Vancouver, September 10, 2010

It was the end of an era here in Vancouver when the iconic Odyssey Nightclub finally closed it's doors on Howe Street for the last time at 4:00 AM on Monday, September 6, after 25 years. The lineup snaked down the alley with up to a three-hour wait to get in to toast the legendary club farewell. Fortunately, we had purchased advance tickets and got in before the 10 PM cut-off for ticketholders, and squeezed into the throng with just enough space to view the stage for the final night of the fifteen-year run of the Feather Boa Show, hosted since day-one by local female impersonator extraordinaire, Joan-E. Naturally, most of the city's top drag performers were out in full force and topped off the show with a spectacular grand finale of bejewelled showgirls onstage. All is not lost however, as the space once occupied by The Odyssey is being redeveloped for a much-needed social housing complex, and rumour has it that The Odyssey has scouted a new location that will be announced in the spring of 2011, if not sooner.

This week we also had the pleasure of escorting a visiting media celebrity from the Windy City Media Group of Chicago, Amy Matheny and her partner Kelli, on a whirlwind tour of Davie Village, while they were in town doing a podcast for the Windy City Queercast show, featuring Vancouver in an upcoming episode. We first met Amy last month in Chicago, at a media reception that was hosted by Tourism Vancouver, and it was great to see her here so soon afterwards. Be sure to check out Queercast.com for current shows, and the upcoming Vancouver feature in the days ahead: http://www.windycityqueercast.com/

Other events of interest on the calendar include the Vancouver Home & Interior Design Show, which runs from September 9 - 12, at the new Vancouver Convention Centre, and is a must-see for any aspiring decorators or those looking for new ideas to freshen up their homespace. After picking up a glass of wine at the Western Living Lounge, we wandered around sampling scrumptious hors d'oeuvres and gourmet bites offered by Diva at The Met, and Windset Farms Development Chef, Ned Bell, among others. Vancouverites may remember Ned Bell as a celebrity chef on Food Network Canada's "Cook like a Chef", or perhaps from Lumiere restaurant? You also can catch him in the upcoming "It's Just Food" for CTV, or check out his current venture, the Cabana Bar & Grille in Kelowna: http://www.cabanagrille.com/. Among other highlights of the evening, was the chance to chat with celebrity chef, David Adjey, and publicist, Cathy Kurzbock of the Food Network, about his upcoming new show on the Food Network entitled "The Opener" which debutes this fall:  http://www.foodnetwork.ca/ontv/hosts/David-Adjey/host.html?hostid=39691 . After striking an Iron Chef pose with David (see photo on left), we went in search of Carlotta Gurl, who we knew was doing a promo appearance as Marilyn Monroe at one of the booths on the showfloor, caught up with her and shot a few glam pics around the marketplace, where heads were turning as she worked the room. Special thanks to Tara Tait and Lisa Kwong of Tait PR for their hospitality at this amazing event. Check out show details at: http://www.vancouverhomeshow.com/ .

After the show, Carlotta Gurl, Daichan and I hopped a cab to 1181 in Davie Village, where we met their new bar manager, Riley, and then strolled down the street to Celebrities Nightclub to see James, who was launching their new Hard Candy night for Thursdays, and not missing a beat picking up from where Shower Power left off at The Odyssey. James says they will also honour VIP passes from the Odyssey for this night for the next month or so: http://www.celebritiesnightclub.com/content/hard-candy-launch-party .

Many other notable events are lined up for the weeks ahead, including Davie Day, the Vancouver International Fringe Festival, the AIDS Walk for Life, the DMS Bar-b-que at PumpJack, Artists for Life at JLounge, the Q Golf Tournament at UBC, and the Mr./Ms./Miss Gay Vancouver XXXI Pageant at the Coast Plaza Hotel. All this and more at: http://www.gayvan.com/whats-on2.html .

Cheers!