Atten-SHUN! Military Personnel: Free at Telluride Gay Ski Week

The organizers of Telluride Gay Ski Week, which takes place from Saturday, February 25, 2012 through Saturday, March 3, 2012, is offering free VIP party passes for the week for active service members and a special military-themed “Do Ask Do Tell” dance party.

In celebration of the defeat of the discriminatory ban on openly gay and lesbian military personal known as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the party will take place during the middle of the week.

Telluride Gay Ski Week 2012

When:

• Saturday, February 25, 2012 – Saturday, March 3, 2012

Where:

• Towns of Mountain Village and Telluride, CO and Telluride Ski Resort

Info:

• Event schedule and ticket information available at www.telluridegayskiweek.com.
• Exclusive lodging packages available by calling toll free to 888-376-9770.

The host of Nuclia’s Get Wasted Party

Martha Graham Dance Company’s Body of Work

Photo: Tadej Brdnik, Photograph © Albert Watson, courtesy of the Martha Graham Dance Company

The esteemed New York City-based Martha Graham Dance Company celebrates its 85th anniversary this year. The picture above is handsome principal dancer Tadej Brdnik who’s been with the company since 1996 and was recently featured in Out magazine.

Just wrapping up a triumphant week at the Rose Theater at the Time Warner Center in New York, the talented, gorgeous and multi-ethnic crew is heading to Europe. Catch ‘em here…

Tour of the Week: Machu Picchu with Out Adventures

Originally published in GPS.OutTraveler.com

Our friends at gay tour operator Out-Adventures have publicized several specials on their website. The trip to Machu Picchu is on sale for 10% off. The deal is only good till Monday February 28, 2011, the company owner, Robert Sharp, said he’d honor that deal until Friday March 4, 2011 if you mention you saw it here.

Robert notes that tourists have been visiting Machu Picchu for early a century:

One hundred years ago, on July 24th 1911, the American historian Hiram Bingham arrived to the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, an architectural treasure that remained hidden for over four centuries under the lush vegetation of the Urubamba canyon, until the Yale professor unveiled it to the world.

Click here for details.

Yuletide in Europe’s Cool Capitals

Vienna, above, lights up for Christmas and New Years

Originally published in GPS.OutTraveler.com

From canal parades in Amsterdam to beautiful outdoor lightning installations in Vienna, Europe’s gay-friendly coolcaptial cities (Amsterdam, Antwerp, Valencia, Vienna, and Zurich) offer a tantalizing array of Christmas activities right through the new year.

Amsterdam

• Christmas Canal Parade (December 9, 2010-January 1, 2011)

A series of four major Christmas activities take place in and around Amsterdam canals and several important plazas throughout December. The highlight takes place on December 23, as a specatular, lit-up parade of boats sails from the Prinsengracht to the River Amstel. Information: WinterMagicAmsterdam.com.

Antwerp

• Skating on the Scheldt (December 11)

Belgium is a very Catholic country. Though no longer very religious, they really love Christmas. This year Antwerp’s ice-skating rink will be located in Steenplein, overlooking the river Scheldt. Alongside the rink, visitors will find a Christmas market and food and beverage stands. The city counts no fewer than 107 nativity scenes. Information: Antwerpen.be.

Valencia

• Innocents Day and New Year’s Mascleta (December)

This artsy, design-oriented Spanish city has become a popular destination for LGBT travelers in recent years. Christmas season is a fun time to visit. On December 28 Innocents Saints Day, Valencia’s version of April Fool’s Days sees all sorts of pranks and hijinks such as fake/inventive newspaper headlines. The biggest New Years Masletá (an eplosive fireworks display) takes place in the Paseo de la Alameda. Information: TurisValencia.es.

Vienna

• Designer Lighting Design (Through December 23)

“Light-UP,” Vienna’s contemporary holiday light installations, feature designs ranging from perched clouds in the Volksoper district to an open-air ball room on Graben. Eco-conscious readers note: 70% of the designs use energy-saving LED technology. Information: CoolCapitals.com/Vienna.

Zurich

• Christmas Lighting at the Bahnhofstrasse (Through January 2, 2011)

Zurich also has a Christmas holliday light installation, known as “Lucy,” stretching along the world-famous Bahnhofstrasse. Lucy is turned on at 6pm every night through New Years. Information: Zuerich.com.

For more information about coolcapitals click here.

