A quick link to a nice essay about Pride in Northeastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
Check it out over on the Andrew Plus blog.
Showing posts with label gay pride pennsylvania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gay pride pennsylvania. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Gay Agenda in Northeast Pennsylvania
A quick link to a nice essay about Pride in Northeastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
Check it out over on the Andrew Plus blog.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Gay Community of Northeastern Pennsylvania Celebrates Pride Fest '09
By Steve Mocarsky for the Times-Leader:
WILKES-BARRE – Hundreds of people clapped and cheered on “Miss Estella Sweet” as she sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and her fellow drag queens danced along with her.
click image to enlarge
Sweet’s second Queens of NEPA show on Sunday was the finale for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Rainbow Alliance’s second annual gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community festival at Kirby Park.
Rainbow Alliance Executive Director John Dawe estimated more than 1,000 people filled the park to celebrate being a part of or to show support for Northeastern Pennsylvania’s gay community at PrideFest 2009.
He based those numbers on the fact that the alliance had 900 PrideFest stickers to distribute and quickly ran out after the five-hour festival started at noon.
Committee member Bill Brown said the head count hit 1,000 by 3 p.m., and another 300 to 500 people showed up “when the sun came out.”
“It’s just amazing the amount of growth. The biggest thing … was the amount of vendors and sponsors,” Dawe said, noting that vendors and exhibitors more than doubled to 43 since last year’s festival.
Elva Valentine, owner of Valentine’s Jewelry in Dallas, said she set up a table at the festival this year because “I think it’s important to show support of the gay community in Northeast Pennsylvania. It’s important to show there’s no threat and we can coexist and live together.”
Valentine said she didn’t expect to sell much jewelry, and by 4 p.m., she had not. “The point was to show we have appropriate jewelry and to sign people up for our e-mail list to get the word out there,” she said.
Christopher Kupchik, executive director of Berwick-based Caring Communities, said his organization provides free tests for HIV and syphilis for at-risk people. He’s trying to get the word out that there has been a rise in syphilis, especially among homosexual men.
“We had a good response. We tested about 45 people today, and that’s a great number,” he said.
Jo Vondenhuevel, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Wyoming Valley, said she and other members set up a table to let the gay community know that the church is “an open, liberal religious community, and we’re basically here to support people on any spiritual path they take.”
“It’s kind of tough because we are representing a church, but we’re not that Bible-pushing kind of church. A lot of people walk by us because they think that’s what will happen … and they’re turned off by that. But if they would just come check us out, they’d see we’re an awesome community,” Vondenhuevel said.
Mark Innocenzi, director of health and safety for the American Red Cross Wyoming Valley Chapter, said he attended to promote the Red Cross and programs such as those designed to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis, and recruit volunteers.
“There’s been a lot of interest. It’s not a one-way street. The Red Cross has always embraced the gay and lesbian community and the gay and lesbian community has always embraced the Red Cross, so we’re proud to be a part of this. It’s a wonderful event and really shows a very diverse community and I think that’s exciting,” Innocenzi said.
Cathy Burgi, a captain with Silent Witness PA, said about 14 members of that organization attended the festival to “provide a spiritual firewall between the protesters and the festival-goers.”
“I think things went well. There were no incidents and that’s the reason we were here. Last year, things got a little ugly. But this year, it was very successful,” Burgi said.
There was a quiet couple and two more-active protesters who held religious signs and shouted to attendees as they walked by them to the festival. “They got some people pretty riled up, but we encouraged people not to engage them,” Burgi said.
Overall, festival-goers enjoyed themselves once they entered the festival grounds.
Designed to be family-oriented, PrideFest offered a children’s tent with games and activities such as balloon animals and face painting by Outrageous Entertainment. Adult entertainment, in addition to the drag queen show, included solo and duet singers and instrumentalists, a magician, a poet, disc jockeys and a tarot card reader.
Hilary Hazus, 31, of Plains Township, said she came to the festival to support her friend, Cody Barry, 25, of Mountain Top.
Barry said he missed last year’s festival because he was out of town, but he came this year “to support the gay community.”
“It’s a great turnout. It could have been better, but it’s only going to get better. Good things take time,” he said.
Robyn Brozena, 16, of Larksville, said she and four other teenage friends – Natalie, Brittany, Gaby and Christy – “have gay friends and we came to support them.”
The girls posed for a photo with drag queen Liyahna Montgomery, 26, of Wilkes-Barre. “We like the drag queens and the music,” said Brittany Marra, 17, of Hanover Township.
Montgomery was touched by the support.
“I like the fact that they came out to support the drag queens. It’s an art for me. I try to show them that they can be sexy but also have class. I’m not dressed slutty, I have a bathing suit on. You can do a lot with rhinestones and a lot of talent,” Montgomery said after performing Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed.”
Montgomery said the festival is important to her and other members of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community “because we just want acceptance. We’re the same as everybody else except that we have the same(-sex) partner in bed. People should just accept us because we’re here and we’re staying.”
Dawe was encouraged not only by overall attendance, but by the number of straight people who attended the festival.
