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Greetings!
 Well, it's hotter than hell outside, so I've got a great idea. Let's throw a parade and festival for Pride, what d'ya say? I'm mean, there's no more enjoyable time to be outside! Ever wonder why Pride is celebrated during this ungodly time of year? Well, read the Rant in this edition of Social Notes so you'll be In The Know!
Lot's of great stuff coming up in the next couple of weeks, girls! Stay tuned to the Social Notes calendar for all the 4-1-1 (that's me trying to be trendy and hip, and failing miserably!)
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Pride In The Park
Cardinals vs The Astros
Saturday, July 10th, 6:05 pm
at Minute Maid Park
 On
July 10th the Houston Astros are scheduled to play against the St. Louis
Cardinals, by far one of Major League's Baseballs' popular
games. This particular game comes with added excitement, as
we will be celebrating Houston's LGBT Community... 'Pride in the Park.' The
Pride in the Park organizers are planning a great program including our
very own Bayou City Chorale singing the National Anthem,
and Mayor Annise Parker throwing the opening pitch at this
historical baseball game.
As part of the celebration, the
organizers have dedicated this as a fundraiser for Houston's
LGBT community, with proceeds from every ticket purchased through a
special web-site coming back to
our community. Please note, that due to the many logistics and ticket
options, the VIP ticket is the only area within Minute Maid
Park where there is guaranteed group seating. However,
Northwest Corner has reserved 100 seats in the area between 3rd
base and left field, in the field box area. Tickets are $32 and you
are welcome to sit with us! For more info about the
Northwest Corner seating area, click here.
The Pride in the Park
organizers inform us that the VIP area will be quite spectacular, with a private room for spending time with friends and colleagues
during the game, free wine and beer along with an open buffet. There are a limited number of VIP
tickets, so we suggest you make arrangements early on to
secure these seats.
Here is a breakdown of all the ticket prices available:
Level
Ticket Price
VIP (Group Seating)
$95
Field Box $32
Bullpen
$21
Mezzanine $16
View
Deck I $12
View Deck II $10
If
you're a Facebook user, please consider RSVP'ing for the event. You'll
still need to buy your ticket through the Astros, but this
will give us an idea of how many are planning to attend.
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 | Upcoming "Don't Miss" Events
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Be sure to check the Calendar page of Social Notes for more details on each of these fine events. You'll find time, dates, location, a description of the event, along with prices and a links where appropriate. Click on over so you'll be In The Know.
- Thursdays through June 24th: Pride Idol Competition at meteor
- Wednesdays in June: Dining Out With Pride, fundraisers held at a different restaurant each Wednesday
- Saturday and Sunday, 6/19 and 6/20: Pride Art Exhibition at XpressitArt Gallery
- Saturday 6/19: Houston Women's Group Cin
 ema Club views "8: The Mormon Proposition" at Angelika
- Saturday, 6/19: "Let's Misbehave", feauturing Kate Clinton and the Gay Men's Chorus
- Friday, 6/25: Lambda Legal's Lawrence
Celebration Breakfast
- Friday, 6/25:
Rainbow
Night at the Ensemble Theater
for a performance of "Five Guys Named
Moe"
- Saturday, 6/26: Pride Parade and Festival
- Sunday, 7/11: Girl Jam 11 at The Usual
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 | "Save The Date" and purchase your tickets now for these future events!
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 Even though these events may be a few days/weeks down the road,
you need to buy your tickets and/or make your reservations NOW, girlfriend! You can find out all the details, including ticket purchase information, by visiting the Calendar Page of Social Notes
- Saturday, 6/19: Kate Clinton and the Gay Men's Chorus of Houston in "Let's Misbehave"
- Saturday, 7/10: Pride in The Park - GLBT night at the Astros vs Cardinals game at Minute Maid Park
- Friday, 7/16 - Sunday, 7/18: Living Gay By Truth Prom 2010 Extravaganza
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| The Rant
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 Pride
weekend is almost here - whooooo-hooooooo! Hundreds of volunteers have been
putting in unbelievably long hours to make sure this the 2010 Pride Festival
and Parade are the best ever. I sure hope we will see all your smiling faces next Saturday for all the festivities!
