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Oct 1 Join the Monday
Night Bowling League!
Oct 2 8p First Tuesday
Special w/WOW
Oct. 7 8:30p New Life MCC
Potluck after Service
Oct 8 Last Day to Register
to Vote
Oct 9 Fun N' Games Ni^t
at Liaisons
Oct 13-14 8;30a South/SE
Lesbian Meeting
Oct 16 Lambda Connections
Meeting for Business/
Service Organizations
Oct 27 7p MCC Charlotte Pot
Luck Supper
Oct 31 Halloween Parties
EVERYWHERE!
Nov. 2-4 GLAD District
Conference
Ask the CounselorPoge 5
Business Cards Page 14
Calendar Page 2
It's My Opinion Page 2
Letters Page 12
MAP's New Director
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News In Brief Page 11
Organizations Page 13
Reflections Page 9
Social Highlights Page 14
Soft Spot Page 6
Veterans Page 13
America ’Comes Out' In October
By David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
Once again, October 11 has been desig
nated National Coming Out Day. This will be
the third year that NCOD will be observed by
gays and lesbians all over the cormtry.
The purpose of NCOD is two-fold. One of
its goals is to raise the awareness of the
heterosexual community concerning the de
gree to which they inter-act with homosexu
als and simply don't realize it. NCOD is a
powerful way to break down gay invisibility
in the "straight" world.
Secondly, NCOD allows "closeted" ho
mosexuals the chance to see the great num
ber of self-identified gays and lesbians aroii^
them, thus offering a feeling of commonality
and community to those people who would
otherwise think, "I am the only one."
National Coming Out Day is very impor
tant for all gay and lesbian people in America.
It is the equivalent of July 4; it is Indepen
dence Day. On October 11 there is a solidarity
that binds the many diverse factions of the
homosexual community together — We're
Gay and We're Proud Of It.
Here are ten suggested ways to observe
NCOD:
1. Introduce your partner to people as
your partner.
2. Place a picture of your partner on your
desk and truthfully answer co-workers' ques
tions about the identity of the person.
3. Send your partner flowers, candy, bal
loons, etc., to his/her worlqilace (the recipi
ent should also be honest about the sender's
identity).
4. Tell one family member you are gay of
lesbian.
5. Tell one friend you are gay or lesbian.
6. Hold your partner's hand in public.
7. Wear clothing or buttons which state
gay-positive messages.
8. Write a letter to your elected represen
tatives asking them to introduce gay/lesbian
rights legislation (sign your name).
9. Write a Letter to the Editor of your local
newspaper about the status of gays and lesbi
ans in America (sign your name).
10. Make a donation to a gay-positive
organization.
Liaisons Hosts Fun
N' Games Fundraiser
Tired of playing the same old games in
1 1^ Here's a few you probably haven't thought
..M—of lately: Twister, Scrabble and Mystery
I ^ A They will be featured Oct. 9 at Liaisons as
Urcftins Arc iviauc lii
for the First Tuesday gay and lesbian activist
By David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
Imagine what it must be like to meet, and
become friends with, a world-reknowned
celebrity.
Now, further imagine that you not only
meet this celebrity but that you get to travel
with and work for them in a high-visibility
stage production.
Well, this is the exact "stuff dreams are
made off situation that Charlotte native Elgin
Kenna is in.
For the past year and a half, Elgin has been
touring with pop music idol Cher. And the
really amazing part of all this is that he not
only perframs on stage with Cher but that he
performs as Cher.
In 1978 the Odyssey Nightclub, which
has now been closed down for a number of
years, was holding an open talent show to
spotlight some of the best local talent when a
yoimg man named Elgin Keima decided to
enter. For his talent, he had decided that he
would try his hand at female impersonation.
But not just impersonation of any type, he
had decided that he would attempt to "do a
character." This is much harder because ev
eryone is usually familiar with the celebrity
who is being impersonated and can judge
you more critically than an impersonator
who is just trying to give the illusion of being
a woman.
Elgin decided to impersonate Cher be
cause, "I like her and I thought I could do it."
The judges agreed, naming Elgin as first
runner-up to a girl who sang live. However,
no one could have anticipated how that one
night would change the rest of his life.
