RUNNING THE BASES | The Gay Softball World Series returns to Dallas.
Play ball! Native Texan Michael Sam comes out … then comes to Dallas (for a little while, at least) to play for the Dallas Cowboys, while Tom Daley, Jason Collins, Britney Griner and others make gays in sports a real thing, finally.
Chippin’ Dale: Dale Hansen defends Sam’s decision to come out before the draft and becomes a huge ally in the process. Not bad for a 66-year-old white grandfather in Texas.
It’s all about the basemen: The Gay World Series returns to Dallas.
Beer me: Craft microbreweries hit critical mass in North Texas. If you aren’t drinking them, you should be.
Ebola jokes.
We got Love: Love Field opens to long-haul flights (including newcomer Virgin America), and at almost the exact same time, the Light Rail arrives at DFW Airport. Hmmm … makes you wonder if the Wright Amendment actually kept that from happening all along.
At a Crossroads: Dallas’ Oak Lawn area is declared by The Out Traveler as the best gayborhood in America… natch.
For the dogs: ilume Park opens as a haven for gay pet owners.
It can’t make you gay: Dallas Theater Center’s production of The Rocky Horror Show generates controversy when several critics write tone-deaf reviews, including an assurance that you can’t “choose” to be gay just by watching it. Uh-huh.
Critical mass: In other critical news, several local chefs revolt against the major daily’s restaurant critic, and suddenly Dallas’ foodie culture becomes national news.
Buyer beware: Texan Matthew McConaughey wins an Oscar for playing a Dallas AIDS activist? Well all right, all right, all right…
Don we now our gay a-party: Don Gaiser’s Black Tie Dinner after-party returns following a one-year hiatus.
True country: C&W stars Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman come out as gay … on the same day.
Happy anniversary! Dallas Voice celebrates 30 years of publishing — hey, we deserve a shout-out, too, right?
— Arnold Wayne Jones
Sir Richard Branson made Love with a Virgin, as the Oak Lawn airport finally opens to long-haul flights.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition January 2, 2015.