January 17th was a terrible day.

Steve was away in Edmonton and I had a busy itinerary of events to cover here in Calgary. I started the evening off at Money Pennies for the ISCCA’s Investitures III. The show was scheduled to start at 7pm, and I arrived a good hour early with the hopes of having dinner. I noticed that there was someone different working in the kitchen, and she appeared to be having a rough time. I was told she was helping out because the regular cook was sick, and that there was going to be a significant delay if I ordered. So I decided not to push my luck, and popped out to the nearest fast food place I could find. I returned and hung around until the show started.

As I turned on my camera, I quickly discovered that something was wrong. Though the display was working, there was no image coming through the aperture. I slunk off upstairs to try and muck around with it, hoping changing the batteries or memory card may get it to snap back into working order. Frustratingly, no. This was identical to the problem that we had encountered with our newer camera last year, which required us to send it off for repairs and wait for nearly a month until it came back. That camera was under warranty, while mine, we have had since the closing night of Detours – in other words, no longer under warranty. But all that aside, I had three events to photograph that night and Steve had our only other working camera.

Steve G. was kind enough to whisk me home while the show was going on, so that I could try to get one of our older cameras working. I soon remembered that they had their own problems that had caused us to abandon them...useless. So we returned to Money Pennies and at the risk of feeling completely ridiculous, I went to work taking photographs with my cell phone. I had no flash, just a white LED light on the phone, and the house lights were turned low. The shots were murky, and required significant adjustments to prepare them for the magazine, but I was at least able to get some shots of Onyx stepping up as princess, and candids of several out-of-town queens that I didn’t recognize. I’m sure that left a great first impression of GayCalgary!

The ARGRA Dance was next on my list, and Steve G. went further out of his way to drop me off at the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre. My first stop for photos was at coat check where they at least had a desk lamp to help me out with lighting. Floyd and his partner were doing the job to fundraise for SHARP Foundation, and Floyd was kind enough to offer to lend me his digital camera. We ran out to pick it up from his house, but discovered that the battery was dead and there was no time to charge it. It was a special type of battery, so buying a replacement was also out of the question.

On the way back to the dance we stopped at a gas station and I bought their last disposable camera for $13. I had never used one before, but it was simple enough to figure out. This sufficed for most of my ARGRA photos, but Rob Beade came to the rescue with a fully charged digital camera that helped me finish.

I caught the 1:30am train back downtown and headed over to the Calgary Eagle for Bear Night, but by that time the bears had cleared out and it was pointless to take photos. I decided to just hang out, explaining to people what I had gone through. As the night went on and my head stopped spinning, I sat down at the bar to properly reflect on, and appreciate, the many people who had come to my rescue - and even the ones who bared with me as I struggled to take their photo. A few people commented that I looked a little sad, and perhaps I was still having trouble shaking a bad vibe.

I didn’t find out until the next morning that someone had died in a hit-and-run accident out front of Money Pennies, round about the time I was catching my breath at the Eagle. All of a sudden, my problems that night seemed so inconsequential. I didn’t recognize the name, and at first the picture on facebook of the middle-aged woman in a yellow shirt, sticking out her tongue, didn’t ring a bell for me. But out of curiosity I perused some of the other photos and came to the realization that this was the woman who had been working the kitchen the night before. She was someone we have likely photographed on a number of occasions, but like many others, we had never gotten (or taken) the opportunity to know her. I learned that Sandra Casey was her name.

There was a massive outpour of community support in the wake of this tragedy, and I witnessed how much she meant to so many people. From discussions to follow, it was clear that even complete strangers had been affected profoundly by her death. It was a wakeup call that anyone can be taken away without warning or reason. There is a simple truth that becomes so obvious at times like these, but is something so tricky to master in practice: the time we squander worrying about some of the minor details of life could be better spent enriching the lives of those around us, now, while it’s still possible. I doubt that many of us can claim to be completely free of this regret, and so we mourn.

January 2009

Last month was our first edition of the magazine with the color pages on glossy paper, and as you can see, this was not a one-time thing. It’s one thing to see an example of someone else’s magazine on the gloss, but last month we were biting our fingers in anticipation to see our own product in this new form.

You our readers expressed that you were thoroughly pleased with the change. We were thoroughly pleased as well. It brings GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine to a new level – as some of you put it, we’re finally a “real magazine” instead of, I suppose, just a paper. The photo section, which seemed to be the most susceptible to color shifts on the old newspaper stock, was perhaps the most noticeable improvement.

Unfortunately because of the changeover, we did run into a scheduling conflict at the printers, which meant we were a little late out of the gates with the January edition. However, that was a corner case that isn’t likely to happen again. This edition should be on the shelves according to our regular schedule.

But enough about us...

