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Chhhyeahah, it's Gay, Gay as in FUN

By Alicia Dorr in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 23, 2007 6:22PM

With summer easing onto its laurels and panting in the heat, it's easy to get into a mindset that all the fun the season brings to Chicago is over. Not so! While the rest of the city is waiting for the humidity to give way to fall, you could squeeze in some more entertainment, in the form of Queerfest Midwest.

The event, from noon to 10pm on Saturday at the Pulaski Fieldhouse in Wicker Park, is in Chicago for the first time. And although it is GLBT-oriented, the organizers (publishers of CHILL Magazine and girlfriendisahomo.com, Think Pink Radio and Rejnowska & Polera) have made sure it doesn’t matter if you are. Interested in art? Music? Documentaries? We’re pretty sure there’ll be something for you.

m_a190915ee713b6b3ae07d59e4ed88e54.jpgThe music ranges from the diminutive but strong piano strains of Chris Garneau (think Sufjan Stevens) to Team Gina’s dance-worthy indie hip hop-type jams. All of the other national and local acts are as varied, even if they are of the "indie" variety, with some emphasis on hip hop, electro, post-punk, bluegrass and generally good music: Katastrophe, The Ex-Members, Katz, Office, Hey There Cowboy, 8 Inch Betsy, and Actor Slash Model.

If sweaty dancing and/or head bobbing aren’t your thing, there will be plenty of other creative work to check out. “The Cowboy & The Pegasus” will confront and interrogate you, make you laugh and make you re-consider what you think “queer” means using the works of video-artist Sadie Benning and Bruce La Bruce, paintings by Zack Stiglicz, photography from Sean Fader — on top of much more. We’re excited to check out confessional documentaries from Charles Lum which play with the form to confront the views, reactions and stereotypes associated with HIV.

Because it offers something to do at pretty much any time of the day, it should fit snugly into your over-crowded schedule right between sitting on the sofa with no pants on and sitting on the curb with no shirt on. Scrounge $20 worth of change from the crevices of your furniture and that antique piggy bank and give it a shot. More info and schedule on Myspace.