Iowa drag legend Ruby James Knight looks back on her path-paving 30-year career
WATERLOO — Ruby James Knight, an Iowa drag legend for 30 years, is “resting comfortably and in his final hours,” announced Kings and Queens Club owner John Hayes earlier today after rumors spread that the 72-year-old icon had passed.
Knight (Jim Raymond in real life) took time about two months ago, before his illness took another severe turn, to talk with The Real Mainstream about his career, and how he credits Ruby James Knight, her style and generosity, and her fellow queens, with transforming his life.
Enjoy as Ruby James Knight, whose name became nearly synonymous with Kings and Queens, takes a look back. You’ll also find a photo album featuring some of Knight’s favorite looks over the years.
Protests, Banned Book Storytime, St. Patrick’s Day, billiards in Fairfield, plus Pride in Iowa City, Ottumwa, Fort Madison
Starting with rallies today in Davenport and Cedar Rapids, eastern Iowa is bustling with LGBTQ affirming and intersectional events coming up.
Read about Pride happenings in Iowa City, Fort Madison, Ottumwa, and more.
Find out about some fun sports opportunities soon: a huge women’s professional billiard tournament and related events in Fairfield, biking and disc golf in Iowa City, and roller derby in Eldridge near the Quad Cities, and Iowa City.
Plus, it’s a great time to make your own earrings at Beadology Iowa in Iowa City. And if you’re looking for a few recommendations for corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day, we have two starting suggestions.
It’s all in the latest TRM Eastern Iowa Weekly Update.
Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show
Kamrah is a trans-masculine belly-dancer from Chicago who defies stereotypes and will headline the Rainbow Variety Show in Carbondale tonight.
As someone who also studies microbiology and anatomy, and identifies as autistic and a “geek,” Kamrah also brings a new level to the term “intersectional.”
Read about Kamrah and other local performers who will take the Rainbow Variety Show stage tonight in Carbondale. The featured performers include author Rafael Frumkin, dancers Kimea Rhines and Darryl clark, vocalist and sound healer Pat York, and acoustic performers Shane Bruce, Jacqui, Elana Floyd-Kennett, Shane Bruce, and Curt Wilson.
The show raises money for the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center and its work of LGBTQ support and social opportunities, HIV and AIDS testing, harm reduction, and more.
Poet Rainey performs with colleagues, Clock Inc. speaks out, marriage equality pioneer Jim Obergefell visits Iowa City, and more
You can take in an evening of music with singer/songwriter Namoli Brennet, or a night of poetry with Caleb Rainey and friends. Or, you can hear marriage equality “accidental activist” Jim Obergefell give a speech.
Learn, too, about Clock Inc.’s strong stance against the anti-LGBTQ moves in the Iowa State Legislature, plus a new name for the former Quad Cities Pride Festivals. It’s now called Quad Cities Pride Alliance.
It’s all part of the new TRM Eastern Iowa Weekly Update.
Black History Month Art from ‘Embracing Our Differences’
Embracing Our Differences has grown from a Florida effort to an international cause involving tens of thousands across 119 countries.
Its leaders gathered submissions that resonated with Black History Month and gave The Real Mainstream a chance to share that work here.
Check out this specially curated collection, featuring nine pieces from eight different artists exploring different themes of Black history, and excerpts from their Artists’ Statements.
Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate
Angela Trudell Vasquez is the first-ever Latino poet laureate for Madison, Wis., a community with a thriving poetry scene.
She’ll speak Thursday, Jan. 26, as part of Galena LitFest in a presentation available in-person and online.
Learn about Vasquez’ childhood in Iowa City and Des Moines, her commitment to both editing and free-writing, and her many projects to bring the beauty of poetry alive for students and others.
Her talk tonight starts at 6 p.m.; pre-registration is required for both online and in-person attendance.
“The Way of Water” is stunning, important and helps redeem the original “Avatar”
Like many, Aime Wichtendahl was initially a skeptic about “The Way of Water,” James Cameron’s massive and much-anticipated sequel to the original “Avatar” film.
But after taking in the three-hour film, Wichtendahl is a fan of the new “Avatar 2” and gained a renewed appreciation of the original “Avatar” released in 2009.
“James Cameron is trying to help us learn. By tapping into the universal nostalgia we all feel – that once there was a time everything was perfect before someone screwed it up – he’s trying to tell us something. He’s trying to wake us up to how we’re impacting the world around us. ‘The Way of Water’ illustrates that despite our best efforts, humanity remains incapable of change.“
Read Wichtendahl’s review of this blockbuster film here.
November poll calls for shorter campaigns, December poll explores “A Christmas Carol”
The results are in for our first-ever TRM Poll, and the clear winner: presidential campaigns should last no more than three months.
This, after former President Donald J. Trump has already thrown us into a two-year presidential election.
America has a longer campaign season than most countries — and worse voter turnout than almost three dozen.
Read more interesting context about the TRM Poll and results. You can also take our new December poll: What’s your favorite rendition over the last 69 years of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” ? You can vote until Dec. 23.
