This is a weekly blog listing fun and interesting things to do during the week in Austin.  Please, as always, feel free to comment and leave your ideas and suggestions! ***Denotes places that usually draw a lesbian crowd!

MONDAY, Feb 15th:

Trivia:
Fado’s Trivia Night
WHEN – 7:30 pm
WHERE – Fado’s Irish Pub on 4th Street 

TUESDAY, Feb. 16th:

Nightlife:
***Fat Tuesday Masquerade Ball***
Benefiting AIDS Services of Austin 
WHEN – 9 pm to 2 am
WHERE – Rusty Spurs 

Trivia:

***Pub Trivia @ Joe’s Bar and Grill - Austin Gay & Lesbian Couples Meetup***
The Gay & Lesbian Couples Meetup group will have a team this week!  Join this awesome Meetup group: http://www.meetup.com/austin-gay-lesbian-couples/
WHEN – 7:15 pm
WHERE – Joe’s Bar and Grill

Opal Divine’s Trivia
WHEN – 8 pm
WHERE – Opal Divine’s South Congress

Sports & Rec:
***UT Softball vs. Centenary College***
WHEN – 6:30 pm
WHERE –  Longhorn’s McCombs Field

***Capital City Front Runners’ Run***
Run, jog, walk, or skip!  This Tuesday the crew will be having a 2010 goals meeting before the run.  Dinner and networking always follows after…this time it’s Galaxy Cafe  (6:45 pm)!
WHEN – 5:30 pm
WHERE – Underneath Mopac bridge on Lady Bird Lake Trail, by the water coolers

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 17th:

Movies:
***Avatar***
Lesbian Coffee House Meetup
WHEN – 7 pm
WHERE – To find out where, join http://www.meetup.com/AustinLesbianCoffeeHouse/

Music:
***Robin Smith***
WHEN – 9:15
WHERE – Momo’s

Spazmatics
80’s cover band!
WHEN - 9:30 pm
WHERE – Cedar Street Courtyard

Sports & Rec.:
***UT Women’s Basketball vs. Kansas***
WHEN – 7 pm
WHERE – Frank Erwin Center

Socializing:
***Hang Out Coffee Time***
Hang Out is one of the University of Texas’ LBGT social groups.  They meet to have coffee and hang out every Wednesday night at 10 pm onward.
WHEN – 10 pm
WHERE –  Cafe Medici on Guadalupe

THURSDAY, Feb. 18th:

Nightlife:
***Lesbian Night at The Madison – White Party***
From the fine ladies who bring you SIN, come dressed in white and ready to party!
WHEN: TBD
WHERE: The Madison (www.themadisonaustin.com)

Movies:
Moulin Rouge Sing-Along
WHEN – 7 pm
WHERE – Alamo Drafthouse Ritz downtown

Love Bites: 80’s Power Ballad Sing-Along
WHEN – 10:30 pm
WHERE – Alamo Drafthouse Ritz downtown

Sports & Rec:

***Capital City Front Runners’ Run***
Every Tues/Thurs. at 5:30 pm – Jog the Lady Bird Lake trail with the CCFR crew!  Dinner and networking always follows after…this time it’s Whole Foods (6:45 pm)!
WHEN – 5:30 pm
WHERE – Underneath Mopac bridge on Lady Bird Lake Trail, by the water coolers.

FRIDAY, Feb. 19th:

Socializing:
***Gay Professionals Friday Happy Hour Meetup***
WHEN – 5pm
WHERE – Join to find out… www.meetup.com/austingayprofessionals/

Movies:
Master Pancake Theatre mocks TRANSFORMERS!
WHEN – 7 pm and 10 pm
WHERE – Alamo Drafthouse Ritz downtown

SATURDAY, Feb. 20th:

Socializing:
***Viva! Las Vegas***
A Monte Carlo fundraiser benefiting AIDS Service of Austin! www.asaaustin.org
WHEN – 8 pm 
WHERE – Austin Music Hall

***Baile: The Dance***
This month Allgo, the statewide organization for queer people of color, turns 25! Come celebrate at this annual fundraiser with music, food, dancing, drinks and a silent auction. Tickets $25 (pre-sale) or $35 at the door. www.allgo.org
WHEN – 8 pm – Midnight
WHERE – Mexican American Cultural Center 

Sports & Rec:
***Capital City Front Runners’ Run***
Every Saturday at 10 am – Jog the Lady Bird Lake trail with the CCFR crew!  Lunch and networking always follows after.. this time it’s Zocalo!
WHEN – 10 am
WHERE – Underneath Mopac bridge on Lady Bird Lake Trail, by the water coolers.

Movies:
Master Pancake Theatre mocks TRANSFORMERS!
WHEN – 7 pm and 10 pm
WHERE – Alamo Drafthouse Ritz downtown

Performance:

***Lesbian Comediennes Vicki Shaw & Jennie McNulty***
Get your tickets to see these funny ladies at www.brownpapertickets.com
WHEN – 8 pm
WHERE – MCC Austin

***Metahuman: Transsexual Hip Hop Artist***
Metahuman mixes politics with the visceral love of flow to create a unique sound that blends old-school rap metaphors with radical queer politics. 
WHEN: 8pm
WHERE: Monkey Wrench Books 

SUNDAY, Feb. 21st:

Nightlife:
***Goldstar ATX Lesbian Takeover!***
Get ready to take over another dive bar – it’s goin to the gays!
WHEN – 6 pm
WHERE – The Red Shed on South Congress

Socializing:

