As this necessary period of lockdown and social distancing continues, we’re here to help the community stay connected – and have fun while we do it. GCN’s In And Out Digital Festival of LGBT+ Creativity is looking ahead to week four, and if the past weeks are anything to go by, you’re in for a treat.

All of the amazing events will be live-streamed from Facebook directly into your homes, so keep an eye out and enjoy!

Tuesday 7pm – The History of Marriage Equality in Ireland 

After last week’s fascinating conversation with Mary Dorcey, our Town Hall Talks host Mary McAuliffe will be joined by the historian Sonja Tiernan, for a fascinating conversation about the first wave feminist activist, Eva Gore Booth and her lifelong partner, Esther Roper as well as Sonja’s latest publication, hot off the presses, The History of Marriage Equality in Ireland; A Social Revolution Begins.

As Sonja lives in New Zealand, this particular event has been pre-recorded but will air at the usual time, so keep an eye on GCN’s FB page! Sonja’s book on Marriage Equality is available from Manchester University Press and a 50% discount is available to orders being posted to Ireland. To avail of this, use the discount code – OTH855 which is valid until the 30/04/2020.

Wednesday 7pm – In The Kitchen with Vickey Curtis

It’s time to revisit the kitchen for the latest in our In The Kitchen series to get some super tasty hints for things we can make at home. Wednesday at 7pm sees Vickey Curtis becoming a tasty addition to the In And Out Digital Festival of LGBT+ Creativity!

Vickey Curtis is a chef at Daddy’s Cafe in Rialto. She loves cooking comfort food, and feeding people.

Vickey will be making her own twist on baked beans – simple, cheap, and goes with lots of things. If you’d like to cook along, you will need:

1 Can of haricot beans/cannelini beans
1 White onion
1 Tin of tomatoes
Paprika
Chilli powder
Garlic clove
Salt & Pepper
Brown sugar
Chilli – optional

Thursday 7pm – Let’s Talk About the Afterparty

After a great conversatioon about LGBT+ sex in the COVID-Era as part of GCN’s In And Out Digital Festival of LGBT+ Creativity, Adam and Sarah are back with a discussion called “Let’s Talk About the Afterparty”.

An exploration of the use of sex and drugs in the afterparty scene, they’ll talk about the reality pre-COVID and discuss how people have navigated that scene then and now. They will interrogate the myths and misconceptions held toward the afterparty scene along the way.

Sarah Gilligan is a psychotherapist and counsellor, and Adam Shanley, the manager of the MPOWER Programme at HIV Ireland.

They will be joined by two fascinating guests:

David Stuart, a London-based activist who has raised awareness across the globe of the chemsex epidemic among gay men. A social worker, harm-reductionist and skilled change-maker, David is well known for the abundance of compassion he displays when speaking about the complex mixture of pleasure and trauma that many gay men are experiencing in our community.

Stephen Moloney, a Dublin-based writer and photographer who created a fascinating piece of investigative journalism on the afterparty scene for GCN.

Avoca’s Queer Cabaret

On Friday, join your host Avoca Reaction, Dublin’s premier non-binary drag entity for an evening of queer cabaret! Expect lip sync, live music and comedy from a fierce lineup of of queer talent.

Featuring the death dropping show stopping sensation Coco Chanel No. 5, Drag King guru extraordinaire, Ben Panthera, and Donegal’s number one eucharistic minisister – Marian Mary the 6th!

Wrap up a long week by grabbing a cocktail and getting thoroughly thrilled with the stars of the queer cabaret.

As a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model, the coming months will challenging but with your help, we’ll get through this together. If you like what we do here at GCN, you can support us from as little as €1.99 a month.

If you are an LGBT+ creative or ally and would like to be part of this exciting new festival get in touch at [email protected]. If you would like to support Ireland’s LGBT+ press by sponsoring one or some of the events email [email protected].

Stay safe xx