Small and Large Gay Cruises Will Float Your Boat

Gay cruisers enjoying their visit to an intimate Caribbean port

Originally published in GPS.OutTraveler.com

One of the most enjoyable and satisfying vacation options for LGBT traveles is an all-gay cruise. From the moment you step on board, you know you are someplace special: an environment where you are completely and totally safe and free, and where you are in the majority as an LGBT person.

Many gay travelers are familiar with the larger cruise options offered by tour operators such as Atlantis Events, RSVP Vacations, Olivia, and Sweet (the last two primarily for women). These cruises are often large to very large (up to 3,500 other gay passengers!); they are on big, beautiful ships loaded with options and they stop in some of the most familiar and gay-friendly destinations on the planet.

There are several tour operators available that welcome much smaller groups of LGBT passengers (in the scores to the low hundreds). These cruises often ply less familiar waters, calling in at smaller, more interesting ports that cannot accommodate larger ships. They are more intimate and allow guests to really get to know one another. This may be a good option for a couple leary of a big cruise or a frequent large-ship cruiser looking for something different. With cruise season upon us, we’ll be highlighting several of these tour operators in the months to come.

Concierge Travel, the largest gay-owned and operated travel agency and tour operator in Texas, is offering its first all-gay luxury sailing ship cruise to Costa Rica and Panama. The cruise will sail on Star Clippers’ elegant Star Flyer clipper ship March 6-13, 2011. There she is to the right; image courtesy Star Clipper. The 170-passenger Star Flyer is the world’s tallest sailing ship, with a mast that stands 226 feet tall.

If you are used to the amenities of a larger ship, fret not! Sure, you won’t find a rock-climbing wall or an ice-skating rink, but there are two pools to choose from, you’ll find lots of cozy and intmate corners and luxurious spaces, and the decor is gorgeous, reminiscent of the golden age of travel. You’ll call in at some unique, off-the-beaten-track ports (check here for itinerary) with a small handful of other travelers. It’s also incredibly quiet. Remember, the ship uses the ultimate green energy source: wind.

Speaking of large cruises: A big gay happy anniversary to RSVP Vacations!

• It’s not a small gay cruise but it is certainly noteworthy: RSVP Vacations, celebrating its 25th anniversary, will be in Hawaii for the first time ever.
• The cruise takes place from October 30, 2010 to November 6, 2010 on NCL’s Pride of America (appropriately enough). And there is still availability.
• If you’re looking for a gay-friendly hotel to stay in prior, the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort has been actively reaching out to LGBT travelers for the last year. They have an NCL office in their lobby and Hulas the famous gay bar (and virtual LGBT center for the island of Oahu) is a three-minute walk away.

Phoenix is Hot

Story and images by Ed Salvato; above hikers tackling Camelback Mountain

Phoenix is a sprawling city — the nation’s fifth largest — a collection of palm tree-studded cities and towns ringed by mountains, where a car is in indispensable necessity. The similarities to Los Angeles are striking, right down to analogous municipalities, including exclusive Paradise Valley, Phoenix’s Bel Air, and tony Scottsdale, its Beverly Hills.

Despite the controversial new immigration law scheduled to take effect this summer, it’s impossible to paint the area with the broad brushstroke of intolerance. Phoenix boasts a thriving community of LGBT residents and remains a warm and welcoming destination for gay and lesbian visitors. The population of Arizona is approximately 30% Hispanic, a group that depends heavily on tourism for employment. The other 70% is incredibly diverse ranging from bona fide desert cowboys to hippy-dippy energy healers in Sedona. As one of the last bastions of the U.S. West with these intriguing contradictions, Phoenix is well worth a visit.

Gay life

With gays and lesbians living throughout the vast metropolis, there’s not a single defined gayborhood, though there are nearly three dozen bars and clubs catering to queers, with a concentration of businesses along 7th Ave in central Phoenix. Fez, offering American cuisine with a Moroccan flair, is a popular restaurant near Central Ave. Amsterdam in downtown Phoenix is the happening weekend club attracting a range of gays and lesbians.

The more residential-feeling Scottsdale, home to some of the nicest resorts and hotels in the city, has two dance bars, charming BS West tucked into Old Town Scottsdale with its fun drag shows and Forbidden, also in Old Town, which attracts a younger crowd. Phoenix Gay Pride takes pace in April to avoid the much hotter summer weather, and is a terrific time to visit.

