Browsing Posts published by Boston Pride

Dear Friends,

As we dive into summer, the Boston Pride Committee would like to send a tremendous thank you to everyone who participated in our 40th Anniversary Pride Week. We hope that you got a chance to attend some of our events leading up to, and including, Pride Weekend. Despite the downpour on Saturday, the smiling, cheering, and dancing in the streets was a true tribute to our community spirit!

The amount of time we spend planning the Parade, Festival and Sunday Block Parties is enormous, but we are also very proud of the wide range of other events that appear on our calendar. Some we produce ourselves and others we co-present with fellow community institutions like Queer Women of Color & Friends, the LGBT Aging Project, and Club Café, to name a few. We are grateful for these lasting partnerships and look forward to making new ones.

This year, in particular, we were excited to offer the Club Sizzle dance party for LGBT youth, an event we co-hosted with Delta Phi Upsilon, and that we’ll be adding permanently to our Pride Week roster. We were also inspired by our inaugural theme-based Pride Rally. While potential rain turned the event into something more resembling a panel discussion, the Stuart Street Playhouse was alive with discussion about key issues facing our community. Moving forward, we are committed to providing a forum for ongoing dialogue about the enduring importance of the Pride Movement.

While Pride Week itself is over, we will continue the commemoration of our 40th Anniversary with more events and activities throughout 2010, and we hope to see you around town. Stay tuned for the launch of a new and snazzy Pride website, some exciting special events (including VIP tickets to Margaret Cho!), and the unveiling of a re-organized Pride Committee with fun and easy ways for everyone to get involved. Of course, we’re not going to change everything. This fall also brings the return of our online community vote for your 2011 Pride Theme and Marshals, so get your nominations ready!

While we all know that Pride is not just a week in June, we’re here to make sure everyone remembers that! We cap off four decades of LGBT activism and progress with the hope that another 40 years won’t pass before we achieve true and full equality. Regardless, we will be here to serve and celebrate you.

All the best for a wonderful summer,

Keri A. Aulita

Deputy Director

Boston Pride Committee

Hello, all! Social Media Coordinator Liz here.  Just a quick check-in to let you know of a few updates to our calendar, and inquire as to how much everyone is loving Boston Pride Week 2010! I’ve also got photo and video of some of the events, just in case you’ve missed them!

UPDATES:
1.
!!IMPORTANT LOCATION CHANGE!!

Potential rain won’t stop us from RALLYING. But it will make us do it
indoors!

The Riots to Rights Rally on Thursday, June 10 is moving to the Stuart
Sreet Playhouse so that if the skies open, the rain won’t interfere with
our important community dialogue.

Stuart Street Playhouse
200 Stuart Street, Boston

6pm Community Mingle | 7pm Rally | 8pm Film

Visit our website for more information: http://www.bostonpride.org/

2. 2010 Pride “Mini” Film Series

Let’s go to the movies! The LGBT Film Fest brings you the Pride Mini-Film
Festival. Three great films are on deck and promise to entertain and
enlighten.

Wednesday Night Film
Auntie Mame” 7pm Cocktails | 8pm screening | Stuart Street Playhouse

Thursday Night Film
As part of Boston Pride’s “Riots to Rights Rally” there will be a
screening of “Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride” at the Stuart Street
Playhouse, 200 Stuart Street, Boston.
6pm Community Mingle | 7pm Rally | 8pm Film (Free)

Friday Night Film
I Am Love
8pm | MFA, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston

Now that we’re all updated, on to the fun stuff!

Flag Raising at City Hall:

Pride Day @ Faneuil Hall

2nd Annual King & Queen of Boston Pride Pageant (Q&A with one of the contestants!)

And that’s that!

Up tonight (Wednesday, June 9): our ever-popular PRIDE IDOL finals!  Join us at Club Cafe for all the fun!

Don’t forget to visit our website for all the updates, events, and our full calendar so you don’t miss a thing! Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

It’s finally here!  Boston Pride Week kicked off this Friday, June 4th at noon, when the Pride Committee came together to raise the rainbow flag over Boston’s City Hall Plaza!

Boston Pride - Riots to RightsFrom there, our 10-day celebration of this year’s theme, Riots to Rights, charges ahead!  We have a lot planned, so we hope you can keep up!

GQBFriday, June 4 at 9:00 pm, it’s Guerrilla Queer Bar – PRIDE Edition!  Join the Pride Committee and the guys behind GQB for a gay takeover of the Hard Rock Cafe (22-24 Clinton Street, Boston) at 9pm!  For more information on future gay takeovers, visit GQB’s website: http://www.bostonguerrilla.com/

Pride Day @ Faneuil HallSaturday, June 5, bright and early at 10 am, come on out for Pride Day at Faneuil Hall, a family-friendly day of entertainment, shopping, and tourism at one of Boston’s oldest landmarks.  We’ll be hosting entertainers, Elizabeth Lorrey, Mary Callanan, Telle Thomas, Girl Gang Band, Darion Skye and The College Fund Band.  And don’t forget to check out tables like our friends at ArtsBoston and our very own Boston Pride Merchandise.

