“This was my first job in San Diego after moving here from New Orleans,” Ard, who’s been playing at The Caliph off and on since 1987, said minutes before taking the stage for the last time. But, he admitted, it was all bittersweet. “One of the sweetest memories I remember is when that finally happened, we had a couple of marriage proposals,” recalled Carey, who said she sang every gay anthem in the book that night, from “Love Story” by Taylor Swift to “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked.” “To be a witness to that, knowing that finally a couple of people could love who they want to love, that was one of those real heart moments.”Įntertainer Kenny Ard has experienced many of those moments, too, and this past Wednesday - his last show - he came ready to rock the night away. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage across the country, it was a cultural turning point marked by cheers and tears inside the dimly lit bar at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Redwood Street. During the 1980s, at the height of the AIDS crisis, patrons raised money, many writing personal checks to help those who couldn’t afford medical care. Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450, banning homosexuals from being employed by the federal government. It opened its doors in 1960, seven years after President Dwight D.
