My Best Moments of 2017
From the beginning, 2017 was not a year I was excited about. It seemed the odds were stacked against us from the beginning, what with the unfathomable and devastating results of the 2016 presidential election casting a dark shadow over the year. It felt at many times that the end could be near, or at least the end of the American Dream. But good people are resilient, and often thrive in bad situations. I am so lucky to be surrounded by good people, whether it's my family, friends, or the people I work with. I am blessed to have removed as much negative energy from my life as could be realistic. And perhaps because of the instability and uncertainty within our country and the world, creative, compassionate people created meaningful art and built important relationships during this year. Here are eleven of the moments that made 2017 worth living for me.
"Twin Peaks" The Return premieres on Showtime (May 21)
Talk about surreal! The culmination of a three year journey which began for me in earnest with the release of "The Missing Pieces" in 2014, which signaled that something was in the air. David Lynch had finally released the scenes that had been cut from the 1992 film Fire Walk With Me, something I had been dreaming about over two decades. In watching this amazing piece of film, it seemed like Lynch had officially returned to Twin Peaks and it felt like something more had to be coming. In October of that year, Showtime officially announced the return of Twin Peaks. It was three long years, trying to simultaneously avoid any spoiler alerts while eating up any details or gossip about the production of the new series I could find. As the premiere date got closer, it gave me a tingly feeling to see billboards around town with the tagline "It is happening again" (a famous quote from Carel Struycken's giant character). For those who know Twin Peaks, we remember that the original series left us with a massive cliffhanger - FBI Agent Dale Cooper being trapped in the Black Lodge while his evil doppelganger escaped into the "real" world - and a haunting promise from Laura Palmer that she would see him again "in 25 years." The entire experience of watching The Return week by week was thrilling, confounding, mesmerizing, frustrating and beautiful all in equal parts. There may never be any more new Twin Peaks but what we were given this year should keep us studying, theorizing and debating for years to come.
Boynanarama performs at my 40th birthday party (June 24)
In late April, Dylan and I went with his mom and our friend Jennn to the Upland Lemon Festival to see Queen Nation, a Queen tribute band, perform. They were so amazing and the show was so powerful, it really changed the way I felt about cover bands. I had always loved seeing cover bands play when I had some familiarity with the original material, but Queen Nation took Queen's songs and kind of made them their own. I started remembering how much fun I had when I got to perform with The Gay-Gay's, the all-gay male tribute to The Go-Go's, and thinking how I'd love to organize my own tribute. It's hard for me to believe now that I was somehow able to come up with the concept for Boynanarama - my male-fronted tribute to Bananarama - and then assemble the band, arrange the songs, and rehearse in time for my 40th birthday party on June 24. But that's what happened! I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the amazing musicians who were a part of it: Christopher Freeman (of Pansy Division and his own tribute band, GAYC/DC) on bass; Carlo Ribaux on drums; Dwight Rivera on keyboards; my brother Brandon Strecker on guitar; Erin Hawkins and Brittnee Garza on vocals. A special thanks to my two partners in bananas, my husband Dylan Tucker as "Siobhan" and my BFF Jarod Millsap as "Keren" (I was Sara, of course). Jarod also did all the choreography which made it so much fun! The show at Fubar for my 40th was everything I dreamed it would be, and so much fun! We did perform once more, at Palm Springs Pride, which was also a lot of fun but not quite as tight owing to the fact that we had to swap in three new members (Gretchen Bonaduce on vocals; Patrick Valero on drums; and Bryan Thomas Harrison on keyboards) and did not have as much time to rehearse. The fact that we didn't have any vocals in the monitors on stage didn't help either! But being a part of a 9-piece band of such tremendously talented performers, and playing such great, upbeat material was an experience of a lifetime.
Altered Images at Microsoft Theatre (January 28)
I have seen most of my favorite 80's bands perform live, at least in some incarnation, but there have been a few that haven't worked out yet. Altered Images was one of them, and I dreamed of getting to see songs like "I Could Be Happy" and "Don't Talk To Me About Love" performed live. I was ecstatic when, at the second 80's Weekend at Microsoft Theatre in 2016 when they announced that the band - or at least it's lead singer, Clare Grogan, would be appearing at the next 80's weekend! There were a boatload of other performers on the bill, and I was excited for the entire night, but seeing Clare was always going to be the highlight for me. Unfortunately, she only got to perform four songs, but that was one more than we had expected so it was much appreciated to see even that. Marc and I got to meet her very briefly afterward and I snapped a selfie with us. I would have loved to have had time to really talk to her and tell her how much I loved their music, but maybe that will happen another day.
