Bellows Falls Pride 2024
Upcoming events
-Wednesday December 4 (10 am - 5 pm)
Viewing: AIDS Memorial Quilt @ Rockingham Library
-Wednesday December 4 (7 pm)
"Commitment to Life" doc at the Opera House
Sacred Cloth Unfurled for Coming Out Day
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Movie Night!
-Saturday October 12th - 11 Am
Dia De Los Muertos/Day of the Dead in Windsor VT
Coming of Age with Grace and Grit
Bellows Falls Pride
"The Gay Experiment in rural Vermont"
click for Press Release
AIDS Memorial Quilt
Wednesday December 4
Viewing time 10 am - 5 pm
3rd Floor of the
Rockingham Free Library
65 Westminster St
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12 November 2024 Contact: Susan MacNeil, susan@svidol.com AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT IN BELLOWS FALLS FOR WORLD AIDS DAY (Bellows Falls VT) The iconic AIDS Memorial Quilt signifies loss and love like no other memorial. Since 1985 when the Quilt was conceived by Cleve Jones, it has served to provide context as a teaching tool for a generation that cannot comprehend the enormity of AIDS pandemic devastation in the world. In collaboration with the Rockingham Free Public Library, the LGBT National Help Center and Keller Williams Metropolitan Keene, Bellows Falls Pride will bring one 12’x12’ section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to acknowledge World AIDS Day, recognized annually on December 1 since 1988. The Quilt can be viewed from 10am – 5pm on Wednesday, December 4 in the third-floor ballroom space of the library, which is elevator accessible. Members of Bellows Falls Pride will serve as docents for the exhibit to provide information and answer questions. The event is free and open to the public. Ian Graham, Director of the Library, is pleased to collaborate on this project with Bellows Falls Pride. “The Rockingham Free Public Library is honored to present this section of the World AIDS quilt on December 4, 2024, and to support Bellows Falls Pride in celebrating the lives of those who have died of AIDS in the past four decades.” The purpose of World AIDS Day is to engage communities in understanding, compassion and hope throughout the world using this powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic and the 36 million people who have died from AIDS worldwide. The section will feature the panel of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, who died from AIDS on November 21, 1991. More than 50,000 individual 3’ x 6’ memorial panels – each one commemorating the lives of people who have died of AIDS – have been sewn together by friends, lovers and family members. The Quilt weighs 56 tons, spans 1.2 million feet and includes more than 125,000 names. It is now too large to display on the National Mall in Washington DC. View the Quilt: https://www.aidsmemorial.org/interactive-aids-quilt To arrange a time for a group viewing, please contact Susan MacNeil at susan@svidol.com. On the evening of December 4, Bellows Falls Pride will bring the award-winning 2023 documentary, “Commitment to Life” to the Opera House, chronicling the early days of the AIDS pandemic and the political indifference that created the environment that allowed the pandemic to continue to this day. Against a rich Hollywood backdrop, "Commitment to Life" documents the true story of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles with original footage of the times - and how an intrepid group of people living with HIV/AIDS, doctors, movie stars, studio moguls and activists changed the course of the epidemic. Door at 6:30pm, show at 7:00pm. For tickets: https://www.bellowsfallsoperahouse.com/classic-film-wednesdays-2/ ### For nearly 30 years the LGBT National Help Center has run the national crisis prevention hotlines and services, providing LGBTQ+ led affirming care and support and vital community connections for the entire LGBTQ+ community. The Center offers anonymous, confidential support for those dealing with coming out concerns, HIV/AIDS issues, questions on gender and/or sexuality, and much more. Services that are provided help to ensure that no-one has to live their life in isolation or fear. https://lgbthotline.org/ HISTORY: The AIDS Memorial Quilt was conceived in November of 1985 by Cleve Jones, longtime San Francisco gay rights activist. Subsequently in June of 1987, a small group of strangers gathered in a city storefront to document the lives they feared history would neglect. Their goal was to create a memorial for those who had died of AIDS and to thereby help people understand the devastating impact of the disease. This action served as the foundation that created the AIDS Memorial Quilt. On October 11, 1987, the Quilt was displayed for the first time on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It covered a space larger than a football field and included 1,920 panels. Half a million people visited the Quilt that weekend. The overwhelming response to the Quilt's inaugural display led to a four-month, 20-city, national tour for the Quilt in the spring of 1988. Local panels were added in each city, tripling the Quilt's size to more than 