Gay Pride Activities begin this weekend in Northampton

The Pride celebrations begin this weekend in Northampton. Visit NoHo to start the country's Pride Season. Here's a rundown on most of those taking place in the New England region:

NoHo Pride 2010 on May 1st. To learn more about the event, please visit NoHo Pride's website.

CT Pride 2010, taking place on June 5, 2010 at Bushnell Park. You will find the organization's website here.

Boston Pride 2010, celebrating its 40th Anniversary, will also be one of the biggest celebrations in the commonwealth. Boston Pride will happen from June 4-13th, 2010 this year. For more information, and to see what will happen throughout the week just click here!

Worcester Pride 2010, will take place on Sept 11th this year. For more information about this great celebration, you can visit the organization's website.

Pride Vermont 2010 will be celebrated on July 24th, 2010. For a small state, the Pride event is pretty legendary. Check out their website for the latest information.

In Rhode Island, Pride Fest 2010 takes place on June 19th. PrideFest and the Night Gay Pride Parade through Providence basically functions as Providence Gay Pride and Newport Gay Pride all rolled into one statewide celebration. For schedule information, visit PrideFest.

Is there gay life in the Berkshires?

A reader sent me this question, and it made me stop and think.

Hey, Gay in the Berkshires -

I saw your blog online and thought I would send you an email.

I just got a job offer in the Berkshires and I'm considering moving there.

I am a single gay man in my early 30s. Is there enough of a gay life in the Berkshires
that would interest someone to move there?

Any information would be much appreciated. Thanks

Mike.

Mike -

That's a tough question to answer without knowing more about you. If by "enough" you mean lots of clubs and bars, the short answer is our club scene is limited. But LGBTQ folks are far from one-dimensional, and if you mean a rich, rewarding variety of activities and a great working environment, the Berkshires are the place to be. We're here. We're queer. But we're pretty laid back about it.

The Berkshires are pretty rural with an overall population of about 100,000. But we enjoy more culture, nature and history than most places three times our size. With Tanglewood, Jacob's Pillow and four major theatre companies, what's not to like. To get an idea about our nightlife, check out my online magazine, Berkshire On Stage which is gearing up for the summer of 2010.

While nothing like Provincetown or Manhattan, there is a decent sized LGBTQ community here, though no full time gay bar. (Though you might try Mezze in Williamstown on Thurday evenings.) The Berkshire Stonewall Community Coaltion is the community organization, and from one of the monthly potluck suppers you can begin to get acquainted with the community. There are young people who love to dance, and lots of events they share with our allies. In the Berkshries being gay is like no big deal. You can even get married in any of our town halls. Many churches will conduct the ceremony, and almost all our guest houses are gay friendly to a fault.

Barrington Stage Company has several "Out" evenings, a first this summer, and last year we had our first Out in the Berkshires Weekend which was sponsored by the City of Pittsfield, imagine that!

A lot of the LGBTQ folks are already in committed relationships, but there are plenty who aren't. Facebook is a major way we all keep in touch. There is even a Berkshire Gay Guerrilla Group (BG3) which posts where we can meet for a good time.

We like the slower, gentler pace of the Berkshires, but that doesn't stop us from dashing from one thing to another if we want. Or simply hiking the Appalachian Trail to the top of Mount Greylock for some quiet time with ourselves.

We hope you might take the job and join us. If you have been living in the big city, you will find the cost of housing and other essentials pretty low here, too. That means you can afford to do more! There are even half price ticket operations at several of the visitor centers to save on entertainment, and you can always see a show for free by ushering. Great way to meet people, too.

Hope this answers your question.

Sarah Vowell on Tom Cruise

Sarah Vowell is not to be underestimated.

When I gush about her, everyone says: "Sarah who?" Well I am here to tell you that she is the real deal. An eccentric, literate, understated and hilariousy funny writer who has taken to the stage with her deadpan stories about famous people. Presidents, movie stars, history, they are all grist for her mill.

Take her laid back analysis of Hollywood icon Tom Cruise, his anatomy, his geometic face, his undies. She deconstructs the myth in this audio slide show.



Which is to say that if you miss Sarah tomorrow night at 8:00PM at the Colonial Theatre, you may miss the best event of the year. She has already dished the Berkshires, its B&B's and theatre companies to dirt (as I reported in this Berkshire On Stage article) and I bet there is more to come.

Here's a synopsis of her life so far: Sarah Vowell is the acclaimed author of four bestselling books and a contributing editor for NPR’s This American Life. She has written documentaries and monologues about everything from the Cherokee Trail of Tears, presidential libraries and Frank Sinatra, to more personal pieces about her father’s homemade cannon, a youthful obsession with The Godfather and her own Goth makeover.

I can hardly wait to hear her latest stories.

Benefit Dinner for Homeless LGBTQ Youth on Friday April 23

Kimy from Lost in the Crowd in midtown Manhatten. Photo by Susi Graf.

Join the Williams Queer Student Union and its allies for a benefit dinner on Friday, April 23rd at 5:30pm for MCCNY Homeless Youth Services: Sylvia's Place, with food donated by Jae’s Spice in Pittsfield. http://eatatjaes.com/

Sylvia's Place is a homeless shelter for LGBTQ youth in New York City. The shelter is a charity of the Metropolitan Community Church of New York. See these links for more information on Sylvia's Place, as well as some statistics on homeless youth in NYC:

http://www.homelessyouthservices.org/

Tickets for the dinner will be $10 each, and all proceeds from ticket sales will go to MCCNY Homeless Youth Services; Sylvia's Place. The QSU will be tabling throughout Queer Pride Days in Paresky to sell tickets in advance, so be sure to get them before they sell out- we can only seat 150 people at this dinner!

Clothing Drive, too.

In addition to this benefit dinner, we will be holding a clothing drive with Williams Christian Fellowship. Clothing will go to residents at MCCNY Homeless Youth Services; Sylvia's Place. We will be collecting clothes in the donation bins in the back of Paresky throughout Queer Pride Days. Any and all donations are welcome, particularly age-appropriate clothes for the residents at the shelter. We will be driving down to New York City on Saturday, April 24th to deliver the clothes and hang out with the residents at the shelter- email jmw1@williams.edu if you're interested in this, or if you have any questions!

Lost in the Crowd benefit for homeless LGBTQ youth is tonight

Just received a note about this 8:00 pm screening and fund raiser at Williams College tonight:

Hey everyone,

Don't forget that we're screening Lost in the Crowd tonight at 8pm in Paresky Theater. This documentary details the experiences of transgender homeless youth in New York City, and the subculture they created within and despite their conditions. Some of the people featured in the film are or were residents of Sylvia's Place, the organization that will be receiving the proceeds of our benefit dinner this Friday. Please come learn more about the conditions under which many youth in the queer community must live.

http://lostinthecrowd.net/profiles.php

There will be free pizza!

-Johannes

Lost in the Crowd is a short documentary that explores the experiences and subcultures formed by queer homeless youth in New York City. There will be free pizza at this event. We will also be selling tickets to the Benefit Dinner here, so please stop by to learn more about the issues at hand.