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Archive for June, 2008
PLEASE take two minutes and complete our post-concert survey!
Click Here to take the survey. 
Melissa Etheridge will be performing at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre this FRIDAY NIGHT 6/27/08 at 8 p.m.
ADDITIONAL TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE AUCTION / DIRECT PURCHASE:
Right now, the Rainbow Alliance has holds on TWO PAIRS of tickets at various locations throughout the Kirby Center, including ONE PAIR in the “Best Section ($76)” and ONE PAIR in the “General Section ($36).” 100% of the sale of these tickets benefits the Rainbow Alliance and our programs.
If you are interested, please e-mail me with a bid, your name and phone number by TUESDAY AT 6 PM at john@gaynepa.com. If the highest bidder is not available within 24 hours, the 2nd highest bidder will be declared winner.
There are also a limited number of tickets available for sale at $75/$55/$35 plus fees. Call 570-826-1100 and mention promo code “Rainbow 08.” Make sure you let me know if you are going and want to attend the reception.
SPECIAL GAYNEPA RECEPTION:
I will need you to RSVP if you will be attending a special reception at 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. at the Mezzanine Lobby. I will need the names of those attending to be given to the Kirby by 4 p.m. on Friday. If you’re not sure, you can list yourself and a guest, for example “Ann Jones and Guest” but you must arrive together. The main doors will open to the public at approximately 6:45 and the mezzanine lobby will be to the public open at around 7:15 p.m.
We have invited Melissa to join us, but don’t know if she will or not. Rather than charge a fee for the reception, we’ll be taking donations if you want… but this is not necessary to attend. There will be a cash bar.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
I am looking for a few volunteers to work a table in the lobby talking about Rainbow Alliance and our upcoming events before the show, during any intermissions, and after the show.
Thanks,
John Dawe
john@gaynepa.com
Group revives PrideFest as larger summer event
PrideFest is making a comeback in NEPA after several years as a low-key event.
“It’s the time for change,” volunteer Marie Gray said. “I’m really proud to be part of what it’s all about.”
Organizers are looking for volunteers and vendors to make this year’s celebration, which will be Aug. 10 in Kirby Park, a big success that brings the community together. PrideFest is a celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight ally communities, and it is held annually in cities across the world.
In 2005, The Rainbow Alliance and GayNEPA.com worked with Pride of NEPA to have a festival and picnic for PrideFest. While the picnic has continued annually, Rainbow Alliance is bringing back the festival, Executive Director John Dawe said. Based on surveys done through www.gaynepa.com, he said he believed it is possible 200 people might show up this year, he said.
“This is something that we are seeing the community is asking for, something the community needs,” he said.
Depending on the community response, the festival could become an annual event.
Volunteer program assistant Janice Battinelli said she has been going to Pride festivals for more than 20 years, but this will be her first opportunity to help put one together. It’s an important event to get people together and promote education and a strong community, she said.
The Wyoming Valley, and Pennsylvania as a whole, is a tough place to live, Battinelli said, and during the two years she has lived here she has been discriminated against because of her sexual orientation.
“PrideFest is going to be one tiny step in getting any kind of equality,” she said.
Gray, who works with Rainbow Alliance as an advisor, said she’s seen a lot of growth and an increase in community pride during the past few years and thinks right now is a wonderful time to get people together.
“Cohesively, we’re here to stay and there’s a lot of good things,” she said. ”There’s a lot of community activism.”
It’s especially important, she said, to provide support services for teenagers who are developing their identities. She plans to make a presentation on helping families thrive, a topic that everyone can learn from.
Battinelli’s hope is that the celebration will bring together the LGBTA community in Northeast Pennsylvania and make this a better place to live.
“Pride is just one little event and it makes people happy for one day,” Battinelli said, “To me, I feel like people should have pride every day, not just one day out of the year.”
She is one of approximately 40 people who have already said they want to help with PrideFest, but Rainbow Alliance is looking for more volunteers, sponsors and vendors. Anyone interested in getting involved should call 371-6555 and leave a message. (or e-mail pridefest@gaynepa.com).
BY Erin Moody, Citizens’ Voice Staff Writer
emoody@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2051