BY HEATHER CASSELL

Celebrity service without the price. Seriously, that’s what clients get at a Mission District spa, In-Symmetry Wellness Spa, which specializes in warm welcomes, a pleasant environment and making peoples’ bodies feel good in San Francisco.

CEO Candace Combs’ vision has been to help create a life of balance and healing for her clients — from average Janes to celebrities who drop in — ever since she ditched the tech industry in the late 1990s.

Candace, 43, has been a body worker to movie and rock stars and everyone in between for 15 years.

Working with celebrities was about connections through her ex-girlfriend and former business partner, who was a structural body worker. Candace was already working with k.d. lang whenever she came to San Francisco. Candace, a New Orleans native who knows music, and her brother, Dave Combs, 28, who is the general manager of In-Symmetry, said they followed the stars to success.

“I’ve worked on a lot of people really [in Hollywood],” says Candace, who had nothing but good experiences with actors. “Hollywood stars were great.”

Good Karma

Candace escaped her conservative family and came to San Francisco when she was 21 years old. Not knowing what to do with her life she accepted a job at Microsoft in Seattle. She spent a year there before returning to San Francisco to ride the dot-com wave. She got out just before the boom went bust in 1999.

After years of feeling good after her morning yoga classes and monthly massages, she found herself staring at the computer monitors she was busy swiveling around managing quality control and realized no matter how much her pay cut would be she had to get off the wave.

“I just didn’t want to do it anymore. It felt soulless … with those screens just glaring back,” says Candace. “I just realized at that moment I’m not doing anything for the world and I’m not helping people. I just didn’t want to do it anymore.

“I was doing a ton of yoga, a lot of acupuncture and a lot of massage,” says Candace, who developed a passion for the healing arts so much that she graduated from the San Francisco School of Massage.

She and her then-girlfriend and business partner decamped from San Francisco to Hollywood where they set up In-Symmetry, as the wave crashed against California’s shores.

The women’s goal was to work with bands on tour and Broadway productions, but the business grew beyond their imaginations. They began receiving calls to work at 3 a.m. regularly. One year they were the masseuses during the Academy Awards, says Candace and Dave.

Two years in Los Angeles was enough for the women, who became only business partners in 2004, and they returned to San Francisco and set up shop in Potrero Hill, says Candace.

The business grew with waiting lists stretching out three weeks for each of them. She hired staff to pick up the overflow, turning In-Symmetry into a full-fledged business. In 2010, Candace bought her business partner out and moved the spa to its current location at 650 Florida Street, Suite D, where it’s been for nearly three years.

Candace has been in a relationship with acupuncturist Courtney Moore for the past five years.

Today, In-Symmetry is home to 25 part-time masseuses, three full-time employees, including Candace, Elizabeth Markham, 30, who is the managing esthetician, and Dave.

Clients are loyal to the business. It’s the only place that Sunny Schwartz, 59-year-old veteran criminal justice professional with the City and County of San Francisco, and her partner Lauren Schwartz get their massages in the city, she says.

“It’s just a fabulous feeling walking in and certainly more so leaving,” says Sunny.

“Generally, after a massage you feel better, but I feel like I can skip down the street afterwards,” says Sunny, who can’t praise In-Symmetry enough. “I know that sounds hyper enthusiastic, but it’s true.”

More than eight years ago a friend referred the couple to In-Symmetry when Lauren was pregnant with one of the couple’s children. They haven’t gone anywhere else since then.

“I’ve never had a bad massage there,” says Sunny, who goes in when she has muscle spasms, sports issues, or simply needs help relaxing. “Every single time I walk away feeling so much better and virtually cured of my ailment.”

Greg Sherrell, co-host of the “Fernando and Greg in the Morning Show” on 99.7 NOW, agrees, adding that he likes In-Symmetry’s convenient hours and availability on Sundays.

“Their services specifically dictate the kind of massage that I want,” says Greg, 40, who works with In-Symmetry’s masseuses depending on his body’s needs. “There are times when I just want to come in relax and zone out and there are other times when I’m in training mode and need specific work in certain parts of my body.”

Greg stumbled upon In-Symmetry one lazy Sunday about five years ago when he was searching for a last-minute massage, but it was “impossible to find anyplace that was open on a Sunday,” he says.

Then he found In-Symmetry and immediately booked an appointment. Like the Lauren and Sunny he hasn’t gone anywhere else in the city since.

The rub

The spa’s masseuses specialize in customized deep-tissue and sports massage that incorporates hot stone therapy along with esthetician services using medical-grade and organic skincare products.

“We are really about wellness. We are a results oriented spa,” says Candace, who helps match clients with the masseuse on her team that is right for them while keeping prices down, without giving up the high quality.

“We are never going to be Union Square prices,” says Candace. “We are just not that. We are a come in, we don’t care who you are let us help you,” type of spa.

Spas in San Francisco’s tony and touristy shopping district, Union Square, easily start at $155 for a 50-minute non-member deep tissue massage or $180 for a 90-minute deep tissue massage with hot stones. For similar services, In-Symmetry charges $90 for a 60-minute deep tissue massage with hot stones, or $125 for 90 minutes. Hot stones come included in every massage.

Candace also gives back to the community. She donates upward of an estimated $20,000 annually to kids’ education, dogs, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, she says.

“Everyone is so happy to come in here,” Candace says. “When they walk out they are so grateful and we all need it. Touch is unbelievably important.”

Make an appointment at In-Symmetry, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Get rubbed at InSymmetry.com.

A version of this story was originally published by the Bay Area Reporter.

The post It’s all in the rub at In-Symmetry Wellness Spa first appeared on Lesbian.com.

This isn’t Avalon, but it’s another world ruled by Goddesses and full of magic. It’s “Amaluna,” the latest hit in Cirque Du Soleil’s sachet of whimsical wonders, borrows a bit from Shakespeare’s “Tempest” and mother earth myths in a wonderous show that shouldn’t be missed.

