Jan. 19
Iced Coffee. 6:30 p.m., Parade Ice Garden in Minneapolis. Do you like skating and meeting new friends? Whether you've been skating 20 years or are just getting started, you're invited to join the Twin Cities Gay Hockey Association’s "Iced Coffee" event. It's our classic combination of public ice skating coupled with a social coffee outing. Here's how it works: Come skating at Parade Ice Garden from 6:30 until 8:00 PM at a public skating session sponsored by Minneapolis Parks & Rec. After skating, we head over to Dunn Bros. Coffee on the south side of Loring Park to socialize and warm up. It's a great way to meet new people and get a workout at the same time. And the cost? A mere $3 admission will get you out skating. If you need to rent skates, they are available for $2 a pair. If your skates are in the garage collecting dust (what a shame!), they'll sharpen them for you for $4. Parade Ice Garden is located just a few blocks west of the Walker Art Center, at 600 Kenwood Parkway. From Hennepin/Lyndale, turn west at Vineland Place. Follow the road around the curve, and the arena is on your right. For more information about this or any other event, please send an email to: events@tcgayhockey.org or call our information hotline at 651-556-7215. And as always, please visit www.tcgayhockey.org for schedules, scores, player information, and how to join the TCGHA.

Jan. 21
LGBT Community Center of the Chippewa Valley Monthly Discussion Forum. Instead of Center volunteers creating the program this month, the Center's Board of Directors will lend open ears to hear what YOU would like to happen at the Community Center. Our New Year's Resolution is to involve the community in the Community Center and would love to see you there! We'll provide snacks and beverages and open ears for your ideas and concerns. Join us Wednesday, January 21 anytime between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. for a discussion of New Year's Resolutions! 510 South Farwell Street in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin. FFI: info@thecentercv.org or 715.552.5428.

Jan. 22 – 24, 29 – 31; Feb. 5 – 7
Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet Shaken Not Stirred, by Katherine Preble. Directed by Courtney Hudson. Unraveling Muses Studio, 308 Prince Street Suite 135, St. Paul, MN. General Admission $12.00 and $10.00 Students and Seniors. FFI: UnravelingMuses@aol.com and
www.unravelingmuses.com

Jan. 23
Dignity Twin Cities January Liturgy. 7:30pm, Prospect Park United Methodist Church, Malcolm & Orlin Ave. SE, Minneapolis. Dignity/Twin Cities (Catholic glbt and friends group) meets on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of every month at Prospect Park United Methodist Church, Malcolm & Orlin Ave. SE, Minneapolis. Doors open at 7:00pm, social time follows liturgy. For more information, go to: http://www.dignitytwincities.org/

Jan. 23 – Feb. 7
Jeffrey Hatcher’s Mercy of a Storm. Twin Cities Premiere at Illusion Theater. The production is directed by Michael Bigelow Dixon (Literary Manager at the Guthrie Theater) and features Carolyn Pool and Steve Hendrickson. In his notes for this production, playwright Jeffrey Hatcher says that MERCY OF A STORM is "a drama with a good deal of comedy. It’s about a May-November romance between a couple named George and Zanovia. It trades in love and mystery and a bit of melodrama. MERCY OF A STORM will open at Illusion Theater on Friday, January 23 at 8:00pm and run through February 7. Tickets are $16 on Thursdays, $21 on Fridays and $26 on Saturdays. Additional performances may be announced later. Tickets can be ordered through the box office at 612-339-4944 or purchased on-line at www.illusiontheater.org starting January 5. All seating is reserved and the theater is wheelchair accessible. Illusion Theater is in the Hennepin Theatre District in downtown Minneapolis, located on the 8th floor of the Hennepin Center for the Arts at the corner of Hennepin Avenue and 6th Street.

Jan. 24
Aliveness Project fundraiser. Hosted by the Royalty of North Star Gay Rodeo Association. There will be drawings, dancing and pucker shot and a lot of fun. So get out your boots and cowboy hat and come play with the cowboys. 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., The Saloon, 830 Hennepin Ave.

