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1 week ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
Back in April, I interviewed Bee Knight and Melissa Hamilton from the Leeway Foundation. It was originally intended to run as one column, but our conversation was so rich and engaging that I had to break it into two.
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2 weeks ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
As many of you know, the Philadelphia LGBTQ+ film festival has been on a long hiatus. But there’s good news for film lovers — a chance to catch powerful queer cinema in a beautiful setting. The Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival (JTIFF), happening this weekend, boasts a lineup that celebrates bold, underrepresented voices — including raw, genre-bending stories from across the LGBTQ+ community.
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3 weeks ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
BETTY — the beloved indie rock trio that has been delighting both LGBTQ+ and mainstream audiences for nearly 40 years — will be in Philadelphia on May 1 to celebrate their 11th album, “Eat,” as the special guest for pop legend Kate Pierson of the B-52s at City Winery.
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4 weeks ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
In 2008, I received the prestigious Leeway Transformation Award — and it truly was transformational. The grant made it possible for me to travel to Spain for a screening of a short film I produced, a career highlight that included doing press, hanging out with the delightful Alan Cumming, and staying at the Axel — billed as the world’s first LGBTQIA hotel (its signage read “straight friendly”).
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1 month ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
It seems like the world is going crazy. Black history is under siege as the National Park Association removed Harriet Tubman from its website about the Underground Railroad, and queer history is taking hits like references to transgender and queer people being removed from the Stonewall National Monument site. All of this makes Philly Black Pride, happening this month even more important.
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1 month ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
It seems like the world is going crazy. Black history is under siege as the National Park Association removed Harriet Tubman from its website about the Underground Railroad, and queer history is taking hits like references to transgender and queer people being removed from the Stonewall National Monument site. All of this makes Philly Black Pride, happening this month even more important.
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1 month ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
Women’s History Month just passed but in my book, women’s history is a year-round thang. I believe that this week’s Portrait, Molly Gonzales, would agree with me. Gonzales is the Advocacy Manager at the Alice Paul Institute in Mt. Laurel, NJ. First question: You work in N.J. Where are you originally from?
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1 month ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
When Fred Rogers — known to most of us as the beloved Mister Rogers — would ask his mother what to do in times of trouble, she would tell him to “look for the helpers.” This week’s Portrait, Sheila Lorrett Emerson, would certainly fit the bill as one of those helpers. A former president of the board of PFLAG Philadelphia, Emerson currently serves as a commissioner with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs.
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1 month ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” – Muhammad AliIf that’s the case then Rue Landau, who worked as a housing activist for a decade as well as serving as director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and Fair Housing Commission, has a room and a whole house at this point. With years of service to the community, Landau is now Philadelphia’s first openly queer member of City Council.
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2 months ago | 
epgn.com | Suzi Nash
The Philadelphia Fringe Festival is one of my favorite arts events in the fall. Still, I have to remind myself that the FringeArts organization and the building complete with a bar, restaurant and theater is hopping year-round. The Fringe bar is a great place to grab a drink under the stars with the beautiful Ben Franklin Bridge lit up in the background.