Jollywood: A Holiday Pop-Up in Old Hollywood (December 9)
Due to my brief background as a party planner when I first moved to LA, I have always enjoyed planing events and have been so fortunate that I've been able to add some programming at the job I've had now since 2010. I started with Sunset & Dine in 2012, which has grown to be our signature event each year - our sixth annual food festival in September was a huge hit and many people told me it was their favorite one. I was a little nervous about starting another hopefully-annual event, but I had gotten the idea at our International Downtown Association conference in Atlanta last year for a winter market in Hollywood. The stars sort of aligned, because after 4 years of not decorating Hollywood Boulevard for the holidays, the Chamber of Commerce decided to partner with us to install lights and decorations at the intersections of Highland and Vine street. Property owners in the area between these two intersections liked my idea for a holiday pop-up market on the Walk of Fame, which I named Jollywood, and gave it the green light. Although there were many challenges, and I was overwhelmed with preparation for the event (I was there and on my feet from 6:30 a.m. that day until almost midnight), it turned out to be a great first event and there is already a lot of excitement about how to build upon it for next year!
New York trip (March 20-23)
It's hard enough to resist a free place to crash in Manhattan, but when you add the opportunity to see one of your favorite drag queen friends star in her very own off-Broadway show, who wouldn't jet off to the big apple? Dylan and I were sad to see our friends Joe and Sunny move to NYC, but we have been so glad to see Vicky Boofont (Joe's drag persona) absolutely killing it there! After winning So You Think You Can Drag, Vicky got her own show at New World Stages and we got to be there for it! In addition to that, we got to follow her around the New York drag scene and meet many other up and coming queens. Sunny and Joe were such great hosts and we were thrilled to spend time with their dogs, Winston and Valentino, as well. On this trip, I got to see more of the City, including the view from the new 1 World Trade Center, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, and checking out the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. We also got to see a Broadway show,
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, which was nominated for a ton of Tony awards (but only won two).
Old Hollywood Locals Night (October 24)
Working with my friend Angela Babcock, we partnered to create a series of events designed to bring locals out to Old Hollywood, the historic center of the Hollywood Entertainment District. We devised an evening where residents could come out and explore the area, getting to taste free samples from area restaurants, learning about non-profits that serve the community, while hearing local musicians and seeing local artists along the way. The best part was seeing neighbors connect or reconnect! We did our first event in April, another one in August, but my favorite one was in October with a Halloween theme. My band performed a "spooky" set of covers and originals, including "Nightmare on My Street" which required me to memorize a ton of words and then rap them in public - something I never thought I'd do! Also, my good friend Amy Crosby was there doing live painting and I got to keep a couple of her works that I really admired.
Eva's 3rd Birthday (May 6)
I like to think that in my family, it's quality over quantity as far as grandkids are concerned! Eva and Emmett are the apples of their aunts and uncles eyes and it's true when they say that they just grow up too darned fast! Dylan and I were so thrilled to be guests at Eva's third birthday party. I don't know if I can really remember mine, but I'd like to think I can (the photos help; on that front, Eva will have it much easier)! Dylan found a giant, cuddly Poppy doll from Trolls so we were pretty confident with our gift. Poppy didn't disappoint. We also did a family photo shoot in a gorgeous local park as Eva and Emmett's great "Grammy" was in town. I was sad that Brandon and Angela couldn't be there but Brandon has had quite the year of his own what with starting a business.
Hamilton Opening Night (August 16)
OK so this one is really, purely bragging, so I apologize. But it was pretty amazing to have been invited to attend the opening night of the smash Broadway phenomenon Hamilton when it arrived in Hollywood at the Pantages Theatre. Our entire staff and our spouses got to attend and the energy in Hollywood that night was incredible. And talk about Star Studded! I about fainted because Paula Abdul was right in front of me in the lobby. At one point, she looked right at me and then she said "hello"! I just said Hello back; wished I had gotten the gumption to tell her how much I adored her Spellbound album and what an important part of my soundtrack she had been. But no! Anyhoo, the show was fantastic and basically lived up to the hype. Oh and I also saw Jessica Alba, and the guy who plays Jean-Ralphio from Parks & Rec (Ben Schwartz)!