World AIDS Day inspires “Being & Belonging” in the Quad Cities, more events in Illinois and Iowa
DAVENPORT, IA — “Being & Belonging” is an international look at living with HIV and AIDS, and it’s coming to the Quad Cities Thursday courtesy of The Project of the Quad Cities, DeLaCerda House, and Figge Art Museum.
Read about the artists featured in the film, plus learn about seven other World AIDS Day events happening in Iowa and Illinois.
It features artists from Columbia, Mexico, Korea and more sharing what it’s like to live with HIV and AIDS in different cultures and countries.
This World AIDS Day commemoration, among many throughout Iowa and Illinois, also includes a reception and vigil. The Dec. 1 event starts at 5:30 p.m.
Body positivity, self-discovery through burlesque on stage in Moline at Striptease Academy Showcase
Burlesque as therapy, self-discovery, empowerment and exploring gender will all be part of tonight’s Striptease Academy 2022 Showcase at The Spotlight Theatre in Moline. It’s one of the year’s last big events for Mary Quite Contrary’s House of Burlesque. It’s one of the year’s final events for MQC’s, a Quad Cities burlesque troupe that’s been performing and providing burlesque and striptease education for six years.
Two-day Mic Check Poetry Fest features “rock-star Black women,” virtual attendance option
Diversity is the key to this year’s Mic Check Poetry Fest, says organizer Caleb Rainey. In addition to headliners Patricia Smith and Ebony Stewart, the festival also features seven top Midwestern poets who are diverse “both racially and in terms of queer,” and activities that are suited to writers who are new or seasoned.
Black Alphabet Film Festival showcases Black LGBTQ+ Filmmakers with Chicago event, virtual option
For nine years, the Black Alphabet Film Festival has provided opportunities for Black LGBTQ+ and same-gender-loving (SGL) filmmakers to help share the experiences of their community. You can partake of this year’s event Saturday and Sunday either virtually, or in-person in Chicago.
Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show
Kamrah is a trans-masculine belly-dancer from Chicago who defies stereotypes and will headline the Rainbow Variety Show in Carbondale tonight.
As someone who also studies microbiology and anatomy, and identifies as autistic and a “geek,” Kamrah also brings a new level to the term “intersectional.”
Read about Kamrah and other local performers who will take the Rainbow Variety Show stage tonight in Carbondale. The featured performers include author Rafael Frumkin, dancers Kimea Rhines and Darryl clark, vocalist and sound healer Pat York, and acoustic performers Shane Bruce, Jacqui, Elana Floyd-Kennett, Shane Bruce, and Curt Wilson.
The show raises money for the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center and its work of LGBTQ support and social opportunities, HIV and AIDS testing, harm reduction, and more.
Poet Rainey performs with colleagues, Clock Inc. speaks out, marriage equality pioneer Jim Obergefell visits Iowa City, and more
You can take in an evening of music with singer/songwriter Namoli Brennet, or a night of poetry with Caleb Rainey and friends. Or, you can hear marriage equality “accidental activist” Jim Obergefell give a speech.
Learn, too, about Clock Inc.’s strong stance against the anti-LGBTQ moves in the Iowa State Legislature, plus a new name for the former Quad Cities Pride Festivals. It’s now called Quad Cities Pride Alliance.
It’s all part of the new TRM Eastern Iowa Weekly Update.
Black History Month Art from ‘Embracing Our Differences’
Embracing Our Differences has grown from a Florida effort to an international cause involving tens of thousands across 119 countries.
Its leaders gathered submissions that resonated with Black History Month and gave The Real Mainstream a chance to share that work here.
Check out this specially curated collection, featuring nine pieces from eight different artists exploring different themes of Black history, and excerpts from their Artists’ Statements.
Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate
Angela Trudell Vasquez is the first-ever Latino poet laureate for Madison, Wis., a community with a thriving poetry scene.
She’ll speak Thursday, Jan. 26, as part of Galena LitFest in a presentation available in-person and online.
Learn about Vasquez’ childhood in Iowa City and Des Moines, her commitment to both editing and free-writing, and her many projects to bring the beauty of poetry alive for students and others.
Her talk tonight starts at 6 p.m.; pre-registration is required for both online and in-person attendance.
“The Way of Water” is stunning, important and helps redeem the original “Avatar”
Like many, Aime Wichtendahl was initially a skeptic about “The Way of Water,” James Cameron’s massive and much-anticipated sequel to the original “Avatar” film.
But after taking in the three-hour film, Wichtendahl is a fan of the new “Avatar 2” and gained a renewed appreciation of the original “Avatar” released in 2009.
“James Cameron is trying to help us learn. By tapping into the universal nostalgia we all feel – that once there was a time everything was perfect before someone screwed it up – he’s trying to tell us something. He’s trying to wake us up to how we’re impacting the world around us. ‘The Way of Water’ illustrates that despite our best efforts, humanity remains incapable of change.“
Read Wichtendahl’s review of this blockbuster film here.