A very sordid night
It’s been 17 years since the sordid lives of a small-town Texas family were plastered on the movie screens of Cineplex’s across the country in the film Sordid Lives.
The film, based on the play of the same name by Del Shores (also the film’s writer and director), takes a look at this colorful, crazy family as they come together for a funeral. The movie obtained a cult status equal to that of an early John Waters film and has sparked rumors of a possible sequel ever since the original film was released and the short-lived TV series on Logo was cancelled after just one season.
Well, the rumors were put to rest when Shores announced that he was working on a sequel, A Very Sordid Wedding, which would bring back original cast members from both the film and series, as well as the legendary Whoopi Goldberg. The film is filmed and ready for viewing and the good people of Tampa Bay are getting a chance to be some of the first people to see it, courtesy of the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
TIGLFF will be holding a one-night only event on June 23 to screen the new film. That alone is enough to make one hoot and holler, but TIGLFF will also be bringing in the film’s writer and director Shores, producer Emerson Collins and LaVonda herself Ann Walker for a meet-and-greet, Q&A and viewing party. Tickets go on sale soon and this is expected to sell out quick, so get those Google notifications set. Now if you’ll PLEASE excuse me… I have a show to do.
All roads lead to St. Pete
More than 400 tourism professionals representing 36 countries (the largest number of countries represented in the convention’s history to date, I’ll have you know) hopped on a red eye to the Bay area for the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s 34th Annual Global Convention in St. Petersburg May 4-6.
The IGLTA was looking to connect LGBTQ travelers and expanded LGBTQ tourism globally all while sipping on Mai Tais and having a little fun in the sun. The convention was held at the upscale, very fancy Vinoy Renaissance St. Pete Resort & Golf Club and featured a CEO panel focused on crisis management led by HE Travel president and owner Phil Sheldon.
The IGLTA’s Fourth Annual Fundraising Gala, held at the Chihuly Collection, raised over $10,000 for education, research and expanding the next generation of LGBT travel professionals.
While in town, the IGLTA Foundation spearheaded an art project which led to the creation of a beautiful mural along the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, now a permanent legacy of the convention.
