Santa Clara, Calif. Star power will light up Paramount's Great America for the fourth annual Gus Presents Gay and Lesbian Night, a private party with thrilling rides, dynamite dancing and a chance to meet both new and old friends.
Comedian and actress Margaret Cho will lead a line-up that includes Chris Beckman, one of the stars of MTVs The Real World (Chicago), singer Kim English, Funky Green Dogs and top DJs, including Frank Abraham.

Guests can also meet Queer Duck, the star of the Showtime animated web series created and written by Emmy winner Mike Reiss, and watch an unaired episode of the groundbreaking Showtime series, Queer as Folk, currently in the midst of its second successful season. Showtimes invovlement is part of its support of gay pride events throughout the country, an extension of its commitment to serving gay audiences with critically-acclaimed gay-themed programming.

The private event begins at 6 p.m. and continues through 3 a.m. Park rides and attractions are open until midnight, while the main dance floor in the Paramount Pavilion is open from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Gus Presents Gay and Lesbian Night has quickly become a Bay Area tradition, with thousands of gay men and lesbians of all ages and walks of life kicking off the Memorial Day weekend with an incredible late-night party.

Cho will perform in the Paramount Theatre at 9 p.m., Beckman will greet guests from 7 to 9, English will perform at 2 a.m., Abraham will spin from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Tickets for the night are $45 in advance and $55 at the park the day of the event. A combination ticket for four Colossus events is $135 and includes no waiting in line, a VIP chill room at all four parties, and a shuttle to after-hours parties.

Tickets are available online at TicketWeb or at: San Francisco - All American Boy, Body, Gold's Gym Castro, Body Body, Rolo Castro; Los Angeles - Perfect Beat, Sporting Club; San Jose Leathermasters, The Watergarden; Sacramento - New Helvetia Coffee House (1215 19th St.); Seattle - Rudy's Barber Shop (E. Pine Street); Berkeley - Skillz (2575 Telegraph); and Russian River - Retreat Resort + Spa

For more information, visit www.guspresents.com.

Paramount's Great America and Gus Presents will make a contribution for each ticket sold to Gay-Straight Alliance network, working to empower youth activists fighting homophobia in schools. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Latin Stage at the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride celebration in July.

Cho started performing stand-up at age 16 above a bookstore her parents ran in San Francisco. In her early twenties, she hit the college circuit, and won the American Comedy Award for Female Comedian in 1994. Arsenio Hall introduced her to late night audiences, Bob Hope put her on a prime time special and, seemingly overnight, Cho became a national celebrity. Her ground-breaking and controversial, yet short-lived ABC sitcom, All-American Girl, soon followed.

In 1999, Chos hugely successful Off-Broadway show, I'm The One That I Want, toured the country and was made into a movie, called "the indie success of the year" by Liz Manne of the Sundance Channel. Her latest show, The Notorious C.H.O. at Carnegie Hall, will be released on CD in June and the movie of the show hits theaters this summer.

Beckman, one of the cast members on MTV's "The Real World" in Chicago, is an abstract painter whose work has been showcased in several exhibits in the Boston area and can be viewed on his website at www.chrisbeckman.com. He is also working on a modeling career and is currently touring the country speaking out to young people about the struggles and challenges he has faced in recent years.

English, whose current hit Everyday continues to rule dance floors, first scored with her 1996 debut single, "Nightlife," which became an instant dance classic. English is known for her earthy, soulful voice immediately recognizable to house music fans everywhere. Her albums for Nervous Records, which include Learn 2 Love, Higher Things and 2000's Re-Energized, found her working with other house luminaries such as Junior Vasquez, Razor N Guido, Wamdue Project, Boris & Beck and many others.

Miami's Funky Green Dogs, made up of vocalist Tamara and revered DJ/producers Oscar Gaetan and Ralph Falcon (who are also both collectively known as MURK), continues to blur the line between underground dance music and the pop world. Their newest album, Super California, stands as Funky Green Dogs most daring statement to date and the first single, "You Got Me (Burnin' Up), is already a scorcher on dance floors.