Community Vol 4 Issue 4

VOL 4 ISSUE 4 | IN THIS ISSUE: A PUBLICATION OF THE

JULY / AUG 2016

SEX EDUCATION ON A BUDGET | #WhiteQueersSpeakOut STANDING UP ON FATHER’S DAY | LGBTQ EVENT CALENDARS

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Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 Stanley Almodovar III, 23 Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 Luis S. Vielma, 22 Kimberly Morris, 37 Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 Amanda Alvear, 25 Martin Benitez Torres, 33 Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25 Miguel Angel Honorato, 30

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 Luis Daniel Conde, 39 Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 Cory James Connell, 21 Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 Brenda Lee Marquez McColl, 49 Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 Frank Hernandez, 27 Paul Terrell Henry, 41 Antonio Davon Brown, 29 Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 Akyra Monet Murray, 18 Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25

#RememberTheirNames

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CONTENTS

JULY / AUGUST 2016 VOL 4 ISSUE 4

Features

Columns

News, information, and updates

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11 Sex Ed Corner

6 L etters from the Publisher and Co-Editor

Capital PRIDE 2016 PHOTOS

BY JAY ZHANG

16 Trans View

BY MOONHAWK RIVER STONE

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Poverty in the LGBT Community

10 Sex Education on a Budget BY DEIDRE DUMPSON

23 To Be a Blessing

15 Acceptance in a Unique Place: A Gay Teen Growing Up in a Small Town BY BRYCE STELLAR 20 Standing Up on Fathers Day BY TERI WILHELM

25 Ask Mark Your Tax Questions

BY MARK WITECKI

26 Out in the Garden

29 The Fashionable and the Frivolous

BY ALAN BENNET ILAGAN

31 Here’s Guffman

BY PATRICK WHITE

36 CommUNITY Calendar 37 Advertisers Index 38 Pride Center Programs

ON THE COVER

PHOTO CREDITS Opposite & Page 7: © Jay Zhang

33 Michael Cooks and You Can Too

BY MICHAEL MEAD

– Michael Weidrich

Pride Center of the Capital Region Executive Director & CEO pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

35 Affiliates Calendar

Some of the Victims of the Tragedy in Orlando

“They can burn our flags. They can beat us up on the street. They can invade our sanctuaries. They can fire bullets at us. But we will replace our flags. We will fortify our sanctuaries.

We will heal our wounded. We will bury our dead. And we will go forward more united and stronger than ever before. We will not let hate win and put us back in the closet!”

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35 Special Events Calendar

BY AUDREY SEIDMAN

BY JUDITH FETTERLEY

12 #WhiteQueersSpeakUp

34 Weekly Programs Calendar

ABOUT COMMUNITY MAGAZINE CommUNITY Magazine is published bi-monthly by the Pride Center of the Capital Region, 332 Hudson Avenue, Albany NY 12210. Telephone (518) 462-6138.

Entire contents © 2016 Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Council d/b/a Pride Center of the Capital Region. Reproductions in whole or in part without express permission of the publisher are strictly prohibited.

CommUNITY Magazine welcomes submissions of articles & artwork of interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in the Capital Region. Editorial and advertising deadline is the 5th of each month. Written work should be submitted electronically with author’s name and phone number to mweidrich@capitalpridecenter.org Opinions expressed in CommUNITY Magazine are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Pride Center of the Capital Region, its Board, Staff or Volunteers.

Letters to the Publisher may be sent to Michael Weidrich at mweidrich@capitalpridecenter.org. Letters must be 100 words or less and must include contact information (name, phone, email). To receive home delivery of CommUNITY please send your address to sminchin@capitalpridecenter.org or mail your request to 332 Hudson Ave, Albany, NY 12210

CAPITAL PRIDE

2016 MARCH & PARADE Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson presented by

PHOTOGRAPHS © JAY ZHANG PHOTOGRAPHY

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LETTER FROM THE publisher BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Patricia K. Wood, PRESIDENT Joseph Kerwin, VICE PRESIDENT Paul Patel, 2ND VICE PRESIDENT Jeffrey Dyber, TREASURER Gretchel Hathaway, Ph.D, SECRETARY Joseph Bailey Timothy Beebe Cynthia Bott John Daniels Vincent Lanzone Angela D. Ledford, Ph.D Tiffany Ramos Linda Richardson, Ph.D IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT:

Kenneth P. Mortensen, Jr.

PRIDE CENTER STAFF:

Lyndon Cudlitz

DIRECTOR OF TRAINING & EDUCATION

Deidre Dumpson

STREET OUTREACH WORKER

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…

- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens I have known this quote for many years but over the past month since June 12th, it has echoed in my head to loudly. From the best of times at Capital PRIDE, marching in the streets, dancing in Washington Park, and coming together as a community to celebrate who we are and who we love. To the worst of times the very next day, when we awoke to learn that 49 of our LGBTQ latinx family had been killed at the Orlando Pulse Night Club by a lone gunman. Our community united in its grief and anger and sadness to fight the hate and fear, and to send its love and support to Orlando. Not two weeks later, hate struck at the heart of our home when a vandal burned the rainbow flag in front of the Albany Damien Center. Once again, this amazing community rallied around in support of the Damien Center and in defiance of hate and fear.

What the past month has shown and reaffirmed for me is the amazing resilience, compassion, and love our community possesses. While we show our pride while we rejoice, it is in the face of adversity and darkness that we show our true colors and shine brilliantly.

It is my hope that our true brilliance and our true compassion can keep us united as a community and as an LGBTQ people in the days to come. This country is facing some of its hardest challenges ever and we must remain strong and vigilant and true!

Alyssa Hackett

Be well and be empowered!

PROGRAMS SUPERVISOR

Jeremy Hollon

PROGRAM ASSISTANT AND VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

Michael Weidrich Executive Director & CEO Pride Center of the Capital Region

Luke Lavera

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Steven Minchin

COMMUNICATIONS & SPECIAL PROJECTS SUPERVISOR

James Shultis

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS

Lauren Simone PROGRAMS SUPERVISOR

Michael Weidrich EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO

INTERNS: TAYLOR KEITH MEG RIVENBURGH

OUR MISSION The mission of the Pride Center of the Capital Region is to promote the well-being of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identified people and those affected by discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

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LETTER FROM THE co-editor Coming out of June, a month known for its celebrations; as a community, we have also been met with a barrage of news from Orlando to Istanbul, each story impressing upon us the importance of togetherness, while we remain challenged on how. As we move into the long stretch of summer, we are reminded to stay vigilant, to remember that in each corner of the world, we are fighting to stay alive.

CommUNITY speaks to many facets of our identities. Containing articles inviting us to explore our past; to try on a new way of seeing the world; to getting back to nature and putting our hands in the dirt. There are also columnists writing about how the past month’s tragedies have affected them, have broadened their ideas about how we as individuals interact with one another, through pain and grief, through anger and rage.

Another columnist writes about their experience growing up in a rural part of New York.

Often times where we may be, geographically, greatly impacts the way in which we are able (or not) to engage with, and be a part of a community.

Many LGBTQ individuals will state the largest barrier between them and connecting with others is their location, transportation, and/or accessibility to resources in their community (if there are any). I think towards the writings of feminist bell hooks, who critiqued the complex center that is our own geographies (our home, the region we live in, the country, the world), and the potential each of those things have to the ways we situate ourselves (whether that is our politics, identities we claim, identities that are forced on us, our resistance). Think for a moment, in what way does your location play into those things?

So now it’s time, dear reader. I invite you, to take care while moving through this issue of CommUNITY. Spend time with each of these columnists, their perspectives, advice, and questions. When you’re done, share your thoughts with those you care about, continue to reach out when you need, and support one another. This is what makes us strong.

