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Showing posts from 2014

11th Annual Arosa Gay Ski Week – Europe’s favorite Winter Pride Festival

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The idyllic and gay friendly Swiss resort of Arosa invites you from January 11 th to 18 th , 2015 to its fun-filled LGBT ski week. Since 2005, this lively and colorful week has become one of the biggest Gay and Lesbian winter events in Europe. Our new concept, introduced in 2012, proved a resounding success:  all events took place at different locations throughout Arosa: in the new Kursaal, in the Waterworld at Hotel Altein, at the town Ice Rink and in various ski huts, restaurants and hotel lounges.  This year, for the first time, the „White” closing party will take place at top of the Weisshorn mountain!  The newly linked skiing domain of Arosa-Lenzerheide with its 225km/140miles of slopes, fantastic snow conditions, lots of sunny days, and more than 500 participants from over 30 different countries all justify calling it Europe’s favorite Winter Pride Festival! Our many years of experience and excellent feedback from participants are reflected in the program: A welc

History Made in Las Vegas - First International Gay New Year's Eve Celebration

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Guests from Six Continents Celebrate on the Las Vegas Strip Las Vegas, recently voted Favorite American Destination by OutTraveler Magazine, is the host city for an exciting new event, Evolve Vegas NYE (New Year’s Eve).  #EvolveVegas is a 3-day gay New Year’s Eve experience that will bring men from more than 30 countries, on six continents, to the city that provides non-stop fun, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Hosted at the world famous, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Evolve Vegas NYE takes place December 30, 2014 – January 1, 2015 and offers shows, receptions, parties, dining, shopping, tours and more.  And for those who want to continue the fun, a weekend in West Hollywood, California, one of the hottest gay meccas in the U.S., takes place January 2-4, 2015. “I am so excited, as this will be the first time in my 30 year Las Vegas career that I will be performing for an all gay audience.  Finally, I can do pop-culture jokes that everyone will get!  This night is going to be o

The Perfect Beach Weekend Getaway: Sand Blast July 18-20 - Atlantic City

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New York City may be surrounded by water, but hitting the beach has never been one of the city's charms, and destinations like Fire Island or The Hamptons can seem like an exclusive club unless you've got a house there. Sand Blast, the 3-day beach party extravaganza on the Jersey Shore, has developed a well-earned reputation for being one of the most friendly & fun gay events on the east coast and helped turn Asbury Park into a gay mecca. Now with its move down the Jersey Shore to Atlantic City, how will this year's blast change? “When I first began producing Sand Blast and inviting people to come to Asbury Park we had a lot of negative reactions from people who’d see the town in years past when it was downtrodden and could’t imagine this town ever coming back again.  But one thing about us gays:  We absolutely LOVE a fixer up and Asbury Park was just that”  says Brad Hurtado, the founder & producer of Sand Blast, now in it’s thirteenth year.  "But those w

The Struggle for LGBT Rights in Myanmar

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By Steven Wozencraft and Chris Westling Aung Myo Min peered over his soda with a wide smile on his face. As the Executive Director of Equality Myanmar, he recounted spending most of the past quarter century as a political exile in Thailand. Excited to be back, he hurriedly told us about the many issues facing Myanmar’s LGBT community and how they intersected with the human rights concerns of women, ethnic minorities and religious minorities in the rapidly changing Southeast Asian country. Known to many as Burma, Myanmar has been ruled by a military junta for the better part of five decades. But since 2010, the government has slowly announced reform after reform bringing the country closer and closer to democracy. Our team flew into Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, last month with a delegation of social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and philanthropists. We had come with the Aspen Institute, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, and the US Department of State. As we d

Eat your way through Copenhagen when Copenhagen Cooking opens its doors for the 10th time

