LA's Joyce Baron Holds "Kiss and Tell" Dating Event

On Sunday, February 8 in Los Angeles, blogger, writer and social entrepreneur Jayce Baron brings the first Kiss and Tell LGBT Dating and Relationship event to Downtown Independent in Los Angeles. Kiss and Tell is designed to give an opportunity for the community to take those unspoken, closed-door conversations you have with your friends and openly discuss topics and issues that gays face.

The event will start off with a discussion panel where participants will give their opinions of a variety of thought-provoking questions and their experience with dating in a gay lifestyle. Following this, select guests will be able to compete for a sponsored date from Kiss and Tell's eligible bachelor in their blinding dating game. As they wind down to the final part of the event, guests will be able to mix and mingle as they enjoy chilled wine, displayed art pieces and a special performances from a local Los Angeles artists.

Panelists include Gabriel Maldonado, California Commissioner and CEO of TruEvolution, a youth development and social justice nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing social disparities through education, advocacy health and wellness programs and services. Maldonado is one of the youngest openly-gay appointed officials of color in the State of California. Living openly with HIV, he currently serves as a Commissioner on the Human Relations Commission and the Vice-Chair of the Inland Empire HIV Planning Council for both Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Maldonado also sits on the Executive Committee for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Black AIDS Crisis Taskforce and Public Policy Committee.

Also on the panel is poet and spoken word artist Azure Antionette. Called "the Maya Angelou of the millennial generation," Antoinette is a youth and arts advocate whose performance poetry explores the ways social media is reshaping humanity. In 2011, she founded an arts-in-education program that provides custom workshops to excite and educate teen girls on how spoken word, performance poetry and social media can make an impact on the world. For this project and many others, she was included in Forbes's 100 Most Powerful Women in the World issue in 2012 and was featured in a special section titled "Women Helping Women."

Los Angeles drag queen Jsimone, or Johnny Lee Buck III, is a professional drag queen extraordinaire. Jsimone has been performing and competing in nightclubs and lounges in Southern California for several years and has developed a huge fan base. Jsimone takes his career very seriously and it is one of the most important things in his life.

And the final panelist is Yuriel Young, often known as Michell'e. She has been a staple in the Los Angeles entertainment scene since 2004. Born and raised in Oakland, CA, Young moved to LA in pursuit of living a fulfilled life, and to take full advantage of the opportunities the city had to offer. Naturally entertainment would be the chosen avenue, and once she scratched the surface of possibilities, there has been no stopping her ever since.

The evening will conclude with a mixer hosted by DJ Higher Lvl and a performance by singer/songwriter Julius. Get your tickets now, and find your special valentine.

Kiss and Tell will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, February 8 at Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main Street in Los Angeles. Tickets are free; RSVP required at kissandtellla.eventbrite.com