On Sinday (typo and I’m keeping it..HA), April 19th, the Indy Pride Bag Ladies held the 2nd annual Country & Gospel Brunch.  It was a fabulous show, which went a lot smoother than the year before.  The first time out, I don’t think anyone had any idea just how popular it was going to be, but this  year, Sequoia Pentecost and Rachel Yoder were ready for it.

For my money, the best line of the night came from Rachel Yoder when talking about tipping, “Jesus may have risen, but our standards haven’t!”

Here are some pictures from the event.

I know I have been a horrible Pride blogger, but since we’re an all volunteer organization, it is sometimes hard to keep all these balls in the air.  However, now that we are less than two months away from the Circle City IN Pride, I am going to try harder to make this a semi-relevant blog.  I may even recruit some guest bloggers to keep this material running.

Circle City IN Pride News

I’m currently redesigning this portion of the website, but you can get the basic schedule and information on volunteering.  We NEED your help!  If you’re interested in booth space or being in the parade, both of those applications are still available.  http://www.indyprideinc.org/circlecityinpride/

Upcoming Events

Sunday, April 19

2nd Annual Pride Bag Lady County/Gospel Brunch
Place:  Talbott Street
Time:  12:00 Noon
Catering:  Hoaglin Fine Catering
Tickets:  $20.00 in advance; $25.00 at the Door (if available)
Proceeds:  Benefit the Damien Center

Monday, April 20

Spotlight – One Night, One State, One Reason
Place:  Clowes Hall
Time:  7:30 p.m. http://indianaaidsfund.org/spotlight.html

Thursday, April 30

Dining Out For Life
Location:  Various Restaurants in Indy
Proceeds Benefit the Damien Center! http://www.damien.org/

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season.  It has been a busy time around here, and I am just now refreshing the website for 2009.

Some Important Updates:

Indy Pride Community Calendar: The calendar has been updated through October 31st of this year.  If you see anything missing, please shoot me an at webmaster@indyprideinc.com.

Circle City IN Pride Committees:  Committees are currently forming and hard at work on organizing Circle City IN Pride 2009.  As you can imagine, it is a herculean effort getting this off the ground, and we need all the help we can get to make this one even better than last years.  Be sure to check out the list of committees to see which one is the best fit for you!

Those are the biggest, but there are also additions on the Board, Pictures, and Upcoming Events (including Laugh Out Loud) pages.  So, be sure to check those out, too.

Upcoming Events:

January 10th - IndySlugger’s Benefit at Greg’s - Come out and support the IndySluggers softball team as they raise money to travel to their first tournament of the year in sunny Tampa, FL. There will be a beer bar and 50/50 raffle.

January 14th - Indy Pride Board of Directors Meeting

January 15th - Indy Pride Membership Mixer at Agio.  Free Appetizers!  Door Prizes! Everyone is welcome!

My New Years resolution is to update this blog more often, and we’ll se how far that goes.

Nick,
Webmaster & Indy Pride Board Member

Outside of the millions of holiday parties to go to, there are a couple events I would like to point out for the weekend.

The biggest and most important one is the annual Bag Ladies’ Holiday Show, “All the Stockings Were Hung…”  The show is taking place on Sunday, December 14th at Talbott Street.  The doors open at 7, and the show will start at 8.  So, come out and see your favorite Bag Ladies do their thing to support the Indiana Youth Group.  You will see all of your favorites like Cadillac Barbie, Sequoia Pentacost, Donna Rhea, Holly Luyah, Halle Pino, and Summer Clearance.  If you can’t make it, check back on Monday for pictures!

In other performance news, Portia Lynn Van Buren will be hosting her annual holiday show at Cosmos.  While it is not an official Bag Lady event, if you go to both events, you can double your pleasure by seeing Holly Luyah and Summer Clearance twice in one weekend!

Happy Holidays!

Even with the downtime for the holiday, December is shaping up to be very  busy.

As always, for more information, check out the Indy Pride Community Calendar:

Monday, December 1
World AIDS Day - 20th Anniversary Celebration<
Place:  St. Luke’s United Methodist Church
Time:  6:00-7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 2
Pride Bag Lady Bus Tour Photo Party
Place:  Cosmos
Time:  7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

December 4
Pride Night At the Phoenix Theatre: On Thin Ice
Place:  Phoenix Theatre
Showtime:  <7:00 p.m.
Tickets:  $15.00

Sunday, December 7
Holiday Diva Show
Place:  Talbott Street
Doors Open:  7:00 p.m.
Showtime:  8:00 p.m
Bring a wrapped gift

Indy Pride would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to apologize because I didn’t realize most people couldn’t see the photos on the Flickr account.  The main problem was that I had set an age restriction on them so that unsuspecting youth might not stumble upon them because, lets face it, we get a little out of control on the bus.  However, since I’m new to the Flickr world, I didn’t realize that this made it impossible for someone without a Flickr account to see the pictures, even if they’re 90 years old.  So, after looking over the pictures and seeing that we didn’t really have anything to worry about, I re-uploaded everything, and you should be able to see everything now.