James Shultis Director of Programs

CAPITAL PRIDE

2016 RALLY & FESTIVAL

PHOTOGRAPHS © JAY ZHANG PHOTOGRAPHY

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Men’s Pride For gay, bisexual, transgender, same-gender-loving, queer, and questioning men ages 18+ Meets Every Monday at 7pm 1st, 3rd & 5th Mondays - Discussion Group 2nd & 4th Mondays - Social Gathering at the Pride Center of the Capital Region 332 Hudson Ave, Albany - Garden Level For more information on Men’s Pride call (518) 462-6138 or ahackett@capitalpridecenter.org

For more information on Women’s Pride call (518) 462-6138 or lsimone@capitalpridecenter.org

Women’s Pride For lesbian, bisexual, transgender, same-gender-loving, queer, and questioning women ages 18+ Meets on alternating Wednesdays at 6pm 2nd Wednesday–Social 4th Wednesday– Discussion at the Pride Center of the Capital Region 332 Hudson Ave, Albany - 1st Floor 8 |

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Poverty in the LGBT Community Legal and illegal discrimination, lack of family recognition, and hostile educational environments are just some of the factors that lead to economic instability for LGBTQ people and families.

These disproportionate rates are even higher for LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ people in rural areas, and for transgender people specifically.

The infographic, on the opposite page, from the Movement Advancement Project gives us a snapshot of some of the statistics.

Mushovic, I., & Durso, L. E. (2014, October 09). The Unfair Price: Poverty in the LGBT Community. Retrieved July 06, 2016, from https://talkpoverty.org/2014/10/09/poverty-in-the-lgbt-community/ commUNITY JULY-AUG 2016

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SEX EDUCATION ON A BUDGET BY DEIDRE DUMPSON

20,000 copies of CommUNITY Magazine are distributed to public locations throughout the region and 60,000 copies are delivered directly to our subscribers.

Start Reaching the LGBTQ Community Today! contact Steven @ (518) 462-6138 or sminchin@capitalpridecenter.org

For Groups, Meetings, and Events at the Pride Center and across our community see the calendars on pages 34-37 and online at www. capitalpridecenter. org

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To be able to participate in safer and healthier sex is a privilege. At face value we may think that anyone can have safer sex- people just choose not to use barrier methods, or they choose to take risks, and it just doesn’t work out in their favor.

But, as we discuss classism and capitalism, we must keep in mind that those who hold systemic power based on their socio-economic class standing have long sought out to control the bodies and minds of oppressed people.

We can look at it on a larger level and see that schools don’t provide sexual health courses, education and resources due to having abstinence-only education funding.

Schools that reside in poorer communities and educate students coming from low-income homes are most likely to resort to funding like this. So it is far beyond the notion that people refuse to wear barriers despite the risks; Our communities are not being educated on how to utilize said barriers let alone understand the risks. Marginalized communities are locked from access to knowledge through their schools, and in libraries they may be restricted from looking up certain information.

New York State receives the third largest pool of federal funding for Abstinence-OnlyUntil-Marriage programs, while putting NO money into Comprehensive Sexual Health Education1. Yet, NYS nationally ranks 6th for rates of Syphilis, 20th for rates of Gonorrhea, 13th for rates of Chlamydia, and 4th for rates of HIV2. It’s time that we challenge these larger government institutions into recognizing that limiting students’ access to sexual health information isn’t going to stop them from having sex. STOP forcing poor schools and poor communities to remain uneducated, and STOP supporting shameful institutions; It is only destroying our communities!

Even as we look at how one’s socioeconomic status can restrain marginalized communities from physical access to information and methods, it is evident that there is much work to do. What your income is heavily effects where you live, and in low-income areas it is harder to find clinics or centers that provide sexual health and preventative information to those who seek it. Not only does this disproportionately effect Trans* and Queer People of Color, who account for a large percentage of this population, but what little information is available almost always caters to heteronormative sexual relationships and cisgender people.

Along with physical barriers, there are also medical barriers that hinder the access of those of a ‘lower’ class status, such as being able to schedule a doctor’s appointment without it altering a work schedule, being able to afford a co-pay, or being able to find an affirming affordable doctor. One’s financial status should not hinder their access to high-quality sexual heath care, information, and tools.

To have safer and healthier sex is a right. Money should not play a factor into whether or not you are provided with access to knowledge about sex. Money should not forfeit our right to autonomy over OUR bodies.

Deidre Dumpson is the current Street Outreach Worker for the Pride Center. She graduated in 2015 with her BA in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, now she is in the process of getting her Master’s in the same field. Deidre has dedicated her life to intersectionality, racial justice, queer liberation, and all Black Feminist Radical

1.

Comprehensive Sex Education. (n.d.).

Retrieved from http://www.nyclu.org/issues/ reproductive-rights/comprehensive-sexeducation 2.

New York – 2015 State Health Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ nchhstp/stateprofiles/pdf/new_york_profile. pdf

SEX ED CORNER

Getting YOUR Sex Education on a Budget 10 ways for youth and adults to get access to sex education!

1. Listen to podcasts like Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino.

2. Check out websites like Autostraddle.com (for lesbian, bi, queer women) or Scarleteen.com (for teens).

3. Watch vlogs like Girl Sex 101 on Youtube (for lesbian, bi, queer women).

Show Your Pride Online

4. Join Facebook groups like “PrEP Facts: Rethinking HIV Prevention and Sex” or “QT POC Collective, Redux.”

5. Use online visual ‘zines like RAD Remedy’s “Self Exams and Check Ups” (for trans folks).

6. Check out books from the library like Trans Bodies Trans Selves, found at Guilderland, Colonie, Hoosick Falls, and Albany’s Delaware Branch libraries.

7. Attend groups like the Pride Center’s T-Talk (for trans & GNC youth), In Our Own Voices’ Sexversations (for women of color who have sex with womyn) and Damien Center’s Mpower (for men of color who have sex with men).

8. Phone-a-friend to ask questions, assess, seek resources, and build solidarity. Talk about it.

9. Start a skill-share or discussion group in your home, the park, the coffee shop. We have a lot to offer each other!

10. Be the Supply Fairy for others who have less access by carrying safer sex products in your dorm room, locker, communal bathroom, or on you in a case (unexposed to heat or punctures). commUNITY JULY-AUG 2016

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#WHITEQUEERSSPEAKUP

“We believe that there is no pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.�

We're joining Repeal Hyde Art Project & Eradicate Boston College Racism Movement in calling on White queer and trans folks to shift the narrative and have different conversations about #Orlando that don't erase our siblings of color. We agreed that "it is our responsibility to push for justice for our entire community." We know these conversations aren't easy so we wanted to share some of their ways to think about how to start them with your friends and family. Connect with our programs at the Pride Center a join the conversation at #WhiteQueersSpeakUp

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Acceptance in a Unique Place: A Gay Teen Growing Up in a Small Town

By Bryce Steller

There can be so much negativity and hatred toward your way of life in a small town, but there will always be a greater force of positivity to push that back.

My entire youth has been connected to a small, country style town. I’ve grown up around many instances of conservative views, from a truck speeding down the road holding a confederate flag to country music being blasted by the neighbors. The advantage and disadvantage of living here is that everyone knows what the other is doing and how they’re living; this made growing up as a gay male somewhat difficult.

Two years after I came out to my parents, I began a relationship with a closeted boy from my school. The relationship was kept quiet from everyone, including my parents, for a while until he was ready to open up to the school.

We began holding hands and kissing in the hallways like a “typical straight high school couple”. Even though I still kept it secret from my accepting parents, people in school were starting to realized this thing, that had never took place inside of school before, was occurring: two men openly dating. We received tons of positive feedback and many forms of negative feedback.

One day while walking up the stairs holding hands a boy

walked by and said, “Well that’s just f***ing great” to show his disgust. Me, being the “big gay school advocate”, laughed in his face.

