Hey LIX Chicks!

Happy New Year Everyone! And the year has started out fabulously for the Lesbian Information Xchange! We have a new home for our monthly coffee meetings! As of next month (February 6th) we will be meeting at The Roasted Cherry Coffee House at 93 O'Connor Street...on the east side at the corner of Slater. The place is usually closed in the evenings and they will be opening up just for our meeting...no more competition from boisterous straight patrons. It's FREE and close to public transit. There's lots of free parking on the streets in the area (and no ripping up of O'Connor Street...thank you SO much!). The acoustics are good...no more screaming at each other from across the room. They serve coffees, teas, wraps, desserts and snacks. And the best part of all, we will be helping a wonderful community project called New Beginnings for Youth, a local charity serving the needs of youth and supporting learning outside of traditional classrooms since 1986. The coffee house is run and managed by youth, some of whom are queer, and it provides a training ground to help them develop and enhance their entrepreneurial skills. You can find out tons more about the project by checking out their web site at www.roastedcherry.com.

That being said, we want to publicly thank Tracey Clark and Gina Becker of Bridgehead Coffee for all their support of LIX. They and their staff welcomed us with open arms at both the Wellington Street and Bank Street locations. The LIX coffee meetings would not have grown into the wonderfully successful events that they are without the help of these dynamic Bridgehead gals. So...thank you VERY much Tracey and Gina! I hope that all of you LIX chicks will continue to support the various Bridgehead locations and the commitment to fair trade coffee.

The other great news is that we have booked The Pantry for our second LIX Dinner/Speaker Meeting. So mark your calendars for Monday, March 19th! Kerry and I have scheduled a meeting with Carolyn (the owner of The Pantry) to discuss which amazing taste sensations she has in mind for us. We are also in the final stages in our selection process for the guest speaker. Last year's speaker was out-dyke member of parliament, Libby Davies, MP for Vancouver East, who knocked our socks off! By the end of January, we will have everything finalized and the tickets printed so that we can announce the details at the February coffee meeting and in the February e-newsletter and have tickets available for sale. As always, LIX chicks have first dibs on tickets before we offer them to the larger dyke community (which we didn't even get a chance to do last year as we sold out within a week!)

For those of you who are new LIX chicks and who may be unfamiliar with The Pantry, let me tell you a bit about the cafe. The Pantry is a woman-owned and operated vegetarian cafe within the Glebe Community Centre on Third Avenue. It seats 45 and is cute as a button...filled with antiques and collectibles! The cafe has been open for over 30 years. The current owner, Carolyn Best, started out as a waitress there many moons ago. She was fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of the original owner who taught her the finer points of vegetarian cuisine. Is Carolyn an outstanding cook! Ask anyone who was at last year's dinner. Even Kerry Beckett, our picky eater from the Steering Committee, who grudgingly agreed to hold last year's event at The Pantry (thought she'd die without meat, the poor thing!) absolutely LOVED the food and has been raving about it ever since. We will not be selling tickets in any of the standard ticket locations...tickets will only be available at the LIX coffee meeting or from members of the LIX Steering Committee (Marie, Kerry, Lucy and Wendy).

And now onto my report from our January coffee meeting. It was packed! We signed up six new women...which brings our membership total to 184 fabulously wonderful lesbians. After the 'go-round' of introductions, we were privileged to have two presentations...Karen Munro-Caple talked about her experience as a 'Big Sister' and Jodie Medd introduced us to the 'Help Bring Ivan Coyote to the Capital!' project.

Our first speaker was Jodie Medd who is an assistant professor at Carleton and one of the driving forces behind the project to bring Vancouver lesbian writer, Ivan E. Coyote, to Carleton University in 2007 as a writer in residence. Jodie is working with Carleton and the Lambda Foundation to raise the necessary funds. And Jodie is prepared to put her money where her mouth is in this case. She is hosting an Open House Brunch at her home on Sunday, February 18th from 10:30 - 2:00. "With your help, by this fall Ivan will be in Ottawa reading and performing, enriching our arts scene, mentoring students--and writing her next novel!" Carleton and Lambda will match donations pledged at the brunch so your pledge will be worth twice as much. For more information about the brunch, see #21 in 'Upcoming Events of Interest' (below) or email Jodie at jmedd@ccs.carleton.ca.

