If you’re not among those who have already RSVP’d for Manifest’s Sixth Anniversary Dinner and Cabaret, set for this Saturday, March 20 at 7 p.m. at Francis Restaurant (NE Alberta and 24th), consider this a friendly reminder.

You’ve only until tomorrow at 5 p.m. to call 503-223-8822, ext. 1, to claim one of the 15 remaining spaces for this special evening, featuring an “Iron Chef Dinner and Cabaret.” Attendees will watch/enjoy as two chef teams — helmed by Master Chef James Giannetti at Julia’s Cafe and Master Chef Christopher Pierce at Francis Restaurant — duke it out with scrumptious five-course meals.

Zora Phoenix will emcee, and count on appearances by your hostesses and “purveyors of glamour and frivolity” the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (pictured above with Phoenix) and celeb auctioneer Bubba (David Horste). Live music comes courtesy of pianist Aaron Andrade, flamenco guitarist Aja Consonantia, Issa OneMore on ukulele, guitar, and vox, vocalist Alma Children, and guitar player and vocalist Benjamin Toll Blakely.

The event runs until 10 p.m. Tickets are available on a $35-$75 sliding scale.

It’s a most tasty way to help Manifest’s Diversity Outreach Program reach its goal of $5,000 to survey and empower underserved, at-risk groups of men in the Portland area.

Annette Hadaway!

Thanks to everyone who dropped off donations for Esther’s Pantry. We’re always accepting them here at 6234 N. Greeley, whether or not a giveaway is involved.

But don’t worry, there will be more drawings soon.

In the meantime, congrats to Annette, and thanks again, everyone.

Disclaimer: Shameless self-promotion begins in 3…2…1…

It’s no secret that queers love to dance. Yet, far too many of us need a drink (or two, or three) before we can get our Gaga-inspired groove on. Fortunately, Gaycation is teaming up with Portland’s queer dance movement, SWAGGER, this Saturday to offer a confidence-boosting class in the art of busting a move.

Before the dance floor fills up at Holocene’s popular queer dance night, Em Connor and Erin Rook (yup, that’s me) will be teaching a beginner-level hip-hop lesson to “Welcome to Atlanta,” by Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris full of sexy body rolls and sassy finger snapping that’ll have you owning the swagger-filled line, “The party doesn’t start until I walk in.”

Class starts at 9 p.m. in the back room and is included in the recession-friendly $3 cover. So come out early this weekend to avoid the line and learn to strut your stuff before you make your way into a  sea of sweaty homos bumping and grinding to beats by DJ Snowtiger, Mr. Charming and DJ Lucas.

Gaycation, Sat., March 20, 9 p.m.-late, Holocene, 1001 S.E. Morrison St., $3, holocene.org.

Gay skin rag Unzipped, which has previously featured Portland’s own Beau Breedlove, has ceased publication.

The Sword (site NSFW) reports:

“The bell tolled for Unzipped on Friday morning when its owner, Regent Media’s Paul Colichman, laid off over half its staff and told those who remained that the magazine was finished. The company is waiting to roll out the official announcement, but a couple newly-unemployed staffers leaked the sad news over the weekend to sources close to The Sword. Unzipped’s blog is still up and running as of this morning, but it is likely that the two new issues currently waiting in the wings will never be printed.”

Unzipped follows Honchos, Mandate, Genre, and Instinct as the latest gay men’s smut publication to go off to live that big box of naughty things in Heaven that God hides under the bed when relatives come to visit.

UPDATE: Instinct magazine is still publishing. Thank you for your vigilance, anonymous tipster!

Photo from The Sword.

2010 U.S. Census Day is closer than you think (April 1st), and with this being the first year ever that the national count will include same-sex married couples, in addition to same-sex partners, Portland, in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, has released two locally produced Public Service Announcements to encourage lesbian, gay, bis and trans households to fill out their 2010 Census forms.

As reported last week on Blog Out, a March 18th kickoff event at Q Center will officially release the two PSAs – “April Snapshot” and “Boxed In.” Scheduled to attend the event are Mayor Sam Adams, Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury , the filmmakers and the PSA cast and crew. All are welcome to attend this free, family-friendly event, which runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Per press release:

The project raises awareness of how the 2010 Census will count LGBT households . Concerned that these communities might not be targeted in traditional Census marketing, former Census Bureau Partnership Specialist, Niva Bennett, reached out to the Mayor’s office—the only government office in the region with a liaison to the LGBT community, Clay Neal.

“Each year, about 4.5 billion dollars are expended in Oregon based on federal Census data,” said Mayor Sam Adams. “Accurately counting our LGBT community means Portland will receive its fair share of targeted federal funds to support LGBT-related programs and services.”

Initially, representatives of the Mayor’s Office and the U.S. Census Bureau collaborated to produce the videos through the Bureau’s Partnership Support Program, which paid for Kurz Design & Productions to produce the two spots (in addition to in-kind donations from Kurz Design & Production.) The PSAs, April Snapshot and Boxed In can currently be viewed by the public and downloaded from YouTube.

“I’m proud of our messaging and its effectiveness,” said Niva Bennett. “We were able to produce a campaign for a community that otherwise might have been left out.” The PSAs underscore that the Census is about how the individual identifies, not how other people identify them.

Check out this handy-dandy FAQ post if you’re unsure of how to answer the questions on the Census form.

