Drag performer Sharon Needles, who was recently named the winner of the 4th season of the popular competition-style reality series, RuPaul’s Drag Race, appeared at Club Hippo on May 4. GL writer Daniel McEvily filed this report on the event.

Alondra Sancheez, of Frederick, was crowned Miss Gay Maryland America in a ceremony held at the Hippo nightclub on April 23. Nine drag queens from across the state competed for the top prize.

JC Calciano brings his film, eCupid, to Baltimore's Queer Film Fest at the Creative Alliance, Saturday, January 21. Calciano talked with Gay Life about his movie and his life:

Today's MLK Day.

I am proud to count myself among the many people working for social justice today who stand on the shoulders of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Too many people think King's statements regarding justice are only about race and the African-American community—thus excluding the LGBTQ community.

Bye June recently premiered their eagerly awaited new music video, “Shades of Purple,” on YouTube. The track from their album My Life is an Independent Film is available now at all leading digital retailers.

Kyro is located in the triangular space at the corner of Read & Cathedral streets, a quick, walk from the Washington Monument in Mt Vernon and neighborhood LGBT institutions including Club Hippo, Grand Central Station, the Drinkery, and Leon's.

Thanks to the economic situation in the country, real estate values have fallen sharply, for the first time in years making it possible for many gay singles and couples to consider entering into home ownership. We all know of the gay enclaves like Bolton Hill, Mount Vernon, and Federal Hill. They are cool areas, but prices can be totally out of reach. Not to mention challenging issues like parking and high property taxes. But where are the lesser known locales that offer good value and convenience without high prices? Read on community members and you just may find out.

On January 19, the Maryland Corporate Council (MCC) will officially launch to establish a new standard in the LGBT community in regards to business and corporate networking. The Council will allow LGBT professionals to take part in a unique group which provides mentoring and networking services and opportunities within the Maryland business community.

Having voice in the Black Community is still an arduous struggle for its lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community. As we cross over into 2012, one of our biggest accomplishments in 2011 has been the various ways in which LGBTQ of African descent have employed different public venues to be heard. These following venues will be used as instruments of change in our future struggle.

There’s out, and then there’s OUT, a distinction that politician Evan Low learned the hard way back in 2004, when he was running for a spot on the City Council of Campbell, a suburb of San Jose in his native California. “I was 21, and I just didn’t have the experience to realize that when you’re running for office, everything’s out on the table,” he recalls. Long story short: a local paper attended one of his fundraisers, and the next day, the big story was about the “young, Chinese-American, openly gay” candidate in the City Council race.