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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels June 2, 2004 Abdill-Ellis center plans gay pride celebration As Southern Oregon's gay community grows bigger and stronger, those in the community felt it was time to celebrate. So a small group got together and decided to plan a big event. Out of that conversation comes Gay Pride Festival 2004, a week-long event celebrating on two fronts. "The first reason for the celebration was that we saved the Abdill-Ellis Lamda Center," said Jeffrey Foust, one of the organizers of the event. "And the second reason was that we felt we needed to celebrate and felt there was a need for a festival. It has been a long year and it is really now just getting started with the upcoming election." Raising the $10,500 to save the center took a great deal of time and effort. So the celebration will be a way to say thank you to the community for rallying behind the center. "Between the open house, the celebration and the annual meeting at the Medford Library, we will celebrate the center's remaining open," Danielle Mancuso, another organizer of the event, said. "But we will also be discussing ways to keep the fundraising going all year and thus avoid having this happen again. I definitely do not want to have to go through another emergency fundraising effort." Gay Pride 2004 is the first of its kind ever to be held in Southern Oregon. Foust said there is a need for a stronger gay community presence, especially in this election year. "It is very important to hold the festival now," Foust noted. "So many people in the GOP are working very hard to get an anti gay marriage bill on the floor of the House and Senate that we need to be active." And Foust said there is also an economic issue to be considered. "There was a community here years ago and I feel it had fallen to the wayside," he said. "Now it is important for us to show we are a growing community, that we are here and that our money is just as good as anyone else's." The other members of the gay community who worked on the planning of the event include Brandi McDonald and Frances Marsh. "We had some brainstorming sessions about holding the festival and felt that since the center is now downtown at the Historic Ashland Armory, we should get on the downtown bandwagon," Foust noted. Marsh said the purpose of the festival is to bring the community together and introduce new members of the gay community in the Rogue Valley. "The most important part of the week is the annual meeting,' she said. "The interesting part will be to see and hear from the membership and hear what they want. There is a proposal to expand the board from nine to 13 members that will be taken up at the meeting." The final event, Pride in the Park, at Lithia Park will be a big event and celebration. "You will see a lot of folks from all around the area at the event," she said. "There are 14 women's groups in the hills and several have said they are coming for the event. "We will have between 10-14 different organizations, gay and straight, represented at Pride in the Park." Mancuso added that once the ball got rolling, the festival grew and grew. "I was very surprised by the response,' she said. "Everyone has been so positive. We thought it would be a small event but it has turned into something very big." One of those events is an Open House and Art Show to coincide with First Friday from 6 - 9:30 p.m. at the Abdill-Ellis Lambda Center, 208 Oak Street, Suite 112. Another big event is Movie Night at the center. The show will feature the first episode of "The L Word" and the first episode of "Queer as Folk" (4th season). Mancuso said the committee took a large city film festival idea and turned it into a living room film festival. For information, call 488-6990. Schedule of events o Friday, June 4 - Open house/art show 6-9:30 p.m. The Abdill-Ellis Center, 208 Oak Street, Suite 112. Included in First Friday. o Monday, June 7 - Queer open mic 7 p.m., Evo's Java Shop, 376 E. Main St. Bring poems and music, or come and listen. o Tuesday, June 8 - Annual meeting 7-9 p.m., Medford Library, 205 S. Central Ave., Medford. Discuss ideas for the future of the Abdill-Ellis center and vote on new board members. o Wednesday, June 9 - Abajo hosts "Queer Night," 8 p.m., 66 N. Pioneer Street. o Thursday, June 10 - Movie night, 6-9:30 p.m., the Abdill-Ellis Center, 208 Oak Street, suite 112. First episode of "The L Word" and the first episode of "Queer as Folk," now in its fourth season. o Friday, June 11 - Queer independent short films, 7-9 p.m., 258 Garfield Street. o Saturday, June 12 - Queer golf tournament, 5 p.m., hosted by the Political Caucus of Southern Oregon, Bear Creek Golf Course, Medford. Space is limited. Contact Sue at [email protected] o Saturday, June 12 - Queer grrls' second Saturday party, 7:30 p.m., 570 Elizabeth Street. No minors. o Sunday, June 13 - The Big Gay Picnic, noon-5 p.m., Lithia Park Band Shell. Speakers from 1:30-3 p.m. Bring a picnic lunch and come celebrate. Join in the Campiest Picnic Theme Contest, judges will choose the most creative picnic set-up. Volunteers needed, call 488-6990 or e-mail [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams