PARK CITY, Utah - Men magazine's Man of the Year Tour 2009 will kick off Jan. 19 with a special event during the Sundance Film Festival.
Founded by actor/director/producer Robert Redford, Sundance is the preeminent international festival for independent films.
According to Dustin Tyner, publisher for Men parent company Unzipped Media, "SinDance at Sundance: The Ultimate Pajama Party" will combine live music, celebrities and other VIPs into the crowning achievement of Unzipped parent company Regent Media 's sponsorship of queer events at Sundance.
"We know the [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community has a strong presence at Sundance as budding queer filmmakers look to get their films shown," Tyner told GAYVN.com. "We thought this would be a perfect opportunity to showcase this great issue and invigorate the Unzipped brand touting the fact that Men magazine is a sophisticated and iconic brand that showcases the best of the male form."
The issue to which Tyner referred is January's Men, which exposes Man of the Year Reese Rideout. SinDance will be Rideout's first stop on a nationwide tour that will take him to Boise, Idaho; Houston; San Francisco; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Boston; Providence, RI; San Diego, Calif.; New York; Nashville; Palm Springs, Calif.; Indianapolis, Ind., and Los Angeles. Rideout is expected to mingle with more than 6,000 fans along the way.
The Man of the Year honor began in 1998. Past winners include Mark Dalton and Zeb Atlas, who won the honor twice and went on to become a popular adult performer in the gay realm.
Tyner said SinDance has been years in the making.
"For the past several years Regent Media has worked closely with Ellen Huang and the Queer Lounge," he told GAYVN.com. "Both Regent and Unzipped feel it is important for the gay community to continue to be a visible voice at the festival and in Utah in general. It is important to show continued support for not only queer filmmakers but all media at a time when people who do not understand our struggle wish we would fade into the background."
SinDance will take place from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. at Queer Lounge at 608 Main St. in Park City. Queer Lounge is a program of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Man of the Year and SinDance sponsorship packages are available. Contact Regent Media advertising manager Billy Wright for details.