Next, Karen walked us through the process that's involved in becoming a Big Sister. Potential Big Sisters must fill out an extensive application, provide references, participate in a two hour interview and undergo a police check. They need to be available to spend two hours a week with the girl they are matched with, and ideally make a commitment of about five years to the match. Matches are made based on personality and common interests. Being a lesbian is NOT an issue in the Big Sisters (a sign that times sure have changed!) Once you're accepted into the program and a potential match is found, you are shown the young girl's 'profile'...you get to choose first so the girl doesn't get set up and then rejected. If you think a good match has been made and you want to go ahead, your profile is passed to the girl and her family to see if they are interested in pursuing the match with you. If they meet you and you all agree that it's a 'good fit', then you're off to the races! Within the Big Sisters program there are other projects available for women who aren't interested in (or who aren't ready for) one-on-one matching. You can become a part of the monthly social program and 'escort' girls who are on the waiting list for matches or you can participate in a project that goes into the schools. There is a bowling & curling fundraiser called 'Big Rock and Bowl for Kids' Sake 2007' taking place on Saturday March 3rd and Sunday, March 4th. Karen and her Little Sister will be bowling together to raise money for the program.

If you'd like to encourage Karen to make a fool of herself (just kidding) please consider sponsoring her. She can be reached at karen_roo@sympatico.ca (please note the underscore between 'karen' and 'roo' in this address). Let's support Karen in the tremendous volunteer work that she's doing. For more information on the fundraiser and/or to find out how you can become a Big Sister, check out the web site at www.bbbso.ca.

And now for a few words at the request of our wonderful web chick, Wendy. There is a new page on the LIX web site (www.girlswanttoknow.com) that allows us to link to our member's web sites. If you'd like to see your web site address and logo posted on the LIX web site, please contact Wendy directly at wendy@imaginationseverything.com. This will be a free service for now. Wendy (via Realtor Garage) also has great new software that improves the sending of LIX emails. So if you are having trouble getting your LIX e-newsletter, we're pretty sure it's because something at your end is blocking it. You may need to reconfigure your security settings or, if all else fails, open up a hotmail or yahoo account to receive your emails rather than trying to get them through your work account (we've been having a heck of a time getting past some government junk mail grabbers!). If you're having trouble and you don't want to get another account, keep in mind that you can read the newsletter on our web site...the current one gets posted at the same time as our emails go out to you. If you're having a problem and you're quite sure that it isn't about junk email filters or weird software on your end, Wendy is happy to try and sort out the problem with you. Contact her directly at wendy@imaginationseverything.com.

And finally, a really nice email from one of our members, Louise. You may remember her. Louise is the woman who was looking for other LIX gals to start a conversational French class with. Here's part of an email that I received from her this week: "I wanted to thank you and the steering committee for providing the networking opportunity with the LIX group/newsletter. We had our first conversational french group last night - 12 women who are all keen to learn/improve their French in a friendly supportive class - we had laughter and fun and have each committed to a 3 month trial. Without LIX, this could not have happened. Thank you to each of you." And thank you Louise...you just proved that networking works! I hope more of you will follow Louise's lead in putting something out to the 'LIX universe'. Fight those winter blahs! Have you been looking for other women who share your interest in knitting or reading or playing squash or whatever? Put it in the LIX e-newsletter! There's no time like the present. Send your idea and a contact number/email to me at info@girlswanttoknow.com and let LIX help you beat the winter blues!

 
Upcoming Events of Interest


 

  

1. Waltzing Out is a Ballroom and Latin dance group for same-sex couples. Beginners classes start on Monday, January 15th at 7:30 pm. (don't worry if you miss the first one). You don't have to have a dance partner to join...in fact, the organizer, Paul, is desperately looking or a woman who he can match with another woman who needs a dance partner for this session. For information on cost and location, call Paul at (613) 231-2296 or email him at plaf@magma.ca.

2. Frida K. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of her birth, the National Arts Centre presents a one-woman play about the life of famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Written by Gloria Montero and starring her daughter Allegra Fulton, the show has travelled the world to critical acclaim. It runs from January 12th - 27th. Tickets are $30 - $63 and are available at the NAC box office or at Ticketmaster www.nac.ca.