A few weeks later I decided to tell my mother of the relationship, but during the day she had texted me and told me that we needed to have a conversation. She told me that night, that a girl in my school saw us holding hands and told her father, who in turn voiced his anger to my mom. He was a close family friend, my mom actually babysat his children at one point. He told her that “Fags should not be revealing themselves at school” and “How disgusted he is”. She told me that she loves me no matter what, but I should tone down my public displays of affection.

I told her yes, but in reality we magnified it (Sorry, mom).

Over time we began thinking that there was no acceptance in our town, he hid our love from others and kept it in doors.

One night, we went on a late night walk. We were walking, holding hands, and enjoying the love and attraction between each other. As we were crossing a bridge, two men in a black jeep drove by and yelled, “Faggots” out the window. We were stunned and began to walk home in fear of our safety. He was very upset

from the event and our public displays were toned down tremendously.

Over time we began thinking that there was no acceptance in our town, he hid our love from others and kept it in doors. One day he decided to do what I never thought he’d do, come out to his extremely conservative grandfather who he had been living with.

At first he couldn’t take the news, and distance became growing between them, but eventually the bond connected again. He then came out to his boss, the local priest for the head church in town; he was the church groundskeeper.

We were expecting the most backlash from this since all we hear in modern day media is that the church is “against homosexuality”. We both discovered very quickly that the man was going to become one of the most accepting allies we could ever have. My, now ex, boyfriend feared being hated by the church and god but the priest told him that God loves all and told him that he could come to him for anything.

That day I realized that there can be so much negativity and hatred toward your way of life in a small town, but there will always be greater force of positivity to push that back.

It may take some digging, but there is someone who will be there to accept you for who you really are, who will love you for you and love will overcome hate.

Just keep fighting and the outcome will be beyond positive. commUNITY JULY-AUG 2016

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T R A N S V I E W BY MOONHAWK RIVER STONE

Out of Devestation, We Can Find Hope (Author’s note: I reread my previous column in preparation for this one, and want to note, that when I spoke of a “Tarnished Pride” I had no idea just how much that column in some ways presaged what happened the morning of June 12th in Orlando, and like the previous month what happened to our community would be a watershed for big change.)

The running joke with the kind folks at Capital Pride is that my column is late again, and by being late, that something big happens thatchanges the world for transgender people, and I can report on it in a timely manner. And so it is again...

I’m really late this time. As I write today, July 4th, it is the day after Eli Wiesel’s funeral. He died Saturday, July 2nd and lost to us was one of the most challenging and enduring voices for Humanity and Peace. The answer to violence is not more violence. I wondered who will step up now and have the courage to be The Voice, The Witness to humankind’s continuing fragmentation and violence, and The Voice to call for its end.

The answer to Orlando is not more bombs, more guns, or more police. The answer to Orlando is the magic of what happened afterward, when LGBT people and Muslim people held hands and mourned together. The answer is we found a way to common ground--that violence against any group is violence against all and we must stand together and be as one. We must not let this moment pass without grabbing it and securing it in our hearts. We must not let this moment fade as all news stories do today when the sensationalized fascination fades from the front pages of our media and the front pages of our consciousness. I was particularly moved by Pastor Jo Page’s June 15, 2016 column in the Times Union. She wrote that how can words have an impact on what’s happening, she implies (or wonders) that our words just go off into the air 16 |

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and evaporate before landing and making the impact needed to stop all the aspects of such violence--not only the initial act, but the violence of what happens next in politics and media, which is just as violent and violating--my take.

I think of Eli Wiesel when she writes: “As discouraged as I am, as speechless as I feel,I do not believe that to be true.

Because we are people made of words as much as we are made of flesh and bone. It is through words that welearn, that we love, that we heal, that we grow.

Perhaps it is only words that have a prayer of stemming violence. Perhaps it is only words that can do that.

Words of made of air. They are nimble and slight, invisible and insubstantial.

They are trifles of cadence and rhythm.

Yet without our words and the breath that heralds and publishes them, we are voiceless. We are nothing. Without our words we are nothing at all.”

LGBT Communities all over the United States and around the world have found words to say to comfort those who’ve lost so much, to give voice to those suffering and to bridge gaps just a moment ago seemed hopelessly impossible to connect. Let us not loose that unity, but solidify it and build upon it. Like North Carolina HB2, the murders in Orlando will, I hope unify Americans in ways we never imagined, and the hope that comes from such devastation and loss of human life is that all of life is precious-all of it. We must grasp each other ever more widely and fearlessly and be to each other that which we would want to be ourselves. The is not for anger, but compassion and let kindness and gentleness guide us not violence--in either word or action. For it is not just our words that will permanently change things, but our actions.

We must remember, too, how our actions count even more deeply when our LGBT Muslim community members see the effects of our compassion. Some of

the most hurt and disenfranchised and fearful individuals I encounter and work with are Muslim queer people. To have this hate crime happen during the holy season of Ramadan makes it all the more important that we, in the LGBT community, extend our hearts and hands to our Muslim community members and embrace them.

It is so difficult to change topics now and report to you all that after a very long struggle, that transgender Americans may now serve openly in the military. I am one of those people who defends and supports people’s right to serve in the military just as assuredly I am pro peace and pro finding peace without violence. That our right to serve in the military must cohabit with the violence in Orlando in this column is particularly bittersweet and challenging. But it is what is.

This victory for equality for transgender people is truly historic and wonderful in its own way. I have worked with many transgender people in the military over the years and have borne witness to their suffering. Activists in the community had thought this policy would come prior to the end of the Obama administration and thought it would have occurred a few months earlier, but we’ll take it anytime it arrives. This announcement on June 30th was a powerful way to end LGBT Pride month. Current transgender military personnel may, effective immediately, serve openly.

WOW!--yesterday, no, today, yes.

What we know is that new recruits must be about 18 months into their transition when joining up, but that the military will pay for their transition related health care subsequent to that. It is also my understanding that transgender people will be able to enter the military beginning January 2017. This is a good move for all concerned. I was heartened that Secretary Carter stated what we in the Trans community already know: “Transgender people have ‘deployed all over the world, serving on aircraft, submarines, forward operating bases and right here in the Pentagon.” (Matthew Rosenberg, New York Times, 6/3/0/16: http://nyti.

T R A N S V I E W #142©

ms/29cZbit.) Of course, there’s been the usual backlash hysteria about this will badly affect our military readiness, etc., etc. from the usual voices of fear mongering.

Lastly, we count. That is, we’ve been counted. So now we count.

Also on June 30th as reported in the New York Times by Jan Hoffman (http:nyti.ms/29cwMMO), there are “About 1.4 million adults in the United States [who] identify as transgender, double a widely-used previous estimate, according to an analysis based on a new federal and state data.” Personally, I still think this is low, and remember, it doesn’t count our younger under 18 transgender folks. Many of us working in mental health have seen a tremendous increase in transgender people seeking services since access to health care is becoming widespread and it is safer and safer to come out--that will surely lead to higher numbers over the coming years. “’ There’s a saying: ‘You don’t count in policy circles until someone counts you,’” said Gary J. Gates, a demographer and former research director of the group that did the analysis (fr. NYT article). I’m glad we count because we been counted. But I’ve always held that we all count, each and every one of us--that we are all precious.

SAVE THE DATE Pride Center Gala Hilton Albany November 4, 2016 www.capitalpridecenter.org/gala

As we mourn, yet, again, may we find hope that at some point a critical mass will be met, and the rising tide of violence will find itself ebbing away to nothingness. Meanwhile, let us all hold hands and hold each other close and see each other as ourselves as we gaze around the circle. Until next time...T

Rev. Moonhawk River Stone of Riverstone Consulting is an Interfaith Minister, transgender activist, writer, educator, consultant, keynote speaker and psychotherapist in private practice for over 25 years with experience and extensive expertise in all aspects of transgender policy and health.