The story begins with Queen Prospera, played by Julie McInnes, performing a ritual for her daughter, Miranda’s, played by Iuliia Mykhailov, coming-of-age ceremony. Prospera conjures a storm that causes a wayward ship of men to crash upon the shores of the magical island. One of the passengers is Prince Romeo, played by Evgeny Kurkin, who Miranda falls in love with, just as Romeo’s manservant the comical Jeeves and Miranda’s childhood nurse Deede who become smitten with each other and create their own love nest in the forest.

Read more at GirlsThatRoam.com

The post Theater review: ‘Amaluna’ radiates feminine power first appeared on Lesbian.com.

What to eat for dinner tonight? Tapas to make Penelope Cruz weep? Fusion tacos? Pizza fired in a wood-burning oven imported from Italy? Or maybe just the best turkey sandwich you ever had? The wealth of choice gets overwhelming when you’re in a foodie town like … Orlando.

That’s right; the town best known for a four-fingered mouse who doesn’t eat much of anything has spawned quite a food scene. There is offbeat funkiness to please the toughest San Francisco Mission District hipster, and gourmet quality to reward epicureans for not fleeing to Miami. If you’ve been letting a fear of heavy fried Southern food or pallid lowest-common-denominator offerings keep you from Orlando, hesitate no longer: Orlando’s dining options are putting the shine back in the Sunshine State.

Orlando Goes Gourmet

Let’s assume you decide you want something somewhat upscale, creative, and maybe even locally sourced. A good cocktail and/or a decent wine list wouldn’t hurt, either. Your best bet is Winter Park, a posh suburb of Orlando.

The town’s Park Avenue is lined with gourmet restaurants and wine bars, but the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly Prato (124 N Park Ave, Winter Park, 407-262-0050, events@lumaonpark.com, Prato-WP.com). The spot is named after a city in Tuscany, and is about as far from lasagna and Chianti as you can get. The owners have imported a pair of custom-made Acunto pizza ovens from Naples, which they use to turn out crackly-crusted beauties ranging from the traditional Margherita to more adventurous creations such as butternut squash and sage pizza, and pies topped with sheep’s milk cheese and egg. A whole meal could also be made from outstanding antipasti such as tender octopus in a squid-ink vinaigrette, and fresh chickpeas with lemon and garlic. The traditional-with-a-twist theme continues at the bar, where familiar combinations such as vodka and cranberry might be spiked with basil, habanero bitters, or lava salt. Most progressive of all, Prato is committed to supporting local providers, and a large hand-drawn map of the state at the front of the restaurant shows the location of the many Florida farms Prato has teamed up with.

In Orlando proper, downtown’s Church Street is home to Spanish-themed Ceviche (125 West Church Street, 321-281-8140, Ceviche.com). The large, warmly lit space features a lovely hammered-tin ceiling, and is dominated by two bars: One for cocktails, and a central island offering a stunning array of cold tapas. Warm tapas are ordered off the menu, and really show the kitchen’s genius. On paper, offerings like Serrano ham with Manchego and aceitunas y pimientos don’t sound that different from the bar snacks of Spain, but here tapas is not just to tide you over for a late dinner. Here, tapas is dinner, and each plate is made with the highest quality ingredients. The restaurant’s namesake ceviche bowls are outstanding. Traditional shellfish and pulpo please purists, but tuna with lime and onion has a taste of Hawaii, and Ceviche a la Rusa includes oysters and is served with a shot of Russian Standard Vodka. The food at Ceviche is diverting enough, but there is also live music most nights, usually of the flamenco variety.

The City Beautiful Gets Funky

Now maybe it’s later in the evening. Maybe cocktails have already been consumed. Maybe you just don’t want to change out the sensible shoes you tromped around Universal Studios in. A sandwich from Pom Pom’s Teahouse and Sandwicheria (67 North Bumby Avenue, 407-894-0865, PomPomsTeahouse.com) will certainly fill you up and may just change the way you feel about sandwiches, as well.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Pom Moongauklang, who was born in Thailand, raised in Orlando, and shaped by adult years living in other cities, including New York. Her pan-ethnic background shows in her sandwiches, which might include ingredients ranging from yellow curry to salsa to peanut butter and banana. Probably the best place to start is with Mama Ling Ling’s Thanksgiving, a hot, savory starch bomb that features turkey, stuffing, potato, cranberry sauce, and cheese. It comes with a side of brown gravy for dipping and tastes like Thanksgiving, or like Thanksgiving would if it came with fewer stressed-out relatives and more blue-haired students and funky artwork.

To really see Pom’s fusion skills in full bloom, though, make a visit to her other Orlando endeavor, Tako Cheena (932 N Mills Avenue, 321-236-7457, TakoCheena.com). The tacos (“takos,” here) are served with traditional soft shells, but the fillings are anything but. Panko-crusted cod takos resemble the Baja version but sweet and sour sauce takes them somewhere else entirely.  Peanut chicken and gingery, cilantro-laden pork belly pockets taste like a backpacker’s tour of Asia wrapped in tortillas. Anything but gimmicky, the Mexican/Asian flavors complement each other in ways that will astound the most jaded foodie.

A Snack on the Wildside

Ever bite a gator? If it never occurred to you that human/alligator chompings could go both ways, try the happy-hour gator plate at Wildside BBQ Bar & Grille (700 East Washington Street, 407-872-8665, WildsideBBQ.com) in the colorful Thornton Park neighborhood. Alligator is a white meat that tastes and chews something like lean pork, and goes well with beer.

A True Melting Pot

To what does Orlando owe this surprisingly diverse food scene? Probably the fact that, like Disney World, Orlando lures visitors from all over the world—but Orlando’s new arrivals come to stay. The city is growing faster than any place in Florida save Miami. Some of these new arrivals are first-timers, but many are boomerangs, who, like Pom, tried other places but somehow found themselves back where they started.

How does this happen? What about this city best known for its vacation-from-reality theme parks attracts and sometimes recaptures people from all corners? I asked Pom, and her answer may surprise anyone who assumes that Orlando is as lacking in a sense of place as the fantasy lands that made it famous. “Well,” she says, smiling as she refilled my cup of Rooibos, “There’s no place like home.”

