[POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]

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On the heels of Lower East Side History Month, theater artist, charismatic raconteur, and Multi-year Queer|Art Mentor Moe Angelos (of The Five Lesbian Brothers and The Builders Association) is leading a virtual tour of the places that “used to be gay” in the East Village and the historic Lower East Side. Having seen her beloved gay-borhood go through many changes over the years, Moe will lead participants through sites of former discos, clubs, bathhouses, theaters, galleries, and oh-so-many bars that once proliferated the streets. “Advances in social acceptance for LGBTQ+ people have come with a price, however benign it might seem,” Moe reflects as she considers the much gayer glory days of the East Village. “We have lost many, many spaces that used to be gay. As homosexual, bisexual, and trans identities have become decriminalized and we have been allowed more open movement in the larger culture, the places we once went to congregate in peace have gone away along with the shame. While mainstream critics on the right complain bitterly that gay culture is being shoved down their throats, the side effect of this mainstreaming is a dilution of the community where that culture began and once thrived.”

Highlights from last year’s tour included:

• Slugger Ann’s (“Once a translady hangout, now a downright terrible bro bar, Slugger Ann’s was a very OG dive bar owned by the grandmother of Jackie Curtis, Ann. Jackie bartended on occasion. I had some amazing afternoons there.”)

• Boy Bar (“The upstairs was where the sex happened.”)

• Elaine’s Bar (“Not officially a dyke bar but a sometimes de facto one. I spent time here back when the neighborhood was still inexpensive and dangerous and full of low-rent queers.”)

• All-Craft Center (“Formerly the Electric Circus, All-Craft Center had a CETA training program for women in the trades. A bunch of amazons taught plumbing, carpentry, electrical, and cabinet-making. Plus a nursery to leave kids while training!”)

Moe Angelos is one of The Five Lesbian Brothers, who have written, performed, and published six plays. She has collaborated with the Builders Association as a performer and writer since 2000. She has been involved with the WOW Café for many years and has appeared in the work of many downtown luminaries including Carmelita Tropicana, Anne Bogart, Holly Hughes, Lois Weaver, Kate Stafford, Brooke O’Harra, Half Straddle and The Ridiculous Theatrical Company.⁣

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