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LAW OFFICE OF GERI POMERANTZ, ESQ. Proudly serving the LGBT community and our friends

694 Columbia Turnpike East Greenbush, NY 12061 Tel: 518-479-3713 http://pomerantzlaw.org/ Practice focused on family and matrimonial law 18 |

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Trans Pride

The Trans Pride program is dedicated to empowering trans* and gender nonconforming people (ages 18+) and their allies through social opportunities, community building, resource sharing, and advocacy.

DISCUSSION GROUP 1st Tuesdays, 7-9PM A discussion group focusing on issues important to trans people & to our communities.

Trans /GNC Only Space

MEET & GREET 3rd Tuesdays, 7-9PM An informal social evening for trans people to connect & build community.

Light refreshments provided.

Allies Welcome Trans* denotes a wide range of people including those who identify as transgender, two-spirit, genderqueer, genderfluid, gender nonconforming, non-binary, agender, questioning their gender, and more.

All meetings take place at the Pride Center, 332 Hudson Avenue, Albany FOR MORE INFO, VISIT: WWW.CAPITALPRIDECENTER.ORG CALL 518.462.6138 EMAIL: PROGRAMS@CAPITALPRIDECENTER.ORG commUNITY JULY-AUG 2016

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Standing Up on Father’s Day

By Teri Wilhelm

Fortunately, our field has begun shifting toward a more strength based, socially-aware model of therapy At our beautiful Sacred Heart Church in Lake George this past Saturday, the evening before Father’s Day, I stood in front of my pew for a short dedication to fathers. A few heads turned and some twisted noticeably a few times more than would be expected by pure accident, yet, overall, I went fairly unnoticed: just another dad taking some well-deserved credit this one special day of the year.

My feelings on this holiday are quite peculiarly complicated since I’ve transitioned from being male to female. My son has moved on, into adult life, and Father’s Day tends to be celebrated less by a backyard barbecue and, instead, by a phone call and a gift on the next trip home. It’s meandered into somewhat more of an intrinsic, reflective moment for me each year rather than that game of catch, a bicycle ride or ice cream. However, if I were to try to redefine my role as a dad-make it somehow a part of me then and a part of me now— it seems drastic, a betrayal of far too many of those fond memories and heartfelt feelings, and that I’d be violating a trust built between us forged by many gratifying and, likewise, but few, troublesome moments. I don’t want to ever make it less than it was. I’m his dad: yesterday, today and always--and those moments do necessarily need to remain tangible, important and 20 |

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forever immovable.

My wife is very spiritually connected to our church, in deeds and in prayer, and I asked to tag along Saturday to the Vigil Mass for my wanting to be closer with my spirituality on this weekend. Of course our relationship is very complicated—would anyone expect differently--but we’re grinding it out still. And, I just reminded her yesterday of my warm respect for her.

By no one’s expectations would I ever be considered a regular church attendee; though, I’m definitely a little more than a Chreaster—one who attends only on Christmas and Easter—but much, much less than a devout, committed participant. Yes I am a little clunky and out of step, sitting when I should be standing or that dreadful, aching, kneeling thing. And, don’t even consider my singing voice. Nonetheless, this is my faith, the faith that I was awakened to as a child and relied upon throughout adulthood, marriage and the agony of mourning. Being transgender, it seems to the LBGT community, as if it’s automatic that one must turn away from Catholicism like it has been perceived to turn away from us. So, maybe, I’m simply the stubborn one, the one remaining believer who trusts that the harsh rhetoric merely speaks for itself to hear and far too loudly against, and incongruently, with the love that built this building.

I have chosen to stay with the Catholic faith for the better and not the worse, for it has been

my tradition and because of the compassionate assurances of our parish priest, Father Tom Berardi, who is such a wonderful, grace filled man.

His love and acceptance are so very tangible and without stipulation. He instills in me a strong confidence that one day it will be better, that I need not leave in search of a more welcoming faith.

Yes, it is quite awful sometimes being that Father Tom’s courageous viewpoint is not homogenously welcomed throughout the flock. Just last Easter the person in front of me and the one behind were greeted with enthusiasm, but the elderly usher at the church entrance seemed to have trouble with his shoes when I entered. Those darn laces or maybe it was a spot on his slacks. When leaving, he hastily looked down again rather than happily provide a pleasant goodbye. Out of pure skepticism and just a little cynicism, maybe, I decided to kneel beside him and offer help with his troublesome shoes; however, his demeanor well said everything he had to say, so I hurried off quickly wishing him a Happy Easter.

Before getting out of the car, my wife forewarned me that, like on Mother’s day, there’s often a short ceremony for the acknowledgement of a Father’s importance to their families.

Unnerved, I really didn’t want to get out of the car. I really didn’t. However, it was very hot and we parked too closely, and people could easily see that heathen woman baking in that expensive sheet metal oven

when passing by, so I went in… grudgingly.

My apprehension soon led to tears, not for my own circumstances, mind you, but for the forty-nine precious, beautiful souls lost to the world. The parish had seen fit to memorialize their lives with a colorful prayer inset to the weekly bulletin with each of their names thoughtfully printed on the back. Suddenly, my emotions reminded me of why I came. My capacity to subsume the loss of so many by such a horrific act in the shadows of a dimly lit dance floor, said loudly that I needed a greater community connection to address my intense sadness.

They gathered in this club, the Pulse, to simply to express their sexuality with freedom from condemnation or confrontation and died for the aberrant passions of a lone, intolerant person, with a gun and a delusion.

The Mass strayed little from any other except for the fortynine candles, plus two; a flickering, rhythmic reminder of all that transpired in Orlando this week. However, it was the message of Deacon Ryan’s that truly inspired me to weep uncontrollably. He began by speaking of the loss of so many, for so little and so ghastly, then spoke in depth with delicate pride how he’s experienced a personal growth on the issue of love and acceptance through the mentorship and forward thinking of our parish priests and fellow deacons. I totally forgot it was Father’s day.

When given the choice of which Eucharistic Minister I’d receive communion, I gravitated toward Deacon Ryan with my hands held out softly, directly confirming the extent of his

convictions. I’m certain he meant every word; although, surely didn’t expect to be tested in a matter of minutes.

LOOK

Of course I’m a dad to my son. Loving Ourselves & Our Families Yes, most dads are dressed Do you have a child in your life who and express themselves a bit identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, differently, but this is our trans*, queer, or questioning, lives from crib to Audi and I’ve always done my best to be and want to connect with other there for him and he for me. adults for support?

Why shouldn’t we celebrate what is our tradition; gosh, that Are you a young person (ages 18 and clutching to long held customs under) who identifies as LGBTQA+ and and conventions is so often the winning argument to deny want to hangout with other youth like LBGT rights, why can’t it be you? used to confirm them?

LOOK

I didn’t leave my pew when Then join us every 3rd Thursday of the the other dads approached the month for an adult group discussion/ altar for the short, reverential byincommunity volunteers, Do youactivity have a led child your life who identifies as ceremony, but I did decide to AND a separate affirming, fun space stand, all six foot of me, plus lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, or questioning, youth. Snacks and resource heels, and, as mother Godand want tofor connect with other adults for support? would have it, in a pencil skirt materials provided. as well. My wife remained Are you a young person g(ages 18 and under) Reso who identifies sitting by my side and not the in s uryouth d l i ce like you? u totiohangout LGBTQA+ andBwant with n Shother least bit squiggly--though, a r c i e n n g! knowing personally, and by first onthe East Greenbush CAt name, several of the turning At the East Greenbush heads from her many volunteer Community Community Library Library efforts at the parish--it didn’t 10 Community Way, East Greenbush, NY intimidate her, though, not 10 Community Way, East even the slightest. Although, Greenbush, NY Every 3rd Thursday I’m quite convinced it had to be just a little disquieting and from 6-7pm uncomfortable. “My church is Every 3rd Thursday Join us every 3rd Thursday of the month for an adult group discussion/acti for love and simple curiosity from 6-7pm Edu led by community volunteers, fun space for you is not hatred,” she steadfastly catioAND a separate affirming, rt! o p Snacks and resource materials provided. p n u said. And me, again and forever S ! the cynic, slyly whispered to her A Collaboration Between: as if in song, “You kissed a girl in church…”

Loving Ourselves & Our Kid

—

FOR MORE INFO, CALL: 518.462.6138 EMAIL: INFO@CAPITALPRIDECENTER. ORG VISIT: WWW.CAPITALPRIDE CENTER.ORG

FOR MORE INFO, CALL: 518.462.6138 EMAIL: INFO@CAPITALPRIDECENTER. ORG VISIT: WWW.CAPITALPRIDE CENTER.ORG

Teri gives talks and educates on transgender issues. She can be reached at Wilhelm.Teri@gmail. com.com

commUNITY JULY-AUG 2016

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To Be a Blessing BY LOUIS BANNISTER

Marching to Zion!