Originally published by GirlsThatRoam.com

Nicole Clausing first flew at the age of two months, an evacuation from her Kentucky birthplace to Western Massachusetts, where she was raised. Since then, she has lived in seven states and visited more than 30 countries.

The post Alligator bites and Flamenco nights: Exploring Orlando’s dining scene first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Mariah Hanson

BY HEATHER CASSELL

GirlsThatRoam

Mariah Hanson, promoter of Club Skirt’s The Dinah, the annual all-girl weekend hosted in Palm Springs, Calif. is being honored with the 2013 Athena Leadership Award for her tremendous contributions to the Palm Springs community.

Mariah will be honored with the 27th Annual Athena Award on behalf of the City of Palm Springs and the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce at a special event hosted at the Renaissance Palm Springs on Thursday, Dec. 5.

“I’m humbled to have been considered for this award and especially to be in such stellar company of women,” said Mariah about the award. “I could not be more honored.”

The event will be hosted by Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet and CBS Local 2’s Brooke Beare.

“Helene Galen, Carol Channing and Mariah Hanson truly exemplify the highest level of achievement when it comes to excellence in community leadership and all three of these amazing ladies serve as tremendous role models for future generations of women leaders,” says Steve. “I want to thank them for their outstanding contributions to Palm Springs and I encourage everyone in the Coachella Valley to join the Palm Springs Chamber on Dec. 5 as we celebrate these three remarkable women.”

Mary Jo Ginther, director of Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism agrees.

A sea of women at one of the famed Dinah pool parties. (Photo: Courtesy of the Dinah)

“Mariah has tirelessly promoted Palm Springs for over twenty years through Club Skirts: The Dinah Shore Weekend. She is a true example of an entrepreneur who has built her business with each individual effort and Palm Springs has been lucky to be the recipient of her efforts,” says Mary Jo.

Mariah was selected to receive this honor because of her visionary leadership as the founder of one of the city’s largest tourism boosters, the world famous and hugely successful The Dinah, which is also known as the Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend.

For 24 years, Mariah has not only continuously promoted Palm Springs as a destination, but she has also created a viable platform for the advancement of the LGBT community, according to The Dinah news release Oct. 15.

“Palm Springs has been home to the Original Dinah Shore Weekend for the past 24 years. I couldn’t have chosen a better host city to produce the largest lesbian event in the world,” says Mariah. “It’s an amazing LGBT supportive city and this recognition shows just how truly hip and inclusive Palm Springs is. I look forward to The Dinah being here for another 24 years!”

As the largest and biggest lesbian event in the world, the Dinah offers a life-changing experience for myriads of women who come from all over the world to enjoy the freedom to be who they truly are without fearing the judgment, discrimination and prejudice of others. With The Dinah, Mariah provides a haven where acceptance and tolerance – in its deepest values – rule.

The Athena Award is a distinguished national honor awarded annually by the chamber of commerce’s around the nation to pay tribute to women who demonstrate excellence and creativity in their business or in the community at large.

Inspired by the goddess of Greek mythology known for her strength, courage, wisdom and enlightenment, the Athena Leadership Award is presented to exemplary community leaders who are honored for professional excellence, community service and for actively assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.

Additionally, the women who are honored with the Athena Award actively assist women in realizing their leadership potential, pointing out Nona Watson, CEO of the Palm Springs Chamber.

This year’s group of honorees is “truly spectacular women leaders making a difference in the Coachella Valley,” says Nona.

Other 2013 honorees joining Mariah are Helene Galen who will be awarded the “Community Icon” Award, and Carol Channing recipient of the “Jackie Lee Houston Angel Award.”

Mary Jo points out that all three women have significantly touched Palm Springs art community.

Helene has been intimately involved with the Palm Springs Art Museum for many years. In the same breath, Dr. Carol Channing and Harry Kullijian Foundation fosters the benefits of arts back into the curriculum of California public schools, and has funded scholarships for students and teachers in the arts, included here in the Coachella Valley.

Helene has also assisted in the medical world and with children’s programs, Mary Jo points out.

“Carol is a frequent guest at many city events, and it is always an honor and a delight to experience her upbeat and infectious personality,” says Mary Jo.

“Palm Springs wouldn’t be where it is today without their love for our city,” says Mary Jo.  “All three ladies are remarkable and truly deserve this recognition. In very different ways – as promoter, actress, and philanthropist, they have each played a role in the quality of the Palm Springs that we all enjoy today.”

To attend the gala honoring Mariah along with Carol and Helene hosted at Renaissance Palm Springs (888 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, 800-468-3571, RenaissanceHotelPalmSprings.com‎) and learn more about The Athena Awards, visit www.pschamber.org or call 760-325-1577.

To learn more about Mariah and attend the 23rd annual The Dinah, visit TheDinah.com.

Originally published by GirlsThatRoam.com

The post Promoter of The Dinah to be honored in Palm Springs first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Nearly everywhere we looked there was an abundance of women holding hands, kissing each other openly, hanging out with friends and pride was in the lightly balmy air in Key West.

It was WomenFest, the annual all-girl weekend filled with outdoor adventures, cruises on the Atlantic Ocean, comedy shows, music and an after party now in its 27th year, hosted at the southernmost point of the U.S. in the resort island. WomenFest traditionally is held the weekend after Labor Day. This year it was held Sept. 3-9.

Read more at GirlsThatRoam.com

The post WomenFest in Key West makes a big splash first appeared on Lesbian.com.

BY HEATHER CASSELL

Next week a wave of women will hit the shores of Seaside, Ore. for the first-ever EDEN Pacific Northwest.

Guest of EDEN PNW will enjoy a comedy show, dance parties and outdoor activities throughout the weekend October 3 – 6, 2013.

“Let’s rock the beach and enjoy being together for four wonderful days!” says Gabriela “Gabe” Kandziora, co-producer of EDEN PNW and partnership and business development of PQ Monthly.

