The Feast of Fun

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

(formerly titled "Feast of Fools") is a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

-based

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk S ...

hosted by

Fausto Fernós Fausto Fernós (born April 16, 1972) is an openly gay Puerto Rican podcaster, performance artist, and drag performer. He originated and co-hosts the Feast of Fun, an award-winning daily comedy talk show, with his partner Marc Felion. They were th ...

and Marc Felion that showcases celebrity guests, artists, musicians, actors, and members of the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

community and those who support them. A typical program will include one or more of a number of features, including roundtable discussions, unusual news and social trends,

issues, comedy, music, food and cocktail recipes, or interviews. The Feast of Fun podcast continually ranks as the top-rated gay and lesbian podcast on iTunes and is frequently listed in the Top 100 list of Comedy podcasts.Wooten, Amy. (June 20, 2006)

Windy City Times ''Windy City Times'' is an LGBT newspaper in Chicago that published its first issue on September 26, 1985. History ''Windy City Times'' was founded in 1985 by Jeff McCourt, Bob Bearden, Drew Badanish and Tracy Baim, who started Sentury Publicati ...

30 Under 30 Special: Where Are They Now?
' On average, the podcast is downloaded 30,000 times per week,(March 20, 2006) Gaywired.com
Chicago Podcast Breaks Records
'' making it the most downloaded

GLBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

podcast in the United States.Bergquist, Kathie. (September 22, 2006)

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...

The Gay Press.
'' Volume 35; Issue 52; Page 26. On March 13, 2009, the producers changed the name of the show from "Feast of Fools" to "Feast of Fun" to better reflect changes in the program's design and functionality.Lewin, Elisabeth. (March 17, 2009)

Podcasting News A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...

Feast of Fools' 'Obamafication' Yields Feast of Fun
''

Podcast

The first Feast of Fools Podcast was posted on Tuesday, February 8, 2005.Heidemann, Jason A. (December 28, 2006-January 3, 2007)

Time Out Chicago ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition beca ...

Personal Best: Cheers to the Queers Who Made Our City Better in 2006
' Issue 96; Section: GLBT It featured Fernós, Felion and former live show band leader (and recurring podcast contributor) Link Pinks. The name "Gay Fun Show" was added to the title of the Podcast to help prospective listeners easily discern what the show is about when searching podcast databases. As one of the earliest podcasts produced, the Podcast is recognized as a pioneer in the podcasting industry, and is responsible for a number of podcasting firsts, such as: * First podcast hosted by an openly gay couple. * First podcast to feature an HIV-positive person discussing living with AIDS. * First podcast to use album art. * First podcast to use show titles.

Show format

A typical ''Feast of Fun'' show consists of a round table discussion featuring unusual news stories, GLBT issues and social trends. Other shows may feature celebrity interviews (live or by phone), cocktail recipes, or "how to" sessions, such as "How

drag queens A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

and put on makeup". Until 2008, celebrities and other notable guests were frequently asked a series of "Breakdown" questions at the end of the show, such as "Describe yourself as a fancy shade of paint" and "What would you like to see

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

doing in 5 years?" Since 2005, the Feast of Fools podcast has interviewed many celebrities, including

Carol Channing Carol Elaine Channing (January 31, 1921 – January 15, 2019) was an American actress, singer, dancer and comedian who starred in Broadway theatre, Broadway and film musicals. Her characters usually had a fervent expressiveness and an easily id ...

Cassandra Peterson Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the horror hostess character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson gained fame on Los Angeles television station KHJ-TV in her stage ...

(known for portraying "Elvira"),

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...

Teri Garr Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the telev ...

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

and

Bruce Vilanch Bruce Gerald Vilanch (born November 23, 1948) is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a two-time Emmy Award-winner. Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on ''Hollywood Squares'', as a celebrity participan ...

. Occasionally, a show will open with an original cocktail recipe, usually given a name that pays tribute to that episode's special guest. Cocktail recipes feature unique ingredients or put a new spin on classics. When not interviewing a special guest, Fernós and Felion are often joined by a rotating cast of frequent guests.Freeman, Jason P. (August 7, 2007) ChicagoPride.com
Interview: Feast of Fools
'

Music

Music is an integral part of the Feast of Fun podcast, and the show frequently interviews and features the music of up-and-coming talent, mostly unsigned or signed to independent record labels. Born out of necessity due to

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

and

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

restrictions on the use of music on podcasts, this feature of the podcast has grown into an important avenue for emerging musicians to reach a previously untapped audience. Musicians whose music is featured on the Feast of Fun podcast realize increased sales on iTunes and

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econom ...

Awards

In 2006, Fausto Fernós was recognized as one of nine Chicago GLBTQ community leaders for his work on the Podcast by the

.Bergquist, Kathie. (September 22, 2006)

GLBT Life: Community Leaders.
'' Volume 35; Issue 52; Page 26. On September 29, 2006, the Podcast was awarded the 2006 "Best GLBT Podcast" by

Podcast Awards The People's Choice Podcast Awards, better known as the Podcast Awards, are global awards given annually to the best podcasts as voted by the general public. Founded in 2005 by Todd Cochrane of Podcast Connect Inc., the Podcast Awards changed han ...

/Podcast Connect, Inc.(August 15, 2006)

Podcast Connect, Inc. A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...

Archive: 2006 People's Choice Winners
' In November 2006, the Podcast was named "Best Podcast" for 2006 by

Gay Bloggies ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, operated by Queerclick.com.