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From 22 - 31 August the summer edition of Copenhagen's food festival Copenhagen Cooking is being held for the tenth time and the people behind Copenhagen Cooking are busy planning the programme. Over ten days, Copenhagen's restaurants, streets and lanes - as well as some rather unusual spots in town - will be bristling with gastronomic events. More than 150 unique events will be taking place and they will cater for all tastes, whether you're into a spit roast at one of the city's central squares or a gourmet dinner accompanied by a musical piece composed specially for the dinner. There will be both tried and tested events as well as brand new ones on offer on the festival programme, which has not yet been published. The events, Taste the World in Prague Boulevard, where a number of Copenhagen restaurants with international cuisine offer small dishes at special prices, and Nordic Taste where top restaurants from Scandinavia offer tastings at Gefionspringvandet (Gefi

PinkBananaTravel.com

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Also part of the GayMonde.com family of LGBT travel-related sites from PinkBananaMedia.com

Sparkling Hill Resort Welcomes the LGBT Traveler

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Nestled in the vibrant hills of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia's Wine Country, is the LGBT-welcoming Sparkling Hill Resort ... Luxury on Lake Okanagan. The Okanagan Valley has become quite popular as one of the top ten wine regions in the world, and their local  Mission Hill Winery recently won the coveted International Trophy for ‘ World’s Best Wine ’ at the 2013 Decanter Awards in London, England for their 2011 Martin Lane Pinot Noir against the leading wineries in the world.. " World's Best Pinot Noir ."  In addition,  Travel & Leisure named Mission Hill Winery’s Terrace Restaurant as 1 of the top 5 winery restaurants in the world... “it is the centerpiece of the Canadian wine tourism industry and one of the most glorious dining experiences in the world.” As such, the Okanagan Valley has become one of the most sought after locations for destination weddings, and the Sparkling Hill Resort has become one of the top resorts in Canada for hosting

LGBT #Hashtag RoundUp: #OutInThailand

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Welcome to our first of a new series we're launching here at Pink Banana Media ... the LGBT #hashtag RoundUp .  These are "social media stories" told by the folks out there Tweeting, posting their photos to Facebook and Instagram and sharing their videos on YouTube and Vine... all using a unique #hashtag and posting with a purpose! For our first LGBT #hashtag RoundUp, we've chosen Thailand... as a destination, they've been incredibly successful in utilizing social media in their LGBT marketing outreach, starting with the work Carlos Melia ( www.CarlosMelia.com / @CarlosMelia) did for Tourism Authority of Thailand ( www.tourismthailand.org and www.gothaibefree.com / @ThaiGayTravel) in 2012 and 2013 and culminating in an LGBT trip in April/May 2014, bringing together a variety of LGBT travel writers, tour operators and travel agents including Out Adventures, Man About World and more. Their adventures are told below in Social Media Storyboard format, where t

Traveling In Our Fabulous World - JaRon K. Eames, Extraordinaire

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We have become acquainted with JaRon Eames, who is a real Renaissance man.  He has lived in New York City for over 40 years and is  a Jazz/Blues vocalist, Cable TV Talk Show host, Archivist, and Author of the new Jazz history book,  'Jazz Conversations'. Mr. Eames was born in Baton Rouge Louisiana and attended college at Southern University.  He worked for Japanese Airlines and travel around the world and then decided to devote his life to Jazz which he has done in New York City.  He has performed around the world for the past 30 years.   In January of 1994 he ventured into television by producing and hosting his own cable Television show, "The JaRon Eames Show".   His Television show is now the longest running weekly jazz television show in history. It's a swinging Jazz and Blues talk show format with various guest artist each week.  Past guests includes Nancy Wilson, Oscar Peterson, Joe Williams, Anita O'Day, Little Jimmy Scott,  Dr. Billy Taylor, and

Classic Travel Service Offers Rewards to EqualityCard Users

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Partnership Allows Customers to Support Worthy LGBT Non-Profits While Booking Vacations   Classic Travel Service is pleased to an-nounce a partnership with EqualityCard™, a Denver based credit card company that enables its business and consumer cardholders to generate tax-deductible donations equal to 1 percent of their purchases for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) charities of their choice, with no out of pocket expense. Beginning today, when consumers book hotels on classictrav-el.com using the EqualityCard™, they’ll receive a number of benefits including: Noon check-in upon arrival, when available Room upgrade upon arrival, when available Daily breakfast for two people 4:00 late check-out Additional special amenity unique to each property, such as a $100 food and beverage credit or a massage for two people “We’re thrilled to be working with EqualityCard™, a card that directs 1 percent of every purchase back to LGBT organizations working for equality,