Voice of the Beehive in London, side trip to Marrakech (October 4-13)
Until 2003, I had never flown across an ocean. I had at least been to another country (Mexico), but hadn't ever gotten to go to Europe. That changed when Voice of the Beehive, a band that was so crucially important to a very precarious time in my very early adulthood, reunited for a UK tour. It would be the first time I ever got to see them live, and even though drummer "Woody" Woodgate (also of Madness) couldn't make that tour, it felt very magical to me. After those few shows, only one of which I could attend, it did seem like there would never be another chance to see them together again. So imagine the shock felt by many long-time fans when they reunited again - and THIS time, with Woody! Faithful "Bees" descended upon London for an intimate warm-up gig at The Lexington, followed three night later by an appearance at a big festival called Indie Daze, where they were basically the co-headliner (with House of Love). It was a little bit of nirvana in a world gone mad. After it was all over, if I've learned anything in life, it's that you need to have a plan for the come down, and we sure did! We immediately flew to Marrakech, Morocco, for four night in a super fancy hotel. Dylan even got me to leave and go explore and do cultural things like go to gardens and souks, and fun things like 4-wheeling around the desert. It was definitely one of those trips I will never, ever forget.
Thanksgiving in Carlsbad (November 19-24)
The end of the year was, as usual, a whirlwind for us with returning from the above trip, immediately rushing to attend the delightful wedding of our friends Jason & Ismael, and straight into Halloween season. On top of that, we had the aforementioned Boynanarama gig at Palm Springs Pride the weekend after Halloween. Soon it was the week of Thanksgiving and my whole family arrived from Kansas City, toddlers in tow! We rented a house in Carlsbad, a few blocks from the ocean, for a week to just hang out and have family fun time. We did manage to make it to the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach on the way down, where I got to visit my pal Missy's booth - some of you may know her better as one of the sisters from Voice of the Beehive! She was so awesome to my family, especially to Eva! I think Eva was mystified by the whole experience. It started "snowing" at one point when Santa arrived, it was magical. We also got to visit Coronado Island and it's famous hotel, and got a little glimpse of Carlsbad's cute little downtown village. It was also Dylan's birthday and I made sure not to let anyone forget it, even though he had to share it with Thanksgiving. I had balloons, cupcakes, party blowers and candles and the whole bit. It was a very special time.
"Twin Peaks" The Return premieres on Showtime (May 21)
Talk about surreal! The culmination of a three year journey which began for me in earnest with the release of "The Missing Pieces" in 2014, which signaled that something was in the air. David Lynch had finally released the scenes that had been cut from the 1992 film Fire Walk With Me, something I had been dreaming about over two decades. In watching this amazing piece of film, it seemed like Lynch had officially returned to Twin Peaks and it felt like something more had to be coming. In October of that year, Showtime officially announced the return of Twin Peaks. It was three long years, trying to simultaneously avoid any spoiler alerts while eating up any details or gossip about the production of the new series I could find. As the premiere date got closer, it gave me a tingly feeling to see billboards around town with the tagline "It is happening again" (a famous quote from Carel Struycken's giant character). For those who know Twin Peaks, we remember that the original series left us with a massive cliffhanger - FBI Agent Dale Cooper being trapped in the Black Lodge while his evil doppelganger escaped into the "real" world - and a haunting promise from Laura Palmer that she would see him again "in 25 years." The entire experience of watching The Return week by week was thrilling, confounding, mesmerizing, frustrating and beautiful all in equal parts. There may never be any more new Twin Peaks but what we were given this year should keep us studying, theorizing and debating for years to come.