The producers of the inaugural EDEN PNW have planned a smashing lineup of the Pacific Northwest’s female comedians, musicians and DJs spinning at two parties for the new four-day women’s weekend.

“The local vibe of our music fest is exciting. We’re introducing our guests to artists from Seattle, Portland and San Francisco – all sister cities and all full of incredible talent,” says Sarah.

Gabe agrees, excited about the diversity of the music and comedian lineup representing the flavor and talent of the Pacific Northwest throughout the weekend.

“Eden PNW’s musical lineup is fantastic!” says Gabe. “We are gonna have a blast!”

Christine De La Rosa, founder and producer of EDEN Pride Events and co-producer of fiveTEN Oakland Events, which is co-producing the weekend getaway, adds.

“EDEN loves bringing together diversity in our entertainment lineup,” says Christine. “We are very proud to be working with these world class entertainers and making sure that we stay true to our mission, diversity and amazing entertainment.”

Pacific Northwest favorites comedians Belinda Carroll, Lisa Koch and Sandra Valls will get the women laughing and in the mood for dancing with the premiere of new material in their musical comedy routines Friday night, at 7 p.m., October 4 before the Beach Bonfire.

The Lovers will rock the Oregon Coast with their new songs at EDEN Pacific Northwest. (Photo: Courtesy of Eden Pacific Northwest)

Portland’s Lovers will rock the beach along with Oakland’s Aima the Dreamer and Seattle’s Ms. Briq House on Saturday night at 7 p.m., October 5, before the EDEN Dance Party with DJs Fusion and Mr. Charming starting at 9 p.m. after the concert.

The Lovers will perform many of their latest songs from their new album, “Friend in the World,” released Sept. 24.

DJs Fusion and Mr. Charming are excited about getting the girls up and grooving on the dance floor while emcee RaMona Webb keeps the audiences pumped up and excited.

“Everyone in the house should hear a song they love, or a song they forgot they loved, but haven’t heard in awhile,” says DJ Fusion about the musical trip she has planned for the women. “Expect to sing along to those songs, and stay on the dance floor!”

DJ Mr. Charming plans to get things steamy on the dance floor.

“I hope to help create a sexy dance party for all the women at EDEN PNW, and to keep them dancing and flirting all night long!” adds DJ Mr. Charming.

“With acts like these, the tickets won’t last,” says Sarah Toce, co-producer of EDEN PNW and founder and publisher of The Seattle Lesbian.

Girl Power

The EDEN PNW producers, the Pacific Northwest’s preeminent queer publications that have a following of a combined estimated 320,000 readers monthly reached out to EPE, San Francisco Bay Area’s preeminent women’s entertainment and lifestyle company, that attract upward of an estimated 15,000 women and their friends throughout the summer to mostly queer women events during Pride throughout the Bay Area. The same EPE team also produces fiveTEN Oakland Events.

EPE also produced BLISS, a women’s getaway to Palm Springs, Calif., for two years.

“EDEN puts on amazing events and their experience is invaluable,” says Gabe, who was familiar with EPE and thrilled to partner with EPE.

“EDEN Pride Events, as well as myself, were so honored to be approached by PQ Monthly to produce this event and are looking forward to a long partnership with both The Seattle Lesbian and PQ Monthly,” says Christine.

The women were all seeking an untapped, but familiar destination filled with charm, but it wasn’t until they accidentally met through Girls That Roam, that they all came together to produce EDEN PNW.

“I am thrilled to be a part of it,” adds Sarah. “Whenever there is a positive way for women to work together to create something truly special, I’m in!”

The entertainers who have worked with EDEN couldn’t agree more.

“Eden events always have the best audiences who just want to laugh and have fun!” says Sandra.

Belinda, a Portland native, who has performed at other EPE events, couldn’t agree more with Sandra.

“The energy of the women and the great talent involved with the event make it spectacular!” says Belinda, who’s excited about EDEN PNW. “[It’s] just such a feel good, wonderful time,” she says.

Swept Away

The entertainers who haven’t been to Seaside are just as excited about EDEN PNW as those who are familiar with the destination and the girls putting on the event. Seaside, a historic resort on the northern Oregon Coast, has long been a vacation destination for families and lesbians.

“I’ve spent lots of time on the Oregon coast, but never with so many amazing women!” says DJ Mr. Charming, who is a staple in Portland’s music scene spinning at Gaycation for eight years.

Unlike Provincetown, Mass. and Key West, Fla., which have established weeklong queer women festivals, the Pacific Coast hasn’t ever established its own beachside getaway until now.

There are other locally produced women’s music festivals in the Pacific Northwest – the Out/Loud: Queer Women’s Music Festival and Siren Nation Festival, but they are all far away from the shores of the beautiful Oregon Coast.

“Personally, I am looking forward to experiencing the quaint town of Seaside as a vacation getaway,” says Christine, pointing out that the group is starting out small, but has “big plans to make this a full week of events for women and our friends over the course of the next five years, our very own West Coast Provincetown.”

And why not? Seaside was selected because lesbians have been escaping to the beach town for years; say Gabe and Sarah, who have both escaped their busy lives in Portland and Seattle to the charms of the welcoming beach town.

“Seaside is welcoming to the LGBT community and our straight allies,” says Sarah.

Seaside has embraced EDEN PNW as much as queer women have fallen in love with the coastal town, which is also near charming Cannon Beach and Gearhart, 10 minutes to art and golf. Astoria, a more urban town at the mouth of the Columbia River where Lewis and Clark ended their expedition led by Sacajawea, is only 30-minutes away.

Also, unlike Ptown or Key West, Seaside is easy to get to from Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. The town is only an hour and a half drive down U.S. 26 from Portland; a three and a half hours drive from Seattle; and nearly a six hours drive from Vancouver, B.C.

The EDEN PNW team has received a warm welcome from Seaside.

“We’re thrilled to have a first-time group like EDEN Pacific Northwest coming to Seaside,” says Jon Rahl, director of tourism and marketing of the Seaside Visitors Bureau, about why Seaside has been a popular resort destination for more than 100 years. “Seaside is truly more than just a day at the beach and we are excited to have you find out why!”

