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Volume 15/Issue 20

AMBUSH.GIF

Pride Grand Marshal's XVIII Louise McFarland
and Roberts Batson Lead Pride Festivities

Roberts Batson & Dr. Louise McFarlandLongtime Louisiana activists Louise McFarland, M.D. and Roberts Batson will lead the 18th Annual Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival. As Pride Grand Marshal's XVIII, McFarland and Batson will kick off the PrideFest Parade on National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11th, 12 noon, Washington Square Park, New Orleans.

McFarland is the Louisiana State Epidemiologist. Among her many credits, she is a founder of the Mamou Riding Club and the Lesbian & Gay Community Center of New Orleans. She is a supporter of Camp Sister Spirit and a member of numerous organizations such as Human Rights Campaign, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, LAGPAC and Forum for Equality. She serves on the Board of Celebration and works with Shelter Resources and the HRC Dinner committee. In 1994, Louise was a member of Team New Orleans at the Gay Olympics. She won a Silver metal in Track & Field, 5,000 meter race in her age class.

Batson has worked as a gay activist since the 70's helping with the organization of LAGPAC, Louisiana State Gay Conference [Celebration] and NO/AIDS Task Force. Through auctions and other projects, he has helped raise funds for LAGPAC, Celebration, NO/AIDS Task Force, Crescent City Coalition, Pride organizations, ACLU, AIDSLaw, P-FLAG, and Larry Bagneris', as well as other political campaigns. He currently writes an ongoing series of New Orleans gay history for Impact, and his Bienville Center for Conservancy documents local gay oral history on film.

This year Pride will have its first official Grand Marshal's Reviewing Stand, courtesy of Ambush, 828 Bourbon Street. Parade judging will be conducted from the Ambush Balcony. All performances should take place at this point in the parade. Pride Grand Marshals Louise McFarland and Roberts Batson will leave their carriage for a champagne toast, and view the parade from the balcony, then rejoin the parade, arriving last at Washington Square Park.

The two-day festival opens at 11am Saturday, Oct. 11th and continues on Sunday, Oct. 12th at 9:30am in Washington Square Park. "Equality Through Visibility" is the '97 theme. Activities include the opening ceremonies, lesbian/gay pride parade, National Coming Out Day Keynote Address, live entertainment, kid's tent, Sunday morning fellowship and celebration of unions, food and drink vendors, merchandise and crafts vendors, Speakers' Corner, Pride Pet Show, art exhibit, silent auction, community outreach and networking, domestic partner registry and much more.

The new gay a capella quartet Men Out Loud from California and comedian Solo Performer of the Year Rob Nash will headline the roster of entertainment this year. Men Out Loud have just released their first CD and bring a unique gay sensibility to their music in conjunction with the quartet's multifaceted vocal arrangements. Rob Nash has worked in comedy clubs from Houston to Seattle and has been seen on Comedy Central's third gay and lesbian comedy special - Out There in Hollywood, the HBO Comedy Half Hour, and the VH-1 Stand-up Spotlight with Rosie O'Donnell.

Schedule of Events
[accurate as of press time]
SAT., OCT. 11TH...

11am, Park Opens
12noon, Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade
2pm, Opening Ceremonies featuring Becky Allen
3pm, Varla Jean Merman
3:30pm, Cody King
4pm, Isaac's Guns featuring Whitney McRae
4:45pm, Sisters By Grace
5:15pm, Cajun LaCage [Classic Illusions]
6pm, Men Out Loud-PrideFest Featured Act
7pm, Park Closes

SUN., OCT. 12TH:
9:30am, Park Opens
10am, Celebration of Unions
11am, Fellowship/Gospel Hour featuring Sisters By Grace
12noon, Pride Pet Show sponsored by & Toto, Too!
and Three Dog Bakery
1pm, Rob Nash, Stand Up Comic
1:30pm, Country/Western Dance featuring Boot Scootin' Boogie
2pm, Domestic Violence Statement
2:15pm, Lady Magic Necha
3pm, Feature Performances by Gay Appreciation Award
Entertainer of the Year Nominees
4pm, New Orleans Gay Men's Chorus
4:30pm, Sherreece
5pm, Sweet Revenge
5:30pm, Disco Cafe sponsored by New Orleans Alliance of Pride
6pm, Forbidden Fruit
7pm, Festival Ends

Sponsors include Absolut Vodka, Alternative Apparel Company, AMBUSH Mag 2000, AMBUSHonLINE, Miller Brands, Pepsi, Wet International and Wood Enterprises. Visit www.gayneworleans. com/pride/ for more info.

Brad Dupuy Show
A Hit at the Center
Brad Dupuy with his, now our, 'Singing & Acting in the Park'

The Lesbian and Gay Community Center of New Orleans has a hit on its hands with the recent opening of "dreamvisions." The show of paintings by Brad Dupuy follows a long line of successful art openings under the direction of Brian Sands.

Sands has showcased various types of artwork to promote the talents of rising lesbian and gay artists.