In the spirit of celebrating the history of the LGBT community, Sunday will be The LGBT Aging Project’s Annual Pride Tea-Dance for LGBT Seniors & Friends held at the Holiday Inn (1200 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA) from 3:30 pm – 7:00 pm.  While the Tea Dance is not an official Boston Pride event, it sure is a good time for our older [but still fabulous!] crowd!

What a busy first weekend!  But we’re not done yet!  By the time you hear from us again, it’ll be time for the following events:

Pageant CrownMonday, June 7th: 2nd Annual King & Queen of Boston Pride Pageant - Hosted by Ms Kris Kanievel, some of our most fabulous, glittery, gorgeous contestants compete for the titles of King and Queen!  Our star-studded lineup of judges include: Johnny Blazes, Max Buccini, The Boston Herald Track Girls, Papi Chulo, Miss Boston 2010 Ashley Rizzo, Ambar Valentino, and Heywood Wakefield.  Doors open at 7pm at Machine Night Club (1254 Boylston Street, Boston), and admission is $12. This is a 21+ event, and is sure to be a good time!

MicrophoneWednesday, June 9th: Pride Idol Finale - At Club Cafe (209 Columbus Ave, Boston), we continue the talent showcase as our Pride Idol contestants sing their hearts out to win.  Hosted by Fresh Fruit and Fast Freddy, Pride Idol features Tyra Sanchez, Raven & Jujubee, with DJ Mark Pichiotti and guest Bartender Justin Winters!  Doors open at 6 pm for VIP access, and while there will be tickets at the door, supplies will be very limited – so it’s best to purchase tickets online by visiting Club Cafe’s website!

Boston Pride - Riots to RightsThursday, June 10th: Riots to Rights Rally – For the first time in years, we will come together as a community to rally in celebration, rememberance, and reverence of this year’s theme: Riots to Rights.  Speakers from the local community and beyond will grace the stage, including Cleve Jones and Stuart Milk.  We’ll also be screening the film “Beyond Gay: the Politics of Pride” recently featured at the Museum of Fine Arts LGBT Film Festival.

More news and events to come! Not sure you can make it to every single event?  (We totally understand!  But you should still try!   ;-) )  Stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter feeds for information, live updates, and more!

Kristine W

Kristine W

God-Des and She

God-Des and She

Boston Pride is excited to announce this year’s City Hall Plaza Main Stage line-up featuring Cece Peniston, Kristine W, and God-Des & She.  While the Parade enters the Plaza, browse vendors, see all the marchers, and take in some entertainment!

12:05pm – Kit Yan
12:40pm – Sariah
1:00pm – Booty Vortex
1:35pm – Mrs DANVERS
2:10pm – God-Des & She
2:45pm – Odaiko New England
3:10pm – All The Kings Men
3:35pm – MEandJOANCOLLINS
4:05pm – Nemes
4:35pm – TraniWreck / TruthSerum.org
5:00pm – Cece Peniston
5:30pm – Kristine W

CeCe Peniston

CeCe Peniston

For more information on these fabulous performers, please visit our website.  We look forward to seeing you alldown at City Hall Plaza Festival and Boston Pride Parade on June 12th to celebrate our 40th Anniversary!

OPTIONZ: 4th Annual Multicultural Pride Party from Queer Women of Color and Friends.

Proudly Sponsored by the Boston Pride Committee

OPTIONZ is an annual diversity-conscious, trans-inclusive, bi-friendly, open-to-all Pride party brought to you by Queer Women of Color and Friends (QWOC+ Boston) in conjunction with the Boston Pride Committee and co-hosted by MadFemmePride each year.

It’s a different kind of pride party for queer women of ALL colors, friends & allies, and a unique social space that we’ve created year after year for ourselves during Boston Pride week. The OPTIONZ celebration is for an ENTIRE spectrum of people from all parts of New England (and beyond). So get AMPED and READY to join us for another bad-ass purple pride celebration!

Thursday June 10th

Underbar/Caprice Lounge
275 Tremont Street
Boston MA 02116
http://qwocpride.eventbrite.com/

9PM-10PM Social-Networking and Speed-Friending with QWOC+ and MFP
10PM-2AM Boston’s International DJ Pup Dawg, spins the best of World, Reggae, R&B, Hip-Hop, Latin, and Top 40

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118612918157430&ref=ts
Ticketing: http://qwocpride.eventbrite.com/

*All proceeds will be used to put on QWOC Week (Aug 1st-8th, 2010)*
*This event is Open to ALL.*

While most of you come from the greater Boston area to attend Boston Pride, many of you come from far away just to attend our fabulous events.  First, we’d like to say THANK YOU so much – it means the world to us that you’d travel from near and far to celebrate with us!