Karen Monroe, director of sales of the Shilo Inn Suites Oceanfront Hotel Seaside, EDEN PNW’s host hotel agrees adding, “Seaside has always been a great place to hold large fun events as well as a great place for families, couples, and friends to meet up.

“We are happy that EDEN PNW has chosen Seaside, Oregon and Shilo to be that place,” continues Karen.

“The Oregon Coast can be sublime during this time … warm, mellow and calm,” says Gabe. “It is a great town with lots to do and see … and a beautiful beach.”

“Seaside offers both a relaxing getaway and nightlife options for all different types of people,” adds Sarah.

Seaside is walkable, making it easy to ditch the car and get outside to take a walk along the Prom, the Promenade; or enjoy the amusement rides, arcade and local art galleries, boutiques, bars and restaurants, not to mention the amazing events EDEN PNW has planned.

It’s a relaxing getaway, a variety of outdoor and other activities for various individuals’ interest from clamming, cycling, hiking, golf, motorcycling, and surfing to art, boardwalk amusement, microbrewery and wine tasting, shopping, spas and nightlife.

“Where else can you ride a Harley one minute and play arcade games and eat salt water taffy the next?” asks Sarah. “Add to that dance parties overlooking the water and bonfires in the sand and you’ve got the perfect destination location.”

The women of EDEN PNW are planning an all-girl weekend getaway unlike any other.

“EDEN Pacific Northwest is unlike any other women’s weekend,” says Sarah. “In our first year alone, we are offering bonfire gatherings on the beach, dance parties with celesbians we all know and love, clam digging, sightseeing excursions, and more. This event is completely outside of the box and all three partners are excited to share it with everyone.”

The women hope that EDEN Pacific Northwest will become a destination for women from around the world to discover the beautiful Oregon coast.

Get your tickets to EDEN Pacific Northwest. Learn more about EDEN Pacific Northwest, visit EDENPNW.com or become our friend on Facebook.

Reserve your room at the Shilo Inn Seaside Oceanfront today to get the special discounted rate for EDEN Pacific Northwest, by calling 503-738-9571. Use the guest code: EDEN PNW.

This article originally appeared on GirlsThatRoam.com

Full Disclosure: Heather Cassell is the marketing and sponsorship director of EDEN Pride Events, one of the producers of EDEN Pacific Northwest.

The post Girls will rock at EDEN Pacific Northwest first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Chef Charleen Caabay at work in the kitchen

BY HEATHER CASSELL
Girls That Roam

Charleen Caabay officially opened up her doors to welcome friends new and old into her new restaurant Kainbigan in East Oakland on Sept. 14.

Kainbigan Restaurant (14th Avenue, 510-842-6315, kainbigan@gmail.com, Kainbigan.com) softly launched Aug. 19, but now the restaurant is in full swing serving up homemade Filipino comfort food inspired by Charleen’s mother and her late grandmother.

Kain’bigan, the restaurant’s name, is the play on the Tagalog words kain and kaibigan, which translated means eat and friend, respectively. The two words put together loosely translated means, “come in to eat friend.” Kain’bigan’s tagline is: “let’s eat, my friends.”

“Where there’s food, there’s always good company and friends,” says Charleen, a 34-year-old queer woman who is the chef and owner of Kainbigan.

Lines have been out the door of the small eatery and orders have been pouring in to the take-out restaurant since it opened.

She never dreamed that she could be a chef and own her own restaurant. Charleen still can’t believe that she has a place where her friends can come and enjoy her homemade Filipino comfort food.

“Every day has been a tear jerker,” says Charleen. “I walk into the doors first thing in the morning and I’m like my jaw still drops, ‘Oh, God. I can cook every day, all day for my friends and that’s it. I made it. I finally made it.’”

Grandma’s Kitchen

There was always a gathering around the kitchen and table growing up with her mother and grandmother in New Jersey.

“Our household was always full of people over eating,” says Charleen, who would sit in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother watching them chop, stir, mix and serve the hearty Filipino food. “When people come over it’s always a feast.”

Charleen lost that when her parents moved  her sister and her to Vallejo when she was 13-years old. That same year, her beloved grandmother passed away.

“I was very, very close to her because she pretty much raised me when I was younger while my mom worked all day,” says Charleen.

To make up for the loss of the family feasts, her parents made new friends and invited them over to dinner all of the time, says Charleen. She continued that tradition with her friends in high school raiding their family’s pantries and cooking and grilling for everyone while all of their parents were at work.

Discovering her love for cooking, the second-generation Filipina also missed her grandmother’s cooking and started to become aware of the loss of cultural foods among American Filipinos, she says. She lost many of her grandmother’s recipes, but she began creating her own and making healthier versions of the traditional Filipino dishes without losing the flavor.

She also discovered non-Filipinos’ interest in Filipino food, while serving her food out at lesbian bars and nightclubs and on Oakland’s street corners.

Going For It

It’s been a long journey to opening the restaurant. The former IT expert started serving up her food at local women’s nightclubs and on street corners several years ago. At that time it didn’t even occur to her that she could make a living doing what she loves doing: cooking.

“I always cooked either as hobby or just for parties,” says Charleen. “It didn’t trigger in my head that I can do this as a career.”

As more people asked her if she catered, she started saying yes. It became a side gig for her until she was laid off from her dream IT job during the economic downturn. Suddenly, she found herself in a position deciding to go for it or continue the cycle of contract IT jobs that never landed her permanently at a company.

To test things out, Charleen tapped into local entrepreneur resources for low-income women learning how to run a business and opened a pop up restaurant in Oakland for three months in 2012.

During that time she kept driving buy the space in East Oakland with the, “For Rent,” sign on it, that a friend pointed out to her. The space located on the corner next to a barber shop at 14th Avenue and East 21st Street has been a series of restaurants in the past, now it is home to Kainbigan.

It took about nine months to open the restaurant, which she invested an estimated $60,000 through investors and small business loans. An estimated five part-time staff help Charleen while she cooks up breakfast, lunch and dinner six days a week served in the restaurant, take-out and catering. Kainbigan is already growing and currently hiring for all types of positions.

