Gayest Cities in America, 2012

Source:
http://news.advocate.com/post/15571734525/gayest-cities-in-america-2012

15. Denver
Denver is simultaneously outdoorsy and a rapidly growing metropolis, and its attitude is exceptionally laid-back and gay-friendly. (Screw the antigay zealots in nearby Colorado Springs.) A day spent skiing, fishing, hunting, or camping with the fit locals can lead to an evening dining, clubbing, or camping of another sort. Much of the sporting and social scene is devoted to the ladies of Denver; witness the Capitol Hill neighborhood, girl-watching at There Urban Whiskey Bar (ThereDenver.com), a nosh at Racine’s (RacinesRestaurant.com), and dancing at Charlie’s (CharliesDenver.com).

14. Long Beach, Calif.
How gay is Long Beach? Its pride celebration is one of the country’s biggest, and the Long Beach Pride float seems to make its way to every other Pride event within 500 miles! There are a ton of gay and lesbian bars, restaurants, a big boat suitably named the Queen Mary (QueenMary.com; it’s also haunted, and a hotel). The sunny, welcoming city provides a more relaxed alternative to nearby Los Angeles.

13. Austin
No amount of backwoodsiness from previous and current statehouse residents George W. Bush or Rick Perry can taint the cosmopolitan, countercultural, and friendly nature of this capital city. Bands, barhopping, and barbecue feature prominently here, for queers and others. The lesbian-owned Hotel San José (SanJoseHotel.com) is a minimalist oasis; no fewer than 16 bars offer libations for LGBTs; and Splash Days (au naturel sunbathing and parties over Labor Day), the Austin City Limits Music Festival (late September), and March’s South by Southwest (SXSW) film and music festival keep Austin suitably weird — and gay.

12. Portland, Ore.
Bisexual Sleater-Kinney alum Carrie Brownstein has fun on Portlandia (“Put a bird on it!”) playing with the rep of the city’s hipster, hyper-locavore, hyper-literate, boycott-ready, feminist, fleece-clad denizens. But there’s other fun to be had here too. Visit the arty Pearl and Alberta districts; stay at the Ace Hotel; read at the country’s largest indie bookstore, Powell’s; drink at the Silverado (SilveradoPDX.com) and Red Cap Garage/Boxxes (Boxxes.com); tune in to Out Loud (KBOO.fm/OutLoud), and party at Crush (CrushBar.com), popular with men and women. Oh, then there’s all that nature stuff!

11. Little Rock, Ark.
The River Market District is the main gay area, and many businesses that don’t advertise as specifically LGBT are friendly and open. The compact city has Backstreet (1021 Jessie Rd.) and U.B.U. (TheAquarium.bizland.com) for the over-18 crowd, and those of legal drinking age can check out SixTen Center Street Bar, TraX, Miss Kitty’s/Saloon (all three at TraxNLR.com). But not all LGBT life happens in a bar: According to GayChurch.org, nine of the city’s churches advertise as LGBT-friendly. Amen!

10. Grand Rapids, Mich.
The heart of western Michigan LGBT life is in Grand Rapids, with dancing, drinking, and bingo at the Apartment (ApartmentLounge.net), which has been in operation for over three decades; karaoke at Diversions video bar (DiversionsNightclub.com), and drag shows and go-go boys at Rumors (RumorsNightclub.net). The city boasts one of the Midwest’s best LGBT country line-dancing scenes, with the Grand River Renegades (GrandRiverRenegades.com) offering anyone a dance card on Sundays at Rumors.

9. Atlanta
We won’t fault you for trying to forget Real Housewife Kim Zolciak’s dip into the lesbian pool — but don’t blame Atlanta if everyone there wants to sample the fun LGBTs have all over town. Lesbian businesses thrive in East Atlanta, and gay clubs go off in Mechanicsville. People coming to Atlanta like to party, and the GayTL delivers with Black Gay Pride in September and Atlanta Pride in October, and the black gay clubs’ second-busiest weekend of the year surrounds the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday in January. Holla!