Do

See the stunning new Musical Instrument Museum, with its collection of 12,000 (and counting) instruments from around the world and Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden, a huge outdoor park for a better understanding of this sometimes extreme environment. Climb Camelback Mountain, which resembles, not surprisingly, a supine dromedary. Go early to avoid both crowds and heat. A truly magical experience is an evening stargazing Hummer tour with Stellar Adventures. You haven’t really experienced the stars till you’ve seen the rings and moons of Saturn, a billion miles away, with your own eye. (Photo right: entrance of Musical Instrument Museum.)

Sleep

Paradise Valley’s InterContinental Montelucia, the brand’s only resort property offers excellent service, gorgeous architecture and surroundings, great amenities, and views of Camelback Mountain. In Scottsdale, the Hotel Valley Ho, originally opened in 1956 as a motor court-style hotel, re-opened after an $80 million renovation on its anniversary in 2005 as a hip urban hotel that pays homage to its mid-Century Modernist roots. The hotel is located at the edge of Old Town Scottsdale with its restaurants, shopping and Artwalk the first Friday of each month. (Photo left: view of Camelback Mountain from room 125 at the InterContinental Montelucia.)

Eat

Phoenix considers itself a foody city and in that vein offers a range of topnotch restaurants representing a wide variety of cuisines from American to French to Mexican and many others. Prado at the Montelucia (above) offers Italian and Mediterranean cuisine with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients. For a casual lunch, join the shoppers and local business people at Zinburger, a locally-owned burger and shake joint with a contemporary feel in a popular upscale mall. The same owners opened Culinary Dropout, a hip dining and drinking hotspot along Scottsdale’s developing canal-front area. It’s a short walk to BS West (see above) from here for a gay after-dinner nightcap.

La Petite Maison in Old Town Scottsdale is an authentic French bistro restaurant with a limited menu of beautifully presented traditional French selections. Located in upscale Paradise Valley, El Chorro Lodge (a restaurant actually, not a hotel) at first blush seems a bit stuffy. However, the atmosphere is actually quite warm, and the food is consistently good and fresh.

Finish your night at Elements at Sanctuary, an outdoor bar/bistro/lounge for incredible views of Paradise Valley and its surrounding mountains, to engage in some star gazing, or to simply relish the discovery of this city’s surprisingly rich offerings.

Gay-friendly Park City, Utah in winter

I wrote a piece for TripOutGayTravel.com (Logo) based on my recent visit to the lovely, kinda hippy/liberal/gay-friendly ski enclave of Park City, Utah.  Click here to read all about it!

Park City, UT: Gay Winter Paradise

Park City, UT is open for business!

Photos: Ed Salvato

Utah is probably not the first state that comes to mind when you think ‘gay winter paradise.’ You may be surprised to learn that Park City is a cool, blue dot in a sea of conservative red and well worth a visit this winter.

You may have just missed Sundance Film Festival, which pretty much amps up the gay factor a 100 times, but during the rest of the year, you’ll find an incredibly gay-friendly environment, bars and restaurants that welcome gay and straight customers with equal gusto, and some of the best outdoor activities you can shake a ski pole at.

In winter you have the choice of three incredible beautiful and unique ski resorts. Deer Valley Resort, with its six easily accessible peaks, does not allow snowboarding so it has, perhaps the purest ski vibe of any of the three resorts. Park City Mountain Resort allows both skiing and snowboarding, which grants it a slightly younger, groovier vibe. The Canyons Resort is the local favorite and it may be where you’ll stumble into young Olympic hopefuls just skiing or boarding on their day off.

I was just there last week and discovered a charming boutique ski lodge: The ski-in/ski-out Goldener Hirsch Inn in the photogenic Silver Lake area of Deer Valley, with its festively lit and snow-covered evergreen trees. The boutique-like Goldener is tucked discreetly into the side of the mountain between several other properties and tastefully appointed with authentic Austrian alpine furnishings and décor. The very high level of professional, friendly, attentive service belies the fact that the property offers only 20 units.

I also got to visit a very cool restaurant I first saw under construction last August. The owners of the High-West Distillery claim it’s the first distillery built in Utah since the 1870s and it’s well worth a visit to try their delicious home-distilled whiskey, Rendezvous Rye (get a flight!) and vodka, Vodka 7,000 for the altitude at which it’s created.

I’ll be writing about the rest of my visit and lots more discoveries for TripOutGayTravel.com and PlanetOut.com and will post these articles here later.

For additional trip-planning information, visit the website of the Park City Chamber of Commerce.