RU12? Community Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Vermont

PRIDE Flag Ceremony at Burlington City Hall

Please join the PRIDE Committee, RU12?, the Vermont Freedom to Marry Taskforce, the Samara Foundation, Outright Vermont and Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss, at the 2nd Annual Pride Flag Ceremony at Burlington City Hall TOMORROW (Wednesday), July 9th at 5pm on the Church Street side.

Mayor Bob Kiss will join leaders of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community to unfurl the Rainbow Flag, a symbol of gay pride, to kick off Burlington's 26th Annniversary Pride Celebration, which features events all week long, culminating this Saturday, July 12th in the Pride Parade on Church Street (11am), and the Festival (12-3pm) at the Waterfront.

Pride is an annual celebration of the LGBT community and a commemoration of the birth of the LGBT movement for equal rights. In 1969 in New York City police raided a gay bar (Stonewall) and the LGBT people there fought back. Stonewall, as this event is referred to as, is widely recognized across the country and world as the beginning of the on-going struggele for LGBT civil rights.

This flag ceremony and the Pride event on Saturday honor this history and call for full equality and safety for all members of our community, including the right for gay and lesbian couples to legally marry.

This event and all Pride events are open to the public. Visit www.pridevt.com for more information.

We hope to see you OUT and PROUD!

Pride Vermont!

RU12? wants to remind everyone that Pride is just around the corner!  Pride is a time for our community to come together and remember where we've been but also looks towards the future.  We really hope that you take part in this very special week and join RU12? in celebrating our DIVERSITY.  Pride week will kick off tomorrow (July 4th) with First Friday and will end on Sunday (July 13th) with the VGSA's Post Pride Picnic.  The parade and festival are on Saturday July 12th from 11am - 3 pm.

• For a full list of events please visit www.pridevt.com/events.

This year the Pride Festival will be held at the waterfront.  The route of the parade starts from Lake Street, up Main Street, left on to Church Street, then on to Cherry Street, and will continue down on Battery Street where it will end back on Lake Street/the Waterfront.  In years past the parade typically started at 12 noon, but we are starting at 11 am so we can maximize the use of the Waterfront for the daytime festival.  So make sure you arrive arrive at 10:30 am if you are going to be in the parade at the Waterfront, otherwise find your place on the parade route and watch it go by!  After, make your way to the Waterfront from 12-3pm for an amazing afternoon.

Please contact RU12? if you are interested in marching in the parade with us. All are welcome!

Happy Pride!

Have you signed up for the 18th Annual Gathering of Friends?

This year is the Vermont People with Aids Coalition's eighteenth annual retreat for people living with HIV and their affected partners! Join them at the largest gathering of people with HIV in the state of Vermont. We look forward to seeing old friends and greeting new ones.

This year, PWAC is offering both workshops and discussion groups led by the experets in living well with HIV -- Vermonters who are HIV positive and living full liv es. The discussion groups will offer the opportunity to sit down together and share information on a variety of topics -- family issues, dealing with side effects of medication, finding a supportive community.

Affected, but uninfected, partners are also welcome at the retreat, and there will be discussion groups that focus particularly on your issues. Note: "partners" are people who are in a significant relationships with their HIV+ partner. Friends, relatives, and caregivers are not considered partners for this event.

PWAC rents the entire facility and will have complete privacy for the group. All the rooms are air-conditioned and on the first floor. There are indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sauna, hottub, game room, and movie room.

Workshops are scheduled during the day, and there are lots of fun activities where you'll learn something new and hang out with old and new friends. Entertainment is planned for the evenings.

For more information or to register, call (802) 229-5754 or email VTPWAC@Sover.net.

Want to check out PWAC on the web? http://www.vtpwac.org/