LGBT Community Center of the Chippewa Valley Saturday Night at the Movies will feature the 2003 made for Showtime film Soldiers Girl. This is the story of Barry Winchell, a soldier in the 101st Airborne Division, who was brutally murdered by a fellow GI on July 4th, 1999, shortly after the installment of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. On an outing with his buddies, Barry had been captivated by the beautiful Calpernia Adams, a transgendered entertainer in a local Nashville nightclub, and the story focuses on the love that developed between them. Saturday Night at the Movies is presented the fourth Saturday of each month. Admission and popcorn are FREE! Doors open at 7:45 p.m. with the movie starting at 8:00 p.m

Jan. 24 and 25
One Voice Mixed Chorus presents GABRIEL FAURÉ’S REQUIEM. Over 80 voices strong and a full orchestra will join forces in a very special January program as One Voice Mixed Chorus performs Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem as part of their Lifting Spirits, Raising Voices concert on Saturday, January 24 at 8 pm and again on Sunday, January 25 at 4 pm. The piece, set for chorus, organ, small orchestra, and soprano and baritone solos will include solos by Kathy Lee, soprano, a local soloist and performer with the Rose Ensemble and Dare to Breathe as well as Christopher Fast who will sing the baritone role. The Minnesota Philharmonic, under the direction of Joseph Schlefke, will join the One Voice for this program. Held at the Church of St. Luke in St. Paul and St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church. Tickets are currently on sale and may be ordered by calling the One Voice hotline at 612.332.1302 or online at www.ovmc.org. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door with student and senior discounts available upon request. $5-off coupons are also available through One Voice or their website for new (first-time) audience members.

Jan. 25
Organ Recital and Hymn Sing at St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church. Join the Epiphany Hymn Festival with renowned organist Dr. Michael Burkhardt. Burkhardt will dazzle with performances on St. Paul-Reformation's recently refurbished organ, a vintage 1921 Moeller. The highlight of the program, however will be a hymn sing utilizing the festival theme: "You Are My Beloved Child." This is based on the Epiphany Season and the Creator's acknowledgment, "This is my beloved Son." The concert, a joint fundraiser for Wingspan Ministry and Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministry (LLGM), will be held at 3 p.m. at St. Paul-Reformation, 100 North Oxford Street, in St. Paul. This is a chance to raise your voice for a good cause and chase away the winter blues.

“Pack the Stands” at the MN Aurora Game. (Twin Cities Gay Hockey Association) 8 p.m., State Fair Coliseum – Minnesota State Fair Grounds, Falcon Heights. Let’s fill the coliseum with people to cheer on your Minnesota Aurora. With the Coliseum having 5,200 seats, we want to fill as many of them as we can. Ok, 100 would suffice as the reverb of the other 5,100 seats would sound really cool. Seriously, the Aurora need the support of their fans. So bring your special someone, your friends, family, or anyone who might like to watch an exciting 45 minutes of hockey. You won’t regret it. The State Fair Coliseum is located on Como Ave. just west of Snelling Ave. From St. Paul and Minneapolis, take I-94 to the Snelling exit and go north about 1.5 miles. Take the exit ramp for Como avenue, go west about a block and it’s on your right hand side.

Caring Families and Friends, 2 – 4 p.m., University Lutheran Church of Hope, 601 13th Ave. S.E., Minneapolis. Abigail Garner, author and gay family advocate, will talk about growing up with a gay father. Her website is http://www.FamiliesLikeMine.com and her book is "Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is" [HarperCollins, March 2004]. Caring Families and Friends is an ongoing Lutheran support group for gay and lesbian persons, their families, and friends and strives to provide a safe environment for conversation and education. For information, call Linda Lee at 651-484-8030 or Annette Alderson at 612-823-5198.