3. Divergence Movie Night, a monthly series presenting independent GLBTTQ movies. On Tuesday, January 16th see Tongues Untied, a film that uses poetry, personal testimony, rap and performance to describe the homophobia and racism that confront black gay men. Shot in 1986, this film also acts as an historical document of the vibrant black gay scene of the 80's. On Tuesday, February 13th, you can catch Vice and Consent a film giving an intimate look at the individual journeys and lessons learned by people deeply involved in San Francisco's BDSM (bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sado-masochism) community. The film features members of the community revealing the eye-opening uncensored truth about their fascinating yet misunderstood lifestyle. Free admission; $5 suggested donation. The films are being shown at SAW Gallery, 67 Nicholas Street at 7:00 pm.

4. Bywords Warms the Night IV will launch the Bywords Quarterly Journal and serve as a benefit for the Cornerstone Women's Shelter on Sunday, January 21st from 2:00 - 3:00 pm. The event will feature several poets and the music of Lindsay Ferguson and takes place at Chapters at 47 Rideau Street. Bring items such as warm clothing for donation. For more information, check out the web site at www.bywords.ca.

5. Around the Rainbow Events for January 2007. On Monday, January 22nd from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. you are invited to an Open House & Information Session. GLBTTQ parents are invited to drop-in, check out the project, including the new web site, toolkits, and services. Hear from project participants about their experiences with creating inclusive and safe spaces for children from GLBTTQ families. On Wednesday, January 24th from 9:30 am. - 1:00 pm. GLBTTQ families and their allies are invited to participate in an interactive workshop facilitated by a local community artist. Together you will create a work of art representing diverse families. There will be a special launch with cake and juices with the children. Events take place at Family Services Ottawa, 312 Parkdale Avenue. For information call Emily Troy at (613) 725-3601 ext. 107 or email her at etroy@familyservicesottawa.org.

6. Sisterhood of the Travelling Dresses takes place on Thursday, January 25th at Suite 34, 34 Clarence Street in the Byward Market. This event is a fundraiser for Colon Cancer Canada and features 12-Sisters drag performances, prizes, and kissing booths for guys and gals. The evening will be hosted by Charisma Deelite and Dee Dee Deelite. Tickets are available at Wildes, One in Ten and at Suite 34.

7. Reelout Queer Film & Video Festival takes place at multiple venues in downtown Kingston and at Queen's University from Thursday, January 25th until Sunday, February 4th. Tickets are available at Destinations, JDUC, Queen's University and Novel Idea, 156 Princess Street in Kingston and can also be purchased on location 20 minutes prior to each screening. To view the festival program and venues online, go to www.reelout.com.

8. Tone Cluster, one of Ottawa's queer choirs, presents Show Tune Showdown 2007. The show is set for Saturday, January 27th at 8:00 pm at the Bronson Centre Theatre, 211 Bronson. Three teams of four people, representing local arts groups, will compete by singing in front of celebrity judges. All songs are from musicals that have been performed on Broadway. The winning team receives $500. Local Ottawa celebrities have generously donated their time to make the event a success including jazz singer Kellylee Evans; Julian Armour, Founder and Artistic Director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society; and Kathleen Petty, host of CBC Ottawa Morning and CBC Network Program, The House. Teams competing this year include returning champions Orpheus Musical Theatre, plus the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama and Zucchini Grotto Theatre Company. Audience members will also be able to participate in sing-alongs. Tickets are $15 and are available at Leading Note, mother tongue books, After Stonewall, Wildes or at www.ticketweb.com. Proceeds from the evening will go to support Tone Cluster's Choral Season. Full details at www.gaycanada.com/tonecluster.

9. "The Voice" is a new Ottawa-based women's literary fundraising magazine...that will donate its proceeds back into various events and charities in the community. The creators are looking for interested subscribers as well as women who wish to submit writing, photography or artwork for upcoming issues. The yearly subscription rate is $18. Find details on advertising, sponsorship, subscriptions, submitting work and more at: www.mwdesign.ca/TheVoice.

10. Pour Les Femmes is a new group for francophone women who love women. Lesbians and bisexual women are invited to get together to discuss various issues at the Lowertown Community Centre, 40 Cobourg. Meetings are held every Tuesday. For more information and/or to register, call Kiera Denault at (613) 789-3930.