Boynanarama performs at my 40th birthday party (June 24)
In late April, Dylan and I went with his mom and our friend Jennn to the Upland Lemon Festival to see Queen Nation, a Queen tribute band, perform. They were so amazing and the show was so powerful, it really changed the way I felt about cover bands. I had always loved seeing cover bands play when I had some familiarity with the original material, but Queen Nation took Queen's songs and kind of made them their own. I started remembering how much fun I had when I got to perform with The Gay-Gay's, the all-gay male tribute to The Go-Go's, and thinking how I'd love to organize my own tribute. It's hard for me to believe now that I was somehow able to come up with the concept for Boynanarama - my male-fronted tribute to Bananarama - and then assemble the band, arrange the songs, and rehearse in time for my 40th birthday party on June 24. But that's what happened! I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the amazing musicians who were a part of it: Christopher Freeman (of Pansy Division and his own tribute band, GAYC/DC) on bass; Carlo Ribaux on drums; Dwight Rivera on keyboards; my brother Brandon Strecker on guitar; Erin Hawkins and Brittnee Garza on vocals. A special thanks to my two partners in bananas, my husband Dylan Tucker as "Siobhan" and my BFF Jarod Millsap as "Keren" (I was Sara, of course). Jarod also did all the choreography which made it so much fun! The show at Fubar for my 40th was everything I dreamed it would be, and so much fun! We did perform once more, at Palm Springs Pride, which was also a lot of fun but not quite as tight owing to the fact that we had to swap in three new members (Gretchen Bonaduce on vocals; Patrick Valero on drums; and Bryan Thomas Harrison on keyboards) and did not have as much time to rehearse. The fact that we didn't have any vocals in the monitors on stage didn't help either! But being a part of a 9-piece band of such tremendously talented performers, and playing such great, upbeat material was an experience of a lifetime.
Altered Images at Microsoft Theatre (January 28)
I have seen most of my favorite 80's bands perform live, at least in some incarnation, but there have been a few that haven't worked out yet. Altered Images was one of them, and I dreamed of getting to see songs like "I Could Be Happy" and "Don't Talk To Me About Love" performed live. I was ecstatic when, at the second 80's Weekend at Microsoft Theatre in 2016 when they announced that the band - or at least it's lead singer, Clare Grogan, would be appearing at the next 80's weekend! There were a boatload of other performers on the bill, and I was excited for the entire night, but seeing Clare was always going to be the highlight for me. Unfortunately, she only got to perform four songs, but that was one more than we had expected so it was much appreciated to see even that. Marc and I got to meet her very briefly afterward and I snapped a selfie with us. I would have loved to have had time to really talk to her and tell her how much I loved their music, but maybe that will happen another day.
Jollywood: A Holiday Pop-Up in Old Hollywood (December 9)
Due to my brief background as a party planner when I first moved to LA, I have always enjoyed planing events and have been so fortunate that I've been able to add some programming at the job I've had now since 2010. I started with Sunset & Dine in 2012, which has grown to be our signature event each year - our sixth annual food festival in September was a huge hit and many people told me it was their favorite one. I was a little nervous about starting another hopefully-annual event, but I had gotten the idea at our International Downtown Association conference in Atlanta last year for a winter market in Hollywood. The stars sort of aligned, because after 4 years of not decorating Hollywood Boulevard for the holidays, the Chamber of Commerce decided to partner with us to install lights and decorations at the intersections of Highland and Vine street. Property owners in the area between these two intersections liked my idea for a holiday pop-up market on the Walk of Fame, which I named Jollywood, and gave it the green light. Although there were many challenges, and I was overwhelmed with preparation for the event (I was there and on my feet from 6:30 a.m. that day until almost midnight), it turned out to be a great first event and there is already a lot of excitement about how to build upon it for next year!
New York trip (March 20-23)
It's hard enough to resist a free place to crash in Manhattan, but when you add the opportunity to see one of your favorite drag queen friends star in her very own off-Broadway show, who wouldn't jet off to the big apple? Dylan and I were sad to see our friends Joe and Sunny move to NYC, but we have been so glad to see Vicky Boofont (Joe's drag persona) absolutely killing it there! After winning So You Think You Can Drag, Vicky got her own show at New World Stages and we got to be there for it! In addition to that, we got to follow her around the New York drag scene and meet many other up and coming queens. Sunny and Joe were such great hosts and we were thrilled to spend time with their dogs, Winston and Valentino, as well. On this trip, I got to see more of the City, including the view from the new 1 World Trade Center, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, and checking out the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. We also got to see a Broadway show,
Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, which was nominated for a ton of Tony awards (but only won two).