It’s a great time to remind you of all the great places to stay in Boston – if you haven’t booked your room yet, now is the time!  And, as an organization that values human rights of all kinds, we’d like to direct you to this website to find a hotel you can feel good about:  http://www.sleepwiththerightpeople.org/

Sleep With The Right People marchThe brain child of activist Cleve Jones (who, along with Stuart Milk, will be attending Boston Pride!), Sleep with the Right People is “a coalition between the LGBT community and UNITE HERE, a union representing over 300,000 hospitality and manufacturing workers across North America. Together, we fight for the fair and equal treatment of all individuals.”

Boston Pride would like to encourage you, if you haven’t booked your hotel already, to stay in a hotel that treats all their workers with dignity.  More information about how to get involved, as well as hotels that are doing things right can be found on the SWTRP website – and there’s quite a list!  Don’t forget to sign the pledge to Sleep with the Right People!

As this flashmob in San Francisco says:  Don’t get caught in a bad hotel!

Our website also has information about where to book hotels.  And, in honor of our Green Initiative, we encourage you to ditch the car and use Boston’s MBTA to get to all of our events.

Happy Pride!

We know you don’t need another reason to volunteer for Boston Pride. You already know it’s a great way to meet people, see the behind-the-scenes of some of the largest events in Boston, support and give back to the LGBT community, and celebrate the 40th anniversary of Boston Pride. Plus you get a free T-shirt! But we thought we’d give you one more reason anyway…

A free cruise!

Boston Harbor CruiseThat’s right! This year, every person who volunteers for at least one shift with Boston Pride gets to come on a Boston Harbor Cruise. The annual Volunteer Appreciation Party is going to be Sunday, June 27, 5:00-8:00 PM. There will be free food, speed networking/dating, dancing, drinks, and more for every volunteer. And the party is where we’ll give out the volunteer awards too! Imagine the warm breeze, the sunset over the skyline… What better reward for already having fun during Pride Week as part of the team?

Remember: Volunteering one or more shifts (shifts are 3-6 hours long) gets you access to this exclusive party! Sign up for your shift(s) today by filling out this online form.

Got questions? Email your Volunteer Chair, Sarah, at volunteer@bostonpride.org.

Boston Pride is thrilled to announce one of our Celebrity Marshals for this year’s Boston Pride Celebrations!

Alexis Arquette was born Robert Arquette in Los Angeles, California, to Brenda “Mardi” Olivia (née Nowak), an actor, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher and therapist, and Lewis Arquette, an actor and director. Arquette’s siblings are actors Rosanna, Patricia, Richmond and David. Arquette is also the sister-in-law of actress Courteney Cox, who is married to her brother David. At the age of twelve, Arquette’s first job was in 1982 where she was cast as “this little kid who’s on a ride with all these women and whatnot” in the music video “She’s a Beauty” by The Tubes. In 1986 Arquette debuted on the big screen with an uncredited bit part as “Alexis,” the white-faced friend/bandmate of the sexually ambivalent, angst filled teenager Max Whiteman in the classic hit comedy “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.” At twenty-two, Arquette landed her first significant acting role, playing a transvestite named Georgette in “Last Exit to Brooklyn.” Sixteen years later, she went through her own transition from male to female, an experience that was documented in the film “Alexis Arquette: She’s My Brother,” which debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.Arquette is also known for her work in the hit film “The Wedding Singer” and “VH1’s The Surreal Life.”

Here’s a short message from Alexis herself!

For more information on all our Marshals, please visit our website!

The Boston Pride Committee is pleased to announce the winners by community vote of this year’s Grand and Honorary Marshal honors!

Boston Pride 2010 Grand Marshals are:

BAGLY and Grace Sterling Stowell

Don Gorton, Esq. III

Boston Pride 2010 Honorary Marshal is:

Ted Kennedy

Members of the Boston Pride Committee headed west  this past weekend to participate in Northampton’s First Dyke March on Friday and the NoHo Pride Prade & Festival the following day.  Deputy Director, Keri Aulita, spoke at the Dyke March and on Saturday, Board and Committee Members Malcolm Carey, Linda DeMarco, Wilfred Labiosa, Sylvain Bruni, Heather Mills, Liz Stewart and friends paraded a 10 foot white 40th Birthday cake down Main Street in honor of Boston Pride’s Anniversary Celebration.

Check out some of the photos and video:
Boston Pride Board President, Linda DeMarco and Gunner Scott
Members of Boston Pride pose before stepping off at the parade