World AIDS Day
events set across the country on December 1

AIDS-themed performance set for November 30 and December 1 in Los Angeles

Highways Performance Space, in conjunction with AIDSWatch and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will mark World AIDS Day with "Life Expectancies," a special performance and media event at 8 p.m. on November 30 at the Michael Kearns Workspace, 3929 Fountain Ave. in Los Angeles. The event will include several actors performing scenes from plays about AIDS and reading monologues written by Michael Kearns, including selections from his upcoming book, also called Life Expectancies. Following the performance, a television event produced by City Channel West Hollywood will be broadcast throughout December 1, showing on TV screens more than 20,000 names of people who have died of AIDS. For more information, go online to www.highwaysperformance.org.

Chicago events set for December 1

Several events are set for December 1 in Chicago to mark World AIDS Day. The Second Annual Chicagoland World AIDS Day commemoration will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Ave. The World of Chocolate, a fund-raiser for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at The Fairmont Chicago, 200 N. Columbus Dr. The 12th Annual World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., beginning at Western Avenue and Division Street, and proceeding to the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center at 2739 Division St. The World AIDS Day Gospel Shout will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at Marshall Metro High School, 3520 W. Adams St. For more information about Chicago events, go online to www.aidschicago.org.

AIDS-themed play Encore to be performed December 1 in Los Angeles

Encore, an AIDS-themed play written and directed by Molly Hardy, will be staged at 8 p.m. December 1 in Los Angeles. The performance will be held at the Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., and is a fund-raiser for the theater. Tickets are $22. For more information, call (818) 298-3113.

Logo daylong TV broadcast set for December 1

Logo, the cable TV network for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender viewers, will air a full day of AIDS-related programming on December 1 to mark World AIDS Day. The programs will include Longtime Companion; An Early Frost; Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt; the original special CBS News on Logo: AIDS; the award-winning HBO miniseries Angels in America; and several others. For more information, go online to www.logoonline.com.

BET TV will broadcast AIDS-themed programs on December 1 and December 4

Black Entertainment Television, in association with the Kaiser Family Foundation, will air a special lineup of HIV-themed programming on December 1 and December 4. Kicking off the lineup on December 1 will be HIV-themed episodes of the TV programs The Parkers and Girlfriends at 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Eastern/Pacific, respectively. Also set for broadcast on December 4 is a block of HIV-themed films, including the 2005 Rap-It-Up screenplay contest winner Multitude of Mercies at 1 p.m. Eastern/Pacific, followed by last year's Rap-It-Up winners Walking on Sunshine and Tangy's Song. A special two-part series, Jeff Johnson Chronicles: Rap-It-Up/ Sex It Up, also will air on December 4. For more information, go online to www.bet.com.

HBO and Cinemax will screen AIDS-themed films on December 1

Home Box Office and Cinemax will mark World AIDS Day with a slate of HIV-themed programs on December 1. Debuting on Cinemax at 7 p.m. Eastern/Pacific will be the Cinemax Reel Life documentary Orphans of Nkandla, which tells the story of three South African families devastated by AIDS. HBO will air the Oscar-nominated film Yesterday, which depicts the struggles of a mother with AIDS, at 9 p.m. Eastern/Pacific. Both films also will air at additional dates on the cable networks; Yesterday also will air on HBO2 on additional dates. For more information and showtimes, go online to www.hbo.com and www.cinemax.com.

Celebrity eBay auctions benefiting New York's LIFEbeat begin December 1

Several celebrity auctions featuring memorabilia from such gay and lesbian artists as Elton John, Tab Hunter, the cast of the Logo TV series Noah's Arc, Melissa Etheridge, Rufus Wainwright, Erasure, Anthony Rapp, John Cameron Mitchell, Charles Busch, Tony Kushner, Holly Woodlawn, BETTY, Peter Paige, the Pet Shop Boys, Village People cowboy Randy Jones, TV host Brini Maxwell, and countless other celebrities will begin on December 1 on eBay. Nearly 1,000 items are available for bidding, with all proceeds benefiting LIFEbeat, the Music Industry Fights AIDS. The auctions begin at 3 p.m. Eastern/noon Pacific on www.ebay.com. Items can be found on eBay by searching for Lifebeat or Bid 2 Beat AIDS. The auctions also can be found under the eBay seller name Bid2BeatAIDS. For more information, go online to www.bid2beatAIDS.com.