You
may be wondering, who the heck thought it was a good idea to hold a parade in
Houston in JUNE, when it is a million and six degrees outside? Well, draw up
your chairs, little girls and boys, and I will tell you a quick history of the
gay pride movement.
Most
communities around the world celebrate Pride in June to commemorate the
Stonewall Riots, which occurred in June of 1969 at a gay bar called The Stonewall in New York City. Stonewall, as
it came to be called, was the start of our gay rights/pride movement.
The
riots were the result of years of abusive treatment by local authorities. You
see, in the olden days, police frequently raided gay bars, and would arrest
patrons for any number of BS charges, including holding hands and wearing
clothing of the opposite gender (girls couldn't even wear pants with front
zippers, for goodness sakes!).
Anywho,
raids were a regular part of bar life until the night of June 27, 1969, when
the patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village gay bar, decided that
they had had ENOUGH! The riot that broke out started three days of pitched
battle between the police and New York's gays.
Why
did that particular raid spark the riots that changed the course of all our
lives? Well, gay icon Judy Garland had died earlier in the week, and her
memorial service was held in New York on the afternoon of the 27th. Over 12,000
gay folks attended that service, and by all accounts, their grief was palpable.
Many people believe that it was the residual emotion from that service that
created the "we're not gonna take this anymore" attitude which fueled the riots
later that evening.
By
July, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) had been formed, and chapters quickly
spread across the globe. A year later, the GLF led a march from Greenwich
Village to Central Park to commemorate Stonewall, and thus the Pride Parade
tradition began. Today,
Pride celebrations are held in over 18 countries around the globe. Pride
Houston is proud to be a part of the international organization called
InterPride, which serves as the coordinating body for Pride celebrations
everywhere.
On the last weekend in June, literally MILLIONS of GLBTs, along with their friends,
families and supporters, will come together to celebrate our community and our
worth as individuals. Yes, it's a big party, but it is a party with a purpose!
One of my favorite Pride stories comes from former Pride president, Nick Barnes: Nick was walking along the parade route, shortly
before the start of the parade one year. A young man hailed him from the crowd. The guy explained that he had recognized Nick from his picture in one of the Pride
promotional pieces. He wanted Nick to know how much the day had meant to him.
It seems that this was his first Pride, and he had come down from A&M,
scared to death, but excited about the possibility of being in what he hoped
would be a positive and friendly environment. He lived a closeted life in
College Station, and was really pretty desperate to feel good about himself and
his gayness.
He told Nick that he was simply blown away by the joy, the
openness, the friendliness and the sense of community he saw everywhere he
turned that day. He went back to Aggie Land a happier and more confident gay
man. You only have to hear one or two stories like that to understand the
impact that our celebration can have in our society. And that, my friends, is
why Pride celebrations remain relevant, no matter how much progress we've made!
And
although I am personally grateful to the gays in 1969 who had the courage to
stand up to tyranny, I sure wish they had done so in October or March, when the
weather here is ever so nice! Oh, well, I guess you go the revolution with the
date you were given, not the one you'd like!
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So Long!
Well, that's all for this edition of Social Notes.
 I'm off to practice my float wave for my appearance as Grand Marshal in the Pride Parade. The gay boys have been giving me all sorts of fabulous tiips. However, I suspect that my wave routine is going to go something like this:
Wave. Wave. Wipe the sweat.
Wave. Wave. Wipe the sweat.
Thanks again to all of you who voted for me for Grand Marshal. It's a honor, and I truly appreciate your support. It's been a blast so far, and I'm really looking forward to the Parade and Festival.
I hope to see all your smilin' faces at Pride!
Sincerely,
Carol Wyatt
Social Notes
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