Come ye that love the Lord, and let your joys be known, Join in a song with sweet accord, Join in a song with sweet accord.

And thus surround the throne, and thus surround the throne.

We’re marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion; We’re marching upward to Zion; the beautiful city of God. Then let our songs abound and every tear be dry; We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground; we’re marching through Immanuel’s ground.

To fairer worlds on high, to fairer worlds on high.

We’re marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion; We’re marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God. —Adapted from Isaac Watts, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707; refrain by Robert Lowry Last summer, as a gay man of faith, I saw much marching to Zion: the SCOTUS marriage ruling was handed down, affording marriage equality in our country. A coincidentally simultaneous resolution was passed by overwhelming majority at the General Convention of The Episcopal Church (our denomination’s triennial governing body) that authorized for use a gender neutral marriage liturgy, thus introducing a broader definition of marriage to include gay, lesbian, and bisexual people within the church.

We’re marching to Zion!

In the Episcopal Diocese of Albany we are still unable to realize this momentous movement within the larger church. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual couples who wish to marry with the benefit of a marriage liturgy in the Episcopal tradition must travel to parishes in nearby dioceses to do so. The dioceses of Vermont,

Western Massachusetts, and Central New York are among those who have extended welcome.

Last September I wrote in this column about the conservative wildness of the Diocese of Albany. Many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of faith left their parishes amid the hurt caused by a further distance placed between our denomination and the conservative theology of our diocesan bishop who is holding the people of his flock hostage by his personal conscience.

Among those who left, some travel regularly to worship in parishes in other dioceses that are in line with the rest of the church and its inclusive mission. Others have formed informal groups who gather for Morning Prayer and fellowship. Others have simply stopped attending altogether.

They recieved us as we were: our hurt, our hope, and our joy.

I was part of a group that drove most Sundays to Bennington, Vermont, to worship with the good people of Saint Peter’s. What we all found was a radically welcoming congregation. They received us as we were: our hurt, our hope, and our joy.

For me, there was a difficulty beyond the early hour-long drive to Bennington each Sunday. The difficulty was that I am not just one who goes to church, but I am one who DOES church. Attending anything that was happening outside the confines of Sunday morning was made difficult. So, once again, I found myself wandering a bit.

A dear friend from the cathedral who had worshiped there with his late partner for most of the 64 years of their relationship, and who is every bit as wise as his 89 earthly years, approached me in advance of Easter. He asked me what my thoughts were about returning to the cathedral. When I told him that I could not return unless things changed, he offered to me the following that will forever be etched in my heart and on my brain:

“Your family misses you when you are not at home. When you are not at home they cannot speak to you. If they cannot speak to you then you cannot hear them. If you cannot hear them you cannot reply to them. There cannot be change if you are not there. Come back and continue to work for the change that you want to see. We can walk forward, but only together.”

We’re marching to Zion!

So, taking the words of my dear friend to heart, I returned to the hallowed walls of the venerable grand dame that is our cathedral.

My first Sunday back, testing the waters, was Palm Sunday. I was greeted and made to feel like I never left. My absence and return were even noted by people who were simply acquaintances from pews across the room. Holy Week was a deep time for me, as I journeyed through these political church issues and on my own spiritual path.

On the commemoration of Jesus’ last days, I reconciled myself to my presence in the place I had left when the reasons for leaving still exist.

And then came Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and life made new. I realized, yes, we may not yet be at Zion, but we can walk there—where ever the path takes us—however long that path takes us—and with whatever work the path gives us—and that in that we will walk together.

This article is one of a series provided by Advocates for Welcoming Congregations, a Capital Region group that encourages the welcoming of LGBT persons into the full life and leadership of communities of faith. The group also works to make visible for members of the LGBT community opportunities for practicing their faith traditions.

A clinical social worker turned florist, Louis Bannister lives and works in Albany and worships at the Cathedral of All Saints. When he is not creating floral arrangements he can often be seen chasing his well-behaved, but active dog, Oliver, through Washington Park.

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Members Aeon Nexus Albany Medical Center Albany.com/Mannix Marketing Alliance for Positive Health Aras Performance Group, Inc Bank of America/ Merrill Lynch Barefoot Wine & Bubbly BBL Hospitality Berkshire Bank Foundation Blue Moon Bomber's Burrito Bar Buenau's Opticians Café Hollywood Canterbury Animal Hospital Capital City Fund of the Community Foundation of the Greater Capital Region Capital District YMCA Captain Morgan Casswood Insurance CDPHP Central Avenue Business Improvement District City of Albany Classy Body Art Connections Psychotherapy Consumer Optical Corey Jamison Consulting, LLC. Craig LeClaire - Falvey Real Estate Deb Best Practices DeCrescente Distributing Company Deja Vu DiCarlo's Dolan’s on the Avenue E. Stewart Jones Ellis Medicine Empire Merchants North Experience and Creative Design, Ltd. First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany FLY92.3 Geri Pomerantz, Esq GP Fund Solutions LLC Hannaford Homestead Funding HomoRadio Interim Healthcare Jack Daniels James Leone State Farm Janet Stein / Arbonne International Jay Zhang Photography Jose Cuervo Joseph Roche, Accounting

24 |

pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

Journey United Church of Christ Key Bank LAX on Lark Lucas Confectionery and Wine Bar MadAddie Magic Hat Mansion Inn Mark D. Witecki, CPA Mazzone Hospitality / Aperitivo Bistro McGeary's Irish Pub Mexican Radio Schenectady Miller Lite Montgomery County Office for Aging MVP Health Care New York Life Insurance Company Northeast Acura NYSUT Oh Bar Olde English Pub Omni Development Company Peck’s Arcade Pioneer Bank Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson Price Chopper Supermarkets Rain Modern Chinese RBC Wealth Management Renaissance Albany Hotel River Street Men’s Club ROCKS Ronnie Mangione / Wealth Advisory Group Samaritan Hospital Security Plumbing & Heating Supply Skylands Services, INC Smirnoff Spectrum 8 Theatre Sunrise Management and Consulting Sylvan Learning Center TD Bank The Century House The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center Times Union Tri City Rentals Turner Construction University at Albany Foundation Viniq Shimmery Liquor WAMC Waterworks Pub Wells Fargo Whole Foods Albany Market Wolff ’s Biergarten, Schenectady

Ask Mark Your Tax Questions

BY MARK WITECKI

Welcome to the DEAR MARK column where you can ask a tax question.

Of course some questions cannot be answered to due to the limited space in this column or warrant more facts due to specific circumstances of the taxpayer. Answers that apply to specific taxpayers may not necessary apply to others. Changes in tax law and rules may affect answers given at any point. You can write Mark at Mark Witecki CPA CFP(R) CFE, 3701 State St, Schenectady, NY 12304

anyway. You also need to register with sales tax as soon as possible. Please contact me to the get process started.