Old Hollywood Locals Night (October 24)
Working with my friend Angela Babcock, we partnered to create a series of events designed to bring locals out to Old Hollywood, the historic center of the Hollywood Entertainment District. We devised an evening where residents could come out and explore the area, getting to taste free samples from area restaurants, learning about non-profits that serve the community, while hearing local musicians and seeing local artists along the way. The best part was seeing neighbors connect or reconnect! We did our first event in April, another one in August, but my favorite one was in October with a Halloween theme. My band performed a "spooky" set of covers and originals, including "Nightmare on My Street" which required me to memorize a ton of words and then rap them in public - something I never thought I'd do! Also, my good friend Amy Crosby was there doing live painting and I got to keep a couple of her works that I really admired.
Eva's 3rd Birthday (May 6)
I like to think that in my family, it's quality over quantity as far as grandkids are concerned! Eva and Emmett are the apples of their aunts and uncles eyes and it's true when they say that they just grow up too darned fast! Dylan and I were so thrilled to be guests at Eva's third birthday party. I don't know if I can really remember mine, but I'd like to think I can (the photos help; on that front, Eva will have it much easier)! Dylan found a giant, cuddly Poppy doll from Trolls so we were pretty confident with our gift. Poppy didn't disappoint. We also did a family photo shoot in a gorgeous local park as Eva and Emmett's great "Grammy" was in town. I was sad that Brandon and Angela couldn't be there but Brandon has had quite the year of his own what with starting a business.
Hamilton Opening Night (August 16)
OK so this one is really, purely bragging, so I apologize. But it was pretty amazing to have been invited to attend the opening night of the smash Broadway phenomenon Hamilton when it arrived in Hollywood at the Pantages Theatre. Our entire staff and our spouses got to attend and the energy in Hollywood that night was incredible. And talk about Star Studded! I about fainted because Paula Abdul was right in front of me in the lobby. At one point, she looked right at me and then she said "hello"! I just said Hello back; wished I had gotten the gumption to tell her how much I adored her Spellbound album and what an important part of my soundtrack she had been. But no! Anyhoo, the show was fantastic and basically lived up to the hype. Oh and I also saw Jessica Alba, and the guy who plays Jean-Ralphio from Parks & Rec (Ben Schwartz)!
Voice of the Beehive in London, side trip to Marrakech (October 4-13)
Until 2003, I had never flown across an ocean. I had at least been to another country (Mexico), but hadn't ever gotten to go to Europe. That changed when Voice of the Beehive, a band that was so crucially important to a very precarious time in my very early adulthood, reunited for a UK tour. It would be the first time I ever got to see them live, and even though drummer "Woody" Woodgate (also of Madness) couldn't make that tour, it felt very magical to me. After those few shows, only one of which I could attend, it did seem like there would never be another chance to see them together again. So imagine the shock felt by many long-time fans when they reunited again - and THIS time, with Woody! Faithful "Bees" descended upon London for an intimate warm-up gig at The Lexington, followed three night later by an appearance at a big festival called Indie Daze, where they were basically the co-headliner (with House of Love). It was a little bit of nirvana in a world gone mad. After it was all over, if I've learned anything in life, it's that you need to have a plan for the come down, and we sure did! We immediately flew to Marrakech, Morocco, for four night in a super fancy hotel. Dylan even got me to leave and go explore and do cultural things like go to gardens and souks, and fun things like 4-wheeling around the desert. It was definitely one of those trips I will never, ever forget.
Thanksgiving in Carlsbad (November 19-24)
The end of the year was, as usual, a whirlwind for us with returning from the above trip, immediately rushing to attend the delightful wedding of our friends Jason & Ismael, and straight into Halloween season. On top of that, we had the aforementioned Boynanarama gig at Palm Springs Pride the weekend after Halloween. Soon it was the week of Thanksgiving and my whole family arrived from Kansas City, toddlers in tow! We rented a house in Carlsbad, a few blocks from the ocean, for a week to just hang out and have family fun time. We did manage to make it to the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach on the way down, where I got to visit my pal Missy's booth - some of you may know her better as one of the sisters from Voice of the Beehive! She was so awesome to my family, especially to Eva! I think Eva was mystified by the whole experience. It started "snowing" at one point when Santa arrived, it was magical. We also got to visit Coronado Island and it's famous hotel, and got a little glimpse of Carlsbad's cute little downtown village. It was also Dylan's birthday and I made sure not to let anyone forget it, even though he had to share it with Thanksgiving. I had balloons, cupcakes, party blowers and candles and the whole bit. It was a very special time.
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