“It’s a real outpouring of community support. A lot of people think Northeast Pennsylvania is bigoted and intolerant. I think we proved that wrong today,” he said.
ON THE NET
Learn more about the NEPA Rainbow Alliance at www.gaynepa.com.
WILKES-BARRE – Hundreds of people clapped and cheered on “Miss Estella Sweet” as she sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and her fellow drag queens danced along with her.
click image to enlarge
Sweet’s second Queens of NEPA show on Sunday was the finale for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Rainbow Alliance’s second annual gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community festival at Kirby Park.
Rainbow Alliance Executive Director John Dawe estimated more than 1,000 people filled the park to celebrate being a part of or to show support for Northeastern Pennsylvania’s gay community at PrideFest 2009.
He based those numbers on the fact that the alliance had 900 PrideFest stickers to distribute and quickly ran out after the five-hour festival started at noon.
Committee member Bill Brown said the head count hit 1,000 by 3 p.m., and another 300 to 500 people showed up “when the sun came out.”
“It’s just amazing the amount of growth. The biggest thing … was the amount of vendors and sponsors,” Dawe said, noting that vendors and exhibitors more than doubled to 43 since last year’s festival.
Elva Valentine, owner of Valentine’s Jewelry in Dallas, said she set up a table at the festival this year because “I think it’s important to show support of the gay community in Northeast Pennsylvania. It’s important to show there’s no threat and we can coexist and live together.”
Valentine said she didn’t expect to sell much jewelry, and by 4 p.m., she had not. “The point was to show we have appropriate jewelry and to sign people up for our e-mail list to get the word out there,” she said.
Christopher Kupchik, executive director of Berwick-based Caring Communities, said his organization provides free tests for HIV and syphilis for at-risk people. He’s trying to get the word out that there has been a rise in syphilis, especially among homosexual men.
“We had a good response. We tested about 45 people today, and that’s a great number,” he said.
Jo Vondenhuevel, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Wyoming Valley, said she and other members set up a table to let the gay community know that the church is “an open, liberal religious community, and we’re basically here to support people on any spiritual path they take.”
“It’s kind of tough because we are representing a church, but we’re not that Bible-pushing kind of church. A lot of people walk by us because they think that’s what will happen … and they’re turned off by that. But if they would just come check us out, they’d see we’re an awesome community,” Vondenhuevel said.
Mark Innocenzi, director of health and safety for the American Red Cross Wyoming Valley Chapter, said he attended to promote the Red Cross and programs such as those designed to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis, and recruit volunteers.
“There’s been a lot of interest. It’s not a one-way street. The Red Cross has always embraced the gay and lesbian community and the gay and lesbian community has always embraced the Red Cross, so we’re proud to be a part of this. It’s a wonderful event and really shows a very diverse community and I think that’s exciting,” Innocenzi said.
Cathy Burgi, a captain with Silent Witness PA, said about 14 members of that organization attended the festival to “provide a spiritual firewall between the protesters and the festival-goers.”
“I think things went well. There were no incidents and that’s the reason we were here. Last year, things got a little ugly. But this year, it was very successful,” Burgi said.
There was a quiet couple and two more-active protesters who held religious signs and shouted to attendees as they walked by them to the festival. “They got some people pretty riled up, but we encouraged people not to engage them,” Burgi said.
Overall, festival-goers enjoyed themselves once they entered the festival grounds.
Designed to be family-oriented, PrideFest offered a children’s tent with games and activities such as balloon animals and face painting by Outrageous Entertainment. Adult entertainment, in addition to the drag queen show, included solo and duet singers and instrumentalists, a magician, a poet, disc jockeys and a tarot card reader.
Hilary Hazus, 31, of Plains Township, said she came to the festival to support her friend, Cody Barry, 25, of Mountain Top.
Barry said he missed last year’s festival because he was out of town, but he came this year “to support the gay community.”
“It’s a great turnout. It could have been better, but it’s only going to get better. Good things take time,” he said.
Robyn Brozena, 16, of Larksville, said she and four other teenage friends – Natalie, Brittany, Gaby and Christy – “have gay friends and we came to support them.”
The girls posed for a photo with drag queen Liyahna Montgomery, 26, of Wilkes-Barre. “We like the drag queens and the music,” said Brittany Marra, 17, of Hanover Township.
Montgomery was touched by the support.
“I like the fact that they came out to support the drag queens. It’s an art for me. I try to show them that they can be sexy but also have class. I’m not dressed slutty, I have a bathing suit on. You can do a lot with rhinestones and a lot of talent,” Montgomery said after performing Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed.”
Montgomery said the festival is important to her and other members of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community “because we just want acceptance. We’re the same as everybody else except that we have the same(-sex) partner in bed. People should just accept us because we’re here and we’re staying.”
Dawe was encouraged not only by overall attendance, but by the number of straight people who attended the festival.
“It’s a real outpouring of community support. A lot of people think Northeast Pennsylvania is bigoted and intolerant. I think we proved that wrong today,” he said.
ON THE NET
Learn more about the NEPA Rainbow Alliance at www.gaynepa.com.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Making Progress In Pennsylvania
from The Patriot-News:
Life for gays in the midstate has gotten better, said residents who attended PrideFest of Central PA in Harrisburg on Saturday.