11. Integrity Ottawa Monthly Eucharist takes place on the first Sunday of each month at the Church of the Ascension, 253 Echo Drive, Ottawa at 7:00 pm. Integrity Ottawa is a gathering of gay men, lesbians and straight friends living in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. They are interested in supporting the lives of LGBTTQ people in the Anglican Church of Canada and abroad in the wider Anglican Communion. For more information, check out: www.ottawa.integritycanada.org or email Gillian Wallace at wallacememberships@yahoo.ca

12. Venus Envy regularly holds workshops of interest to women. To see what's happening, check out the web site at www.venusenvy.ca. Venus Envy is located at 320 Lisgar Street.

13. Calling all moms of kids 12 and under! Rainbow Families, a drop-in group for LGBTTQ parents and their children 0-12 meets the first Monday of each month from 6:00 - 7:30 pm. at Centretown Community Health Centre, 420 Cooper Street. The next meeting is Monday, February 5th. At the beginning of each meeting, the families share a cheap and cheerful supper of pizza together. After the meal, the kids play together in supervised childcare while the parents meet for a support group. The facilitators need the names and ages (kids only) of those attending and your pizza preferences. They also ask for a $ contribution for pizza to the extent that you can - $5/adult and 2-3$/child is suggested but they are happy to receive whatever is manageable for your family. For information about this group, please contact Carol Proulx at (613) 725-3601 X126 or check out the web site at www.around-therainbow.com.

14. Our next LIX Coffee Networking Meeting will be held at The Roasted Cherry at 93 O'Connor Street at the corner of Slater on Tuesday, February 6th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. If you have any interest in presenting a five-minute infomercial about your business, please contact us at info@girlswanttoknow.com.

15. The Vagina Monologues returns to the Ottawa area for a two-night performance at The Black Sheep Inn, 420 Riverside Drive in Wakefield on February 8th and 9th. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. For more information and ticket sale locations, go to www.theblacksheepinn.com or call (819) 459-3228.

16. Stop Dragging Your Butt is a FREE 8-week Stop Smoking Program for women. Sessions begin on Thursday, February 8th and run until March 29th at PTS (Pink Triangle Services), 177 Nepean Suite 508, 6:00 - 7:30 pm. This is a joint project of PTS and the Centretown Community Health Centre (CCHC). To register, call (613) 233-2317 ext.3005.

17. Painting With Spirit. Enjoy a one-day workshop on Saturday, February 10th from 9:30 am. - 4:30 pm. with Diana Claire Douglas, artist, educator, facilitator, minister and author. The workshop costs $125 (art supplies included). Many of us have forgotten the ways that we played with Spirit when we were children. Many of us stopped creating because someone said something to stop us. Many who are artists feel confined by traditional methods of creating. Painting With Spirit is for everyone who wishes to experience the joys of painting once again. Paint from the 'inside-out' and get connected with soul and spirit. Pre-registration is required for this workshop. Call Diana at (613) 820-8850 or email her at inspiritworks@sympatico.ca. You can view Diana's paintings at www.inspiritworks.com.

18. Heart's Desire. The annual Heart's Desire Women's Valentine's Dance will be held on Saturday, February 10th at the Panorama Room of the National Arts Centre from 9:00 pm. - 1:00 am. Join hundreds of women for a fabulous evening! Percentage of sales will go to the Ten Oaks Project. Tickets are available at Venus Envy and mother tongue books for $15 or at the door for $20. For more information call (613) 795-2416 or go to the web site at www.outstuff.ca.

19. Valentine Treat takes place on Saturday, February 10th from 8:00 pm. - 1:00 am. at La Grange Retreat, 80 Summer Road, Cantley, Quebec. This event is for gay/gay friendly, men/women, friends/family, singles & couples and offers dancing, billiards, darts, snowshoeing, an open fire and a fireplace and canapés for $40. Shuttle service is free. For information and tickets call Jen at (819) 827-3164 or email info@grange.ca. You can check out the web site at www.grange.ca.

