From the Executive Director » Pride http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog Karla's Blog Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:52:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 2006-2007 stonewallcolumbus@gmail.com (From the Executive Director) stonewallcolumbus@gmail.com (From the Executive Director) http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg From the Executive Director http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog 144 144 Karla's Blog From the Executive Director From the Executive Director stonewallcolumbus@gmail.com no no Pride in the News: Columbus Pride Turns 30 http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2011/05/01/pride-in-the-news-columbus-pride-turns-30/ http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2011/05/01/pride-in-the-news-columbus-pride-turns-30/#comments Sun, 01 May 2011 11:54:26 +0000 admin http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/?p=115 From PurpleRoofs.com

Ohio’s capital city, known as one of the most gay- and lesbian-friendly destinations in the U.S., is making final preparations for its Columbus Pride Festival, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors. One of the 10 largest gay pride celebrations in the country, this year’s festival is slated for Fri., June 17 through Sun., June 19, while June is filled with Pride-related events around Columbus. Complete travel information is found at experiencecolumbus.com/glbt and Pride Celebration event information is available at columbuspride.org.
With the support of various Columbus patrons and Stonewall Columbus, the Columbus Pride Festival celebrates 30 years this summer, having debuted in 1981. Stonewall Columbus uses the event to raise funds to support its pursuit of fairness, equality and safety for the GLBT community.
The annual event includes a festival, rally and parade, which takes place at noon, Sat., June 18, beginning in downtown Columbus and finishing at Goodale Park in the nearby Short North Arts District. June 19 features a Pride Brunch and the Columbus Lesbian and Gay Softball Association’s wildly colorful and popular Bat n’ Rouge softball game, pitting the Drag Queens against the Dykes.

Read the Full Article

]]> http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2011/05/01/pride-in-the-news-columbus-pride-turns-30/feed/ 0 Remembering Elizabeth http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2011/03/25/remembering-elizabeth/ http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2011/03/25/remembering-elizabeth/#comments Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:15:58 +0000 admin http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/?p=108

“I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being — to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame.” – Elizabeth Taylor

The lights on Broadway will be dimmed tonight in honor of Elizabeth Taylor. Elizabeth was not only a Hollywood icon; she was a friend and champion for the LGBT community. A bold humanitarian, she spoke out in the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and helped to lead the fight to end this terrible epidemic. Let us remember that she stood up for our community in a time when her position was not popular. Even in death, the Westboro Baptist Church is tweeting that Elizabeth is burning in hell for being a friend to our community. So even in death she stands with us, a loyal and brave ally.

This year Columbus celebrates our 30th Pride Parade. This year Pride will honor those who lived through the days when people were regularly arrested and fired for being who they are. Thirty years ago many who marched did so in disguise or wore paper bags over their heads. Many more were afraid to march or even to watch the parade from the sidelines. A brave few in our community organized and banded together to march down High Street to celebrate our community. This year we hope that all of our community and our allies will march together to celebrate how far we have come, to honor those who lived through the last 30 years and who championed our cause and to let the world know that we still fighting for equality.

Click here for more information about participating in the pride parade.

Karla Rothan, Executive Director

]]> http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2011/03/25/remembering-elizabeth/feed/ 1 Columbus Pride 2009 Ranked #5 on Columbus Underground http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2010/01/12/columbus-pride-ranked-columbus-underground/ http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2010/01/12/columbus-pride-ranked-columbus-underground/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:05:18 +0000 Karla Rothan http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/?p=63 The Stonewall Columbus 2009 Pride Festival has been ranked #5 on the Best Events of Columbus List for 2009 by Columbus Underground from their reader survey.

Here are the Top 10 Best Events of 2009, as rated by their readers:
  1. Comfest
  2. Columbus Arts Festival
  3. Independents’ Day
  4. Highball Halloween
  5. Gay Pride Festival
  6. Red White & Boom
  7. Gallery Hop
  8. Jazz & Ribs Festival
  9. Dublin Irish Festival
  10. Parking Lot Blowout
Read the complete article here
http://www.columbusunderground.com/best-columbus-event-of-2009-comfest
]]> http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2010/01/12/columbus-pride-ranked-columbus-underground/feed/ 0 Another Year and a Big Celebration http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/07/01/another-year-and-a-big-celebration/ http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/07/01/another-year-and-a-big-celebration/#comments Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:28:44 +0000 Karla Rothan http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/?p=32 Pride Holiday and March is a huge celebration for our community and Stonewall Columbus is thrilled to be able to present this event for our city. The hundreds of volunteers that it takes to put this event on every year are the real heroes when it comes to Pride. Many of them give up their vacation time, their family time and their fun time to make this day happen and Stonewall Columbus is eternally grateful. The day always begins a little foggy for me and our staff. We each have probably already put in about 65 hours that week. Inspiration comes when we look down High Street at a sea of people before us all having a good time. Celebrating our culture and giving back is what Pride is all about and i think the 120,000 people that attended this year would have to agree, it was the best day ever!