"Five years ago, I never thought I'd see anyone proposing same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania," said Sabrina Kreps of Harrisburg, who was at the festival with her partner, Patty Wilson of Lancaster.
William O'Donnell of Mechanicsburg said it seemed to him that fewer protesters were at Saturday's event than in years past.
"Our community has definitely come a long way," said O'Donnell, who sings in the Harrisburg Men's Chorus.
About a half-dozen protesters, holding large signs, staged a counter-parade, walking slowly northward on the sidewalk along North Front Street as the PrideFest parade worked its way south down the middle of the street.
One protester, with a microphone and public-address system, engaged in verbal jousting with each band, float and marching and performing group that passed.
Kreps could remember a time not long ago when it seemed that the only places gays could go in the midstate and feel socially accepted was the handful of "gay bars."
But these days, "I find my friends are hanging out in mainstream bars" more often and feeling more comfortable doing so, Kreps said.
She said there's still a long way to go. Her decision to be open about her homosexuality has cost Kreps her relationship with her natural family, she said.
"I had to find a new family. This is my chosen family. This is home," Kreps said, referring to the people and couples strolling up and down South Riverfront Park as part of the festival.
Observers noted how many young people were at the festival and how they seemed at ease with their sexuality. Wilson said it wasn't that easy for her growing up, and those memories will always remain.
"I'm old-school lesbian, and I put rainbow stickers on my car," whereas a lot of young gay people don't feel the need to do that, Wilson said.
Yet, Kreps said that there is still hostility and prejudice, and that there is a need for groups such as Common Roads, which helps gay and transgender youth come to grips with their sexuality. There are still too many young gay people committing suicide because of oppression, Kreps said.
She said the festival is a good way for gay youth and gays in general to learn about the resources and support services in this area.
"I have people call me asking, 'Do you know a counselor who is gay friendly?'" Kreps said. She said that's because professionals don't always feel comfortable advertising such services outside of events such as the festival.
The festival was held inside a fenced area along South Riverfront Park, where attendees paid $7 to enter.
Mark Smith, the parade chairman, estimated that the festival crowd would be at least as large as the 5,000 people who attended in 2008.
The annual PrideFest has been held since 1992. Smith said there were 50 parade entries this year compared to 42 last year. The parade was added to PrideFest in 2006.
"We had four marching bands this year, which was a first," Smith said. He also noted activities being held during this year's festival marking the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn protest in New York City in 1969. That event is considered a milestone for the gay rights movement in the United States.
Life for gays in the midstate has gotten better, said residents who attended PrideFest of Central PA in Harrisburg on Saturday.
"Five years ago, I never thought I'd see anyone proposing same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania," said Sabrina Kreps of Harrisburg, who was at the festival with her partner, Patty Wilson of Lancaster.
William O'Donnell of Mechanicsburg said it seemed to him that fewer protesters were at Saturday's event than in years past.
"Our community has definitely come a long way," said O'Donnell, who sings in the Harrisburg Men's Chorus.
About a half-dozen protesters, holding large signs, staged a counter-parade, walking slowly northward on the sidewalk along North Front Street as the PrideFest parade worked its way south down the middle of the street.
One protester, with a microphone and public-address system, engaged in verbal jousting with each band, float and marching and performing group that passed.
Kreps could remember a time not long ago when it seemed that the only places gays could go in the midstate and feel socially accepted was the handful of "gay bars."
But these days, "I find my friends are hanging out in mainstream bars" more often and feeling more comfortable doing so, Kreps said.
She said there's still a long way to go. Her decision to be open about her homosexuality has cost Kreps her relationship with her natural family, she said.
"I had to find a new family. This is my chosen family. This is home," Kreps said, referring to the people and couples strolling up and down South Riverfront Park as part of the festival.
Observers noted how many young people were at the festival and how they seemed at ease with their sexuality. Wilson said it wasn't that easy for her growing up, and those memories will always remain.
"I'm old-school lesbian, and I put rainbow stickers on my car," whereas a lot of young gay people don't feel the need to do that, Wilson said.
Yet, Kreps said that there is still hostility and prejudice, and that there is a need for groups such as Common Roads, which helps gay and transgender youth come to grips with their sexuality. There are still too many young gay people committing suicide because of oppression, Kreps said.
She said the festival is a good way for gay youth and gays in general to learn about the resources and support services in this area.
"I have people call me asking, 'Do you know a counselor who is gay friendly?'" Kreps said. She said that's because professionals don't always feel comfortable advertising such services outside of events such as the festival.
The festival was held inside a fenced area along South Riverfront Park, where attendees paid $7 to enter.
Mark Smith, the parade chairman, estimated that the festival crowd would be at least as large as the 5,000 people who attended in 2008.
The annual PrideFest has been held since 1992. Smith said there were 50 parade entries this year compared to 42 last year. The parade was added to PrideFest in 2006.
"We had four marching bands this year, which was a first," Smith said. He also noted activities being held during this year's festival marking the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn protest in New York City in 1969. That event is considered a milestone for the gay rights movement in the United States.
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