Legendary Annual Gay Getaway ‘One Magical Weekend’ Promises a Hot’n’Wet Fantasy, Orlando, June 6-8, 2014

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Only at Walt Disney World® Resorts One Magical Weekend, the legendary annual three-day Hot’n’Wet fantasy event at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Waterpark and Epcot©. Brought to you by Let’s Go Play, advance tickets and Party Passes on sale now! Limited number of Party Passes at 40% off door prices for short time. All gay, all weekend, One Magical Weekend brings together more than 6,000 of your LGBT brothers and sisters June 6-8, 2014, for three Main Event events. First, there is an aquatic spectacle “Riptide @ Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Waterpark” on Friday, June 6, 2014, from 7 p.m.–2 a.m. The premiere event of the week!  Cascade down the water slides, surf the tidal wave and splash away at this 52-acre world class waterpark.  Kick off One Magical Weekend with a Hot, Wet Splash and catch the waves of sound by International DJ/Producers Twisted Dee and Brett Henrichsen. After an amazing debut in 2013 at Epcot, One Magical Weekend is excited to join forces again with

New York City and Chicago will be the next two stops on the LGBT Travel Expo tour

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Starting years ago with the first LGBT Travel Expos put on by the team at Community Marketing, this successful tradition continues, with new expos being held in New York and Chicago in 2014. Now owned and managed by Steven Levenberg Productions, recent shows from 2013 included Fort Lauderdale as well as New York and Chicago. For 2014, the NYC show will continue to be held at Kimmel Center at New York University. Approximately 1,000 people will be in attendance, with a new emphasis this year on younger LGBT travelers. These new mobile and social media savvy travelers are a prime target group for those interested in developing new travel patterns for our community. Airlines, hotels, new destinations and other members of the hospitality industry will comprise the almost 60 exhibitors. Attendees will find special travel deals, find companies that are reaching out to our community and learn about new destinations. This will be the third year for our Chicago show. Its venue, Cente

Puerto Vallarta: This Is What a Gay Destination Should Be!

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By Michael Sanchez Competition for Gay travelers has been really heating up in the past few years, with cities large and small vying for what is perceived to be a bonanza in pink dollars. It’s true that Gay folks travel more than their Straight counterparts…and often spend more when they travel. But not every place that’s competing for your vacation dollars has the infrastructure in place to truly welcome LGBT visitors. And, while true that we are as diverse as society itself, and we all have our own expectations and interests in what we want out of our vacation, the “Gay Destination” still seems to be very much in the vernacular of Gay travel. We see the evidence for this in multiple surveys that ask LGBT respondents what cities are “most-visited” or “most-wanted-to-visit.” Building up the infrastructure to become a truly world-class “Gay destination” requires time, capital investment, and a willing partnership between city governments and private entrepreneurs. It’s more than a

Leatherpride Belgium 2014

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Five years ago Leatherpride started as an experiment, today it is a hobby that has run out of control. In recent years we have invested heavily in the quality of this event. Visitors who come to Antwerp should simply have a wonderful weekend. We do not intend to be the biggest – but we do want to be the best. We are will continue to work on the quality of the event and deliver an even better customer experience. Fetish Express This year our tour buses will travel to LeatherPride from Berlin, Paris and Lille at a very low cost. Return fares are just €95 from Berlin, €65 from Paris and €25 from Lille. Lille is an ideal connection point for visitors coming via the Eurostar from London. The Fetish Express coaches are very comfortable and there is no maximum baggage allowance. That’s handy if you want to bring your leather, rubber and other fetish gear. There is free coffee onboard and can also purchase snacks. Host Hotels Include the Hilton Fo