• The Edmonton Queen: The Final Voyage, which wrapped up on February 1st, was a very moving experience. It was a chance for the newer generation to get a glimpse into the secret lives of Drag Queens, one of the legendary bars of old, and the highs and lows of some individuals no longer alive today.

• The January ARGRA Dance was a coming together of community that involved a number of other local non-profit groups. The event packed the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Hall, and the crowd kept dancing well into the night.

• The fundraiser to help get Sandra Casey’s body back home to Ireland, held at Money Pennies, reported a whopping $20,000 raised. See the full story on page 30.

• The HEAT party at the Calgary Eagle on the 31st was not only a great deal of fun, but it raised a grand total of $2000 toward the continued operation of HEAT: HIV Education and Awareness Today, an outreach program offered through AIDS Calgary. There was a silent auction that included some hotly sought-after hockey memorabilia, and fun activities such as a cock-ring toss and HIV-related trivia questions to win prizes.

This Month

• If you are planning on running for Emperor or Empress of the ISCCA, applications are now available. They can be picked up at the Backlot, Money Pennies, Texas Lounge, Calgary Eagle, and Priape. Applications must be turned in to Neal at the Calgary Eagle before Midnight on February 21st, along with a $50 non-refundable application fee, and a $100 bond, which will be refunded to any unsuccessful candidates.

• The February 14th ARGRA Dance was cancelled to make way for something a little different. ARGRA is holding a special Sleigh Ride on Saturday, February 7th, at the Griffin Valley Ranch. Also, Two-Step Lessons are underway, with the remaining 3 lessons happening on February 3rd, 10th, and 17th. More information is available at www.argra.org.

• The Calgary Eagle is celebrating their 7th Anniversary this month - congratulations guys! Join them for their party on Saturday, February 21st. John Finlayson wrote in a special letter to the publisher regarding the Calgary Eagle’s continued devotion to community. Read it on page 38.

• The Edmonton Bears are holding their next Bearbash Bar Night at Boots on Saturday February 28th. The more the hairier!

• Pride Calgary Planning Committee is holding their first annual “Bottle Jive” bottle drive and party all day at Money Pennies. Bring in your recyclable bottles and cans, and stay for a night of drink and dance.

Reader Survey 2009

If you haven’t filled one out yet, you still have until February 25th to get your survey in, and be eligible for our prize draw for the $300 Universal Music Gift Basket. Lucky for you, the chances of winning something just got a little better, as we add two gift packages from Lush. Read the product review on page 12 to learn more.

Please remember that you MUST fill in the Personal Information section with at the very least your first name, a last initial, and a phone number. Unfortunately if you leave these fields blank, not only are you ineligible for the prize draw, but we are also required to discard your survey answers! This is a precaution to keep things fair, and maintain the validity of our survey results – if you can’t put your name to a survey, we can’t be certain that your answers are only counted once, or that you are answering seriously. At this point we have only needed to toss one survey out because of this – however the individual is welcome to resubmit with these considerations in mind.

Surveys can be submitted by mail, or you can save the cost of postage by faxing your entry in. As we are in the process of moving our fax line to a different service provider, if you are unable to get through to our (403) 703-0685 number then please use this temporary alternate number: (403) 452-6979.

To save postage and paper, you can fill out your survey securely online. Visit www.gaycalgary.com and click on the “Reader Survey 2009” link directly below the current edition of the magazine.

Pocket Guide 2009

ATTENTION ALL ADVERTISERS! Only a month and a half remaining to stake your claim in this new Alberta community resource before it starts hitting brochure racks across North America; March 15th, 2009 is the last day to submit files for the GayCalgary and Edmonton Pocket Guide 2009.

It is fine and dandy for an Alberta business to advertise to a national audience, but isn’t that like using a wrecking ball to drive in a nail? How many of those readers from other cities are likely to come all the way to you? In contrast, the GayCalgary and Edmonton Pocket Guide specifically targets travelers in, or on their way to Alberta, so you know that your advertising money is spent effectively toward an audience that can bring you real business.

The Pocket Guide comes out only once a year, so we recommend general or time-insensitive information about your business. If you have event dates planned in advance, then by all means advertise them! But if not, you can still plant a reference for visitors to find more timely information. If you don’t have a website of your own, then we will host information about your business or upcoming events in our online Events Calendar, and place the information appropriately into our monthly magazine as a free service to all Pocket Guide advertisers.

More information on the Pocket Guide, including ad sizes and pricing, is available for download at www.gaycalgary.com/Advertise. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, at (403) 543-6960 or toll free at 1-888-543-6960.

We want to hear what YOU have to say about the topics in this article, and any other articles in GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine. Visit our chat forums at www.gaycalgary.com/forum and write your heart out! Or write us a letter to the publisher by post or by E-mailing publisher@gaycalgary.com, and we may publish or respond to it in the magazine!