8. Knoxville, Tenn.
The state’s legislature has been an unmitigated disaster for our rights, making a law to prevent cities from adopting LGBT-inclusive antidiscrimination ordinances (although, happily, the ridiculous “don’t say ‘gay’” bill is dead for now). Nevertheless, Knoxville has defiantly produced a robust gay scene, including the University of Tennessee’s Commission for LGBT People; a welcoming spot for queer, trans, and other marginalized teens at Spectrum Café (SpectrumCafe.org); gay-affirming churches; and thriving nightlife.

7. St. Paul and Minneapolis
It’s technically two cities, but oh, what fun there is to be had here. The region is a draw for upper Midwestern LGBTs, and Minneapolis topped this list in 2011 for so many reasons. These two cities can’t get enough of each other: There’s the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus (TCGMC.org), Twin Cities Pride (the 40th annual is June 23-24), and even Quorum: The Twin Cities GLBT and Allied Business Community. Sheesh, just get domestic-partnered already!

6. Ann Arbor, Mich.
You don’t have to be big to have it going on, as this sixth largest city in Michigan does. The area has one of the few clubs in Michigan catering to dykes: Stiletto’s (technically in nearby Inkster) draws in every lesbian in Detroit. But talk about a taste for drama! Just ask U. of M.’s first out student body prez, Chris Armstrong, the target of a smear campaign by nutso assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell. We raised a glass at Aut Bar (AutBar.com) when the kook got the boot.

5. Seattle
When Forbes named Seattle the most miserable sports city in the nation, many of us felt a twinge of empathy. No matter; there’s heaps of other stuff to keep us busy, including tons of locavore and cosmopolitan cuisine, funky bars in a robust LGBT scene, Dan Savage, and hookups — or at least the search for them. TheStir.com noted that Seattle ranks among the top cities for residents who list “casual sex” as the type of relationship they’re seeking.

4. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Booting spring breakers from its shores may have not boosted Jagermeister sales, but it sure has classed up the joint. Add to that a mass exodus from Miami, where a real estate boom priced out many gay clubs (then the boom busted), and you have the recipe for a rising homo mecca in South Florida. The area is teeming with gay bars and restaurants, and a ton of guesthouses and spas that run the gamut from mild to spicy. Lesbians are finally starting to move to Fort Lauderdale too, though most girl bars, like New Moon (NewMoonBar.com), are in nearby Wilton Manors.

3. Cambridge, Mass.
The home of Harvard University likes a smarty-pants, including the nation’s first African-American lesbian mayor, E. Denise Simmons. Though her reign ended in 2009, she is currently in her sixth term on the City Council, which enacted antidiscrimination protections for transgender people in 1997. The town’s Paradise bar (ParadiseCambridge.com) is billed as New England’s only gay club with hot male dancers six nights a week — hey, everyone needs a night off — and the town is right next to a little hamlet named Boston, where allegedly LGBT stuff sometimes happens too.

2. Orlando, Fla.
Besides hosting Gay Days at Disney World, where 50,000 LGBT folks and their kids dressed in red T-shirts invade the theme park the first Saturday in June (and spend $100 million in town), Orlando has more gay softball teams than you can shake a Louisville Slugger at. And residents just got domestic-partnership protections. For non-Mickeyphiles, there’s oodles of homo content each year at the annual Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival (OrlandoFringe.org).

1. Salt Lake City
While those unfamiliar with the Beehive State are likely to conjure images of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, far-less-oppressive-than-it-used-to-be Salt Lake City has earned its queer cred. There are more than a half-dozen hot spots for men and women, including the eco-friendly nightclub Jam (JamSLC.com), though the sustainable bamboo flooring is perhaps less of a draw than the packed dance floor. The Coffee Garden (878 South 900 East) is a gathering spot for those looking for a caffeine fix, the Sundance Film Festival brings LGBT film buffs to screenings downtown, and lesbian-owned Meditrina (MeditrinaSLC.com) is a true wine bar — yes, you can get a drink in this town.

Girls Got Kicks Book Tour heads to Miami!