Check them out at our Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/indyprideinc/

Nick,
Indy Pride Board Member & Webmaster

I just wanted to point out a story running in today’s Indianapolis Star.  Walgreens, in a effort to refocus back on its origins as a health care company, not just a place to buy chips at 2am, is making their downtown store, at 16th and Meridian, a pharmacy specializing in HIV/AIDS treatment.  While this is nothing new to the Indianapolis community, with the presence of BioScrip, this will be the first such service that is open 24 hours a day.

Noelle Redmond, HIV/AIDS coordinator for the state of Indiana, is based in the store, and it is her job to train pharmacists on the the ins and outs of treatment.

If you would like more information, here is the link to the Indy Star article:

http://www.indystar.com/article/20081107/BUSINESS03/811070436

Don’t forget to check out the November issue of Pride Press!

Friday, November 7 (Tonight)!

Please join the Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival at Greg’s on Friday evening (November 7) for a special promotional and fundraising event for the 8th annual Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival! You can get a sneak peak at some of our films and buy a beer or glass of wine from our Film Fest Bar.  We’ll even have the yummy popcorn machine going! All proceeds benefit the Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival! There will also be an opportunity to win cash and prizes with our 50/50 raffle and Pull Tabs.  The event kicks off around 9:30 PM - come out and have some fun and support a great cause!

Wednesday, November 12

Indy Pride Board Meeting – 7:00 p.m.

Indy Pride Office

Thursday, November 13

Indy Pride Membership Mixer – 6:00 -8:00 p.m.

Agio Restaurant

Friday – Sunday, November 14-16

Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival – For details visit:  www.indylgbtfilmfest.com/

IUPUI Campus Center

Join Indy Pride for the Opening Night Mixer – 7:30 p.m. – Cash bar, Drink Specials, Hors D’Oeuvres – FUN!

Opening Night Films:  Fair Enough, Casting Pearls and Save Me starring Chad Allen and Robert Gant (Queer As Folk).  Robert Gant will be attending the Opening Night Event.

Full Festival Pass:  $75.00

Thursday, November 20

Time Warp 1940 – Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; Entertainment Beings:  8:00 p.m.

Featuring the Pride of Indy Jazz Band & Brenda Williams
Tickets:  $12.00 in advance; $15.00 at the door

Saturday, November 22

Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil – 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Fellowship Hall of Central Christian Church – 701 N. Delaware Street

Saturday, November 22

Indy Pride Community Thanksgiving – 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Co-Sponsor:  Indiana Black Pride

Jesus MCC located at 2950 East 55^th Place (near 56^th & Keystone Avenue)
Turkey will be provided.  Those who are able are asked to bring a side dish or dessert to share!

Indy Pride Scholarship Recipients will be recognized.  Following the dinner, there will be a performance by the Jesus MCC Gospel Choir.

I think most of us are still trying to recover from last week’s parties and the Bag Lady Bus tour, but just as the moon rises, so does the options for your weekend.  Btw, if you want to see some pictures from the Tour, check out the Indy Pride Flickr Page.

Along with Friday night being the actual Halloween, Saturday night brings us the 21st Annual Grand Masquerade, which is the largest event of the year for The Damien Center, the premier organization helping those effected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the Indianapolis area.  This year’s theme is “Illusions of Moulin Rouge,” and with the Bag Ladies, Dance Kaleidoscope, and internationally known performer, FLAVA, performing, it is going to be an unmissable night!

At last word, tickets were virtually gone, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the fun.  Talbott Street will be hosting the themed afterparty, and everyone is encouraged to come in costume.  Not only will you have the usual outstanding performances of the Ladies of Legend and DJ Deanne, but FLAVA will be performing there as well.  So, even if you cannot make the Grande Masquerade, you can join in the bohemian extravaganza of Illusions of Moulin Rouge!

Have a great weekend!

Nick
Indy Pride Board Member

It has arrived.  The weekend that all Indy Pride Bag Ladies and guys who think they can walk in heels have been waiting for: The 28th Annual Bag Lady Bus Tour is on Saturday!

Along with the Bag Ladies as an organization, this is one of the longest running charity events for HIV/AIDS in the country, and every year it becomes bigger and better.  This year there will be three buses worth of people all participating to raise money for the Gregory Powers DEFA Fund, and you should check the Indy Pride website next week for pictures.

If you would like to follow the buses or meet up with us at one of our stops, here is the itinerary (download it here):