Circle City IN Pride 2010 is only six weeks away!  Listed below is a update of changes and events!

Venue – The Indiana War Memorial Personnel and our Indy Pride Security strongly suggested that we consider moving the Pride Festival to a larger venue since University Park cannot adequately accommodate 45,000 people!   This year’s Pride Festival will be held at the American Legion Mall which is located at North Street between Pennsylvania & Meridian.

Parade Route – The parade will step off at the corner of College and Mass Avenue and proceed down Mass Avenue to Michigan Street.  The parade will turn west onto Michigan Street and proceed on Michigan passing the front of the War Memorial Building then will turn north onto Meridian Street and end at the corner of Meridian and St. Clair Streets.  De-marshalling will take place at this corner.  Floats will line the sides of the park on Pennsylvania and Meridian Street.  Space is still available, to register complete the application form online at www.indyprideinc.org.

Vendors – As of April 20, there are  98 sales and non-profit informational booths and 12 food vendors.  A vendor map will be available after May 1.  Space is still available.  Application forms are online at www.indyprideinc.org.

Entertainment – Taylor Dayne, Blake Lewis (from American Idol) and Nhojj (the gay black male to win and OUT Music Award) will perform at Pride.  Entertainment applications are online for local artists and for drag performers to submit to be considered for this year’s event.

Beverage Tent– This year, Indy Pride will have one LARGE alcohol tent located in the center of North Street between Meridian & Pennsylvania.  Once again, the tent will feature Coors and Absolut!

Picnic – The annual Pride Picnic will be held on Sunday, June 6 at the Pagoda at Garfield Park.  Ruth Hawkins and her committee are working with the Gay Softball Team, the Indy Volleyball group and the Gay Bowling team to have sporting events.  For those who do not like sports, Bingo will be played and there will be entertainment provided by Rock Star Entertainment.

Pride Skate – The annual Pride Skate will be held on Sunday, June 6.   This year’s theme is 2010 Rainbow Roll from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Cover charge is $10.00 which includes skate rental, pizza buffet and soft drinks.  This is a fun-fille, family-friendly roller skating with rockin’ tunes from Talbott Street’s DJ Deanne, the family “Drag Skate” race and more!  Let’s “wheel with pride” and come dressed in rainbow colors!

Community Service – On Monday, June 7, Indy Pride volunteers will be working with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful as part of our  Day of Community Service.

Pride of Indy Band Concert will be held on Tuesday, June 8 at 7:00 p.m. on the lawn at the Firehouse Museum. This is a free concert.

Educational Seminar – Watch for details about our Pride Educational Seminar which will be held on Wednesday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m.

Pride Bag Ladies – The Bag Ladies will kick off their 30^th Anniversary Year with “Three Decades of Drag” on Thursday, June 10 at 9:00 p.m. at Gregs.

Girl Pride – Talbott Street will be hosting “Girl Pride” at Talbott Street on Thursday, June 10 – watch for details!

IYG – A NIGHT TO SHARE – On Friday, June 11, IYG will host their annual “A Night To Share” event.  More information is available on the IYG website:  www.indianayouthgroup.org.

Volunteers – Pam Powell, our Volunteer Coordinator, is actively recruiting volunteers for events!

For the most up to date information, please check out http://www.indyprideinc.org/

The hilarious and ground-breaking comedian, Suzanne Westenhoefer, is bringing her “Totally Inappropriate” tour to Talbott Street on Wednesday, May 12th,  AND it is a benefit for Indy Pride!

That’s right, the first openly gay comedian ever to appear on television is coming to town, and you can purchase tickets online at the Indy Pride website or at the Talbott Street box office.  Tickets are $18 in advance and $23 at the door.

Seating is general admission, and since everyone must be seated for the show, the doors are opening at 6:30.  It will be a show that cannot be missed!  A giant thank you to Talbott Street Cares for making this all possible!

For more information on Suzanne, visit her website: http://suzannew.com/

Indianapolis has had a no smoking law on the book for a few years, but it really only affected restaurants. On top of that, if a bar serves food, they could opt to not serve the under 18 crowd so that they could continue to be a smoking establishment.

For those of us who are non-smokers, this is just something we’ve had to deal with. Smokers always tend to fall back on it being their right to smoke, and if non-smokers do not want to breathe it they can go elsewhere, which to me is a bit disingenuous, because where exactly are we going go? It is just one of those catch-22 situations, which is only exacerbated by the fact that Louisville, which is in the tobacco belt and 90 minutes away managed to go smoke free well over a year ago, and it seems, anywhere you travel, those cities are going the same way.

Without making this an argument for or against smoking, the general consensus was that no gay bar in town was going to go smoke free until it was mandated by law. Talbott Street attempted to do so, but there were some strategically placed complaining which made them to change direction and just make the Legend’s Drag Bar smoke free, which don’t get me wrong was great because that is a low ceiling room that really got pretty smokey, but it still wasn’t the whole bar. Then Greg’s started to survey the clientele on whether they should limit smoking to the back patio. The survey came back an overwhelming majority supporting the smoking limitations. Once Greg’s announced they were going smoke free on August 1st, then Talbott Street quickly followed, and we have been enjoying the clean air at both for almost a month now.

It was with great surprise that Metro announced that they would be going smoke free on October 1st. I always figured since they were a restaurant and more of a sit down bar type establishment, they would be one that would totally wait until there was a law. I’m happy to have been proven wrong. It really does take balls for them to do this, almost more than Greg’s and Talbott, because they still have competition from restaurants that allow smoking like Olly’s, English Ivy’s, and The Varsity, but I truly commend them for taking the leap.

Greg’s, Talbott, and Metro should all be celebrated for taking a limited smoking stance. We all know the health hazards of smoking, and while it becomes muddy to start taking away the rights people have over their bodies, I believe this was the right thing to do for the good of the community.

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 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