Queerclick.com
Cool as Click Awards 2006
' Fausto Fernós and Marc Felion were named "Queers of the Year" by

in the December 28, 2006 – January 3, 2007, issue for their work on the Feast of Fools podcast. In 2007, the Podcast was nominated for both 2007 "Best GLBT Podcast" and the "People's Choice" overall award by

/Podcast Connect, Inc. On October 4, 2007, the Podcast was awarded 2007 "Best GLBT Podcast." In 2008, the Podcast was again nominated for both "Best GLBT Podcast" and the "People's Choice" award by

/Podcast Connect, Inc. The Podcast was awarded 2008 "Best GLBT Podcast." In 2009, the Podcast was awarded "Best Gay News Source" by the readers of the

.(March 26, 2009)

Chicago Reader Best of Chicago 2009: Best Gay News Source
'' Also in 2009, the Podcast was again nominated for both "Best GLBT Podcast" and the "People's Choice" award by

/Podcast Connect, Inc. The Podcast was awarded 2009 "Best GLBT Podcast." The podcast was nominated again in both "Best GLBT" and "People's Choice" categories in 2010 and 2011, winning the "Best GLBT" award in 2011. As of 2011, the Podcast has won the "Best GLBT" award a total of five times.

History

The creator of the show,

, was born and raised in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. Fernós moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

at age 17 to enroll in art school at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. At the age of 18 he started the "SoftMen Show" above an alternative clothing store in Austin, Texas in the well-known music area known as Sixth Street. In 1994, Fernós created a successful

Public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was cre ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

how entitled "El Chow De Faustina," which featured Fernós in

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...

interviewing artists and musicians from the local area. In 1995, the

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

named the program as the "Best Cable Access Show" and featured Fernós on th
cover
of its publication alongside Texas Governor Ann Richards.(1995)

Best of Austin '95: Best Cable Access Show
' In 1996, his solo performance work was featured in

The Cleveland Performance Art Festival ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, a then-world-renowned festival of experimental art and live theater. Fernós met his partner, Marc Felion in Chicago, Illinois in 1999, and together they developed Feast of Fools, a live theatrical variety show performed in various

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

area venues. It featured music, dance, poetry, comedy and performance art strung together by a play that took place between acts.Shapiro, Gregg. (August 22, 2006) AfterElton.com
Feast of Fools Takes Gay Podcasting to New Heights.
'' The name "Feast of Fools" was chosen by Fernós to pay tribute to

Harry Hay Henry "Harry" Hay Jr. (April 7, 1912 – October 24, 2002) was an American gay rights activist, communist, and labor advocate. He was a co-founder of the Mattachine Society, the first sustained gay rights group in the United States, as well as ...

, a gay activist from the 1970s, who felt gays should "embrace a certain frivolity." Hay envisioned a future where people felt free to express themselves fully and honestly, and therefore "act foolish."Schwister, Jeff. (August 8, 2006) Beepcentral.com
'Fools' gold: Local gay podcast getting national attention
' In September 2000, Fernós, identifiable around Chicago by his distinctive blue hair, gained notoriety as a 'fire-eating drag princess' and performed as part of the

Radical Faeries of Chicago Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

at Chicago's HotHouse.Mattalia, Glendy X. (September 8, 2000)

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''Fall Theater.'' Section: Friday Part 2; Page 6. By April 2001, Fernós and Felion expanded their show at the Randolph Street Gallery to be a "performance art cabaret."Newell, Barrett. (March 30, 2009) edgechicago.com
Feast of Fun titillates and celebrates.
' By 2005, Fernós—whose friend, video artist Kerthy Fix described as "a celebrity waiting for the technology to catch up with im—and Felion aspired to take the show a step further by creating a

cable access Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

show; but at the same time,

podcasting A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...

burst onto the scene with the promise of video podcasting in the near future. Taking a chance on the up-and-coming technology, they decided to embrace the new medium. In 2007, the website was overhauled and two new podcasts were added: "Show Me Now," a video podcast; and "Mini Bites," which featured short skits and sound bites that users could download and use as cellular phone ringtones. The original audio podcast was named "Gay Fun Show" to distinguish itself from the other, newer shows. In addition, a Community Forum was started which allowed listeners to create personal profiles and share stories and information with each other. In 2008, the video podcast was re-launched and renamed "Video Player," which coincided with the launch of the Feast of Fools YouTube channel and another re-design of the main website. In 2009, the name of the show was changed to "Feast of Fun" to better reflect the show's content, which focuses on odd news stories, food and drink recipes, music, comedy and irreverent humor. The show intends to include both gay and straight community members who are open to

-related subjects and topics. Also in 2009, a complete redesign of the website introduced new features, including "Fresh," which gives listeners the ability to contribute stories, photos and original articles freely; and "What's Hot," a summary of the most popular podcasts, topics and stories. In July 2010, Feast of Fun featured interviews with a series of "Legendary Divas of Comedy":

Carole Cook Mildred Frances Cook (born January 14, 1924), professionally known as Carole Cook is an American actress. known for appearances on ''The Lucy Show'' and ''Here's Lucy'' Life and career She was born Mildred Frances Cook on January 14, 1924, in ...

Mink Stole Nancy Paine Stoll (born August 25, 1947), known professionally as Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, and has appeared in all of his feature films to date (a distin ...

and

. In 2011, Feast of Fun converted to a subscriber-based system, called "Feast of Fun Plus+". Subscribers gain access to all areas of the site, as well as additional benefits based on the level of membership chosen (Gold, Platinum or Diamond).
Feast of Fun Plus+
'

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Feast Of Fun Audio podcasts LGBT-related mass media in the United States Mass media in Chicago American podcasters LGBT culture in Chicago Creative Commons-licensed podcasts 2005 podcast debuts