DEAR MARK, I purchased some farmland, over a hundred acres, and now I want to start farming. If I buy a lot of supplies this year but don’t use all of the supplies such as feed for animals etc. do I have to take an inventory at the end of the year? Can I write the entire amount off?

If you have control over the person’s work among other factors, the situation most likely points to treatment of the person as an employee with all the resulting taxes and insurances such as worker’s compensation and New York State short term disability. Contact me for a meeting to review the situation.

Perplexed DEAR PERPLEXED Most businesses have to take an inventory but that is not necessary for farming. Farmers can write the entire amount off in the year purchased.

DEAR MARK, I have a sales tax problem. I started a contracting business and have not charged sales tax on repairs like I know I should have. I did not charge the customers sales tax and paid sales tax on my purchases. What do I do now?

Worried Sick DEAR WORRIED SICK, You need to file as soon as possible. You may be entitled to a credit on materials you purchased to help offset the tax due, but even though you did not charge sales tax on repairs you are liable for the tax

DEAR MARK, I have a small business which repairs small engines and motors. So far I am doing all the work myself but want to hire someone. Can I treat them as a subcontractor and avoid the payroll taxes?

Charles DEAR CHARLES,

DEAR MARK, I have filed my Federal returns for the last four years and just did them last month. I have not done the state yet.

What to do?

Not Fully Filed

DEAR WONDERING, Yes there are, and there are also tax credits available for such a venture, too numerous to mention here.

DEAR MARK, I signed up for a marketplace health insurance plan, and got charged a lot of money. But when I went to use the plan, I found out I had no insurance. The plan had not added me. Then I got a form in the mail a few months ago called a form-1095, and it had numbers on it I don’t recognize. What would you call this?

Troubled DEAR TROUBLED, I would call it a mess. I don’t have any advice on the health plan component of your situation but call me if with any questions on the 1095 itself, as the information needed to be incorporated into your 2015 tax return. *Note from Pride Center: For questions regarding the NY State of Health Marketplace, contact 1-855-355-5777 or meet with a Navigator at locations such as the Alliance for Positive Health.

DEAR NOT FULLY FILED, Those unfiled returns need to be filed as soon as possible. Your letter does not indicate if there are multiple states or any city returns that need to be filed. You also don’t indicate if the Federal returns involved any balances due. If so, payment should be made or an installment agreement may need to be set up. Get in touch with me as soon as possible.

DEAR MARK, I want to start a small film company and produce a short film. Are there any special rules for such a business?

Wondering

Answers that apply to specific taxpayers may not necessary apply to others. Changes in tax law and rules may affect answers given at any point.

You can write Mark at Mark Witecki CPA CFP(R) CFE, 3701 State St, Schenectady, NY 12304.

Mark D. Witecki specializes in small businesses and professional individuals. Mr. Witecki has a B. S. in Accounting from S. U. N. Y. Albany and an M. S. in Accounting from Syracuse University.

Mark D. Witecki is a Certified Public Accountant, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified College Planning Specialist and is admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® , CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. Mark’s office is located at 3701 State Street, Schenectady, New York

®

Tax Preparation commUNITY JULY-AUG 2016

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26 |

pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

Out in the Garden BY JUDITH FETTERLEY

Two Wolves At an [interfaith] memorial service for those murdered in Orlando, a speaker made reference to the Cherokee legend about two wolves. In each of us, so goes the legend, there are two wolves and they are fighting1. One wolf is anger, envy, greed, pride, jealousy, resentment, lies, self-pity, and ego. The other wolf is compassion, tenderness, empathy, joy, peace, love, generosity, and truth. If we ask which wolf will win this terrible fight, the answer comes: the one you feed.

I am constantly feeding my plants. I started my garden 20 years ago by digging down six inches and removing the hardened lifeless soil I inherited from the builders who had sold off the top soil they found on the site and driven construction vehicles over what was left. I replaced it with the best product I could find in the Capital Region, Mariaville Peat’s Perennial Mix. From my classes at the Institute for Ecological Studies I had learned that, where the garden is concerned, attending to one’s soil is the equivalent of attending to one’s soul. Each subsequent season I have top dressed my garden beds with organic compost, leaf mulch and manure, feeding and cooling the soil, keeping the plants moist. Some plants – for example, my Astilbes – get additional food from hand applied slow-release organic fertilizer. My annuals get frequent doses of Miracle-Gro. Ben has amended the soil around certain struggling trees and fed them; this year these trees have put out substantial new growth of just the right color. And of course I weed- always, always I weed. I remove those plants that would compete with the plants I have chosen to grow, and in this way, I also feed my garden.

My garden responds to my feeding. My plants are large and healthy, and as the season progresses I need to weed less and less. When I feed my garden, I know I am feeding the wolf of joy. When I lack patience for myself and others, I know I am feeding the wolf of ego. I know all too well the taste of self-pity, resentment, envy, even hatred.

But sometimes the taste of self-pity is not bitter at all. Sometimes resentment tastes delicious, smells good, is nicely presented, and I can’t wait to eat it. Sometimes hatred feels like roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and eating it feels like getting full. And sometimes compassion feels like Oliver Twist’s gruel, thin and unnourishing.

Sometimes compassion feels like Oliver Twist’s gruel, thin and unnourishing I struggle with my spiritual diet, often indulging in the spiritual equivalent of a Big Mac no matter that it looks like roast beef, but most times I at least know what I am doing. My anger at the murders in Orlando is healthy, feeding the good wolf of action to change gun laws. But what about my anger at the absence in the memorial service of serious attention to the cause of the murders, the still rampant homophobia that afflicts our nation? We heard speaker after speaker warn us against feeding the wolf of Islamophobia, a message we need to hear but not the only one. It would have helped me deal with my pain if we had also heard each speaker warn us against feeding the wolf of homophobia, a wolf that is often fed by the very religions participating in the service. Nor did anyone speak of the

countless ways in which we ourselves may promote the homophobia that expressed itself so violently in Orlando.

It seemed as if we – lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, and queer people – posed more of a threat than those who hate us, so strongly were we exhorted not to respond to violence with violence. Such exhortation seems particularly egregious to me, since our community is distinguished by its long history of non-violence in response what can best be labeled gender terrorism. So which wolf am I feeding with this anger?

I never get tired of weeding my garden, but I often get tired of weeding my heart, my mind, my soul. I understand the explosions of hatred, my own and those of others, that arise in part from fatigue in the struggle to feed the right wolf. Still I find the legend to be a compass, pointing me at the very least in the right direction, its metaphor compelling me to visualize my actions as a form of feeding. And imagining myself as feeding one wolf or the other takes me back to my garden. And so I am brought inevitably to the question: If I take such care to feed my plants and if I get such good results, should I not do the same for my soul?

Two Wolves (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2016, from http:// www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TwoWolvesCherokee.html

1

Judith Fetterley lives and gardens in Glenmont, New York. She also runs Perennial Wisdom, a garden design business for new and existing gardens.

