es! Denver’s not just a cow town anymore and is home to a chapter of the Long Yang Club-International (LYC).  The Denver Chapter formed in 1997 and is one of over 30 chapters worldwide - all with the common goal of providing a social and support group to Asians and those who care about them. The first Long Yang Club was founded in London in 1983 and now boasts over 1,500 members.  To become a chapter of LYC is to accept its goals of promoting friendship and understanding among gay Asians and people of other nationalities through social and cultural events; and to offer a safe, supportive social environment for gay Asians and their non-Asian friends and partners.  Long Yang Club takes it name from a gay character in the Chinese book Dream of the Red Mansions.  Lord Long Yang was a minister and favorite of Wei Wang, the Prince of Wei. The LYC logo is a stylized version of the Ying/Yang symbol with the hands and colors symbolizing friendship between East and West. Denver has a small but thriving Asian presence.  Asians make up 2.2% (93,000) of Colorado’s 4.3 million population, not including hundreds of international Asian students.  The Asian communities come from every Asian country and Pacific Island group.  The Denver Chapter of LYC has members representing a wide variety of Pacific Rim ethnicities, including – Chinese, Hawaiian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Filipino, Thai, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese. Denver’s chapter sponsors many different activities, including a monthly potluck, support groups, and forums.  Our monthly potluck/social meetings are held every 2nd Sunday of the month at a member’s home or office and usually draws 30-50 people.  Other social events include drag shows, Miss Long Yang Club – Denver, Mr. Long Yang - Denver, Misty Saigon fashion show featuring the Rice Girls, picnics, hiking trips, going out to the movies, or theater, and Elitch’s.  In many Asian cultures, we love to eat and getting together with friends to share a good meal is a major social activity.  What we eat may seem exotic to some, but Asian food is becoming more and more commonplace.  In England, Curry has displaced fish and chips as the national meal.  Can the U.S. be far behind in this trend?   Support groups include an Asian-only discussion group so that attendees can share cultural issues with people of similar backgrounds.  Another group is for young Asians to discuss coming out issues and issues related to Asian youth.  We hold forums to discuss legal and medical issues such as same-sex immigration and HIV/AIDS. Our members like to travel and sometimes get a group to go together.  We have been to Toronto for Gay Pride, San Francisco, Telluride, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Ouray.  We will soon be going to Montreal for the annual meeting of the Long Yang Club International.  Need help?  LYC-Denver offers a referral service featuring our members.  Our membership includes lawyers, architects, accountants, real estate agents, computer experts, catering chefs, hair dressers, physiologists, and medical doctors, just to name a few.  Our website also includes interesting places to visit, shop, and eat. So, is Long Yang a club for you?  Do you like to eat?  Have fun? Travel?  If the answer to any of these is Yes, then we may be for you.  Do you know any of the following terms: Ice Queen, Dairy Queen, Drag Queen, Rice Queen, Sticky Rice?  If you’re not sure about the last 2 but have an open mind, join us for an activity or two and find out. Article written by Don Lim for Out Front magazine. Long Yang Club – Denver c/o The Center 1050 Broadway Denver, CO 80203 Website: www.longyangclub.org/denver