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Wanderlust

Springtime in Europe: Bearcelona, Queer Film Fests, Gay Ski Weeks Galore, and More!

By Dan Allen February 27, 2012 at 11:51am
Spring is just around the corner, kids—that time of year when Europe wakes up from its long dark winter slumber and wanderlust is born again. Here’s a look at some of the hottest events happening across the continent in the coming weeks, including gay icon art in London, Eurovison fever in Stockholm, a fetishist takeover of Berlin, two Alpine gay ski weeks and three queer film festivals offering hot new LGBT flicks like North Sea Texas (above). Click through for details on cool cultural events happening in Europe Photo via North Sea Texas  

Ezra Axelrod: Songs from the American Motel Through March 3 Leicester Square Theatre, London

With a blend of hot theatrics and hipster humor, Yankee chanteur Ezra Axelrod brings the gayified pop/rock of his most recent album, American Motel, to life at London’s Leicester Square Theatre. GaydarRadio recently said that “Ezra is clearly a man at the mercy of wanderlust.” Wanderlust would just like to say: Right back atcha, Ezra.  

“Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes” Through June 3 CaixaForum, Madrid

One of the most famous Russian gays of the early 20th century, Serge Diaghilev was a ballet-world revolutionary: His traveling Ballets Russes combined bold onstage innovations in dance, music and art—and incorporated contributions from contemporary heavyweights like Picasso, Matisse and Coco Chanel—to forever transform the performance world. This show of beautiful Ballets Russes artifacts at Madrid’s CaixaForum follows hit runs in Barcelona and London.  

Strangelove Queer Festival March 1 to 3 Theater FroeFroe, Antwerp

This annual screen festival in Belgium’s hipster haven also includes music and performances, but Strangelove is best known for its film offerings, which explore what it calls the “underbelly of cinema.” The three-day event includes classics like My Own Private Idaho, as well as newer critical hits like Les Amours Imaginaires (above).  

Gaze March 1 to 12 The Collection, London

London’s Graffik Gallery commissioned some of today’s most exciting artists—new and established, gay and straight—to portray icons that have inspired the gay community. Marlon Brando, Michelangelo, Marilyn Monroe, Joan Collins, and Judy Garland (above, as interpreted by Gonny Glass in Friends of Dorothy) make the cut.  

Melodifestivalen 2012 March 10 All around Stockholm 

Few countries take the Eurovision Song Contest as seriously as Sweden, perhaps stemming from the fact that their biggest musical export, ABBA, was catapulted into international superstardom after winning the contest in 1974. After weeks of qualifying battles, Sweden will pick its Eurovision entrant for 2012 at the Melodifestivalen final on March 10 and, as long as you’re somewhere in the country—especially at a gay bar in Stockholm—you’ll see and hear who gets picked to succeed 2011 entrant Eric Saade (above) as this year’s Nordic kitsch-pop royalty.  

Roze Filmdagen March 15 to 25 Bioscoop het Ketelhuis, Amsterdam 

The 15th incarnation of Amsterdam’s popular Roze Filmdagen (“Pink Film Days”) screens 110 LGBT films over the course of 11 days, including Tim Sullivan’s short I Was a Teenage Werebear (above, part of The Weird and The Wonderful section) and the hustler love story Our Paradise (video trailer below).

London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival March 23 to April 1 BFI Southbank, London 

After stark budget cuts last year, the BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival received an outpouring of popular and industry support, resulting in a 120-film roster that’s 30% larger than 2011’s. Highlights include the thriller Absent , the coming-of-age flick North Sea Texas (trailer below) and the Iranian lesbian romance Circumstance. Kicking things off on March 23 is Thom Fitzgerald’s Cloudburst (above), starring Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker as septuagenarian lesbian lovers.  

European Gay Ski Week / Gay Snow Happening March 24 to 31

Whether you prefer the slope-side company of Germanic speakers or Francophones, there’s a European gay-ski week for you: High in the French Alps, Alpe d’Huez hosts European Gay Ski Week (above) at the end of March. At the same time, Austria’s Sölden is the site of the 14th Gay Snow Happening. Both events are packed with parties, performances and, of course, hundreds of sexy international ski bunnies.
Bearcelona XII April 4 to 9 Various locations, Barcelona For the 12th time, bears, cubs, otters and other forest creatures descend on Barcelona for this five-day jamboree filled everything from walking tours and formal dinners to sauna parties and hookup events.  

Easter in Berlin
April 4 to 10
Berlin

Europe’s biggest leather-and-fetish event returns to Berlin during— when else?—Easter week. Berlin Leder und Fetisch (Berlin Leather and Fetish) present seven days of especially kinky parties and events in what’s already Europe’s kinkiest city. The hub of activity is Nollendorfplatz, but for the first time ever, the annual German Mr. Leather contest will be held at the all-gay Axel Hotel.

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One Comment*

  • MoJo

    Nope! I don’t click-thru…

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