This feature originally ran in the October 25, 2023 issue of The Riverfront Times The year was 2015, and I’d been trying to set up an interview with Janet Kolar, Alton’s hearse-racing “Mistress of the Macabre” and proprietor of the Historic Museum of Torture Devices. I had first been drawn to Alton while exploring…
The curtain has risen on the Fabulous Fox’s season opener Life of Pi, a tour deforce production that does more than just dramatize a shipwreck. It invites the audience into a profound meditation on trauma, memory, and the human capacity to rebuild meaning in the aftermath of disaster. This magical stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s…
Mooneyham Art invites you to step out of the ordinary and slip into The Zone, an art exhibition unfolding at 305 State Street in haunted downtown Alton. The Zone will coincide with the city’s historic Halloween Parade. This immersive experience offers a surreal escape from the cold, complete with live music, hot cocoa, and mind-bending art while…
This year marks an important milestone for the Saint Louis Anti-Violence Project (STLAVP) as the agency celebrates 10 years of incorporation and commitment to uplifting LGBTQIA+ survivors of relational violence. STLAVP’s mission is to bring awareness of relational violence within and to the LGBTQIA+ community. Over the past decade, STLAVP has: Conducted field research of…
This past Saturday, October 4, a legend was honored in a way only legends can be. The National Blues Museum in Downtown St. Louis awarded Martha Wash a Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating her immeasurable contributions to music—and to the hearts and dance floors of multiple generations, especially within the LGBTQIA+ community. Often referred to as…
There’s nothing like being in a room full of talented musicians, and that’s exactly where I found myself Monday evening as socialites Russell Jackson and Alex Gutierrez opened their beautifully converted Lafayette Square firehouse for an intimate gathering. The guest list included some of St. Louis’s finest entertainers—Ron Bryant, Adam Levinskas, Chuck Flowers, Kim Fuller,…
Former St. Louisan Steven Reigns (he graduated from Parkway South in 1994), now an LA-based poet and activist, is not afraid of spending time with life’s unavoidable finale – death. He founded the Gay Rub Project in 2011, a collection of rubbings of LGBTQ+ historical markers and monuments, including many gravestones. The Gay Rub Project…
Named ‘Best Group/Duo’ in the International Acoustic Music Awards, acoustic duo Ryanhood got their first break as street performers at Boston’s Quincy Market. It was there that they were spotted by a college booking agent and thrust into the college touring scene, where Campus Activities Magazine would name them “one of the most requested acts by college…
Dagger Polyester may still be flying under the radar, but the LGBTQI+ community—and the wider music world—won’t be sleeping on him for much longer. His debut album, Perversion for Profit, dropped in early August 2025 and is already stirring conversation with its provocative concept and daring sonic vision. Taking inspiration from the tragic murder…
Many people envision October as cooler weather, pumpkin spice lattes, scary movies, and ghoulish good times. However, this month you may also notice neighborhoods, landmarks, and businesses glowing purple. That’s because October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). Throughout the St. Louis region, advocates, organizations, and businesses are coming together to create spaces of support…