***Not Your Momma’s Book Club*** 
February’s Monhtly Meetup is all about the book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
WHEN: 11am
WHERE: To find out where, join at http://redbookclub.meetup.com/1085/

***Gay Spirituality Meetup Group*** 
This session focuses on “Transformative Storytelling”
WHEN: 3pm
WHERE: To find out where, join at http://www.meetup.com/Gay-Spirituality-Meetup-Group/

***Lesbian Mom’s Meetup Group*** 
WHEN: 4pm
WHERE: To find out where, join at http://www.meetup.com/lesbianmoms-36/

Movies:
Desire Film Series organized by Austin Film Society
Every Sunday in February at 3 pm. 
This week – “She’s Gotta Have It” 1986. Written, produced, directed, and edited by Spike Lee (USA)
The four films in this series, like the works in the exhibition, capture different aspects of desire, from the comedic to the heartbreaking.
Cost: $3 for members, UT students, faculty, and staff; $5 for non-members.
WHEN – 3 pm
WHERE – Blanton Auditorium

For those of you that have never participated, it’s a pretty cool thing to be a part of. The Hill Country Ride for AIDS is a 50-mile bike ride through the Texas Hill Country that takes place on April 24th, 2010. By riding a bike for one day of your life, you are making a huge difference for someone for the next 365 days. And if this sounds too daunting, volunteers are always in need and welcomed.

So how does it work? First, simply register for the ride as an individual or a team. Then start fundraising. I can’t tell you enough how surprisingly easy this part is. The Hill Country ride folks offer so many tips and techniques for fundraising, that you can’t help but succeed. 

Then start the training for the 50-mile race. If 50 miles sounds like too much (or too little!), you can ride the 10-mile muleshoe spur or add the Olympic extension for a 70-mile ride. Still not enough? There’s even a 100-mile century option. Whichever route you choose, everyone out there on a bike is a hero to the people living with AIDS. For months prior to the event, there are organized training rides that help you get up to speed– and meet new friends on the road. And don’t worry, it’s way more fun that hitting up the gym.

The ride has raised more than $3 million to support thousands of Texans living with HIV and AIDS. Several non-profit AIDS service organizations are the beneficiaries of the Hill Country Ride for AIDS that provide vital care and services to thousands of people with HIV/AIDS 365 days a year. Beneficiaries include orgs like AIDS Services of Austin, ALLGO, The C.A.R.E. Program, OutYouth, Waterloo Counseling, and more. It’s pretty amazing what this Ride helps accomplish.

Check out the Hill Country Ride Kick-off Party event invite on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=208033620691&index=1. I know I’ll see you there!

And when you’re ready to learn more or register for the actual ride, visit www.HillCountryRide.org. 

Partnering with the Octopus Club, VIVO is hosting a sneak preview of their new eatery with a happy hour this Thursday 12/10 from 7pm – 9pm at the Lake Creek Village Shopping Center (1233 RR 620). It’s a fundraiser to benefit the The Paul Kirby Emergency Fund at AIDS Services of Austin. Since the food and drinks will be donated by VIVO, a donation of $10, $25, $50 or more suggested. RSVP to paula@paulabiehler.com

The Octopus Club is a grassroots, volunteer fundraising arm of AIDS Services of Austin dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the Paul Kirby Emergency Fund through annual events and parties. The Paul Kirby Emergency Fund provides emergency financial assistance to those living with HIV and AIDS in Central Texas. These funds are distributed to individuals for basic living needs through AIDS Services of Austin on a case-by-case basis.

There are times when due to the inability to work or to the costs of health care and medications, our neighbors with HIV and AIDS need help. When they have nowhere else to turn, the Paul Kirby Emergency Fund at AIDS Services of Austin is a helping hand of last resort.

The Octopus Club is unique in that it’s made up of 100% volunteers, so every dollar raised at an Octopus Club event or party goes directly to the Paul Kirby Emergency Fund.  Over the last 18 years, the Octopus Club’s annual events and parties have raised $1,003,374.63 for the Paul Kirby Fund.

To learn more, visit www.octopusclub.org and www.asaaustin.org.

Several LezGoers attended!

The rain and chilly air didn’t keep almost 50 people from attending Austin’s first World AIDS Day 5K Fun Run on Tuesday evening. Sponsored and organized by the Capital City Front Runners, Austin’s very own gay and lesbian running group, it was a touching event to participate in. The group started around sunset at the Mopac bridge for the 3-mile run, stopping midway through at City Hall to participate in a ceremony. KXAN News was there to cover the event.

Runners donned both red flowers and red lights in remembrance of those around the world— and in Central Texas—that suffer from HIV/AIDS. The lights and flowers were also symbols encouraging greater awareness and prevention of the epidemic. According to the United Nations, roughly 33 million people in the world live with HIV. Agency spokesman Micah King of AIDS Services of Austin estimates that nearly 6,000 people in Central Texas have the disease. “World AIDS Day is an important date for remembering those we’ve lost in the epidemic and reflecting on where we are in preventing the disease and treating those who suffer from it,” King said.

This event was only one of many in honor of World AIDS Day. And although the day is done, you can still do your part to support the community. The AIDS Services of Austin is a great organization that respond to the HIV needs of the Austin area by providing services that enhance the health and well-being of individuals and the community in the face of an evolving epidemic. Visit their site to learn more: www.asaustin.org

Also, coming up this spring is the annual Hill Country Ride for AIDS on April 24, 2010. Get on your bike and ride either 10, 45, 65 or 100 miles to raise money for the cause! www.hillcountryride.org