The paintings of Dupuy are astonishing works bringing to life his images on canvas through creative brush strokes with a flair of vibrant colors.

We simply could not leave the show without the purchase of "Singing and Acting in the Park." This is one way we have chosen to support the Center. Each sale results in 25% of the proceeds benefiting the important work of the Center. At $400, this sale netted $100 for the Center.

Dupuy's painting will hang in the Ambush Collection. Other works purchased through the Center's art shows include "Relationship I" by Michael Landry, "This Way Please" by Gregory Frank, "Cemetery" and "Mannequin" by Abegail Abreu, "Bride" by Kevin Butler, "Banana Leaves #1" by Ron Williams, and "Oh! I Know I'm A Little Overdressed" by Chip Landry.

The Dupuy show runs through Nov. 2nd. Call the Center for exhibit hours, 504.522.1103, or visit www.gaynew orleans.com/The_Center/.

AMBUSHonLINE Does Record 14 Million Hits

Award winning AMBUSHonLINE continues to startle the competition with its successful marketing campaign. In its first year of operation, 1996, AMBUSHonLINE only brought in 4 million hits with 6 domains up and running. Since January 1, 1997, with 12 domains now activated, the conglomerate has brought in over 10 million hits in just 296 days. That averages out to almost 34,000 hits per day.

Hits have increased steadily each month since June with over 1.1 million hits, July with over 1.2 million hits and August with almost 1.4 million hits. The first 3 weeks of September have already brought the conglomerate over 1.5 million hits. If this trend continues, the Internet sites comprising AMBUSHonLINE should double by years end and do over 2 million hpm [hits per month].

The week of Aug. 26-Sept. 1 stat reports were selected to illustrate exactly what each domain did in a one week period. Hits are broken down by domain: AMBUSHonLINE [www.ambushonline.com] 10,479, AMBUSH Mag 2000 [archive.ambushmag.com] 35,241, & Toto Too! [www.andtototoo.com] 5,298, Crescent City [www.crescentcity.com] 15,045, Gay America [www.gayamerica.com] 73,422, Gay Bars [www.gaybars.com] 15,636, GayEURO [www.gayeuro.com] 3,888, Gay Mardi Gras [www.gaymardigras.com] 192,443, Gay New Orleans [www.gayneworleans.com] 39,720, Gay New Orleans Organizations [www.gayneworleans.org] 1,239, LAGPAC [www.lagpac.com] 244, and Southern Decadence [www.southerndecadence.com] 52,684. The total hits for this particular week was 445,339, averaging 63,619 hits per day.

Each week these independent statistical reports are done on each domain in the AMBUSHonLINE conglomerate and can be viewed from any site. This allows current and prospective clients to view and see how well the company is fairing. That is what makes the Internet such a great marketing tool for business. A company online cannot give you a line of inaccurate and exaggerated information. Ask to see their stat reports. If they cannot produce one, then chances are they are giving you a line of b.s.

So when you see companies out there wanting to develop a web site at bargain basement prices, say for "$1 a day," you may want to see exactly what you're buying. Chances are these companies have no proven record on the World Wide Web.

That's where AMBUSHonLINE has the advantage. The conglomerate has the experience, the knowledge and the largest client base of any GLBT conglomerate online. If your vision is the future, then AMBUSHonLINE is your success. Contact the Web Team for more info 504.522.8047, outside New Orleans 800.876.1484.

GAA Nominations Hold Many Surprises

The Gay Appreciation Awards [GAA] ran its first public nomination ballot in the history of the event. Appearing in the previous two issues of Ambush Mag 2000, as well as on its internet site @ archive.ambushmag.com/gaa/, the ballot decisions held many surprises for the GAA Board of Directors. Tallying procedures were completed by the Board on September 25th.

Previously closed to the New Orleans area, this was also the first year, that all of Louisiana was included in the process. Top 5 nominees hail from Baton Rouge, Slidell, Metairie, as well as New Orleans' own French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny.

"Bitch of the Year" was evidently the most coveted category bringing in the largest number of nominees at 43, while "Dance Bar of the Year" was a more concise choice bringing in the least nominees at 8. Nominations ran the gamut, even including the late Princess Diana in the "Buzzy Fanning Fight Against AIDS" and "Political Activist" categories, while former mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth II, and even the late Andrew Cunanan fetched nominations in the "Bitch of the Year" category.

Public voting will take place at the Ambush Booth, 10am-5pm, during Pride Fest '97, Oct. 11th and 12th, Washington Square Park, New Orleans. The top 5 nominees in each category will be on the ballot. Voters will select one choice in each category, voting only once during Pride Fest.