From one hilarious gal to another, Kathy Griffin has announced plans to host a rally for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell this week on Capitol Hill. Griffin took to her website for a call to action:

“Calling all DC gays and ALL good citizens who support EQUALITY!!! After traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan to perform for the troops and visiting with injured vets and their families at Walter Reed, I’ve gotten to meet and know many gay members of our brave military. Their stories are heartbreaking, touching, and need to be heard. They cannot stand up for themselves, so it’s time we stand up for them and be their voice. They put their lives on the line for us every day, all the while risking getting fired, discharged, losing all their benefits and maybe even worse, just for being ‘found out.’

It’s time to take on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’!!! … With the help of the HRC, I’m organizing a rally to help repeal the antiquated policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ All you have to do is show up! Spread the word. I’m meeting with several legislators all week in DC, but it’s the average American citizen and their constituents are who they REALLY listen to.”

The D.C. rally, set to kickoff at noon on Thursday, March 18 at Freedom Plaza, will be filmed for her Bravo reality series My Life on the D-List for what she calls next season’s “serious episode.”

The homobibliophiles at Lambda Literary emerged bleary-eyed yesterday after months of reading (sounds like a vacation to us) to reveal the finalists for their 22nd annual Lammy awards for LGBT-interest titles in 23 categories, including an anthology from local writer and editor, Ariel Gore.

Portland Queer: Tales of the Rose City, edited by Gore and published by Lit Star Press, is one of five finalists in the LGBT Anthologies category.

Daphne Gottlieb, author of Kissing Dead Girls, describes the anthology:

As rough-hewn and gorgeous as the city that inspired it, this anthology breaks queer ground as it shows us that everywhere is Portland — but Portland is its own special place, home to queers seeking and finding home, from the city itself to each others’ arms.

Gore is the mind and pen behind a number of works including How to Become a famous Writer Before You’re Dead, novel The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show, memoir Atlas of the Human Heart and the zine Hip Mama. She also contributes to Ms. magazine and the Utne Reader and teaches memoir-writing workshops at The Attic.

A full list of finalists, along with a selection of reviews, can be found on Lambda’s Literary’s Web site. Winners will be announced May 27.

The boundaries between free speech and cyber-bullying might not be blurred for long.

On the heels of a recent Iowa State University study, which found that 1 in 2 gay, lesbian, bi and trans students are targets of cyber-bullying, the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Calfornia ruled in a 2-1 decision this week that threatening anti-gay Web posts sent to a 15-year-old Los Angeles boy’s Web site are not protected free speech.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in a 2-1 decision this week that the boy can sue schoolmates for the threats. The court says the violent threats convey harmful intent.

Six students and their parents are being sued for hate crimes, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

It’s believed to be the first California case to examine the boundaries between free expression and cyber-bullying.

The plaintiff set up a Web site in 2005 to promote his music and film career, but fellow students believed wrongly that the boy was gay and threatened violence.

This is it, Handler fans — your last hours to stop by Just Out’s offices at 6234 N. Greeley, drop off some food for Esther’s Pantry, and enter a drawing for two tickets to Chelsea’s 10:30 p.m. Friday performance at the Keller. (And we remind you, the face value on these things isn’t cheap.)

At 4 p.m. sharp today, we’ll draw the lucky winner, so don’t delay. Get over here now, make a worthwhile food donation, and fill out the entry form on the front desk counter. Simple as that.

And for a little incentive, here’s another bit of that Handler charm, thanks to an online war of words this weekend that erupted between the funny lady and fellow comic Jay Mohr.

Apparently Mohr took to his Twitter feed Saturday night, when the two were staying at the same hotel, tweeting that Handler looked drunk in the hotel lobby and “she could hardly walk.”

According to RadarOnline, the Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea author responded the following morning via Twitter: “Jay Mohr thinks I ’stumbled’ past him last night. There’s a big difference between stumbling by and just not interested.”

The Radar report continued,

Shortly after a bunch of Handler’s two million followers defended Handler on Twitter, Mohr changed his tune a little bit by posting, “Chelsea Handler is one of the funniest comedians working today. No joke. Any one that wants to go see great comedy should go see Chelsea.”

Handler finally put the virtual feud to rest last night after noticing that many of her fans supported her by saying, “I love that my fans stick up for me. Thanks guys…you make a girl feel special.”

Lesson learned: Handler’s fans love her, and she loves them right back.

Noon Update: We’ve had a lot of response to the drawing, but a lot of sighs and lamenting and whatnot for those who can’t make it to our offices by 4 p.m. If that’s the case, you can PLEDGE donations of food or a minimum of $5 to Esther’s Pantry. Please note, your pledges apply regardless of whether or not you win, so serious do-gooders only, folks, for real.

Email amanda@justout.com with “Chelsea Handler Drawing” in the subject line and your (did we mention sincere?) intent.

Gossip performs at the Wonder Ballroom October 2009. Photo by Erin Rook. Originally appeared on qPDX.com.

The Lilith Fair announced its first batch of dates yesterday, with the first stop in Portland on July 2 at the Clark County Ampitheatre, as well as shows in seven of the 36 scheduled cities, according to American Superstar Magazine.

The women’s music fest hosts an eclectic and shifting mix of 11 performers, with the Portland show slated to include Erykah Badu, Colbie Caillat, Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Miranda Lee Richards, Lucy Schwartz and Sugarland.

While local post-punk band Gossip is included in this year’s line-up, they do not appear to be making a stop in our fair city, instead gracing the stage in Atlanta and West Palm Beach.

Tickets go on sale March 27 via LilithFair.com and LiveNation.com. A list of confirmed dates and performers is available at LilithFair.com/tour.