Reach Judith at fetterleyj@gmail.com

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Welcoming Congregations Join Us In Exploring Your Spiritual Side At One Of The Welcoming Congregations Below:

Community Congregational Church (UCC) www.clintonheightsucc.org

First Unitarian Universalist Society of www.albanyuu.org

Community Reformed Church of Colonie www.coloniereformed.org

First United Methodist Church www.gbgm-umc.org/schenectady

Congregation Agudat Achim (Conservative) www.agudatachim.org Congregation B’nai Shalom (Reform) www.bnaishalom.albany.ny.us Congregation Berith Sholom (Reform) www.berithsholom.org Congregation Beth Emeth (Reform) www.bethemethalbany.org Congregation Gates of Heaven (Reform) www.cgoh.org Congregation Ohav Shalom (Conservative) www.ohavshalom.org Congregation Temple Sinai (Reform) www.templesinai-saratogasprings.org

QueerEngineer Get to know us & how you can support LGBTQ* students in science, technology, engineering, & mathematics. /QueerEngineer

@QueerEngineer

Delmar Presbyterian Church www.delmarpres.org Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church www.easternparkway.weebly. com

First United Methodist Church, East Greenbush www.fumceg.org First United Presbyterian Church www.unitedprestroy.org (518)272-2771 Friends Meeting (Quaker) (518) 436-8812 Presbyterian New England Congregational Church, Saratoga http://pnecchurch.org/ Good Shepherd Lutheran Church www.goodshepherdchurchloudonville.org Holy Trinity National www.NCCofA.org/holytrin. html Journey United www.journeyucc.com Saratoga Springs United www.saratogaspringsumc.org Saint Aelred’s Priory and Retreat House (National Catholic) staelredpriory@aol.com

St. George’s Episcopal Church www.stgeorgesschenectady. org

St. Andrews Episcopal Church www.standrewsalbany.org

Emmanuel Baptist Church www.emmanuelalbany.net

St. John’s Lutheran Church www.stjohnsalbany.org

First Church in Albany www.firstchurchinalbany.org

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,Albany www.stpaulsplace.org

First Congregational Church of Albany www.firstcongregationalalbany.org First Lutheran Church www.FirstLutheranAlbany. org First Presbyterian Church www.firstpresalbany.org First Reformed Church www.1streformed.com

Temple Israel www.tialbany.org Unitarian Universalist www.saratoga-uu.org Unity Church in Albany www.unitychurchinalbany.org Woodstock Jewish Congregation (Reconstructionist) www.wjcshul.org

First Unitarian Society of Schenectady www.fussonline.org

A Pride Center of the Capital Region affiliate 28 |

pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

Proud To Be Open!

Affirming! Welcoming! Joyous!

THE FASHIONABLE AND THE FRIVOLOUS

It’s summer.

It’s sticky and hot.

Some might say it’s not a time to stick to fashion rules, but there are ways to beat the heat without turning to board shorts and tank tops.

The first method is in choosing cooler fabrics, leaving the wool and fleece to the winter. While today’s polyester blends have made leaps and bounds when it comes to comfort and heat dispersal, cotton or silk are still the most natural ways of staying cool. As for fit, you’ll want to go with something between loosefitting and super-fitted. A certain amount of snugness will allow for proper wicking of moisture away from the skin, but too much tightness may result in discomfort and unseemly pit stains.

Once upon a time, shorts were the stuff of kids and beach vacations, but they have since become more and more widespread, even in the office environment (thank you, Casual Fridays). It’s possible to make them stylish, with the proper fit (not baggy), the proper length (somewhere between the capri and the 70’s porn-star short-shorts: a ten-inch inseam is safe and divine), and the proper lack of cargo pockets or pleats.

Understated hues and subtle (if any) patterns will lend them a more professional appearance as well.

Paired with a white shirt, casual blazer, and perhaps a driving shoe, you’re good to go for a half-day of work before a summer weekend jaunt.

BY ALAN BENNETT ILAGAN

the best way to deal with summer heat: go with the flow and accept that this is a season of casual, unrestricted fun.

n u f Hot in

The art of keeping cool, literally and fashionably, in the high heat and humidity of summer is more of a mindset than an easy-to-follow set of simple procedures.

There comes a time when, no matter how cool you may be under pressure, a 98 degree day with 98 percent humidity is going to make the daintiest among us sweat and wilt a bit. Our hair will be a little more wild, our pants may have a few more creases in them, and our shirts may remain untucked, but that’s the beauty of the season.

Embrace it while it lasts.

the e l b a n shio

fa

sun

There is always a debate when it comes to utilizing linen – that ubiquitous summer look that breathes well and wrinkles even easier. In the past, I was fussy enough to abhor linen, precisely for its rumpled and casual way of draping on the body. With the passing of years, and the mellowing of countenance, I’ve come to appreciate its lack of stiff structure, and how it’s like a cool breeze kissing the skin. Such a change of heart is indicative of

Go with the flow and accept that this is a season of casual, unrestricted fun.

Alan Bennett Ilagan is a freelance writer and amateur photographer who resides in upstate New York with his husband Andy. He created the website www.ALANILAGAN. com, which contains a repository of his work, as well as a daily blog; the website recently celebrated its tenth anniversary online.

He was the manager of the Romaine Brooks Gallery from 2008 to 2012.

His writing has appeared in Instinct, xy magazine, Capitalmen, Q Northeast, the Windy City Times, and the Boston Phoenix. Notable artistic collaborations have been created with the likes of Steven Underhill, Paul Richmond, Dennis Dean, and Michael Breyette.

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Join us for

The Wedding Show for Everyone!

To beneďŹ t the Pride Center of the Capital Region

Sunday, September 11 Noon - 3 pm The Century House, Latham

Photographers, videographers, DJs, florists, and more -- all in one location Fashions for all Rafes and giveaways Ask a wedding planner Signature drink and food tastings

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Experience Timeless Elegance.

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30 |

pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

HERE’S GUFFMAN

BY PATRICK WHITE

living with fear I live in fear. Not all the time.

Not every day. Occasionally.

Like when I reach out for my partner (Is it ok to still use that word?) in public and he dodges my grasp with the rejoinder “It’s not that kind of mall.” Like when people notice the connection between us and ask us if we’re brothers. Like when your sister-in-law introduces your partner (that word again!) to a stranger as your “friend.” Like when the waitress asks if that’s separate checks. Like when your partner’s sibling’s spouses are acknowledged at his parent’s memorials, but not you. Like when you’ve taken to jabbing his biceps to holding his hand.

Fear of what? Of being outed?

That was a long time ago. Fear of persecution or worse? Could be, you never know. Fear of losing status? Of not being treated equally? Definitely. Fear of not being seen or heard for who I am? Yes. So, it’s not a constant.

Occasionally. Like when I’m in public with him around strangers.

Not all the time. Maybe, I live with fear, not “in fear.”

That line, “I live in fear” lodged

into my mind the week after the 6/12 shootings in the Orlando nightclub, Pulse. Of course, it was in response to postings on Facebook by friends that this was an attack on Americans, it was an attack on all of us.

The GOP in its initial response referred to “any group of people simply for their lifestyle or orientation” quickly scrubbed even that vague phrase for the more anodyne “A terrorist attack against any American is an assault against us all, and Saturday’s violence will only harden the commitment of our people to maintain a free, peaceful, and democratic society in which all beliefs are tolerated.” I considered how often I had allowed my identity to be sanitized and yet I could not tolerate it for the dead.

What has this got to do with theater? Theater became the simulacrum with which I encountered and engaged with the world in 10th grade and continues to be the place where I make sense of who I am and where I belong in the world. My partner, Chris Foster, is not my husband, yet, and

eventually we need to get it done, but we’ve done over two dozen productions together, and certainly our partnership has literally played out on Capital Region stages for over 15 years. He’s had me hung for war crimes, I’ve beheaded him for treason, and he smothered me after I killed the farmer’s wife…

We’ve come a long way and when we first got together during “Gross Indecency” we never imagined same sex marriage. Strange, for a pair who work with their imaginations so often outside of Provincetown, I haven’t held his hand in public.

We still have a long way to go to stand in public and declare our love for one another.

Patrick White is a Capital Region actor, director and teacher who will be acting with his American Academy of Dramatic Arts graduating class of ’83 in an evening of new Mac Rogers’ plays at the school in Manhattan 8/18-8/20, He is also directing “Rapture, Blister, Burn” by Gina Gionfriddo at Schenectady Civic Playhouse 10/14-10/23. info@actingclasswithpatrickwhite.com

EVENTS THINGS TO DO CONTESTS

Guide to the Capital Region DINING NIGHTLIFE DIRECTORY & MORE! commUNITY JULY-AUG 2016

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SUBSCRIBE TODAY! To receive free home delivery of CommUNITY Magazine please send your address to info@capitalpridecenter.org call (518) 462-6138 or mail your request to 332 Hudson Ave, Albany, NY 12210

Lifestyle Photography is... Your Everyday, Your Important Moments, Your Once In A Lifetimes, Your Loved Ones.