6,000 panels by the end of the tour. The Quilt returned to Washington, D.C. in October of 1988, when 8,288 panels were displayed on the Ellipse in front of the White House. In 1989 a second tour of North America brought the Quilt to 19 additional cities in the United States and Canada. By 1992, the AIDS Memorial Quilt included panels from every state and 28 countries. In October 1992, the entire Quilt returned to Washington, D.C. and in January 1993 The NAMES Project was invited to march in President Clinton's inaugural parade. The last display of the entire AIDS Memorial Quilt was in October of 1996 when The Quilt covered the entire National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Washington, D.C. displays of October 1987, 1988, 1989, 1992 and 1996 are the only ones to have featured the Quilt in its entirety. The Quilt was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and remains the largest community art project in the world. The Quilt has been the subject of countless books, films, scholarly papers, articles, and theatrical, artistic and musical performances, including "Common Threads: Stories From
OpED on Unfurling the Sacred Cloth
True Colors “What’s your favorite color?” I recall this as one of the earliest questions I ever actually had to consider. Was it blue for water and sky? Green for newly mowed grass? Pink for that ruffled flower girl dress I wore to my Aunt’s wedding when I was ten-years-old? Yellow for the perfection of daffodils and sunflowers? My brain would consider the possibilities at lightning speed, worried that there was a favorite color I was supposed to choose, the right one in order to please others. But what if I got it wrong? Determining your true colors takes a lifetime. The color palette changes over time as relationships are reviewed, revisited and refined. We develop connections because we embrace the color palettes of those dear to us, celebrating the fact that not everyone needs to have the same identifying paint box. Who we are changes from moment to moment, influenced by age, daily experiences and revelations. A splash of color today may become somber brown and black hues tomorrow. It doesn’t make it wrong to move along the color spectrum or, more specifically, the colors of the rainbow. Which leads me to Cyndi Lauper. In 1986 she had a hit with the song, True Colors, and it pretty much instantly became the anthem for anyone who considered themselves a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Two years later, in 1988, Jean O’Leary and Robert Eichberg established National Coming Out Day to bring awareness about the crisis faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community. The event was celebrated for the first time on October 11, 1988 which was the anniversary of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The day is meant to encourage gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people and other members of the LGBTQ+ community to “come out of the closet,” which is a metaphor the community has used to mean recognizing and revealing one’s authentic self. Cyndi said it best: “Oh I realize It's hard to take courage In a world full of people You can lose sight of it all And the darkness inside you Can make you feel so small But I see your true colors Shining through…” Fast forward to 2024, thirty-six years later. “Coming Out” in your personal life, workplace, community… with friends, family, co-workers… has never been easy, but some would say that the landscape of equality regarding declared sexual orientation has reached a point of general acceptance. It is true that hard-won rights have been achieved through dogged determination and courage. But I would suggest that it is actually more dangerous than ever before, despite the work of individual allies, support organizations, affirming faith communities, Pride groups. Dangerous because many of those in power, who control the permissions of our lives, are filled with hate. It turns out that the Constitutional rights allowing the LGBTQ+ community to feel a measure of acceptance and security have fragile foundations when control and punishment is yielded by a right-wing Supreme Court. “If you are not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all human activities… the expression of love…then life itself loses its meaning.” Harvey Milk We are faced with a Presidential election that seems to be an arm wrestle between insanity and reason. In a few short weeks we will know which side of the knife’s edge will control our lives. Which protections will be available to guide us and impact the colors we see. So be brave. Choose your true colors with joy and authenticity. Do not lose heart. There are 64 options in the jumbo crayon box. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to your favorite color. Come out if you feel you can, into the embrace of those who are here for you. We’ve got a coloring book waiting. Susan MacNeil served as the Executive Director of AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region from 2000-2014, was a founding Board member of Keene Pride and is on the Bellows Falls Pride Committee.
