Community Compass
Community Compass is a service of OITM. GLBT organizations from around the state are invited to provide brief — 200 words or less — descriptions of recent or upcoming activities and events. Send your submissions to us by email by the 15th of the month.
MPM - Theater and Survival
Mountain Pride Media thanks everyone at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier for the great benefit performance of The Children’s Hour held on May 18 to benefit MPM. We would especially like to thank Amanda, Kim, and Kathleen and everyone who joined us for the benefit. Our next event is part of 30 Days of Pride and you are invited to join us for our Second Annual Eat Out Event at The Waiting Room in Burlington on Tuesday, June 10. See our ad in this month’s issue for more details – and we hope to see you there.
June is Pride Month and all of us at Mountain Pride Media have a lot to celebrate and be proud of. We celebrated the 1-year anniversaries of our great new staff (Euan Bear, Editor; Pete Gershon, Art Director; Tania Kupczak, Operations Manager) as well as the beginning of our seventeenth year of publishing Out In The Mountains. We have also seen amazing progress made on our OITM online archive project as well as the successful launch and inaugural year of our grant-funded Non-Profit Media Access Program.
There is however a serious cloud on the horizon. Mountain Pride Media ended 2002 with a loss of over $11,000. This loss was due mainly to a significant decline in advertising revenue, both national and local, as well as a decrease in donations, grants, and subscriptions. We also saw two postal rate increases. As of April 2003 we are currently showing a loss of close to $6,000.
Faced with these figures the Board of Directors is struggling with some difficult cost-cutting measures in order to keep Out In The Mountains in print. At the May 2003 meeting the Board of Directors decided to switch to a smaller paper format by the August 2003 issue, thus saving some money on printing and postage costs. We are also reevaluating our distribution (currently at about 6,000 copies each month) to see if we can find some cost savings there as well. Our goal during these difficult times remains the same – to create a financial self-sustaining newspaper and web site for the Vermont GLBTQ community.
We cannot achieve this goal without our community’s help. We need your input, ideas, and energy. We need new Board and committee members, advertising sales reps, and volunteers. We need your ongoing support through subscriptions, advertising, and donations. You are the key to the future of Mountain Pride Media and OITM. We simply cannot do it without you!
Stonewall-Juneteenth and Lawrence-Ruling Gathering Highlight R.U.1.2? Plans
On Saturday, June 21, Vermont will host its first Juneteenth/Stonewall Commemoration in Burlington.
Stonewall! Now queer folks are used to celebrating Pride in June, but we can’t forget that this celebration is based on another history of liberation struggle. On June 27, 1969 the police of New York City raided a bar in Greenwich Village called the Stonewall Inn. This time the patrons of the bar fought back. The Stonewall riots are now considered the beginning of the modern gay rights movement.
Juneteenth! Only white folks got independence on July 4, 1776. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865 that news reached Galveston, Texas that the Civil War was over and that slavery had been abolished. Since that time, celebration of June 19th is called “Juneteenth” and has been celebrated for generations.
So, we are coming together as a community to learn how both systems of oppression – both racism and homophobia – can be fought together. The highlight of the Juneteenth/Stonewall Celebration is the viewing of a film called Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin. Rustin was a leader in the Civil Rights movement beginning in the 1940s, was an advisor to Martin Luther King, and organized the 1963 March on Washington (“I have a dream...”). Rustin was also openly gay, and for this reason was often treated as an outsider in the very movement he helped create.
So, come join the talk, celebrate emancipation, watch the film, and maybe we’ll learn something as a community coming together. Ah yes, and there will be food, because what is a celebration of independence without the chow?
The Juneteenth/Stonewall Celebration is free and will take place beginning at noon at Contois Auditorium in Burlington’s City Hall. The event is sponsored by R.U.1.2?, Women of Rejuvenate Spirit, the VT Anti-Racism Action Team, the Women of Color Alliance, the VT Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, P.R.I.D.E.* in Vermont, Outright Vermont, and Safe Space. If you are interested in learning about other Juneteenth events that are taking place in Vermont, please contact Paij Wadley-Bailey at Wadleybailey@aol.com
Also, at R.U.1.2? in June, the Center will be open from 4:00 to 8:00 pm on the day that the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision regarding Lawrence v. Texas. This decision will uphold or strike down the laws against sodomy in Texas and possibly in all the states with laws still on the books. We will be open for people to gather, share thoughts and feelings, write letters or take any other action we deem appropriate regarding the decision. And remember, R.U.1.2? is open Monday-Friday, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Stop by!
VT Rainbow Connection is Fabulous Cable Access!
Tune into Vt.’s L/G/B/T/Q/A News Television show! The June show features news and commentary from co-anchors Stuart Granoff and Sharon Randall. The “Focus On” segment features wonderful footage from R.U.1.2.?’s Annual Community Dinner and Silent Auction with footage of key note speaker Alison Bechdel and her hilarious and poignant cartoons over the years of “Dykes To Watch Out For.”
