Noted . Notable . Noteworthy . LGBT News & Views
Volume 23 . Number 25 April 18.2009 Printed on Recycled Paper FREE
ae
Economy and financial matters a concern
as organizers gear up for 2009 Pride season
Summer
skin
page 15
q-notes.com
ogwoods bloom. Trees regain their leafyf greens. April showers
8™ way to sultry, southern summer dayi Spring is in the
air, and LGBT community organizers around the Carolinas are
hustling to get their plans ready for this year’s season of Pride celebra
tions and festivals.
It is a banner year for Pride, nationally and locally. We celebrate the
40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots this June. The South Carolina
Pride Movement celebrates its 20th anniversary in September. A new
local Pride takes root in the upstate of South Carolina.
Q-Notes spoke to Pride organizers across the region to gauge their
planning progress in the face of a seemingly disastrous climate. Despite
the national financial meltdown, organizers say they’ll pull through and
provide the joyous celebration and sense of community LGBT folks have
come to expect from their annual Pride festivals.
Jay Ault, publicity co-chair for the new Upstate Pride, says their
group expects 250-300 people will participate in their first-ever march
and festival on June 20. He says local community members felt it was
time to have their own celebration.
“We felt it was time to hit home and allow the people in the GLBTIQ/
Straight Ally community to show their support and pride instead of
having to travel at the least an hour to be part of a Pride,” he says.
Ault is encouraged by the financial support the group has received
thus far. “We as a new organization are actually fairing pretty well,” Ault
says. “We are receiving donations from dozens of individuals (and they
just keep coming) and a couple of groups.”
He says they’ve found it more difficult to solicit contributions from
area businesses. Ault thinks the economy isn’t necessarily to blame. “We
see Organizers on 12
Our new hops
White Rabbit
Raleigh moves
page 14
Forward step
WSSU and the gays
page 11
Act against AIDS
New awareness
campaign
page 5