Jan. 28
Legislative meeting on anti-gay marriage amendment. 9 a.m., Minnesota State Office Building, Room 10. Representative Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville) will hold a meeting on the proposal she and Senator Michelle Bachman (R-Stillwater) have brought forth to amend the Minnesota Constitution to prohibit legal recognition of same-sex couples and their families. The hearing will take place at 9:00 a.m. in Room 10 of the State Office Building, immediately southwest of the State Capitol, which is just north of downtown St. Paul. OutFront Minnesota encourages anyone who can be present to attend this "public hearing" to witness the charade and express your opposition to the proposal, and to the unabashed attempt to silence our community in the face of this attack on our families. FFI: www.outfront.org.

Jan. 31
“Keep Hope Alive: Continuing the Dream.” One Voice Mixed Chorus and the Twin Cities Community Gospel Choir. 7:30 pm, North High School, 1500 James Ave. N., Minneapolis. Free. FFI: www.ovmc.org.

Feb. 2
Healing the Spirit in the Quiet of Winter. 7:00 PM, St. Frances Cabrini Parish, 1500 Franklin Ave. S.E. (Two blocks east of the river). Please join your Catholic gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender brothers and sisters for a healing evening of prayer and ritual. Worship space is handicap accessible. ALL are welcome! This prayer service is co-sponsored annually through the support of members of the faith communities of: St. Stephen's Catholic Church, St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, St. Philip's Catholic Church and Dignity/Twin Cities. For more information please call (612)-724-8617.

Soulforce of the Twin Cities meeting. 7 p.m., All God's Children Church, Park Avenue S., Minneapolis. The Soulforce Twin Cities Chapter meets the first Monday of every month. The next meeting will be on February 2nd from 7:00 pm to 8:30pm at All God's Children Church in Minneapolis. This is located at 3100 Park Avenue South. There is parking available at 31st Street and Oakland Avenue. Please enter the building at the 31st Street entrance. All are most welcome. Soulforce is an interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Soulforce teaches and applies the nonviolent principles of M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. FFI: Randi Reitan at 952-294-8311 or www.soulforce.org/

Feb. 6
Wine and Cheese Benefit for Bethany Lutheran Church. 5 – 7 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church, 3225 East Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis. The Reconciling in Christ congregations of the Twin Cities area will be gathering for a wine & cheese benefit for Bethany Lutheran Church. The event will take place at St. James Episcopal. Bethany, located in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis has taken a faith-filled step in reaching out to people who have felt alienated by the church in the past, especially the GLBT community. Bethany voted 2 years ago to spend their savings by hiring a GLBT individual to head up this outreach project. Since then, Bethany has worked hard at becoming an evermore welcoming congregation. For example, Bethany sponsors "The Naming Project," a faith-based GLBT youth support group. As Bethany continues this outreach, they need financial help from other welcoming congregations. All are welcome to come to this benefit to help Bethany out. Suggested donation $15.

Feb. 12
Freedom to Marry Day. 8 a.m. Minneapolis City Hall Rotunda, 350 Fifth Street South, Minneapolis. Reception follows. Even as our families come under attack in the State Legislature, our families are nonetheless welcome in Minneapolis, which will be the site of OutFront Minnesota’s first Freedom to Marry Day event, taking place Thursday, February 12, 2004, in the newly-restored rotunda of Minneapolis City Hall (350 S. Fifth St.). In conjunction with Freedom to Marry Day events planned around the country, this event will acknowledge and celebrate Minneapolis’ leadership within the state in terms of recognizing our families, particularly in its creation thirteen years ago of Minnesota’s only Domestic Partner registry as well as its expansion of that registry in 2003. OutFront Minnesota is inviting 100 couples from around Minnesota (you no longer need to be Minneapolis residents) to join us that morning at 8:00 AM at City Hall for a celebration, a Mayoral proclamation, and registration as domestic partners. Given the assault on our families in the Legislature, it is even more important than ever to stand up for the one thing same-sex couples CAN do to be recognized by government in Minnesota. Whether you want to register as partners, support those who do, relive your own registration experience, or show support for the City’s work on behalf of GLBT people generally, we encourage you to attend! Register to attend this event at www.outfront.org. Please note that registering to ATTEND is NOT the same as registering as partners! The welcoming City Clerk staff will be on hand that morning to handle that aspect of things.

