Gay Vancouver, February 26, 2011

What a difference a year makes. This time last year we were in full-swing Olympics mode, the weather had been amazingly mild (even for us here in balmy Vancouver), the blossoms were out on all the trees, daffodils and even tulips were blooming all over town, and we had to ship in snow for the start of the games by early February. Fast forward to the last weekend of February 2011, the folks up in Whistler are enjoying some of the best snowfalls ever, and here in the city we are having record low temperatures, with snow forecast for today, and daffodils still straining to burst forth. Even more surprising, our friends over in beautiful Victoria were digging out from a 25 cm dump of snow this week, just days before their annual flower count; must be that nasty ol' La Nina trying to get us finally!

That said, a little cool weather never slowed us down, especially not with the week of brilliant sunshine we just had, and the non-stop events lined up for the weeks ahead. Kicking off Coronation week here in Vancouver, on Saturday, Feb. 26, voting takes place at Little Sister's on Davie for our next Empress; get out there and show your support for Kamelle Toe! Ball Fever also takes place the same  afternoon at The Junction, launching festivities for the 40th Anniversary of Coronation; expect to see Glam on Davie Street earlier than usual with a 3:00 PM start time. Emperor Marty Mojo Stevens and Empress Raye Sunshine's year wraps up with a full lineup of events starting with the In-Town Show on Wednesday, March 2, and winding up with Coronation XL - The Heaven & Hell Ball on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at Perfomance Works on Granville Island.

Speaking of Glam, Carlotta Gurl debuts a new show "Absolutely Drag-u-lous" at The Junction, Saturday, Feb. 26, 10:30 PM, with a fab line-up of special guests, including Joan-E, and we've heard Justine Tyme is in town from Calgary. We're definitely going to check it out.

And the Glam continues on Sunday, February 27, as Hollywood North pays tribute to the Academy in Hollywood, CA, with Oscar events galore all over town. This year the Vancouver International Film Festival hosts an Oscar Par-tay in support of Out In Schools (a Vancouver Queer Film Festival sponsored project) at the VanCity Theatre, emceed by the always glam Symone Says! Joan-E and Justine Tyme are hosting a 2011 Academy Awards Viewing Party at The Helm, with a pre-show starting at 4:00 PM in support of Friends for Life, and Terry Costa is hosting an Oscar Night with live telecast on the 12 foot screen at JLounge, to name a few.

If you are not planning to attend the Coronation Out-of-Town show on Friday, March 4, and are interested in special events for women, Crema Productions is hosting Jet Girl at 560 nightclub that night. As one of the longest running party promoters in the city, Crema and company have been producing some of the hottest events for women in the city for years.

Check out all the details on these events and more on our What's On pages: http://www.gayvan.com/whats-on2/lgbt-special-events.html .

Cheers!