After a year-long hiatus, the San Antonio AIDS Foundation announced the return of the WEBB Party on April 21, 2017 as an official Fiesta San Antonio event to be held at the historic Bonham Exchange nightclub. As one of SAAF’s signature fundraising events, the WEBB generally attracts over 1,500 guests and helps raise over $100,000 annually for…
Artist Chris Sauter Talks Curators, Coming Out and Playing with Stereotypes
Chris Sauter’s big break came in 1999 when an Artpace curator told him to “go for it.” The San Antonio-born artist raised on his grandparents’ ranch outside Boerne proposed to cut pieces out of the gallery’s drywall and transform them into his childhood family dining room. Viewers had to walk through the oval circle in…
Gay Royalty Rules Cornyation’s Court of Our Mad, Mad, Mad World
Michael Bobo and his husband Wayne D. Beers — the dynamic duo of W.D. Deli — have been preparing for their crowning moment for years, so to speak. So when the lights go down, the music starts thumping, the curtains go up and an odd assortment of outrageous drag queens, city celebs and other bizarre,…
Gay Memoirists Jamie Brickhouse and David Crabb Trip Down Memory Lane
“You know how some serial killers are “returners” — they’ll go back to the scene of the crime to see their handiwork?” David Crabb asks me. “I’m not a serial killer, but I’m a returner.” I’m not a serial killer either, but like Crabb, I’m a memoirist, so by definition, a returner. We are having…
Gene Elder interviews photographer Susan Riley
“My shots of Elvis Presley from a concert here in San Antonio have been lost to the universe.” Gene: Hi, Susan. Welcome to my humble Chartreuse Couch. I am so glad you could be here to talk about your photography for Fotoseptiembre. Just move those pillows over and sit and feel the love. Susan: Hey,…
Record Cornyation funds distributed to local AIDS charities
A record $200,000 was award to the San Antonio Aids Foundation (“SAAF”), Black Effort Against the Threat (“BEAT”) AIDS, and four Robert Rehm scholarships thanks to Fiesta Cornyation 2015’s immense success this past April. This year, Cornyation was able to give away $180,000 to local AIDS charities–with $90,000 each going to SAAF and BEAT AIDS. Interim Executive Director…
The annual Fiesta Hat Party is a family affair
For some, Fiesta means parades (“Show me your shoes!”), mock royalty (“Trade you for a medal?”), or food and fun (“Give me a chicken on a stick.”). For others, it’s all about hats. The Fiesta Hat Party in Monte Vista is one of the largest assemblies of San Antonio’s LGBT community you will find before…
How Cornyation became the ruling roué of Fiesta
Cornyation was an important part of the democratization of Fiesta. Children fidgeted and adults downed the last of their longneck beers as they waited for the show to begin. The sweeping Arneson River Theatre was in the middle of the Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) midway, pushed against the edge of the river. The…