Gay Place

Returning AGLCC board members Jimmy Flannigan and Ceci Gratias (Photo by Jana Birchum)

[We were out of town last week, and the art intended for this week was mistakenly run. Here it is again, with this week's column, where it makes more sense.]

AGL-CECI A moment of silence, please, to commemorate the return of the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce's greatest loss from 2009. Austin Pride 2009 (then hosted by AGLCC) was a community-building, successful pride. Quite a feat for a Pride hosted by a bottom-line-focused chamber of commerce as opposed to a group focused on the community at large. We can all speculate the reasons for the success and warm fuzzies of that particular iteration, but a measurable quantity was Ceci Gratias, whose work ethic and Gordian city gov navigation skills are matched only by her instinct for community inclusion. Ceci is pretty much a locomotive of getting shit done. No matter what your politics were in the post-2009 Pride fracas, no matter how you felt about the deportation and exiles (former President Jimmy Flannigan was ousted in a most obnoxious manner the Monday after the fest), and no matter how silent you remained regarding that stupid maneuver by AGLCC, the minute Ceci picked up and said, "Hell no," (our words, not hers ... publicly, at least) then left, the chamber should have had the sense to reassess its strategies. But it didn't. What happened next – the money-sucking poo-fest called Austin Pride 2010 – has been well documented. Why dwell? It's a new dawn. A new day. It's 2012. We say: bygones. Plus, AGLCC no longer hosts Pride. The offshoot Austin Gay and Lesbian Pride Foundation does. The new blood of 2011's Austin Pride Foundation made an effort and succeeded in cleaning up the mess of 2010, paying down some crazy debt. Clean slates for 2012? Sure. In that spirit, let's celebrate the grace it takes for Ceci and Jimmy to serve again – in light of the unwarranted humiliation they each had to endure for no good reason – and move forward, shall we?

IN OUR GAYDAR

AGLCC WEBSITE RELAUNCH PARTY All shiny and new. A new attitude. Please RSVP. Thu., Jan. 19, 5:30-7:30pm. Sheraton at the Capitol, 701 E. 11th, 478-1111. Free. www.aglcc.org/calendar/AGLCC-Happy-Hour-2012-Jan.

LILLIAN HELLMAN'S 'THE CHILDREN'S HOUR' Those naughty children said that naughty stuff. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 2pm. 926-6746. $15, $20, $25, or $30. www.main.org/diffstages.

DJ SPINN Top 40, country, and old-school hip-hop. Fridays, 10pm. Town N Country, 1502 W. Ben White, 445-9122. Free. www.townandcountry.com.

LIZZY CAROLOKE Don't forget to tip your KJ. Fridays, 8pm-12mid. Bernadette's, 2039 Airport. Free.

META DUEWA JONES AND CHERISE SMITH Jazz, spoken word, and the Harlem Renaissance. Heck yeah. Explore all this and more with two UT dynamos. Fri., Jan. 20, 7pm. BookWoman, 5501 N. Lamar Ste. 105-A, 472-2785. Free.

THE PAJAMA-JAMMY JAM Live out all your Kid 'N Play memories at this tribute to PJs at our fave queer dive. Brought to you by the letter T! Sat., Jan. 21, 9pm-1am. Bernadette's, 2039 Airport. Free. www.facebook.com/events/308592335838931.

THE BATHHOUSE DJs Realness & TheIvanParty (Mouthfeel) roll out their barrel of sticky house at this club of grrrr. Iron Bear, 121 W. Eighth. Free. www.facebook.com/bathhouseaustin.

QUEERFUNK DISCOPUNK! Darlings Phatty Matty and Chainsaw Hammell round-robin the slinging of drinks and tunes. Sundays, 8pm-12mid. Bernadette's, 2039 Airport.

VOODOO CHILE Different DJs, all vinyl. Sundays, 10pm. Cheer Up Charlie's, 1104 E. Sixth, 431-2133.

QUEERDALINI YOGA For those who'd prefer to focus on chi rather than "he" or "she." Mondays, 7-8:15pm. Guari Movement Studio, 1627 Barton Springs Rd. By donation. queerdalini@gmail.com.

REQUEST DENIED: QUEER PUNK NIGHT Punk, hardcore, goth, darkwave, noise, and power-pop. Last Wednesday of the month, 10pm. Chain Drive, 504 Willow, 480-9017. Free.

LIZA: CELLULOID FAGHAG ... we mean Handbag. Mz. Havemeyer tackles and tickles the daughter o' Dorothy for us friends. (Translation: A local, well-known drag queen is showing Liza With a Z; please try to keep up, people.) Wed., Jan. 25, 7pm. Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, 320 E. Sixth, 476-1320. drafthouse.com/series/celluloid_handbag/austin.

SHITTY KITTY BINGO After Celluloid HB, join Mz. Rebecca for white elephant shenanigans. Wed., Jan. 25, 9:30pm. Rain on 4th, 217 W. Fourth. Free to play; $5 raffle tickets.

HO-RIZON

KNT LOVE SHOW Explore the palpitant nature of genderfuckery during the gloopiest holiday of the queer. La Glitoris hosts the postshow dance party. Sat., Feb. 11, 9pm. $10. www.kingsnthings.org.

QUEERBOMB LOVE BOMB Watch this space. Fri. Feb. 10. www.queerbomb.org.