Prince Poppycock performs at North Halsted Market Days

You can always find a party on any weekend in Chicago but few come close to the unbridled revelry of Chicago’s annual North Halsted Market Days.  This  festival marks the last few rowdy drops of Summer for many visitors who flock to this two-day street festival in the heart of Chicago’s legendary Boys Town neighborhood.  The event attracts more than 150,000, groomed, stylish and often barely-clothed attendees who cram into four blocks of Halsted between Belmont and Addison. Read More »

There’s a new contest in town (town being the Internet) from the good people at gaytravel.com. They are looking for a Travel Guru and it could be you!  The site is running a contest “in search of America’s first gay travel guru to ‘travel queer anywhere.’”

Unfortunately, some of the dates have already passed, but here is the info from the official press release:

Following the launch of its new website, gaytravel.com announces the search for its First Gay Travel Guru – a travel enthusiast to city-hop, mingle, and report on the hottest gay destinations in North America. To launch the search, representatives from the site will visit nine cities across the U.S. for its Guru Launch Party Tour.

•    San Diego, CA – April 30
•    New York City, NY – May 7-10
•    Chicago, IL – May 13-14
•    Miami, FL – May 15
•    Boston, MA – May 20
•    Atlanta, GA – May 22
•    Los Angeles, CA – May 22
•    Las Vegas, NV – May 26
•    Los Angeles, CA – May 27
•    San Francisco, CA – May 29

From April 30 – August 1, interested applicants will write travel reviews, post photos, videos, tweets, and use word-of-mouth to demonstrate why they are the perfect candidate for the job. As the online resource for news about the most fabulous destinations in the world, gaytravel.com will use its own social community, Meet, other popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, public voting, and a questionnaire and job application to select its Gay Travel Guru.

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Purple Roofs is “your GLBT key to world travel” and features Gay and Lesbian Bed & Breakfasts, Inns, Guesthouses, Hotels, Travel Agents, & Tour Operators.

The site is run by Mark and Scott and they have been kind enough to share some of their favorite vacations with us.

Today we’re looking at the weekend getaway of Amador County in Northern California for wine tasting, bed and breakfasts and everything in between.

When most people think of California wines they think of two places: the Napa Valley and the Sonoma Valley, and then they go there by the busload.  This premier wine region in Northern California overflows with tourists in the summertime, and wine tastings are often $5, $10, or $15 a glass.  Yes, for a tasting.

However, there are a number of other lesser-known wine regions in California that offer fantastic local varietals, scenic vine-covered hills, and best of all, elbow room.

The Shenandoah Valley in Amador County is such a place.  It is a lovely wine-growing region about an hour southeast of Sacramento. There are at least 32 wineries here within 15 minutes of each other, most of them can be found on one large loop of road that makes it easy to enjoy the grand tour.

How to Get There:

From the East (Lake Tahoe/Highway 50), catch Highway 49 in Placerville south. In 14 1/2 miles, you’ll reach the small town of Plymouth – make a left onto Fiddletown Rd., and you’re there.

From Sacramento proper, you have a couple options. The shorter route is to take Highway 50 up to El Dorado Hills. Take the Latrobe Rd. Exit (it only goes south), and follow Latrobe Rd. about 14 miles south to Old Sacramento Rd. This runs about 5 miles into Plymouth, and becomes Fiddletown Rd., leading you right into the wine region.

For a slightly longer scenic route, exit Highway 50 at How Ave. Go South on Howe and make an almost immediate left onto Folsom Blvd. Stay to your right – in about a block, Folsom veers left and Jackson Highway (16) veers right. Stay on 16 for about 30 1/2 miles, passing through lots of farmland and rural scenery. 16 then becomes 49 north bound and veers to the right – a little more than 2 miles takes you into Plymouth. Make a right onto Fiddletown, and you’ve arrived. Read More »