The Vt. Rainbow Connection can be seen:
Adelphia (Ch. 15) Greater Burlington Area – Fridays 9:00 PM
Adelphia (Ch. 15) Montpelier, Waterbury, Randolph – 2nd & 4th Fridays 7:30 PM
SAPATV (Ch. 8) Wethersfield, Chester, Springfield – Thurs 6:00 PM
Lake Champlain (Ch. 2) – call 802-862-5724 for air days/times
CVTV (Ch. 7) 2nd & 4th Mondays at 8:30 PM
BCTV (Ch.8) call 802-257-0888 for air days/times
MMCTV (Ch.3) Richmond, Jericho, Underhill – call 802-434-2550 for air days/times
WENO (Ch. 15) Enosburg, Berkshire, Richford -1st & 3rd Sundays at 8:00 PM
CATV Bennington, Pownal, Shaftsbury, Woodford, Hoosick Falls-N.Y. – call 802-442-8868
MCTV Middlebury, East Middlebury, Weybridge –call 802-388-3062 for air days/times.
Watch for fabulous P.R.I.D.E. footage in July!
Garden Tours Benefit AIDS Project
Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd, partners in North Hill, will open their extensive garden in Readsboro, Vermont again this summer to benefit the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont. The garden at North Hill will be open for touring on Monday, June 30; Thursday, July 31; & Sunday, August 31, from 9 am - 3 pm.
Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd, nationally recognized garden designers and horticulturists, started the garden at North Hill 1977. It now comprises about seven acres under intense cultivation, surrounded by a larger tract of mature hardwoods of beech and maple. Though it has evolved in size and dimension throughout its life, most parts have now reached a youthful maturity.
The mission of the garden has become to grow as many species as might be hardy in a climate that experiences winter lows of -20 degrees Fahrenheit. Significant individual collections within the garden include plantings of heathers and dwarf conifers, antique and species roses, bamboos, unusual perennials and annuals, an extensive rock and bog garden, a large collection of hybrid deciduous magnolias, and many tender conservatory plants used as components of the garden in summer.
Eck and Winterrowd are the authors of Living Seasonally: The Kitchen Garden and Table at North Hill, A Year at North Hill, Elements of Garden Design and Annuals for the Connoisseur. The garden at North Hill has been featured in Horticulture, and The New York Times, among many other periodicals and books.
Contributions to the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont are taken at the entrance to the Garden. The mission of the AIDS Project is to provide services to people affected by HIV and AIDS and to prevent the transmission of HIV. Our services are free to all those whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS. Tours generally take an hour. If you are interested in touring North Hill, please send your request in writing to the Project. It should include the following information:
1. Choice of Date: Mon, June 30; Thurs, July 31; or Sun, August 31.
2. Choice of time: 9 am - 3 pm (tours every 20 mins, include 1st and 2nd choice).
3. The number of tickets you would like. Limit is 4 tickets per request.
Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Mail the request to: North Hill, c/o AIDS Project, PO Box 1486, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
VT Freedom to Marry Task Force Still Working for Equality
The civil union law was an amazing step towards equality for all couples, but it was only a step. It is a compromise, a separate institution that tries to shadow civil marriage.
Is it civil marriage to gay and lesbian Vermonters? No, it is not. Is it equal? No, it is not. It’s been three years since Vermont’s landmark civil union law was signed and much more work remains to be done.
The Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force (VFTMTF) continues its work toward the recognition of full civil marriage for same-sex couples.
We will be back at this year’s Pride 2003 celebration on Saturday, June 14th at Burlington’s Waterfront. VFTMTF will sponsor a booth at this year’s afternoon event containing free literature about the Task Force and buttons, bumper stickers, and tee shirts for sale.
Please join us to march in the parade, and proudly wear your “I DO” tee-shirts. And, stop by our booth and pick up a “WE CUT THE CAKE” sticker that will show you’ve gotten a CU.
Besides Pride 2003, the Task Force is traveling to three fairs this summer. We will be at the Addison County Field Days, the Champlain Valley Fair and the Vermont State Fair in Rutland. At the fairs we tell our stories about Vermonters and about how the civil union law effected our lives, we provide specific information about the civil union law, and reasons why the law still doesn’t go far enough.
Task Force volunteers staff all the fairs and we need your help. If you would like to volunteer please call us at 802-388-2633, or drop a note to VFMTF, P.O. Box 481, South Hero, VT 05486.
See you at the Pride 2003 and at the summertime Fairs!
Samara Awards Scholarships
Samara Foundation announced that three $1,000 scholarships and three Notable Student Awards were presented for 2003 to six Vermont High School graduates. The Samara Scholarship was established in 2000 as an investment in the future of Vermont students who oppose discrimination and prejudice and who stand for the elimination of homophobia in our society. Look for more information in the Summer Samara Newsletter and on our web site at www.samarafoundation.org
Samara Foundation would like to thank the members of the Samara Scholarship Advisory Committee for all their hard work and dedication: Susan Baker, Chris Chambers, Pam Macy, Roland Palmer, Nari Pensen, B.J. Rogers, Susan Sussman (Chair) and David Wales.