Ken’s 30th Annual Ginormous Super-Fun HallerDay Mega-Party!

Ken's Ginormous Hallerday Party - Charlie Brown Christmas Header

Ken’s 30th Annual Ginormous Super-Fun HallerDay Mega-Party!

Sunday, December 8, 2019
6:00-10:00 PM

4146 Flora Place
St. Louis, MO 63110

Join me for THE Party of the Season!

Here’s the deal: The more the merrier! Pass this on! Bring your friends and family!
And please bring a gift for a child AGE 6-11 YEARS OLD.
Your gift will given to a child by Santa at Catholic Urban Programs (CUP) in East St. Louis.

All gifts should be:
* New, not “gently used” (C’mon, does Santa give hand-me-downs?) and not homemade (Your family and friends will appreciate your craft a lot more than a kid who doesn’t know you).
* Wrapped.
* Labeled with a removable post-it note with pertinent info (Ex.: “Doll for 6-8 y.o.,” “Car for 6-10 y.o.”)
* Interactive toys that do not require batteries
* Toys rather than clothes or books (CUP has other programs for those essential needs).

If you don’t have time to shop, please feel free to write a check to “Catholic Urban Programs,” and mail it to me or bring it with you. No cash please!

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday December 8, 2019!

“Our Song: 500 years of Lgbtqia2+ music” by The Black Tulip Chorale

Black Tulip Chorale "Our Song" Header Image
Black Tulip Chorale "Our Song" Header Image

Saturday, November 16, 2019
at 8:00 PM

560 Music Center
560 Trinity Avenue,
St. Louis, MO 63130

The Black Tulip Chorale will be joined by Grammy award winner Christine Brewer and members of the Saint Louis Wind Symphony in a performance of music spanning 500 years featuring artists from diverse genders, expressions, identities, orientations, and ethnic communities.

BTC welcomes any community support to help keep performances FREE to the public.

More information at: https://www.facebook.com/BlackTulipChorale/

Hallerween 2019!!!

Hallerween 2019 Header Image with Peanuts Characters

Where? 4146 Flora Place, St. Louis, MO 63110

When? Saturday, October 26, 2019

What Time? 7:00-11:00 PM

It’s that time of year: falling leaves, pumpkin spice and HallerWeen!!!

Yes, I was born on Halloween, and that’s a great reason for a PARTY!

No gifts, please, but you MUST make a gift to the Black Tulip Chorale, St. Louis’s only free-standing, all-gender, fully-inclusive, LGBTQIA2+ SATB musical organization in a $$$ amount = the # of years old you think I LOOK so you can be:
* generous and vicious or
* diplomatic and stingy. 
It’s up to you.


You can bring a check with you, or if you can’t be there or would like to make your tax-deductible gift ahead of time, you can go online at:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/933343527010015/

Black Tulip Chorale presents “Kristen & Ken: A Cabaret Soiree”

Thursday, September 13 at 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

The Monocle
4510 Manchester Ave, St. Louis 63110

Kristen & Ken: A Cabaret Soiree: St. Louis musical sensations Kristen Goodman and Ken Haller join forces to create an entertaining backdrop for the Black Tulip Chorale‘s Fund the Future pledge drive. This fundraiser event benefits the Black Tulip Chorale, St. Louis’ first and only LGBTQIA-friendly chorus that welcomes singers of all gender identities & sexual orientations.

Enjoy delicious specialty cocktails named after our special guest performers, a silent auction, and opportunities to sponsor BTC needs. Your gifts make upcoming concerts free to the public and dues affordable to anyone who seeks to join St. Louis’ first and only LGBTQIA-friendly chorus.

Silent Auction begins at 7pm.

Seating is limited and can be purchased in advance online.

Survivor Shares Story of ‘His People’

Survivor Shares Story of ‘His People’

07/05/2017

 

In the summer of 1981, a young pediatrics resident viewed an X-ray that shook him to his very core – one of the first glimmers of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, a disease that would kill many of his friends.

“Though I would be spared the virus, this day would be split between the before and after in my life and I would be one of the survivors to tell the story of my people in the time of plague,” said Ken Haller, M.D., a SLUCare pediatrician at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.

Ken Haller, M.D., a SLUCare pediatrician at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, shared a personal story of his first contact with a patient who had HIV at Story Collider.      Saint Louis University photo

Haller was one of five storytellers chosen to share his deeply personal experience at Story Collider, a sciency version of the Moth Radio Hour that was presented by KWMU-FM 90.7 on May 2 and recently shared on St. Louis on the Air. He told the audience of 120 how it felt to be vulnerable as a gay man to a deadly disease that at the time didn’t yet have a name.

“This is a story I had to tell. A long time ago, I decided that my personal mission in life came down to healing. In telling a story about something I went through that required healing, I felt that I could pass on some truths about how we can find a way to take something that’s really awful and make it a moment of grace for ourselves and those whose lives touch ours,” said Haller, who is a professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University.

“That doesn’t necessarily make it easy, but it’s like exercise: Doing it may not be easy but having done it makes us healthier and even happier.”

For St. Louis pediatrician Ken Haller, the turmoil of the early AIDS crisis came close to home

 KELLY MOFFITT

On May 2, St. Louis Public Radio hosted The Story Collider, a national podcast and live storytelling group, for an evening of personal stories about science told on stage under the theme of “Eclipse.” The event was sponsored by the St. Louis Storytelling Festival.

Ken Haller, SLUCare pediatrician at SSM Cardinal Glennon Childrens Medical Center and professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University, shared a personal story from his first years as a doctor in New York City during the rise of the AIDS crisis.