]]> http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/07/01/another-year-and-a-big-celebration/feed/ 0 Admission to the Festival at Bicentennial Park http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/06/18/admission-to-the-festival-at-bicentennial-park/ http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/06/18/admission-to-the-festival-at-bicentennial-park/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:27:19 +0000 Karla Rothan http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/?p=30 For several years now we have had at least 3-5  “tollbooth gates” at Pride. I want to make sure that everyone understands why this is so. When I began volunteering for Stonewall Columbus in 1998, we had about 20,000 people come to our festival and parade. Now in 2008, just ten years later, we are expecting approximately 115,000 participants. Each year the festival and parade grows and so does our costs. Stonewall Columbus spends close to $100,000 to put this event on every year. Across the country many cities have stopped creating Pride celebrations because of the cost and you can see how that happens. For a small nonprofit with a total budget of $465,000 this is a huge undertaking. We ask that festival goers please give $5 at the gate, more if you can and less if you can’t. Or if you purchase your commemorative dogtag, you are admitted to the festival for free. We have gotten some calls at the center from angry folks who believe that the festival should be totally free. Unfortunately, Stonewall Columbus is not in the position to do that. Some in our community argue that the park is a public place and therefore they will not pay to enter it. That is your choice and I understand your position. I beg you to reconsider making a small donation to our center because putting this event on is not now, nor never has been, free for Stonewall. We pay for police, insurance, rental of equipment, rental of the stage, street closures, meter bagging, permits, entertainment, tents, tables, chairs, refuse collection and cleanup crew. It is expensive and without your help we will not be able to continue this tradition in June that we all love so much.

]]> http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/06/18/admission-to-the-festival-at-bicentennial-park/feed/ 0 Two Weeks Until Pride 2008 http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/06/13/two-weeks-until-pride-2008/ http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/06/13/two-weeks-until-pride-2008/#comments Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:09:17 +0000 Karla Rothan http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/?p=28 It is that crazy busy time of year again when Stonewall Columbus produces one of the largest Pride Celebrations in the Midwest with an estimated 110,000 participants. The team led by Pride Coordinator, Jan Richards is hard at work trying to make sure all of the details are solidified before the big day. This year we have a new area at Bicentennial called the “Slam Jam” Teen stage. it is a place for young people to create their own music, read poetry or express themselves in a positive way. One great aspect of this new festival area is that it is totally created by SWC interns and every part of it is their creation. One of our interns did the pitch to Monster Energy Drink company and got sponsorship dollars gifted to help pay for the space. Another intern designed the logo and yet another contacted all of the Gay Straight Alliance organizations in area High Schools to get the word out. What better way to learn activism than to participate from the ground floor and build an event space of your own. Please stop by and lend your support for this fantastic effort by our young activists.

]]> http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/06/13/two-weeks-until-pride-2008/feed/ 0 Pride 2008 http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/04/13/pride-2008/ http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/04/13/pride-2008/#comments Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:11:33 +0000 Karla Rothan http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/04/13/pride-2008/ Stonewall Columbus is deep into the process of organizing Pride 2008 which will be held on Saturday, June 28, 2008 with an exciting March and Festival. This year I took a big step in hiring a Pride Coordinator for the event. Jan Richards has volunteered as the Beverage Chair for Pride for almost five years. Pride is a complex event and takes a year to plan so I needed someone who was familiar enough with the process of making that day happen and Jan was my first choice. She is extraordinary. Working with over three hundred volunteers is an art and Jan does it beautifully. She has pushed Pride forward on many levels but most importantly she has made it more fun for all of us. We are still in need of volunteers for the event and if you fill out the online form at columbuspride.org, Jan will pick it up and plug you in. It is a fun day but we can’t do it without all of you!

]]> http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2008/04/13/pride-2008/feed/ 0 Pride 2008 Concept http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2007/09/16/pride-2008-concept/ http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/2007/09/16/pride-2008-concept/#comments Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:20:09 +0000 Karla Rothan http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org/blog/?p=10 Joe Stefanko, Pride Chair, introduced the theme of "change" for this year’s Pride Celebration. As a concept the committee felt that it was right in line with the change in the country surrounding the government and the war. Stonewall Columbus has also gone through many changes this year with regards to focus and mission. After 26 years the organization has needed to reinvent its mission because the needs of the community have changed. Our festival will still be held downtown, however there are lots of changes going on there as well. With the enhancement of the riverfront district and the improvements being completed in Bicentennial Park, I am sure we will have to be extremely flexible as we plan our event.

"Change" seems to be the perfect word for Pride 2008. Stonewall Columbus conducted a branding competition for the annual festival and march which has now concluded. Now the committee and staff are in the process of branding the event and seeking national sponsorships.

Pride is the signature event of SWC and every year the organization strives to make the experience bigger and better.  Many major cities throughout the country have cut back on Pride festivities, however Columbus Pride continues to grow. We are shooting to increase participation by at least 10%. Mark your calendars. Pride 2008 is Saturday, June 28, 2008.

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