This year, the Annual Queer Media and Entertainment Conference (Q-Me Con), at Ripley Grier Studios May 9–11, focuses on women’s issues in a special Women’s Summit. The Q-Me Con (NYC) 2008 Women’s Summit is a weekend-long forum featuring engaging seminars and networking events with the intention of empowering queer women seeking to network and educate themselves in how to get their authentic, diverse voices and images “out” into the massive media-sphere. The event features a wide array of informative seminars, forums and interactive workshops delving into the “ins & outs” of financing, pitching, marketing and distributing female-centric content. Guests include Heather Matarazzo, Rose Troche, Angel Brown, and GO’s own esteemed publisher, Amy Lesser, among countless others.
Easter may be officially over, but donning a bonnet was never so much outrageous fun as in Broadway Cares/Equity Fight AIDS’s Easter Bonnet Competition, April 28–29, at the Minskoff Theatre. This fabulously colorful competition features a parade of bonnets hand-crafted by the casts and crews of dozens of participating productions and is the culmination of an intensive six-week fundraising effort by the companies of Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring productions. Curtain speeches, sales of autographed posters and programs, auctions and cabaret performances are just some of the activities that enable these companies to bring in generous contributions from audiences.
Mark April 28 on your calendar as a day for the kids, even if you don’t have any. On that Monday, LGBT youth organization Live Out Loud’s Young Trailblazers 7th Annual Gala celebrates the continuing revolutionary role of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender leaders in business, arts, politics, religion and culture at the Chelsea Art Museum. The Gala culminates with the Live Out Loud Youth Scholarship, presented to the courageous youth who have made significant contributions to society by “living out loud.”
After a long winter, the SAGE Women’s “Spring Fever” Dance brings a warm welcome to the New York scene. April 24 at the China Club, DJ NancyB picks the best of the old and the new to offer the most danceable music—new and old-time favorites—for the good company of women of all ages and backgrounds. And, traditionally, those available as a dance partner can pick up a red dot or a bunch of them. The dance raises funds for SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders), the nation’s oldest Social Service agency, and all proceeds help serve the needs of the LGBT community’s senior citizens.
May 3, join participants of all ages and sexes for the 11th Annual EIF REVLON Run/Walk For Women. In 2007, more than 40,000 participants walked in unity from Times Square to Central Park in support of finding a cure for women’s cancers. Nearly $2.7 million was distributed to 16 beneficiaries, dedicated to providing cutting-edge medical breakthroughs, diagnostic treatment and support services for the women and families battling cancer. To register, please visit revlonrunwalk.com/ny. Join the fight!
April 28 at the Asia Society Museum, the New York-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) will hold its A Celebration of Courage awards ceremony. 2008’s honorees include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chile’s Andre Ignacio Riverte Duarte, the Iranian Queer Organization, and the IBM Corporation. IGLHRC is one of the premiere international human rights organizations dedicated to documenting and fighting against the range of human rights abuses faced by LGBTI people and groups around the world, playing critical role in drawing global attention to persistent human rights violations, such as police abuse and torture, arbitrary arrests, harassment and discriminatory laws and treatment.
We all know it pays to quit smoking, so why not get paid to quit? The LGBT Center’s new SmokeFree Project, kicking off April 10 and 12 with a “Not Quite Ready to Quit” preliminary session, offers participants fabulous prizes, free Metrocards, free patches and best of all, a healthier you! Beginning April 17, the “Commit to Quit” sessions follow the preliminary meetings and are designed as a six-week group program for smokers who’ve decided they’re really ready to quit. Contact The Center today for more info.
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