Since 2010, The Story Collider has collected personal stories about science and shared them in live shows and a weekly podcast. Since the May show in St. Louis, the group has partnered with St. Louis Public Radio to produce future shows here through St. Louis Public Radio reporter Eli Chen.

The next event will be during the month of October. Have a science story to share? Reach out to stories@storycollider.org to participate.

St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Mary EdwardsAlex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region. 

Pediatricians group: Ask parents about poverty

Eyes, ears, throat, check. Parents’ income, check. Pediatricians will soon be asking parents about their financial status because of the negative effects of poverty on a child’s health.

In recommendations to be released Wednesday, the American Academy of Pediatrics urges doctors to ask parents this question at each appointment: “Do you have difficulty making ends meet at the end of the month?”

The question should be asked in all areas of the country, since economic insecurity can affect families in cities, suburbs and rural areas. Parents who answer “yes” will be directed to community resources for housing, nutrition and job assistance.

As detailed in the recent Post-Dispatch special report “The Crisis Within: How toxic stress and trauma endanger our children,” one in four children in Missouri lives in poverty — putting the child at higher risk for asthma, allergies, diabetes, obesity and other long-term health problems.

Poverty can impair children’s development and shorten their life spans. A study from Washington University used brain scans to show that local children living in poverty had smaller areas of white and gray brain matter. Poverty is also linked to teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, and lead poisoning.

“We need to do something about poverty in childhood because it affects kids’ health,” said Dr. Katie Plax, professor of pediatrics and medical director of SPOT (Supporting Positive Opportunities with Teens) health care. “We really want families and kids to get help.”

In addition to help from local charities, the pediatricians’ group is in favor of policies that support school lunch programs, Medicaid, food stamps and other government assistance for families.

Spending upfront to help children living in poverty will save the state in future health care costs and allow children to become productive citizens, said Dr. Kenneth Haller, president of the Missouri chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and associate professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University.

Haller said children living in poverty have stress-related health problems which can turn the body’s immune system against itself.

Stress hormones can cause inflammation in the body’s circulatory system, leading to heart and breathing problems. The hormones can accelerate fat storage and suppress the immune system. The constant stress can permanently change a child’s genes, potentially shortening their lives. The damage is not only physical but mental, causing problems with attention and learning.

Pediatricians already talk to parents about safety concerns such as bike helmets, car seats and guns in the home. Questions about financial security are also of critical importance to a child’s well-being, doctors said.

“Our job as pediatricians is to address the health and welfare of a child, not just whether they have a bad cold or ear infection,” Haller said. “If we can do some screening to help people early in life to meet some minimum goals in terms of nutrition and housing security, it’s not going to be good just for the kid and family but the entire society.”

Fourth annual Briefs Festival showcases eight playwrights

By KATIE COOK

Dr. Ken Haller, far left, Joan Lipkin and John Schmidt are participating in next week’s Briefs Festival. The trio talked to ‘Cityscape’ host Steve Potter, far right, about the event on Friday at St. Louis Public Radio in St. Louis.
CREDIT ALEX HEUER / ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO

What do a gay mermaid looking for love, a Jewish mother who competitively wants her single son to have the biggest wedding, and a lesbian version of Dr. Seuss have in common?

They are all themes in this year’s Briefs Festival of Short LGBT Plays, a festival that brings together numerous directors and actors to showcase the work of eight different playwrights under one roof.

The eight plays being performed at the festival on March 27-29 at the Centene Center for the Arts have been selected out of more than 170 submissions from across the country.

On Friday, “Cityscape” host Steve Potter talked about the festival with Joan Lipkin, the festival’s co-producer and artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company; Dr. Ken Haller, a pediatrician and actor; and John Schmidt, a playwright and the winner of the Ken Haller Playwriting Competition for LGBTQ and Allied Youth.

Briefs: A Festival of Short LGBT Plays

  • When: 8 p.m. March 27, 2015; 4 and 8 p.m. March 28, 2015; 2 p.m. March 29, 2015; the Ken Haller Award Reception is 6:30 p.m. March 27, 2015.
  • Where: The Rialto Ballroom at Grand Center, 3547 Olive St., St. Louis
  • More information

“Cityscape” is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and sponsored in part by the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.

‘We Need People Working Together’: Discussing Protests, Evidence And How To Talk To Children

 ERICA SMITH

Ferguson and St. Louis residents are trying to cope with and understand a grand jury’s decision not to indict police Officer Darren Wilson in the August death of Michael Brown, and the response, sometimes violent, to that decision.

Wednesday on “St. Louis on the Air,” we discussed an upcoming march organized by the NAACP; protests in St. Louis; the response in Washington, D.C.; the grand jury evidence and how to talk about Ferguson and protests with children.

Guests

  • Cornell William Brooks (@CornellWBrooks), NAACP president and CEO, will talk about the Journey for Justice march that starts Saturday.
  • Dr. Ken Haller Jr. (@KenHallerMD), a pediatrician and associate professor at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, will discuss how to talk to children about events related to Ferguson.
  • St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay (@MayorSlay) will discuss the city’s response and plans.
  • Jim Howard (@jimhoward529), St. Louis Public Radio’s Washington correspondent, will update us on the Department of Justice investigation.
  • St. Louis Public Radio reporters Camille Phillips (@cmpcamille) from protests in downtown St. Louis, and Chris McDaniel (@csmcdaniel) and Rachel Lippman (@rlippmann) who have been combing through grand jury evidence.