20. Pride Unmasked, a fundraiser for Capital Pride 2007, takes place on Saturday, February 17th at Le French Quarter, 80 Promenade du Portage, Gatineau. Cocktails at 6:30, dinner at 7:30. $100 a plate (table d'hote), $500 for a table of six. Performance by Glenn Nuotio (you can read an article about Glenn in the Jan. 11th issue of Capital Xtra). Prize for the best Mardi Gras mask. Tickets are available at After Stonewall, mother tongue books, One in Ten, Venus Envy and Wilde's. For information check the Pride web site at www.prideottawa.com.

21. Help bring lesbian writer, Ivan E. Coyote, to the Capital! by attending an Open House Brunch on Sunday, February 18th from 10:30 - 2:00 the home of LIX member and assistant professor at Carleton, Jodie Medd, at 387 Sunnyside Avenue (between Leonard and Rosedale). Join Coyote fans for fabulous food, coffee and company and make a donation to support the plan to bring Ivan to Ottawa as a writer-in-residence at Carleton University in 2007 - 2008. Carleton & the Lambda Foundation will match donations pledged at this event - your pledge will be worth twice as much! Donations of over $25.00 are tax deductible. This is also a celebration to cast a good spell on the Canada Council grant application for the residency. You can expect: Ivan in performance on DVD & CD, an auction, chances to win a signed copy of one of Ivan's books, Ivan's latest books on sale, organic fair-trade coffee, scrumptious homemade food, a good time for a great cause! Information on Ivan E. Coyote and the Lambda Foundation can be found at www.lambdafoundation.com/coyote.htm. Do you have questions? Do you want to help out? Contact Jodie at jmedd@ccs.carleton.ca.

22. Don't miss this opportunity to get away from the cold and snow in Ottawa with the second annual Women at Sea tour! On February 24, 2007 women will be boarding the Star Princess and heading to the Western Caribbean. Special tour price includes round trip airfare to Ft. Lauderdale, a pre-cruise hotel room the night before the ship sails, transfers to and from the airport, 7 night cruise, all your meals and a Women at Sea t-shirt. Call George at the Cruise Ship Centre (1-866-313-3309) for information on cabin availability and prices or check out www.outstuff.ca/cruise.html for details.

23. The Third Annual Camp Ten Oaks Bowl-a-Thon takes place on Saturday, March 3rd at West Park Bowling on Wellington Street. Choose your shift from either 4 - 6 pm. or 7 - 9 pm. For more information and/or to register your team (or as an individual), call the Ten Oaks Project at (613) 742-5944, email them at bowl@tenoaksproject.org or go to their web site at www.tenoaksproject.org. The Ten Oaks Project is a not-for-profit, charitable organization that serves children and youth of LGBTQ and/or non-traditional families, youth who identify as LGBTQ and their allies.

24. GLBTQ Al-Anon Meeting. The "Keep it Simple" group of Al-Anon meets every Sunday evening at 7:30 pm. at the Jack Purcell Community Centre on Elgin Street. Millions of people are affected by the excessive drinking of someone close to them. If you fall into this category and are looking for a safe GLBTQ space to get help and support, this meeting is for you. For more information call (613) 860-3431 or go to the web site at www.al-anon.alateen.on.ca.

As always, we encourage you to send us news of events and/or workshops that you are involved in so we can add the information to our Upcoming Events of Interest section of this monthly news update. We need to know the who's, what's, where's as well as cost, where tickets are available, if pre-registration is required, and if it's a fundraiser, what organization you're raising funds for. If the organization has a web site, that web address would be helpful. And we'd love to see more of your entries in the Special Interest Groups and Activities section of this e-news. Networking works...for business and pleasure! Send your news and ideas for interest groups to me at info@girlswanttoknow.com. We need your information by the end of the month in order to guarantee inclusion in the following month's issue.

So...there you go! For more information about the LIX network, feel free to call Kerry at (613) 237-7133 or Marie at (613) 231-4347. You can also send us an email at info@girlswanttoknow.com or chat with one of the four of us (Kerry, Lucy, Wendy or Marie) at a coffee meeting. And please check out the LIX web site at www.girlswanttoknow.com.

Cheers,
Marie Robertson
for the LIX Steering Committee


www.girlswanttoknow.com


Lesbian Information Xchange
community-based, not-for-profit network of lesbians exchanging information