Monday, November 21, 2011

HR Pride's Out in the Park Launch A Huge Success


Some have argued that the day and age has come for localities to cease holding Pride events. In some cities and regions such as New York City and San Francisco that argument may be somewhat true. In bigoted backwaters like Virginia and Hampton Roads, however, I would argue that Pride events continue to play a crucial role in galvanizing the LGBT community itself and in waking up the larger community to the size and diversity of the LGBT community. They can truly shatter the image that we are a small and/or dysfunctional community. Last year's Out in the Park event stunned the City of Norfolk when roughly 17,000 people turned out for the event in Town Point Park in downtown Norfolk. Moreover, the event was described as one of the most orderly and well orchestrated seen by the local police force.

This year, Hampton Roads Pride seeks to put on an even more amazing event - as well as help finance other events throughout the year (e.g., holiday dinners for LGBT individuals disowned by family) to integrate and energize the LGBT community. Last Monday, HR Pride held a launch event to secure sponsors/partners for the 2012 Out in the Park celebration. The launch event was a huge success and raised $38,000 in pledges and cash payments in a single evening. We even had a representative from U.S. Senator Jim Webb's office in attendance. The photos and video below - which include a number of wonderful friends - are a sampling from the event. The sponsorship committee co-chairs, Cindy Cutler and Kathleen Nicholas who deserve great accolades are pictured above. For more information on how to donate to HR Pride or volunteer for Out in the Park and other programs, check out the website here.







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