“Everyone that walks in … they are super excited because now they have a place to get my food,” says Charleen, who has an inviting bubbly and cheerful personality.

Kainbigan Restaurant is located at 2101 14th Avenue in Oakland. Open Monday through Sunday, 11 am. – 8 p.m. Call to place an order at 510-842-6315 or email kainbigan@gmail.com or check out the menu at Kainbigan.com. Find out what’s cooking at Kainbigan’s Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on GirlsThatRoam.com

The post Chef Carleen Caabay serves up Filipino comfort food in Oakland first appeared on Lesbian.com.

BY HEATHER CASSELL

Food festivals all over are making room for and celebrating women chefs, farmers, mixolgists and sommeliers and Hawai’i’s third annual Food and Wine Festival in Maui and Oahu, Sept. 1 – 9 isn’t any different.

Celebrity Chef Anita Lo was the only female chef invited to prepare a tasting at the festival this week, but she joined other women chefs for a special brunch Girls Got Game +1 Sunday, Sept. 8.

Anita is one of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef Masters” and she has earned a titanium star for being not only the first female chef to compete on “Iron Chef America,” but she had the audacity to be one of the few chefs to defeat fellow New Yorker Chef Mario Batali.

Anita and many other women chefs cooked up locally grown and born and raised produce, poultry and meat by women farmers at the all-girl affair at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa (2424 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, Oahu, 808-923-1234, Waikiki.Hyatt.com).

Women Don the Chef’s Hat

Girls That Roam caught up with the worldly chef Anita during a pit stop in New York in between gallivanting around the globe to chat about women chefs and her culinary and global adventures.

The special attention on women chefs is a blessing and at the same time a very perplexing and complicated issue.

“The fact that there are so few women in this industry, especially at the top, it needs to be addressed,” says Anita, 47, pointing out that people need to think about how they are raising and educating kids from schools to the media about gender roles.

The deficit of women in professional kitchens and owning restaurants isn’t because there is a lack of women attending culinary schools. This isn’t 1950s Le Cordon Bleu where Julia Child was the lone female in the professional culinary classes.

“There has always been a very large presence of women in the cooking schools, but then once they get out they are not pursuing careers in the restaurants,” says Anita, who has gone to cooking schools and judged finals and seen emerging women chefs. “I don’t know what they are doing with it after that.”

She believes that one of the issues is that there aren’t very many role models.

“There aren’t a lot of role models,” says Anita, who went through her own hazing as well as being treated like a “girl,” which was sometimes nice and sometimes annoying, she says, as she was coming up in the kitchen. “It’s difficult. There’s not a lot of encouragement, especially when you are in an all male kitchen. I think that a lot of sexism still exists like [that] everywhere.”

Chef Anita Lo (Photo: Courtesy of Anita Lo)

She carefully selected her battles and stayed focused on the food.

In her own way, she celebrates herself and women. As the mastermind owner and executive chef behind one of New York’s top rated restaurants, Annisa (13 Barrow Street, 212-741-6699, AnnisaRestaurant.com), which means women in Arabic, she purposefully also selected women vintners to feature on the restaurant’s wine list.

“It’s a celebration of women in wine,” says Anita. “Each wine that we have on the list [is] important women.”

Anita counts one of her biggest successes not only opening Annisa since it opened in 2000, but reopening the restaurant after a kitchen fire that threatened the life of the restaurant in 2009. Annisa closed for nine months. It was a challenging period, but nearly a year later the restaurant reopened with nearly all of its 23 employees returning. In 2010, Anita bought out her then business and life partner.

“On many occasions I thought that we weren’t going to reopen” says Anita, recalling those dark months. “I’m just so grateful to [my staff] and that’s what made me feel accomplished.”

Anita has since moved on and has been seeing another chef for a little more than a year now. She declined speaking about her girlfriend preferring to honor her privacy.

Global Dish

Anita was fresh from a six-day exploratory Alaskan trip when Girls That Roam caught up with her. She was in Alaska checking out the fisheries and fishing with a group of food journalists and other chefs courtesy of the Alaska Seafood Council, which she is also a board member on the council.

She was seriously impressed with Alaska’s fishy offerings.

“It was really impressive,” says Anita about the management and the sustainability of the fisheries.

A beautiful catch by Chef Anita Lo in Mongolia. (Photo: Courtesy of Anita Lo)

“It was just incredible!” continues Anita. “I’ve never fished like that where it was so plentiful and so many different species. Each time we caught something they explained how they managed the species and everything.”

“It’s so obvious that its well managed because there is just so much stuff there,” gushes Anita, “There is just so much wild life it’s amazing.”

If Anita could travel the world fishing and cooking she would.

“I travel a lot. The last couple of years I’ve been traveling a ton which has been great,” she says about her adventures to Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Italy, Mexico, Senegal and various food and wine events around the U.S. that she’s been invited to attend thanks to her Bravo TV and Food Network fame. “The past couple of years have been amazing.”

Anita has even been to Moscow, Russia, but she won’t be going back anytime soon due to the countries recent anti-gay laws, she says, “but that was amazing.”

Inspirations from her adventures often end up being served to her guests with her own special twist at Annisa.

She brought back a pepper from her journey to Senegal that she is currently using in a dish.

“I brought back a pepper that was from there that is really, really interesting, that is really floral that I’m using that in a dish right now,” says Anita, who is also the author of “Cooking Without Borders.”

Not all of her dishes on her menu are immediately influenced by her travels.

“Sometimes you get the idea and it doesn’t get fruition for a couple of years,” she says, talking about a Turkish inspired desert that took some time to appear on her menu.

Peppering her dishes with flavors of the world actually makes her menu American, at least in her mind. Anita, who is a second generation Chinese-American born in Michigan, vision of American cuisine is very multicultural, which “reflects this very large nation that was built by immigrants,” she says.