"enjoy what you are!"
Since the 1970s Bellows Falls has been a home for the LGBTQIA+ community, with the historic Andrews Inn, the first Gay bar in the state of Vermont. A lot has changed since than, but remains the same is Pride in the area and Pride in the people living here. Join us for community activities throughout the year!
Pride Banner hangs across the Square June 2023
Postcards to Swing States
Want to make your voice heard in this year's Presidential election? Participate in the Postcards To Swing States campaign on Wednesday, October 9 in Bellows Falls! Postcards to Swing States says, writing postcards is the most effective way to help get people to the polls.
Bellows Falls Pride will be in the Ciao Popolo lounge from 11am-4pm to provide cards that will be mailed to Ohio residents, as well as refreshments and conversation.
In this critical election year, if you don't have time to knock on doors or make phone calls, this is a very easy way to make a difference. Come early at 2pm when the bar opens for your favorite beverage while you work, or arrive at 4pm for an early meal with Dinner & a Movie! Join us!
October 9th
11 am - 4 pm
Ciao Popolo
36 The Square
Bellows Falls
Sacred Cloth Unfurled for
National Coming Out Day
October 9th
10 am
The Square
Be here for historic 14'x25' section of the Sea-to-Sea Rainbow Flag
It is the responsibility of Pride organizations everywhere to make National Coming Out Day in 2024 a rallying cry for equality, safety and freedom. On Wednesday, October 9 at 10am, Bellows Falls Pride will unfurl the historic 14’ x 25’ Sacred Cloth, aka Section 93, of the original Key West Sea-to-Sea Rainbow Flag from the top of the Windham Hotel to the street, formerly the site of the iconic Andrews Inn (1973-1984) in downtown Bellows Falls, Vermont. The Inn offered bars, discos and lodging, a safe place for rural and urban LGBTQ people from up and down the East Coast to travel by train and gather in the heart of downtown Bellows Falls, Vermont. The building now houses the restaurant, Ciao Popolo. “The flag, known as Section 93, measures 14 by 25 feet, is one section of the historic Rainbow25 flag sewn together by Gilbert Baker in Key West, Fla., in 2003 to create a 1.25-mile-long flag in the original eight colors (versus the six colors that became more common). That flag marked the 25th anniversary of the 1978 flag originally created by Baker. The Sea-to-Sea Flag was later cut into sections, and Section 93 is preserved as the Sacred Cloth. It has traveled the globe to be displayed at celebrations, occasions of mourning, and historic moments. Section 93 was displayed in downtown Orlando in June 2016 following the deadly Pulse nightclub shootings and has returned to Orlando each year on the anniversary of the tragedy.” National Coming Out Day brings awareness for the LGBTQ+ community and allies. The annual remembrance, which officially takes place on October 11, encourages gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people and other members of the LGBTQ+ community to “come out of the closet,” which is a metaphor the community has used to mean recognizing and revealing one’s authentic self. Mark Ebenhoch of Key West and Brattleboro manages stewardship of the Sacred Cloth throughout the country and is bringing it to Bellows Falls. Most recently CNN created a display in Atlanta. Attendees and residents are invited to visit the Ciao Popolo lounge from 11am-4pm to participate in the nationwide “Postcards to Swing States” project. The goal of Bellows Falls Pride is to send 500 completed postcards to Ohio residents ahead of the 2024 Presidential election, which is considered a life-or-death moment for the LGBTQ+ community. The national project aims to send 25 million postcards to 11 swing states. Coffee and refreshments will be available during this time. Keller Williams Metro Keene Realty and M&T Bank Bellows Falls are sponsors of this event. Find Bellows Falls Pride on Facebook, Instagram on www.bellowsfallspride.com. https://www.facebook.com/BruceMurphyRealtor/
press release
