Mark Hubbard has lived with HIV for 25 years, during which time what we know about HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention has changed dramatically.

On Wednesday, May 30th at 6 p.m. at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC), Hubbard will address how new research is changing the way people think about HIV/AIDS and what those changes mean to the greater community.

Hubbard chaired the Tennessee Association of People With AIDS from 2004 to 2010, and he currently serves as its educational liaison. He also works with the International Rectal Microbicides Advocates. Last year, he created the HIV Empowerment and Action League to address concerns about cultural sensitivity and prevention support at Tennessee's flagship HIV/AIDS Center of Excellence, the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic.

Hubbard's lecture is presented with the assistance of Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region. MGLCC is located at 892 S. Cooper.

• American Idol winner Phillip Phillips

Move over, Phillip Phillips. There's about to be new Idol in town. The annual Mid-South Pride Karaoke Idol contest takes place this Sunday, May 27th at Dru's Place (1474 Madison) at 7 p.m.

But arrive early for the Karaoke Idol cook-out at 5 p.m. Plates of burgers and hot dogs with all the fixins' will be available for $5.

It's $10 to enter the karaoke contest. The first and second place winners will go on to compete in the Mid-South Karaoke Idol finals for a shot at singing on the main stage at this year's Mid-South Pride festival on October 6th.

For more information, check out the event's Facebook page.

Tickets are on sale now for the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center's Wine Tasting & Auction fund-raiser on Friday, June 1st.

A variety of red and white wines will be available for tastings, and there's a live and silent auction. Heavy hors d'oeuvres will be available, and live music will be provided by Sibella.

The 21+ party runs from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at the Clark Opera Memphis Center at 6745 Wolf River Parkway. Tickets are $45 for individuals or $85 for couples. Funds raised will go toward MGLCC's support groups, HIV testing program, youth services, and other programs.

To purchase tickets, go here. For more information, check out the event's Facebook page.

• Kelli Dunham

Before she began her career as a traveling, gender-queer comic, Kelli Dunham attempted to start her adult life as a nun. But she managed to flunk out of aspirancy training and wound up embracing her sexuality as a comic instead.

According to Dunham's biography on her website:

Because she 'had insufficient docility,' 'too much self-esteem,' and 'walked like [her] shoulders were angry' (all direct quotes from the nuns) Kelli was held back in aspirancy for 12 months, the convent equivalent of flunking preschool six times.”

The Wisconsin native has appeared on Showtime and the Discovery Channel, and she's authored four humorous, non-fiction books. She performs her traveling comedy show in places as diverse as the Beltane Pagan Sexuality Conference and the corporate headquarters of Citibank. But tonight, Dunham will perform at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center at 7 p.m. The show is free, but donations will be collected to help Dunham get to her next stop.

Much of the first Bluff City Sports Association softball game on April 20th was canceled due to rain, so this weekend's game will unofficially become opening night.

On Friday, April 27th, the Hobos will play the Tooth Fairies, followed by a battle between the Neons and Sho Gurlz. The Full Force, which managed to get a game in last week before the rain started falling, has the weekend off. Games begin at 7 p.m. at Willow Park in East Memphis.

For more information on the city's only LGBT softball league, check out the Bluff City Sports website.

It's a big gay weekend in the Bluff City.

On Saturday, April 21st, equal rights advocates will take to the streets of Millington for an LGBT rights march. The march is one of 30 or so marches across the country scheduled for Saturday as part of the "Let's Reach One Million People" campaign. Marchers will meet at the VFW Post 7175 on Cuba-Millington Road at 10:30 a.m. The march kicks off at noon, and they'll circle back to the VFW for a post-march party with a DJ, volleyball games, grilled food, face painting, and a bounce house for kids. To find out more, check out this story from this week's Memphis Flyer.

On Sunday, April 22nd, the Tennessee Equality Project is hosting a Diversity Forum at Caritas Village (2509 Harvard) from 1 to 3:30 p.m. The forum will feature a panel of multicultural representatives discussing inclusiveness and diversity or the lack thereof in Memphis' LGBT community. For more on that event, check out the event's Facebook page.

The Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) will begin offering free syphilis testing in addition to its free weekly HIV tests on Wednesday, April 11th.

Syphilis passes from person to person in many of the same ways as HIV, and it can cause fatal damage to the brain, heart, and nervous system if left untreated.

The free tests, normally a $70 value, are being provided by Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region.

A new support group for HIV-positive men of color meets for the first time on Tuesday, April 3rd at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center at 892 S. Cooper.

The group will meet every first and third Tuesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For more information, email info@mglcc.org.