NOMINEES INCLUDE:
Newcomer of the Year... Felicia Renee Cole, Madame X, Robin Malta, Tommie Raye, Vickie Vines
Neighborhood Bar of the Year... Footloose, Good Friends, MRB, Oz, Pookie's Palace
Buzzy Fanning Fight Against AIDS Award... Joyce Alberts & Lou Theriot, Ursuline Burgundy, Lazz Fest, Billy Warr, Doug Weiss
Bitch of the Year... Danae Daniels, Glenn Fonte, Jerry Head, Michael Kleinpeter, Miss Love
Show Bar of the Year... Footloose, Oz, Mint, Parade, Pookie's Palace [The cast of each show bar nominated will be required to present a production number at the 11th Annual Gay Appreciation Awards ceremony Nov. 23rd.]
GLBT Friendly Business of the Year... Aaron's Antique Mall, Fashion Cafe, Straya California Creole Cafe, United Cab, Verti Mart
Performing Arts Award... Becky Allen, "Boys in the Band," CAC [Contemporary Arts Center], Barry Marino, Gordon Randolph
Dance Bar of the Year... Oz, Parade, Pier 11, Traditions, Wolfendale's
Bartender of the Year... Rick Duplechian/Pier 11, Dan Finney/MRB, Fred Holmes/Pookie's Palace, Patrick Rodgers/Footloose, Mark Santelli/Oz
DJ of the Year... Alien/Pier 11, Joe Gauthreaux/Oz, Mary Pappas/Rubyfruit Jungle & Some Like It Hot, Tim Pflueger/Oz, Lydia Prim/Parade
GLBT Business of the Year... Alternatives, Footloose, Gay Mart, Hit Parade, QuarterMaster-The Nellie Deli
Political Activist of the Year... Larry Bagneris, Randal Beach, Brian Hartig, John Rawls, Nancy Sharp
Lesbian of the Year... Lisa Ducre, Pussy Galore [Evelena Wareing], Susan Giroir, Nikki Kearby, Yvette Migues
Man of the Year...Roberts Batson, Andy Boudreaux, Johnny Chisholm, Kenny Falco, Joe Rodrigue
Entertainer of the Year... Becky Allen, Raquel Chevallier, Reba Douglas, Cody King, Stephanie Williams

The 11th Annual Gay Appreciation Awards ceremony will be hosted Sunday, Nov. 23, 8-10pm, Body & Soul, 2300 Chartres, New Orleans. This year's show will benefit Shelter Resources [Belle Reve/Belle Esprit].

Advanced tickets include VIP tables w/4 seats-$100, and reserved theatre-style seats-$15. General admission is $10 at the door. Tickets go on sale Oct. 11th & 12th, Ambush Booth, Pride Fest, Washington Square Park, New Orleans. On Oct. 13th, tickets may be purchased at Ambush offices, 828-A Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70116-3137. Visit archive.ambushmag.com/gaa/.

Ambush Surprises Baton Rouge

Ambush/New Orleans surprised Baton Rouge revelers Sept. 20th when the group arrived for an impromptu bar run. Stopping first at the Hide-A-Way, the group including Sonny Cleveland, ourselves [Rip & Marsha] and Ambush buddy Toni Pizanie, freshened up with a few cocktails. It was a hot Saturday night and the women and men at the Hide-A-Way were gearing up for Soft Touch. Arriving a little too early for this performance, we headed on downtown picking up Ambush/Baton Rouge's own Damon Veach [aka Brad Benedict] in Spanish Town.

Next up was Traditions, the incredible high tech, high energy dance club in the Capitol City. Jim Hodges has been a busy bee designing intense lighting sensations for this popular club. The staff was great and even Obry took time out of his busy schedule to fix us cocktails and give us the grand tour. The complex includes a video cruise bar on the second level overlooking the first floor dance bar and even a quiet plush piano bar on the first level.

The Mirror was in the midst of the Miss Baton Rouge Pageant. Owners Jeff and Danny [D.D. DeMarco] were extremely busy with the contest, but still had time to chat with us. Mercedes St.Jon. took home the crown. Old friend Lady Rhonda was behind the bar slinging cocktails with Randy. We even got to see Krystal Kane, Pat McCarty of Gay Mart and Mr. Louisiana Leather Drake Higginbotham.

Kyle and James had quite an entourage over at the Time Zone, but they still had time for us. These boys have never changed and are just as crazy as ever. They do know how to party.

Blue Parrot owner Don was entertaining quite a crowd and bartender Greg was working his tits off. With Fluffy, Steve & Mr. Bill, Gene Sedatol, Terry Adams and A.J. in the house, it was a night to remember.

George's bartenders Doug and Shane were slinging cocktails while Richard and Guy were partying with their Saturday night patrons. This was one of the first bars we visited frequently when we first got together 23 years ago. It was really great to see so many old friends and enjoy the hospitality which has made this cruise bar so popular.

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Copyright © 1997 Ambush, Inc. All Rights Reserved ®
THE WEB TEAM:
Rip Naquin-Delain | Sonny Cleveland | George Patterson

828-A Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70116-3137 USA
PH 504.522.8047 FAX 504.522.0907
OUTSIDE LOUISIANA 1.800.876.1484