Steve Freeman was co-owner of the Od
yssey and saw Elgin's performance the night
of the talent show and was sufficiently im
pressed to offer the fledgling entertainer a
job as a member of the house cast at the club.
Elgin accepted and his alter-ego Kelly Al
mond came into being.
With the excepficm of a six-month stint at
Scorpio, Elgin performed for the next six
years at the Odyssey imtil his partner got
transferred to (heensboro. North Carolina,
by his employer in 1983. Naturally, this
meant that Elgin, too, was moving.
During his stay in Greensboro, Elgin
further honed his Cher impersonation and
eventually used the character impression to
win the title of Miss Gay Greensboro.
Then in March 1985, Elgin was put upon
the path that led him to Cher.
A frienu of Elgin's named Michael
Andrews (this name will sound familiar to
aficionados of female impersonation as
Andrews was the first person to ever hold
two national pageant titles) called to say that
group.
The event, which runs from 7:30 to 10
p.m. in the bar's downstairs level, also will
offer Balderdash; Checkers; Uno; Win, Lo'se
or Draw and Backgammon.
The cost is $3.50 for First Tuesday
members and $4 for nonmembers. Light re
freshments will be served.
Fust Tuesday organizers encourage people
to attend, get involved and show support for
Charlotte's gay and lesbian conmnmity.
Liaisons is located at 316 Rensselaer Ave.,
Charlotte. For more information on Fun N'
Games Night, call Jim Fulton at 531-8993.
First Tuesday meets at 7:30 p.m. on the
first Tuesday of each month at St. Peters
Episcopal Church at Seventh and Tryon
Streets in Charlotte. For more information,
call Rod Thornton at 376-2320 or Chris Werte
Elgin Kenna as Cher at XTC nightclub at 376-6352.
in Greensboro
a female impersonation/cabaret show was
being put together for New York, based on
the original (running at the time in Atlantic
City, New Jersey) called "An Evening at La
Cage." And they needed a Cher.
"La Cage" was a club act held at Bally's
Park Place where female impersonators who
did characters would come and perform for
the audience as that character. There were a
munber of entertainers there culled from the
best in the country. And the response to the
show had been so overwhelming that a de
cision was made to put together a second
ensemble for New York City. By the end of
the month, Elgin had auditioned for, and won
a spot as Cher in the new troupe.
Unfortunately, audiences in New York
didn't respond to the show like they did in
Atlantic City and after just three months, it
closed.
Elgin packed his things and returned home
to Greensboro to map out a future for himself
but no sooner had he gotten home than a
representative of the Atlantic City groiqr was
calling to ask him to join them.
So in July, Elgin once again gathered up
his belongings and moved to New Jersey to
join the original "La Cage." It was a move
that brought the entertainer a steady job
performing six days a week for the next four
years.
Many good things happened to Elgin
during that time; one of the best was that his
Cher routine was named Best Specialty Act
in the Casino Review.
Then one day the news came that Geraldo
Rivera wanted to do an episode of his talk
show on some of the entertainers from "An
Evening at La Cage." Next Elgin learned that
he was one of the jrersons chosen to do their
character on the air.
Capital Cowboys
Step Out In Atlanta
The Capital Cowboys, Raleigh's coimtry
and western dance team, two-stepped their
way through Atlanta at Summer Round-up
'90, August 24,25 & 26.
The three-day event, sponsored by
Southern Country Atlanta, was an entire
weekend of country and western music, dance
and fim. The Capital Cowboys danced Fri
day night at Deana's and performed a special
show at the Cove on Saturday night but their
black hats were seen all over Atlanta. TTieir
fancy footwork and custom outfits were real
crowd pleasers.
The Cowboys have been dancing for a
year now every Monday night at the Capital
Corral and classes are open to all interested in
C&W dancing. Newcomers are nervous at
first and are afiraid of missing a step but just
watch the Cowboys learning a new routine
and you won't feel intimidated. Everyone is
just out to have fun. Come on down and have
a good ole time with some good ole boys!
The show aired live in late January, 1989,
and Elgin simply did what he had been doing
for the past eleven years: he brought the
house down.
The next morning when he walked into
work at Bally's, Elgin found a telegram
waiting for him. It was from Cher — she had
seen the Geraldo show the day before and
was "very impressed." Naturally, Elgin was
ecstatic over the compliment, but the real
news was still to come.