at the Friendly Bar, 2301 Chartres. Each team in the tourney plays for a different charity. At the end of tourney play in August, the tournament pot is split between the charities according to team rank.

This year's 7pm Wednesday tournament dates, team/bars and charities include June 17-Friendly Bar-Buzzy's Boys & Girls, June 24-Angles-Food For Friends, July 8-Footloose-AIDS Hotline, July 15-Big Daddy's-University Hospital Hospice, July 22-Another Corner-Belle Reve, July 29-Lance's Pub-The Living Room, and Aug. 5-4 Seasons-Project Lazarus. Tournament finals are set for Body & Soul, 2300 Chartres, Sun., Aug. 16, 5pm.

25th Anniversary of
Upstairs Lounge Fire

The Rev. Dexter Brecht and Toni J. P. Pizanie of the Vieux Carre Metropolitan Community Church and Mayor's Advisory Committee Chairperson, respectively, have announced the final plans for the Wed., June 24 memorial for the 32 Upstairs Lounge victims of New Orleans' deadliest fire. The service will begin promptly at 7:30pm at the Royal Sonesta Hotel Ball Room, 300 Bourbon. Following the service, a processional will walk the three blocks to the fire site to place flowers at the corner of Iberville and Chartres. Attendees are asked to bring flowers to place at the site.

A "second line" will return to the hotel for cocktails and the opportunity to visit with The Rev. Troy D. Perry. Survivors and friends of victims will be on hand to share the history of this 16 minutes of hell endured by the 1973 Gay Community.

The Bienville Foundation has withdrawn involvement in the planning and financing of this event. Community members and businesses are asked to donate to the Memorial Fund through the Vieux Carre MCC to pay the cost of the service and the plaque which will be placed at the site. Checks should be made payable to VCMCC and marked for Fire Memorial Fund. All donors will be acknowledged in the Program as follows: Patrons $100+, Hosts $50, Sponsors $25. The program and web site have been donated by Ambush Mag 2000 and AMBUSHonLINE.

Mayor Marc Morial and Councilman Troy Carter have agreed that the plaque is a suitable and necessary historic monument and will take part in the service. For additional information, please call Dexter at 504.945.5390 or Toni at 504.522.8049 (Mon., Wed., or Fri., ) or log on to www.gayworld.net/memorial.

July 4th Laz Fest
Gets $27,210 AMgrant

Laz Fest '98, a benefit for Project Lazarus, has received a $27,210 Ambush Advertising Grant [AMgrant] donation. The AMgrant includes Ambush Mag 2000 print ads, plus an AMBUSHonLINE web page @ www.crescentcity.com/lazfest, A-List and Triple C premiere banner links, and banner ads on 18 AMBUSHonLINE web sites. Ambush is Laz Fest's exclusive major local media sponsor for New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf South.

The annual event raises tens of thousands of dollars on July 4th for the popular AIDS residence. Hosted at Cabrini Park, corner of Dauphine & Barracks in the French Quarter, 11am-6pm, fest goers enjoy unlimited food, soft drinks and beer included in the $10 gate admission. The festival also boasts games, music, a dunk tank, silent auction and raffle.

Other sponsors include Absolut, Bourbon Pub/Parade, Budweiser, Bell South, Kentwood, Radiofone, Pepsi and Wood Enterprises.

AMgrants are distributed to various charities, organizations and events throughout communities that have supported Ambush Mag 2000 and AMBUSHonLINE.

Westbank Cocktail Run

The lovely and talented Toni Pizanie joined us for a Friday night bar run to the Westbank. Heading across the Crescent City Connection, our first stop was Freedom's, 1030 Westbank Expressway, Gretna. This club has special entertainment on occasion and features the karaoke talents of Roger & Elsie, every Saturday.

Next we headed over to the all new Cheers, 1711 Hancock, Gretna, "where old and new friends meet." Bartenders Suzie and Kay were a camp, keeping our glasses full to the brim. We got to meet owner Pat who filled us in on the 411 of Cheers. This down-home pub is large and really set up for entertainment which begins June 12 with Mike Barnes one man band. June 13 will bring Lady Magic Necha and her popular Viva Las Vamps revue to the Cheers stage. On June 19, Elsie & Roger will begin their weekly Friday karaoke fest at Cheers.

Then it was off to Lance's Pub, 3714 Westbank Expressway, Suite 2, in Harvey. Lance himself was at the door greeting bar patrons as they entered. Handsome bartender Nash served up the cocktails, while host Carl made sure we met the party goers here. These guys were having a festive time getting ready for their big Prom Night extravaganza on June 20. Lance and company will even crown a Prom King and Queen. This club is simply too much with all the antiques and fufu, giving you a little taste of the Memphis Peabody.

Last stop was The Full Moon, 424 Destrehan, Harvey. Both Billy and Barry were manning the bar. Popular with the leather/western crowd, this bar is noted for its late night special events. Billy and Barry can fill you in.

Huge Crowds
Descend On Pensacola

Memorial Day Weekend saw record crowds descend on Pensacola. The bars, circuit parties and beaches were packed with revelers for the annual weekend extravaganza.

Jeffrey Sanker's Beach Maneuvers V: The Red, White and Blue Ball was unbelievable with Deborah Cox singing her hit, "Things Just Ain't The Same."

Abracadabra 4: A Magical Dance Party was not to be outdone. Oz and Miller pulled out all the stops bringing Sunscreem to the stage. The gigantic cloth dancers stole the show as fans from below forced the dancers into moves no human could produce.

And let's not forget all of the hot women and men in town. It was heaven on earth seeing some of the hottest bods this side of the Mississippi.

Miss Tri-States Crowned

Nicole Du'Bois was crowned Miss Tri-States America in Alexandria. The regional preliminary was hosted by Unique Bar & Lounge, 1919 N. MacArthur.

Show stopper Sweet Savage emceed the pageant and was joined with the talents of Miss Gay America Maya Montana, former Miss Gay America Patty La Play Safe and Miss Central Louisiana America Jessica Daniels.

Unique will also host the Miss Gay Louisiana America Pageant, a prelim to Miss Gay America on Sept. 11, 12, 13 & 14.

Marsha Undergoes 8th Surgery

A compound fracture occurring on July 22, 1997 has led to Marsha Naquin-Delain's eight surgery. Due to a persistent infection around the break, Tulane University Hospital doctors decided to remove the rod from the center of the tibia on June 4. Doctors had hoped to wait until August to do this surgery, giving the bone time to strengthen.

Marsha, now at home, is undergoing her third, and hopefully final, 6-week IV-antibiotic treatment. In addition, doctors are requiring Marsha to walk with the assistance of a splint and crutches as a precautionary measure to insure the strengthening of the tibia for 6 weeks.

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