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Homos Hit Hotlanta Again

Take your vitamins and eat your Wheaties. You’ll need your strength for MondoHomo Dirty South 2008, hitting Atlanta this weekend for its second year. MondoHomo is not your “average” queer event. You could say it’s a festival for queers who are too mondo to be called simply homo.

MondoHomo is not your sugar daddy’s gay festival. Event organizer Kiki describes it as “one BADASS Culture-Fest full of queer rock, homo HipHop, visual art, film fests, burlesque, drag kings and queens, carnival sideshows, Indie workshops, fag football, Big Gay Dance Parties, and a whole b*ttload more!”

Based on my experience last year, I’d say that about covers it. The four-day music, arts and crafts event starts tomorrow night with an art opening at the Tilt Gallery, followed by Homo-a-rama, a free dance party at Mary’s in East Atlanta. A dance party at Mary’s is always interesting, with so little space to move. I swear that bar could triple in size and still be crowded. But it’s one of the friendliest, happiest little homo bars in the city. Last time I was there, the bartender came out from behind the bar, maneuvered through the crowd, tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted another drink. Now that’s service! Not bad treatment for a lezzie in a boy-dominated establishment. Look around the next time you’re at Mary’s, and you’ll notice that everybody is smiling. It’s one happy homo watering hole.

I attended all four days of MondoHomo last year, and haven’t had as much fun since. Certainly I have not had the opportunity to hear better music across so many genres–most of it queer, a lot of it edgy, and all if it big fun. That’s why you’re likely to see me, beer in hand, dancing around East Atlanta, Cabbagetown and points in between this weekend.

It’s going to be one Mondo Memorial Day. Many events are free, some others are individually priced, or you can buy a pass for the whole MondoHomo enchilada for $50–cheaper than a tank of gas!

MondoHomo Dirty South 2008 Schedule

Mondo Art Opening
Thursday, May 22, 7-10pm | FREE, all ages, at Tilt Gallery | 274 Walker Street in Atlanta’s Castleberry gallery district. 20+ artists, mixed media.
Homo-a-rama Dance Party (free)
Mary’s in East Atlanta, 1287 Glenwood Ave SE, 30316
MondoHomo HipHop
Friday May 23rd, 8pm Lenny’s Bar, $15 | 486 Decatur St SE (at Boulevard), 30312
MC Tim’m West. HomoHop Artists: Nicky Click, Athens Boys Choir, Cateyez, Pam Jones, Foxx Jazell, BadKat, KIN (NYC), Las Krudas (Austin, TX), DJ Vicki Powell of Flux

Mondo Chock Full O’ Nuts!
Saturday May 24th, 7pm, Lenny’s Bar, $15
MC: Gina Bling (Seattle), Making Friendz (Brooklyn), The Dead Betties (NYC), Pariah Piranha, 8 Inch Betsy (Chicago), BIGG NUGG (Cleveland), Unecc, DaLyrical (ATL), DJ Kit (Philly)

Mondo Carnivale!
Saturday May 24th, noon-7pm | FREE, all ages, outdoors in Lenny’s parking lot. MC: Ms. Coyote of Idapalooza, the Fly Girls Aerialists, Anatural, Jeremy Gloff, The Bangers, Shitty Candy, Atlanta Sedition Orchestra, Plus: circus performers, graffitti demo by ATL’s own favorite graffiti son, Totem, skateboard demo by Skate Like a Girl (Seattle), bounce house, BBQ and queer midway games!
Mondo Day Camp
Sunday May 25th, noon-7pm | FREE, all ages, Tye Street Park at Kirkwood
DJ Gina Bling (Seattle), DJ Chuck Jones, Medea the Play, Funk/Punk Poetry Slam, Radical Workshops & Gay Games like Fag Football and other outdoor sports, Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship? (New Orleans)

Mondo Fagsploitation!
Sunday May 25th, 8pm at Eyedrum Gallery, $8 | 290 Martin Luther King Jr Dr S at Hill St, 30312
Indie films presented by Pink Eye: Featuring the new Pansy Division documentary Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band, plus Fagotronic shorts, and Ukelele by Ben Lerman (NYC)

Mondo Speakeasy Brunch & Closing Party
Monday May 26th, 11am-3pm, Ria’s Bluebird, $15 | 421 Memorial Dr. SE at Cherokee, 30316

Hurray for the Riff Raff (New Orleans), Vagina Jenkins, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Miss Mary Wanna, K.E.V.I.N., Ms. Stewart, Noah Redd, Heywood Wakefield (Boston), DJ Hawg-Tied