History of the Sacred Cloth: World’s Longest Rainbow Flag Brought Recognition of Key West’s Diversity During Key West Pride in 2003, a 1.25-mile-long rainbow flag sewn by Gilbert Baker, the creator of the original rainbow flag, was unfurled to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the banner’s debut. Supported by approximately 2,000 volunteers of widely varying ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations, the world’s longest rainbow flag was carried the entire length of Key West’s Duval Street from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean in a sea-to-sea demonstration of openness and pride. As well as honoring the rainbow flag’s birth, the Key West flag re-created Baker’s original eight-color design — adding pink and turquoise to the now-traditional red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and violet. Baker, who died in March 2017, spent three months in Key West in 2003 sewing about 17,600 linear yards of fabric into the rainbow flag that weighed more than 3 tons. He and the project were the subjects of “Rainbow Pride,” a Public Broadcasting Service documentary. The idea of displaying a sea-to-sea rainbow flag on Duval Street was hatched when the late Key West businessman Gregg McGrady envisioned the display as part of the community’s annual pride celebration. It came to fruition when Key West Pride 2003 co-chairs Heather Carruthers and Tom Wheaton met Baker by chance in San Francisco. Baker, whose friends called him “the gay Betsy Ross,” created the original flag in 1978 as a symbol of gay and lesbian pride in response to anti-gay activities. Subsequently, he watched it grow from a symbol of gay pride into a symbol of pride for all people. “The rainbow flag is loved and cherished all over the world,” Baker said in 2003. “It represents an idea of equality and justice for everyone.” The Key West flag has had a life of its own, with sections of the historic banner displayed at global events and LGBTQ festivities around the world — including the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, and Australia’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. They also have been shown internationally in Sweden, Norway, Germany and England; and domestically in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Atlanta. Baker’s rainbow flag also brought international acclaim to Key West’s 14-block Duval Street, a hub for the island’s LGBTQ entertainment venues. Visitors can walk easily up Duval from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, imagining the day when the Key West flag was unfurled — and its ends were dipped simultaneously into the two bodies of water in a stirring representation of pride. Key West visitor information: fla-keys.com/gay, fla-keys.com/keywest or 1-800-LAST-KEY Gay Key West Visitor Center: gaykeywestfl.com, 305-294-4603 or 1-800-535-7797
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - MOVIE NIGHT
Wednesday October 9th
Time: 7 pm
Price: $6.00
The Opera House
7 the Square
Bellows Falls
Sponsored by Bellows Falls Pride
Tweed Ride and Tea Party
Saturday
October 12th
11 am meet up
11:30 am roll out
Flat Iron co-op
51 the Square
Bellows Falls
Join us for a casual bike ride around Bellows Falls followed by tea and snacks at the Flat Iron co-op.
A tweed ride is a causal slow communal ride where bike riders dress in vintage attire. But we’re not here to be be sticklers on fashion, so when we say dress to impress, we will let you decide what that means!
All styles are welcome.
All families are welcome. Helmets encouraged.
Awards will be presented for the best attire and for the most fabulously decorated bike.
Tea provided, and snacks and other drinks available for purchase at the Flat Iron.
(those not riding are very welcome us for tea and community!)
Dia De Los Muertos / Day of the Dead
Saturday November 1st - Windsor VT
Please join us for a casual and informal gathering for Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Windsor Vermont Saturday November 2nd, 11 am - 1 pm(ish) .
Dia De Los Muertos is a long held celebration of the lives of those who have passed. It is a time to honor, celebrate, and remember loved ones. Rooted in Indigenous and Mexican and Central American traditions it has a long and vibrant history in the United States.
We will be gathering in the Old South Church Cemetery in Windsor Vermont where an ofrenda (altar) will be created to display some of the traditions of the day, and for anyone who would like to leave a note of remembrance to a loved one. We’ll have a short talk, led by local Aaron Almanza about the history of Dia De Los Muertos, some of the customs, symbols, and traditions, and how the holiday has grown and evolved. We’ll also have time for anyone who would like to talk about a loved one and wish to remember them as Dia De Los Muertos is a day of joy, and to celebrate those we love.
Followed by an informal walk through the cemetery led by archaeologist Gail Golec, where we will be able to explore our unique historical cemetery art and our own local past.
Those wishing to stroll and explore on their own welcome as well.
Coming of Age with Grace and Grit
click for Press Release
in collaboration with Senior Solutions
recorded on
Thursday June 20
at the Bellows Falls
Opera House
For the full page from FACT TV click here
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