"The old vaudeville line refers not only to the demanding audiences in this Midwest city, but also to the fact that Peoria is the heart of the heartland. If folks like it here, there's a good chance that plenty of others will like it, too.

"Some facts you probably don't know about Peoria: It's the oldest community in Illinois, has a population of 112,936, is equal distance from Chicago and St. Louis, and it derived its name from the aboriginal inhabitants encountered by the first wave of French explorers.

"Site of the world headquarters of Caterpillar, Inc., and long considered a blue-collar town; this three-time All American city has lately begun to diversify its economy with InfoTech industries. But you can still expect to see tractor pulls at the local fairs. Caterpillar is, after all, a major economic force here.

But what if you are gay and live in Peoria or the surrounding area what's in it for you? Well, times have changed. There used to be a host of gay taverns and clubs to pick from but, through the years the demand had dwindled. There are some great places to go in Central Illinois if you're gay, and even if you're not! Over the next three issues I will be highlighting some of the local venues and organizations that put the heart in the Heart of Illinois.

Sparky's Bar & Grille / Mad Dog's Wisconsin Tap
Nestled on the East Bluff this neighborhood quietly sits overlooking the Illinois River. The neighbors know what is going on but don't seem to give it a second thought especially when it comes to eating. Sparky's Ringside Bar and Grille open for breakfast and lunch, draws a great crowd and has the best chicken gizzards in town! Sparky's Ringside owners Dianna Howard and Becky Behm named their tavern/restaurant after Dianna's grandmother's restaurant and Becky's grandfather's tavern.

Dianna, a part of the gay community since 1977 started working at the now demolished Club Peorian Night Club in 1982. She left the Club Peorian in 1990 and opened a new dance club called DJ's Time Out, with a partner. Expansion in the downtown area forced Dianna to sell her bar and she and Becky relocated to their present spot on Wisconsin Ave. on New Years day, 2000. This bar is popular to the lesbians, gay men and the straight folks seem to like it too!

Sparky's Ringside Bar and Grille is open for breakfast, Thursday thru Sunday 7am till 11am and Sunday 7am until noon, with daily drink and lunch specials.. Miss G hosts Karaoke every Friday or Saturday night, there is a cook-out every Sunday as long as the weather holds out and after that, every Sunday there is a Pool Tournament. Other events coming up are "The Ronnie Niles Band" Friday October 22nd, the MsFits Friday August 27th and Saturday September, 18th and Tuesday night APA Pool League and Abraham Amusement Dart Teams.

Right next door, a long time establishment in the neighborhood is Wisconsin Tap. Recently David Richey a former bartender at Sparky's Ringside, bought the bar and has great aspirations for it. This bar has the original Pine wood bar and back bar casing, pool table and plenty of seating area. David, better known as Mad Dog, will offer snacks on the bar in doggy dishes and sell "Butches" Pizza. I don't know about you but the bar is starting to develop kind of a leather thing if you ask me. Every day Mad Dog serves $1.00 drafts and is the home of the 32oz. Schooner for $3.00. You can stop in for Mad Dog's Wisconsin Tap's Grand Opening September 4th and for further information e-mail him at maddog_101_2002@yahoo.com.

Peoria Friends of PWA's
Retired Executive director Frank Bauer took some time and gave me some insight as to the history of the largest HIV/AIDS organization in Peoria. His story started out like this. "In 1989 a young man came back from NY infected with HIV and talked to the Health dept. in Peoria. Out of these conversations came the organization known today as Friends. In June of 1990 the organization was formed and in Sept, 1990 they received their 501C3 not for profit status. Mary Nash was the first part-time administrator when they moved into the Methodist medical facilities in 1992 and have been their guests ever since. The intent in the beginning was that no one would ever die alone; they could always have company, help with house cleaning, go to the store, and be a helpful force and not a judgmental force. Avoiding stressful circumstances such as disconnection notices and eviction notices are taken care of by Friends and this is all done by the extraordinary group of people who continue raise money by grass roots fund raising.

Friends represent an 11 county area in Central Illinois. With the federal and state cuts, we are funded 46% by the Ryan White Fund, and 4% by the United Way. The other 50% for operations are by fundraising, such as "Dining with Friends" and ongoing fundraiser for us is BINGO on Thursday nights with big, big prizes. We have contacted the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus for a spring fundraiser. Our annual J. Martin Sills award dinner, "Celebration - A gift of life" offers us way of funding and Methodist Hospital donates office space. Worlds AIDS day, we will have a collaborative with minority AIDS council Illinois HIV/Aids Clinic at UIC and Peoria Co. Health Clinic Friends, and we are also planning a gift giving for wills and trusts in addition to a membership drive. Currently we are doing a feasibility study on housing for HIV patients, men's daycare. For more information, visit us at our website www.friendsofpwa.org