“A lot of people think of American as hot dogs, hamburgers, apple pie — Germanic dishes — and that’s not the truth,” says Anita, who says that’s only one part of what makes American food American. “I’m a big preacher of diversity.”

Anita’s World

Anita should know, she’s traveled widely throughout the states all of her life. She loves exploring the world.

“We traveled a lot as kids,” says Anita, who got an early taste for exploring the world popping in and out of destinations at 24-hour intervals.

From brief introductions to longer acquaintances, Anita finds something endearing and unique about each destination she’s been to, she says.

“I can’t even think of one place that I wouldn’t want to go back to,” says Anita, who begins adding cities and countries from Africa to Central and South America to Europe and around the U.S. that she’s been to as if she’s preparing a dish to serve up.

She is dying to return to Japan to go fishing on the countryside.

“I’ve been to Japan several times, but I haven’t really seen the country side,” she says. “I would love to go see some of the beaches there and go fishing. I think that would be incredible.”

Even in the U.S. there are many places that she would like to continue to explore. Chicago never gets old for her in spite of her many trips to the Windy City as a member of the Culinary Roundtable there.

She would also love to return to Seattle and actually catch a fish at Pikes Place Market.

“It’s such a huge world,” says Anita. “There are so many places I would love to go to.”

She still hasn’t made it to Australia, India, Jordan or Morocco or even Austin, Tex., she says.

“I would like to go anywhere that I haven’t been,” Anita concludes.

Whenever she lands somewhere the first thing she likes exploring is a city’s market — be it a farmer’s market, grocery store, or open air market place.

“It never gets old,” she says. “I have pictures of dead fish from I don’t know how many different countries.”

A Flavorful Life

It’s hard to stay away from food when you grow up in a family that has an overwhelming passion for all things gastronomic.

“I came from a food obsession family,” says Anita, but it wasn’t until she went away to college that the passion for preparing food took hold of her. “I was learning how to cook for myself in college just out of necessity and I really loved it.”

Add in the fact that she was in Paris, France at the time earning her degree in French at Reid Hall, Columbia University’s French language institute, and it is almost a, “Oh, well that explains it all,” moment.

“I always loved to eat and I was studying French at the time,” Anita continues. It doesn’t hurt that food is everywhere, chefs are revered, and her older sister cleared the path with her tales of her adventures of studying and taking cooking classes in France.

“I ended up taking some cooking classes and fell in love with it,” says Anita, who thought the cooking classes would be a good way for her to keep up her French skills.

That is how she discovered and evolved into a renowned chef.

She earned her chopping skills at the prestigious Ecole Ritz-Escoffier and started working at French restaurant Bouley (163 Duane Street, 212-964-2525, DavidBouley.com) in New York City.

“I think that the profession chooses you to some degree [and] you choose it,” says Anita, “but cooking is something that I just really am obsessed with.”

Article orginally published by GirlsThatRoam.com

The post Anita Lo’s culinary adventures first appeared on Lesbian.com.

It’s going to be a sinful weekend in Las Vegas as the girls go wild at Shedonism.

The four-day all-girl party during Las Vegas Pride Weekend kicked off Sept. 5, with seven hot events set to thrill women through Sept. 9, when they will need an extra day to recover.

Thousands of women are going to take over the Palms Casino and Resort (4321 West Flamingo Road, 702-942-7777, Palms.com) this year to party it up.

Read more at GirlsThatRoam.com

The post Sin City plays host to Shedonism 2013 first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Life has been a party for Leigh Cousins and Mandy Randhawa promoters of award-winning FlyGirl Productions, a queer women’s party company based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

FlyGirl Productions’ monthly parties and all-girl festivities during Vancouver Pride have been a sellout affair for thirteen years, they say.

Next weekend, the girls are taking their party on the road to Calgary, Alberta, where they are throwing their first Hershe Day Club post-Calgary Pride party.

“It’s kind of exciting to go to a place that is at the forefront of change,” says Leigh, about hosting their first post-Pride party in the formerly conservative province, Alberta.

Only a short few years ago many Pride Parade marchers donned masks during their celebrations in fear of being “noticed,” says Leigh. What’s changed is the population has swelled upward of just more than 1 million people, according to a 2011 census, and “new blood in the political system” has turned the conservative government’s tide.

For years, Vancouver girls who relocated to Calgary along with Calgary’s girls who attended FlyGirl Production’s Vancouver Pride parties have begged Leigh and Mandy to bring the party to them. Finally, the two women couldn’t resist the enticement anymore.

The party is the first for Leigh and Mandy in Calgary. They’ve thrown wildly successful monthly parities, Hershe Bar, in Vancouver for more than a decade, most notably during Vancouver Pride Weekend.

This new Hershe Day Club at West Restaurant and Bar (225 7th Avenue SW, 403-237-5556, WestRestaurantandBar.com), Calgary’s newest gay club, is steps away from the Pride celebration and features a rooftop patio overlooking Calgary as the girls dance the day away with DJs Riki Rocket and Jenna J.

The party gets started at 1 p.m. – 8 p.m., Sept. 1. Tickets are $36.75 Canadian and $35 US dollars advanced, not including the processing fee.

How to Get Fly

Really, it was a lark how these girls got into the lesbian party scene. Thirteen years ago they were hosting fundraisers for their softball team and throwing their own birthday parties that seriously got out of control. It got them thinking that they had a talent throwing parties and being a promoter could be a business.

“People loved it so much that there must be a business in this,” says Leigh, who quit her job as a retail manager at local stores nearly two years after launching FlyGirl Productions to focus on producing parties for women full-time.

The two women, who have been together in business and love for 15 years, throw mostly circuit parties and some live band events for queer women in Vancouver called Hershe Bar. The parties are usually on the Sunday of Canada’s monthly Legendary Long Weekends, but occasionally the festivities will happen on a Thursday when the holiday lands on a Friday.

The next Hershe Bar is set to get down Sept. 1, 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. at the Red Room Ultra Bar (398 Richards Street, 604-687-5007, RedRoomonRichards.com) in Vancouver (the same day the launch Hershe Day Club in Calgary). Tickets are $15.75 Canadian / $15 US dollars advanced, not including the processing fee.

