Why is this night different?

We hosted a gay seder on Saturday for 16 men. It was a big success. Guests started to arrive around 6:30 pm. We had a brief Havdalah ceremony outside to mark the end of Shabbat. The service around the table began at 7:20 and everyone was gone by 12:15. Our seder meal featured mostly Sephardic dishes. The recipes called for ingredients and spice more akin to Mediterranean dishes than Eastern European ones. Everyone was impressed with E’s culinary choices. Many friends said this was not their parent’s type of seder. We used the same extra readings in the Haggadah as last year including the ten additional plagues gays and lesbians have suffered.

The Passover meal:
* Canyon Ranch Charoset (dried cherries/apricots/raisins, walnuts/almonds, etc.)
* Irma Carbizer's Charoset (coconut, nuts, dried pears/apples/prunes/dates, cherry preserves ... cooked)
* Moroccan Charoset (dried dates/figs, oranges, lime, etc.)

* Baked Seabass with Saffron and Red Bell Pepper Sauce

* Roasted Vegetable Stock with Spring Vegetables and Herbs

* Cornish Hens with Apricots, Tomatoes, Onions, and Spices
* Five Wild Mushroom Saute over Matzah Polenta
* Ten Vegetable Gratin

* Strawberry-Apple Macaroon Crumble
* Fudgy Nutty Coconut Macaroons
* Almond Meringues
* Home-made Vanilla Ice Cream
* Kosher Galil Chardonnay wine from Israel

Gay Dad Comedy Sketch

Wow! Sometimes you have to read a blog from the East Coast to find something happening right in your own back yard here on the West Coast. I saw this YouTube video on Good As You (G-A-Y). BTW, Good As You is excellent source of gay news and commentary.

A local campus sketch comedy troupe, Robber Barons, perform a skit of an understanding son reassuring his gay father. If I was more paranoid, I would think someone has been secretly recording my life.

LINK: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XGuwlSNfIlM

Chag Same'ach! Happy Passover!

We are again hosting a first night sedar on Saturday for 16 gay, mostly Jewish, men. E has been preparing food for three days. We stayed up to midnight to rearrange the furniture, putting up extra tables and chairs and setting the table. We are using the same Haggadah and sedar readings as last year.

Gay Sacramento II

Last November I wrote about our trip to Sacramento. Little did we know that we would soon make another trip. The first weekend in April found us checking into the gay owned bed and breakfast, the Inn at Parkside. It is one of the most beautiful B&Bs we have stayed in. While we were there we heard from the staff that the gay couple that owns it is in the process of selling it. We will be interested to see what happens. Although the B&B advertises in various gay print and online sites, there is nothing particularly gay about the place. Other than a few GLBT friendly DVDs available to borrow there in nothing around the place to suggest it was gay owned. No gay marketing materials, newspapers, brochures, art work or rainbows are displayed.

The main reason for our trip back to Sacramento was to see Miss Coco Peru perform at The Badlands. We have seen her show several times and have gotten to know her. So we decided to make a get-away weekend out of it. If you are not familiar with Coco, you are missing out on a fabulous performer. Described as "drag queen-monologist-world savior", her show is comic, poignant and entertaining. Here is a YouTube video of her. Her best know screen role is from the gay indie film “trick” where she appears in a pivotal scene (YouTube). Badlands in Sacramento is one of our favorite clubs to dance and hang out. We danced well past 1am there on Friday and Saturday. The club has started presenting shows with Coco’s being one of the first ones.

We also lined up three plays to see. The first play was “Escanaba in Da Moonlight” by movie actor Jeff Daniels. It is a slapstick hunting farce that had us in stitches. It plays at one of the best theatre companies in Sacramento, B Street Theatre.

We also visited for the first time Sacramento Theatre Company. They were doing “Cyrano de Bergerac”. Actor John Pribyl was outstanding as Cyrano.

The third play we saw was Sam Shepard’s “Fool for Love” at Capital Stage. Also an excellent production. They perform on the riverboat Delta King. “Fool for Love” plays through April 27, 2008.
Couple additional shows you don’t want to miss here in the Bay Area.
Theatreworks is presenting the one of the first regional productions of “Caroline, or Change” in Mountain View. Their production is as outstanding and in a number of ways better that the Broadway or national tour. This was our third time seeing it. It plays through April 27, 2008.
In San Jose is “Blade to the Heat” at San Jose Stage Company. The show deals with latent homosexuality in the boxing world of 1959. Three boxers vie for the middleweight championship. It has fantastic staged boxing scenes. It also plays through April 27, 2008. Don't miss these shows.

Future travels with GuyDads

I’ve said this before, but E plans the best vacations. Some of our upcoming travels are listed below.
* This weekend in Sacramento, CA 4/08
* Weekend in Las Vegas, NV 5/08
* Week in New York City to see theatre, 7/08
* 8-day gay adventure travel in Iceland, 8/08
* 10-day hike across Ireland, 8/08
* Week in Fort Lauderdale, FL, 12/08
* New Year’s Caribbean gay cruise, 12/08
* Tahitian Islands gay cruise, 7/09