• Photo from Spectrum
• Demonica Santangilo

Drag performer Demonica Santangilo has made quite the name for herself in Memphis. In the Backstreet days, she made loyal fans with high kicks that could rival any Olympic gymnast. She carried her loyal following to Club Spectrum, where she's continued performing every weekend. She's even represented Memphis in the Miss Gay America pageant.

But Demonica will soon be high-kicking out of the Bluff City with her sights set on Atlanta. Club Spectrum is hosting a going-away party on Saturday, March 31st beginning at 8 p.m.

Check out this clip of Demonica appearing on a 2008 episode of The Jerry Springer Show.

The Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center may soon be home to a support group for victims of same-sex domestic violence.

"Love Doesn't Hurt," a fund-raiser to benefit the group's start-up, will be held at Crossroads on Saturday, March 31st from 7 to 9 p.m. The event will feature drag performances by Pat McCooter, Beverly Hills, Will Ryder, Jade Porchett, and others. Guest speakers will include District Attorney General Amy Weirich, Domestic Violence Unit Leader Karen Cook, and domestic violence survivors.

Cash donations or donations of personal hygiene items for the start-up group will be collected at the door. Needed items include deodorant, soap, toothbushes, toothpaste, bras in any size, and underwear (male and female).

For more information on the event, check out this Facebook page.

Learn about legal issues surrounding transgender marriages, wills and estates for LGBT families, custody issues, cyber-bullying, and gay-straight alliance formation at the second annual LGBT Legal Symposium at the University of Mississippi School of Law on Friday, March 23rd.

Held in the Robert C. Khayat Law Center, classes at the symposium will be led by well-known names within the LGBT legal community. There's also a panel on ethics and diversity in the legal profession moderated by D'Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National LGBT Bar Association.

For those who can't attend the symposium in person, 25 virtual seats are being offered through live streaming video on the internet.

On the night of the 23rd, there's a LGBT Alumni & Allies Association Dinner at Butler Auditorium at the Inn at Ole Miss. The dinner runs from 6 to 8 p.m., and guests will have a chance to network with the class presenters from the symposium.

To register, email Sue Sweeney or go to the event's Facebook page and download the registration form.

What's better than a pint of Ben & Jerry's Schweddy Balls after a break-up? Hearing other people's depressing break-up stories. That's what.

The Emerald Theatre Company cast are sharing their tales of romance gone bad this weekend in their sequel to The Break-Up Show, which was originally performed last spring. The show features real people sharing their real break-up stories.

The show opens at 8 p.m. on March 22nd and runs Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through March 31st. General admission is $15 or $8 for seniors and students with a valid ID. For more information, call 272-0909.

• Dani Carr

Indie rock performer Husky In Denial is hosting his CD release party Friday night with DJ Tempest at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (892 S. Cooper) from 6 to 9 p.m.

The free event will feature a live performance and plenty of Godiva chocolates. There will be a raffle for band merch with half the proceeds going back to the community center. Husky In Denial describes his music as "gutsy music, combining elements of indie rock, progressive rock, and trip hop with animal nerve and autistic eccentricity."

For more on Husky In Denial, check out his website.

Free blood pressure screenings and personalized diet planning are just a couple of the services to be offered at a Gay Men's Health Workshop on Wednesday, March 7th at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (892 S. Cooper).

Levi Collins, a nursing student from Southwest Tennessee Community College, is hosting the event, which will also include discussions on maintaining holistic health as a gay man, recommendations for STD testing and immunizations, leading causes of death among men and MSM (men who have sex with men), and prevention factors associated with these causes.

The event begins at 4 p.m. with blood pressure screenings. The health discussion will start at 5:30 p.m., and diet planning will occur between 6:30 and 9 p.m. Those who wish to have their diets analyzed should bring in a food journal of what they've eaten over the past few days.

The free Planned Parenthood-sponsored HIV testing service at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center will resume on Wednesday evenings, thanks to United States District Judge William Haynes' decision to grant a preliminary injunction to stop the state from excluding Planned Parenthood from HIV and syphilis testing programs.

The weekly testing was halted in February after the state Department of Health rescinded Planned Parenthood's grants for HIV and syphilis testing. The MGLCC testing runs from 6 to 9 p.m. every Wednesday at 892 S. Cooper.

Other sites where testing will resume include:

* GetWell Community Clinic, 3055 Watson Street
Each Monday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

* The University of Memphis, University Center, Room 203
Each Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (except for school breaks and exam weeks)

* Caritas Village Coffee Shop, 2509 Harvard Avenue
Each Friday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.