Feb. 14
Make this Valentine’s Day one to remember! Stop by The Smitten Kitten for erotica readings by Heather Corinna, Elise Matthesen and Catherine Lundoff at 7:00, 2223 East 35th St. Call 612-721-6088 for directions and information.

Feb. 13 and 14
Women of Color Cabaret, Patrick’s Cabaret, 3010 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis. 8 p.m. $6. FFI, and/or Reservations: 612-721-3595.

Feb. 17
Twin Cities Gay Hockey Association informational meeting. 7 p.m., Wolfe Pavilion, Spring Lake Park Rec Center. This meeting is for those who are interested in playing hockey, but maybe don’t know how, or if you already play, just want some more information on our association or on the Adult Hockey Association and their beginner school. We will have all the necessary forms available for the beginner school if you are interested in registering. If you’ve played in the past and want to simply sign-up for one of the new teams being formed for the 2004-2005 season, that information will be available as well. Members from the TCGHA, the Minnesota Aurora, current beginner school students, and the AHA will be there to answer any questions that you have. This will be a very relaxed atmosphere and should be fun for everyone who attends. If you have them, bring your skates as there is some outdoor ice right outside the pavilion. The Spring Lake Park Rec Center is located at 3700 Monterey Drive. Wolfe Pavilion is about 50 yards to the south of the main entrance.

Feb. 20 and 21
Cabaret at Patrick’s Cabaret. 3010 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis. 8 p.m. $6. FFI, and/or Reservations: 612-721-3595.

Feb. 21
Minnesota AIDS Trek 18 - Vaccine Ride 2004 Kick-Off Party. Noon – 2 p.m. Edina Community Lutheran Church, 4113 W. 54th St., Edina. 651-917-3504

Feb. 27 – 29
Soul Sisters: A Women's Spirituality Retreat with poet and author Edwina Gateley. Begin the season of Lent with Edwina Gateley, author of Soul Sisters: Women in Scripture Speak to Women Today (Orbis 2002). In this retreat, Edwina will lead women in an exploration of the feminine dimension of God and of women's call to healing, bonding, and making a difference in the world. Through input, story-telling, poetry reading, a slide presentation, reflection, and interaction, the retreat will invite participants to enter the lives of soul sisters and to choose a soul sister with whom to walk during the Lenten season. Carolyn Bornhauser will join Edwina in leading an evening of celebration on Saturday, including sacred circle dance. FFI: For more about Ms. Gateley, visit: http://www.edwinagateley.com/ For more about Wisdom Ways, visit: http://minerva.stkate.edu/wisdomways.nsf/wisdomways.nsf/. Retreat runs Friday evening to Sunday noon at Wisdom Ways Resource Center for Spirituality, 1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul. FFI: (651) 690-8830

Ongoing

Gay Men’s Bible Study
Every first Saturday of the month, 8:30am - 10am. Next meeting: Saturday, February 7th. Held in homes throughout the Twin Cities. The topics under discussion by the current ELCA Sexuality Taskforce have considerable relevance for our group. Therefore, we are making arrangements to use the study & bible study (Part I) that were developed by the ELCA for congregational use. We will begin this discussion in November. We plan to continue with Part II of the study, when it becomes available. GMBS is an affirming group whose members come from a diversity of faith backgrounds. Some have been in the group for years, others for just a short while. If you are interested in learning more, please call St. Paul Reformation Church at (651) 224-3371. They will put you in contact with a member of the group who can answer any questions you may have, and give you the location of the next meeting.

The Naming Project
Every Sunday from 4:00pm-6:00pm, Bethany Lutheran Church, 11 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis. A group for GLBT youth and their allies where spirituality is not divorced from sexuality. We gather weekly to discuss faith, life, and our coming out journey. Open to youth who want to connect their spirituality and sexuality. Contact us at: thenamingproject@att.net or call 612-332-2397.

Josh & Sandi airs on local cable access. In Minneapolis: Channel 17, Sundays @ 8:30PM. In St. Paul, Channel 15, Tuesdays @ 8PM. FFI: www.JoshandSandi.com.