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.
Planning
a Drag (Ball)
The Vermont People With AIDS Coalition,
in association with The House of LeMay, announce that they will be producing
the 10th annual Winter Is A Drag Ball on Saturday, February 12, 2005,
at the Higher Ground Night Club in South Burlington. This will be the
6th year this event benefits the Coalition, the third year The House of
LeMay has helped produce the show, and the first year for the event to
be held in the new Higher Ground location. Previous Drag Balls had been
held at the Higher Ground location in Winooski, and had been sell out
events.
The Vermont PWA Coalition is a state-wide community of peers whose mission
is to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV and AIDS through
mutual support and empowerment, exchange of information, and advocacy.
In 2005 we will sponsor our 15th annual four day Retreat for people with
HIV/AIDS and their partners. Proceeds from the Drag Ball help the Coalition
to fund the Retreat and other events.
The House of LeMay, a drag entertainment
troupe, has been performing for Vermont and regional audiences for over
a decade with their silly songs, witty banter and outrageous costumes.
Hailing from their fictional town of Beaver Pond, Vermont, and based at
the Hot Damn Trailer Park, the "girls" perform many shows throughout
the year including their upcoming "Leaf Peeping, Cider Sipping Revue"
(October 23 & 24) and their annual Christmas show (December 18 &
19).
“With moving to a new and larger space, and in celebrating a decade
of Drag Balls, we want this year to be bigger and better than ever”
says Bob Bolyard, who is organizing the talent for the Ball. He also said
that he's looking for not only individual performers, but groups who are
interested in performing larger "production-type" numbers during
the night. If anyone is interested in performing, they are asked to contact
Bolyard at houseoflemay@hotmail.com
or by calling 802-865-3734.
Scaring Up A Will with Samara
Samara Foundation of Vermont is sponsoring
a Will & Estate Planning Seminar on Wednesday, October 27 from 6:30
– 8:30 pm. The seminar is free, but space is limited.
This seminar will address special
issues of importance to lesbian and gay individuals and couples who have
wills, or should be planning to write wills. That is each one of us! Also
addressed will be questions of how to express your charitable intent while
also assuring your own lifetime financial well-being.
The Will & Estate Planning Seminar will
feature presentations by Susan Murray, Esq., of Langrock Sperry Wool,
LLP; Eileen Blackwood, Esq., of Blackwood & Danon, PC; and Tom Smith,
Certified Financial Planner, from the Vermont Community Foundation.
The seminar will take place in Chittenden
County. To register and receive location details, please contact Ted at
Samara's office: 802-860-6236 or ted@samarafoundation.org
Women Mentors for Women Prisoners
Mercy Connections and Northern New
England Tradeswomen have partnered to create a Mentoring Program to support
women making the transition from Vermont's correctional facilities to
Chittenden County. These women face significant barriers in finding appropriate
and affordable housing and employment, key elements of successful reintegration.
Mentors can have a profound influence on supporting individual women as
they work to rebuild their lives.
If you are a good listener, have an
open mind and want to create a relationship with a woman returning to
your community to help her make a fresh start, we invite you to contact
us to find out more about serving as a volunteer Mentor. We also need
volunteers for short-term assistance such as helping with transportation.
The first of two training sessions
for mentors will be held October 6 from 5:30-8 pm at Mercy Connections,
346 Shelburne Road, Burlington, Vermont. The second session is October
20. Please contact Pam Greene, Mentoring Program Coordinator, for more
information at 846-7164 or pgreene@mercyconnections.org
Outright Plays with "Homo Nomo"
Outright Vermont will benefit from a play performance entitled "Homo
Nomo" on October 17th 7-9pm. This hilarious play is about a young
man and his experience of going through 'conversion therapy.' Tickets
are $10 for students and $15 for adults. For more info visit our website
at www.outrightvt.org
or call Lluvia at 865-9677.
Later this month, get really freaky
this Halloween! Join Outright Vermont on October 30th from 7-11pm (location
to be announced) at the annual MasQUEERade dance. Full of drag performances,
apple bobbing, and the ever popular costume contests. Admission is $5.
For more info please call Megan at 865-9677 or go to www.outrightvt.org
Volunteers Make the Difference!
All those involved with Out in the
Mountains and Mountain Pride Media, Inc. extend this expression of gratitude
to all those volunteers who in so many ways support the projects of Mountain
Pride Media. It is only through their support that any of the work we
do is possible. We would especially like to thank the following volunteers
to helped with the stuffing of the September issue in August. They are:
Bob Bolyard, Judith Ruskin, Lou, Bob Wolff and a wonderful person who
requested to remain anonymous. We also thank deeply (though often times
not enough) the drivers who volunteer their time to distribute the paper
state-wide.
Mountain Pride Media, Inc. received
a generous $10,000 grant from the Vermont Unity Project (of the Vermont
Community Foundation and the Samara Foundation) so we can update our technology
and equipment essential for the production of the paper. The funds will
also be used for staff training. We all thank the Vermont Unity Project
most sincerely!
WRCC Survivors
The Women's Rape Crisis Center will
be holding a free workshop series called "Considering the Uses of
Adversity: Self-Healing for Survivors of Sexual Violence." The meetings
will be held on Tuesday evenings from October 5 through November 16. Gwen
Evans will lead the spiritually-based series and teach alternatives and
tools for coping with ongoing issues of surviving sexual assault using
discussion, exercises, journaling and guided meditation. The goal is to
shed both victim and survivor roles to arrive at wholeness. Contact Melody
Wollgren at WRCC 802-864-0555 or Melody@stoprape-vermont.org