The Girls' Got Kicks tour in is full swing and the next stop is the hot city of Miami! Come on down to meet and get your book signed the author aka Bawse lady Lori and the FSF Miami crew! Its all going down Oct 16th so be there or be square!

Sneaker Con is Back

Sneaker Con is hitting NYC on June 18th!



They're heading to Miami and DC too!

MIAMI: JULY 30TH,
2011 Fieldhouse at the Bank United Center
University of Miami
1245 Dauer Drive Coral Gables, FL 33146

WASHINGTON DC: AUGUST 6TH, 2011
Atlas Performing Arts Center
1333 H Street, NE Between 13th St and Linden Ct
Washington DC 20002

Dunk Exchange Miami is going down June 18th

If you're in Miami Next weekend you should hit this up and def say hello to our FSF Miami crew! PS. Our friends over at Mr. R Sports will be holding a raffle along with DXC to give away something fresh so don't miss out!

South Beach/PreHeat Lebron 8 midnight drop - Footaction 34st NYC

The line went around the corner for the PreHeat Lebron 8 drop. Just wish someone would have turned on some HEAT! Cold November nights in NYC
Footaction flagship store on 34th St. Down the block from the Mecca of Basketball-Madison Square Garden
A lucky camper shows off the box design
Looking no worse for his time spent on line, this guy makes his way out the store with his new kicks
If you haven't seen this guy out camping for kicks, you probably don't camp or you are wayyyyy in the back of the line. Another successful cop for the man B.

South Beach Lebron 8 Release Party!!!

So last week NDC had us gassed about their release of the HOT, HOT, HOT "South Beach/Miami" Lebron VIII, pushing the date back to this Friday the 19th which had many of us MAD! I guess the least they could do was celebrate the release with a party to make up! WHATEVER! This Thursday night Footaction will have release parties in 3 cities..NYC, ATL, & MIAMI starting at 10, so no need to keep checking your cell around 11:59 pm to call your orders in!

NYC Footaction
430 7th Ave @ 34th St.
Manhattan

ATL Footaction
Galleria @ South Dekalb
2801 Candler Rd
Decatur

MIAMI Footaction
Dolphin Mall
11401 NW 12th St
Miami

Pembroke Lakes Mall
11401 Pines Blvd
Pembroke Pines

Sneaker Pimps Hit Miami

THE AIR MAX LEBRON VIII

Ok I jumped on the bandwagon a little late! Initially when I saw the Nike Air Max Lebron VIII I wasn't impressed and kinda upset about the follow up to the VII. I wasn't thrilled about the paneling of flywire and leather/suede. After seeing the Hardwood Classic (HWC) from the Sneaker Pimps Tour in Chicago my Lebron light switched back on! This weekend to celebrate the grand opening of a new HOUSE OF HOOPS in Miami at the Dadeland Mall, the highly anticipated SOUTH BEACH/MIAMI VICE/PRE HEAT edition drops and I MUST HAVE THESE!!! The AMLB VIII features a 360 Air Max cushion bubble all along the outsole which is great for a New Yorker like myself who walks alot. There is in fact less flywire which is only along the rear of the shoe as opposed to the VII which dominated the upper. On the tongue there is the mighty Lebron Lion, or for the CHINA edition, a traditional dragon mask. The rest is either full grain leather or nubuck suede throughout the upper. Check out the pics below and let me know if you already were or are now on the bandwagon!

KNICKS HOME EDITION

USA BASKETBALL EDITION

CHARCOAL EDITION

WHITE ON WHITE EDITION

AIR MAX LEBRON DESIGNER JASON PETRIE

BLACKOUT EDITION

CHINA EDITION

SOUTH BEACH/MIAMI/PRE HEAT EDITION

1ST RELEASE

KNICKS AWAY EDITION

What's Poppin off this weekend

If you're in the Miami area be sure to hit up DunkXchange and be sure to stop our table and say (Synclaire from "Living Single's voice) Yamello!


And for my NYC heads Sneaker Con is going down tomorrow as well.



Don't say I never gave y'all nothing :)