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action! alert
OPPOSE federal marriage ammendment
act/ofi/alert _
SUPPORT domestic partner benefits 3
Durham murders still
a mystery
V.®L
San Francisco Fog seized
the day at the first
Bingham Rugby Cup n 1
Women’s lower status
contributes to HIV/AIDS K
Tm Coming Out” on MTV 2©
South Carolina 27
www.q-notes.com
Do you vote
in primary elections?
• Always
• Only presidential
primaries
• Never
.IT
VOLUME 17 . ISSUE 5
SINCE 198«
V^rww. q-NOTES. COM
(§TfD©K]
JULY 20.2002
Crape Myrtle Festival — amazing good for 22 years
Celebrating life and diversity for its 22nd
year, this Raleigh non-profit raises funds
and promotes awareness for persons
living with AIDS/HIV and the local GLBT
community
RALEIGH — The Crape Myrtle Festival
(CMF), a Raleigh-based non-profit or
ganization supporting persons living with
AIDS/HIV and the local gay and lesbian
community, will hold its annual Grand Gala
on luly 27 at the Raleigh Convention
Center. This year, five panels from the AIDS
Quilt will be'on display, and this will be the
organization’s 22nd year of raising funds
and promoting awareness. The event will
be sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and US
Airways.
The Crape Myrtle Festival began in
1981 as a small backyard get-together in
Chapel Hill, NC. TWelve years ago, it
broadened its focus to respond to the
HIV/AIDS health crisis. The Crape Myrtle
Festival was at that time incorporated as a
501(c)(3)
organization and
has since become
one of North
Carolina's
premier all-volun
teer fundraising
non-profits.
CMF’s mission is
to provide fin
ancial assistance,
outreach and ed
ucation to ident
ified needs within
the local gay and
lesbian com
munity.
CMF Volunteers painted HIV/AIDS at the entrance and throughout
the "expression tunnel" at NC State University campus.
Since its inception in 1981, CMF has
raised over $850,000 for local service
agencies through sponsored events as well
as private and corporate donations from
Fortune 500 companies. In 2001, the
organization raised $137,000 in cash and
in-kind gifts for children, women and men
living HIV/AIDS. CMF will continue its
fundraising efforts in 2003 to support
financial assistance, outreach 'and
education to identified needs within the
local gay and lesbian community.
During the 2002 season, CMF held
see FESTIVAL on 15
by Patrick Toal
"2-4-6-8: Are you sure your grandma’s
straight?" I heard this chant while
attending an older adult conference a few
years ago. As 1 looked around the room, I
noticed several of the younger people
chuckling while a group of older women
repeated the cheer in mantra form. If you
think about it, though, it is quite true—how do we know? After all,
there have been many famous older gays and lesbians who were
not "out" or "outed" until their golden years, but to whom we pay
tribute.
Think of older individuals who are an integral part of our lives
who may be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender but have
remained closeted in order to hold on to jobs, family, friends and
faith fellowship. How about your favorite aunt who just "never
found the right man?"
Our LGBT community has come of age as the baby booming
generation begins graying and contemplating retirement.
Expo to provide resources
|or unique LGBT aging issues
And the remaining diverse fellowship of lesbians, gays,
bisexuals and transgenders are charged with the repsonsibiity of
finding ways the community can serve and adapt.
For those of us who are baby boomed, it is important
to remind ourselves and others that homosexuals do not
self destruct at 50. However, our resources change, our
needs change, and our life focuses shift some. The
community of aging agencies and the LGBT community
need to accomodate and offer a comfortable place for
this to happen — for everyone to remain a vialble part of
the whole community.
We are healthier, more aaive and consequently,
happier and living longer than generations before. And
more of us are out in our middle age than ever before. So
much has changed to make it possible to be who we are
and with whom we want to be.
The community services need to be in place and
everyone, whether you are 18 or 80, you need to know
what there is and what will be there for you when you
need it.
We all need retirement planning. We ail need
healthcare. We will all need alternative housing options
as we retire and "downsize” our lives to make way and room for
enjoying our hard-earned free time.
Our culture, and especially our community, place a great deal
of emphasis on youthfulness, sex appeal and good looks. All the
anti-aging creams, tummy tucks and face lifts in the world will not
stop the clock. Senescence is a process that begins at birth and
continues throughout the life span.
So, we must embrace all generations. We wil be them! When
you interact with an older gay or lesbian, imagine you are talking
to your own grandparent. We can learn from each other: patience
see EXPO on 19