Hershe Bar attracts an estimated 700 women out dancing and partying in Vancouver.

“It always showcases female DJs or with a combination of live artists,” says Mandy.

During Vancouver Pride the girls are known for their popular cruise dance party along with other parties they produce throughout the weekend for women.

“The boat cruise is really, really spectacular it goes up to a very beautiful spot up to Vancouver called Indian Arm which is sort of a fiord or inlet and you get to see the beauty of Vancouver,” says Leigh.

They have been known to entertain an estimated 3,000 women throughout the weekend, they say.

The girls hosted another stellar all-girl weekend during Vancouver Pride this year at the beginning of August. They closed out the weekend with Hunter Valentine who was the headliner of one of their after-Pride parties Aug. 4 with opening act emcee Re’Styla from the U.K. along with their other parties during Pride weekend where they had a killer lineup of local and international female DJs. pumpin’ up the music on the dance floor.

Seven years after Leigh began working full-time on FlyGirl Productions, Mandy joined her full-time too after the Doctors Without Boarders office where she worked closed up shop due to the economic downturn.

“I recruited her,” laughs Leigh, who tied the knot with Mandy three years ago this September.

Joking, she says, “I thought, hmmm, she has a lot of experience and skills. I think that we will scoop her up.”

The two women run the whole show with the help a three to four regular part-time staff and on-call talent. They won’t disclose their ages or annual revenue, but age is just a number and the business is clearly enough to sustain them and expand.

When the they aren’t planning the next big party, the two women are escaping into Vancouver’s natural surroundings, often going on hikes, taking a walk on the beach and kicking it at home eating good food, generally, taking time off to enjoy their each other.

Taking Flight

It was about being in the right place at the right time. Back in bad old 2000 there weren’t any clubs or parties for queer women in Vancouver, they both say.

It wasn’t easy in the beginning. In spite of the Girls Gone Wild phenomenon, for the most part queer girls have had a tough time shaking off the age old stigma that they just don’t go out as often or spend as much money as the boys, gay or straight, do.

Leigh recalls having to kick down doors and bust through a few glass ceilings when FlyGirl Productions first launched. The club owners weren’t gentlemen, they preferred to stay dark for a night rather than open up their doors to the ladies for an afternoon or an evening.

“Like everybody else in the beginning, we are a pioneer in the fact that I had to kick some doors in the beginning to get people to notice that we could fill their nightclub,” says Leigh, about the many bar and nightclub owners who hadn’t gotten the message that in the past two decades, women have come into their own and are looking for a good time.

It’s hard to think that a little more than a decade or two is considered pioneering, but queer and straight women didn’t start really showing themselves as the hot sexy women ready for a night out on the town they are until a little more than two decades ago.

More than a decade later, FlyGirl Productions has show just how fly their audience is with a little feminine persuasion and sassy business sense. Today, the doors open wide for them.

“We have a good rapport and people in Vancouver the nightclub owners or the event space owners know us and know our brand, love our brand, love our customers,” says Leigh, whose trained bar and security staff over the years about how to allow the girls to have a good time, while keeping them safe. “It’s always generally a win-win situation for all concerned.”

The biggest reward for being the life of the party is, “Our customer loves us. They are very loyal. They understand that we are always working in their best interest,” says Leigh.

She’s also quite proud of the fact that in a business where promoters rarely make it to a decade, they are still going strong and growing 13 years later.

Mandy adds that they also choose quality and talent over quantity to entertain their guests. Unlike in the Australia, U.K. and the U.S., Canadian queer women don’t lust after the celesbians. Therefore celebrity doesn’t work for them at their events. What works are local queer women rock stars, hot female DJs and simply giving the girls an excuse to get out and meet other girls like them.

“It’s also consistently producing a product that the customer enjoys,” adds Mandy.

“The intention is to have a joyful uplifting event,” says Leigh, who is a Vancouver native. “We just want to wow them a little bit every year,” about keeping the parties alive and fresh “so it doesn’t feel like same old, same old” and to have the girls walking out of the party saying, “Wow, that was great.”

It’s a tone down, but similar philosophy as their club partner the legendary lesbian promoter of The Dinah, Mariah Hanson.

“We think she’s absolutely awesome,” says Leigh, who joined forces with Mariah four years ago. “I personally think that her business [approach] and the way she deals with people falls true in our business philosophy. I’ve always found her terrific to work with.”

Mandy agrees with Leigh, adding that the parties are also about community and providing an accepting space.

“For me, it’s also about a sense of community,” says Mandy, talking about her personal struggles with her Indian family for a moment. “It’s providing that space of acceptance for everyone else, just because I know what that feels like.”

Raised in North Kandahar, Mandy immigrated with her family to Toronto when she was 14-years old. She moved around Canada and Northeastern U.S. with stops in Montreal and New York State, before finally settling in Vancouver.

“At the end of the day [their guests] want to meet and greet, schmooze [and] dance,” says Mandy. “I liken it more to a lesbian rave.”

Girls set sail on the Chick Ahoy! Boat Cruise during Vancouver Pride Weekend 2012. (Photo: Courtesy of FlyGirl Productions)

At the End of the Night

Leigh and Mandy know they’ve hit the right spot the moment they see women laughing, dancing, hugging and kissing friends and girlfriends and basically having a great time

“You can actually sit there and watch the smiles on people’s faces,” says Leigh. “Their hands are in the air, they are dancing, they are holding hands, they are kissing, they are meeting new friends, they are meeting old friends: When we see that moment, we know that we’ve done the right thing and have done a really good job.”

“I know for Mandy and I both there is a particular point in a party where you worked hard to facilitate the event and at one particular point it goes off,” says Leigh. “That’s what we hit for.”

“Sort of like an unbridled sense of freedom.”

To get fly with the girls in Vancouver, visit FlyGirlProductions.com.

Originally published by GirlsThatRoam.com

The post Getting fly in western Canada with FlyGirl productions first appeared on Lesbian.com.