Lifestyle Photography for a Lifetime of Moments

www.Facebook.com/ZhangPhotography www.JayZhangPhotography.com JZPhotographicServices@gmail.com

Traditional & Holistic Psychotherapies for Healing & Growth LGBTQ-Affirming Services Across the Lifespan Relationships & Couples Family & Parenting Issues Homestudies & Adoption Depression & Anxiety Addictions & Recovery Gender Wellness & Transitions Healing Trauma, Abuse, & Loss

518-438-2222 523 Western Avenue, Suite 2A · Albany, NY 12203 info@choicesconsulting.com · www.choicesconsulting.com 32 |

pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

Michael Cooks and You Can Too

BY MICHAEL MEADE

Summer Reading I hope you’re all enjoying your summer.

There won’t be any complicated recipes or elaborate preparations this month. This is no time of year to slave over a hot stove, it’s a time to relax and give ourselves up to goofing off: picnicking, grilling, hiking, boating, and lying on the beach.

This is also the time of year when people write columns recommending summer books to take with you on vacation and to read on the beach. Usually they recommend mysteries, biographies or long, trashy novels, but this month I have a wonderful book about food that I’d like to recommend to anyone who’s interested in cooking and eating, or in food as an essential part of American culture.

In American Food Writing: An Anthology with Classic Recipes, celebrated food writer Molly O’Neill gathers the very best from over 250 years of American culinary history. O’Neill has terrific credentials. She was food columnist for The New York Times for a decade and host of the PBS series Great Food. She’s also the author of three cookbooks as well as another great beach read, Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Baseball.

American Food Writing is more than just your average anthology; selection builds upon selection (from Thomas Jefferson’s recipe for ice cream to David Sedaris’s musings on the idiotically overwrought “gourmet” restaurant meal) to become a portrait of a nation seen through the prism of food. In culinary

terms, it links the potted lobster of the early 19th century with the tuna burger of today’s bistro. In social terms, it traces a line from the pioneer experience to the immigrant one. At its broadest, the book reveals our shifting approach to nature as it moves from the confidence with which we once claimed its bounty to our more uneasy times.

This literary feast celebrates the astonishing variety of America’s cuisine, with accounts from almost every corner of the country and a host of ethnic traditions. A surprising range of subjects and perspectives emerge, as writers address such topics as fast food, hunger, dieting, and the relationship between food and sex. James Villas offers a behind-the-scenes look at gourmet dining through a waiter’s eyes; Anthony Bourdain recalls his days at the Culinary Institute of America; Julia Child remembers the humble beginnings of her much-loved television series; Nora Ephron chronicles internecine warfare among members of the “food establishment”; Michael Pollan explores what the label “organic” really means. Peg Bracken is as charming as I remembered her; Lillian Hellman is as annoying as I always thought she was.

And we get to hear not only from Alice Waters, the genius behind Chez Panisse, but from Ray Kroc, the genius behind McDonald’s.

There are also classic accounts of iconic American foods: Henry David Thoreau on the delights of watermelon; Herman Melville with a mouth-watering chapter on clam chowder; H. L. Mencken on the hot dog; M.F.K. Fisher in praise of the oyster; Ralph Ellison on the irresistible

appeal of baked yam; William Styron on Southern fried chicken. A host of eminent American writers, from Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Walt Whitman to Thomas Wolfe, Langston Hughes and Willa Cather, add their distinctive viewpoints to the mix.

The vein of seriousness in some of the selections is lightened by a broad streak of humor in others, as when Betty MacDonald sends a big Bronx cheer to that symbol of homesteading, home-canned vegetables: “Canning is a mental quirk just like any other form of hoarding. First you plant too much of everything in the garden; then you waste hours and hours in the broiling sun cultivating; then you buy a pressure cooker and can too much of everything so that it won’t be wasted”.

Throughout the anthology are more than 50 classic recipes (including Emily Dickinson’s fruitcake and Lady Bird Johnson’s chili), selected after extensive research from cookbooks both vintage and modern, and certain to instruct, delight, and inspire home chefs.

And American Food Writing does what all good anthologies do: it makes you want to read more. If these selections inspire you to go on to read Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential or Betty MacDonald’s The Egg and I, it’ll be well worth your time.

See you in September!

Michael Meade graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, worked at Jack’s Oyster House in Albany and is currently sous-chef at Thunder Mountain Curry in Troy. Questions & comments are welcome at Michaelmeade1215@yahoo.com

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WEEKLY programs On Summer Hiatus: Supper Sunday (returns in September) Vintage Pride Appy Hour

SUNDAYS EVERY SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

TUESDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH

Saratoga LGBTQA Youth Group (ages 18 & under) 4:30–6:00 PM Saratoga Springs Library, Susman Room 49 Henry St., Saratoga Springs

Women’s Pride 6:00–8:00 PM: discussion Location Varies Connect with us for more info

Trans* Pride Discussion Group 7:00–9:00 PM on the 1st Floor

FOURTH WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH

SECOND TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

LGBTQ Alcoholics Anonymous 7:00–8:30 PM in the Garden Level

†**

SECOND SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Saratoga LGBTQ Support Group 3:00–4:30 PM 125 High Rock Ave, Saratoga Springs THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Vintage Pride Potluck (ages 55+ & friends of all ages) 1:00–3:00 PM First Presbyterian Church, 362 State St., Albany

T-Talk: Trans* & Gender Non-Confroming Youth Group (ages 18 & under) 6:00–8:00 PM on the 1st Floor Capital Region Support Group for Family & Friends of LGBTQ People 7:00 PM First Unitarian Society of Schenectady 1221 Wendel Ave., Schenectady More info: Deborah Kenyon, deborahkenyon2@gmail.com 518-584-4774 (C), 518-695-4117 (H)

THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

Women’s Pride 6:00–8:00 PM: discussion Location Varies Connect with us for more info

THURSDAYS EVERY THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Schenectady LGBTQA Youth Group (ages 18 & under) 6:00–7:30 PM Proctor’s Theater, Underground Space 432 State St., Schenectady LGBTQ Narcotics Anonymous†** 7:30–8:30 PM in the Garden Level THIRD THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Family Pride 10:00 AM–12:00 PM Location Varies Connect with us for more info

Saratoga LGBTQA Youth Group (ages 18 & under) 4:30–6:00 PM Saratoga Springs Library, Susman Room 49 Henry St., Saratoga Springs

LOOK - Loving Ourselves & Our Families 6:00–7:00 PM East Greenbush Community Library 10 Community Way, East Greenbush

Trans* Pride Meet & Greet 7:00–9:00 PM on the 1st Floor

FRIDAYS

MONDAYS

FOURTH TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

EVERY MONDAY OF THE MONTH

Men’s Pride 7:00–8:30 PM 1st, 3rd & 5th Mondays – Discussion 2nd & 4th Mondays – Social in the Garden Level

T-Talk: Trans* & Gender Non-Confroming Youth Group (ages 18 & under) 6:00–8:00 PM on the 1st Floor

†Anonymous meetings held at the Pride Center are non-affiliated, independent groups **indicates an outside group that meets at the Pride Center

Except where noted, all events take place at The Pride Center, 332 Hudson Ave, Albany, NY 12210 (518) 462-6138 | www.capitalpridecenter.org The Garden Level is wheelchair accessible via lift. Enter from the street by taking 3 Steps down to the garden level entrance.

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pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

EVERY FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

Drop-in Rapid HIV Testing 1:00–9:00 PM walk in Appointments also available by calling (518) 462-6138

AYO! Youth Drop in Space (ages 18 & under) 3:00–9:00 PM on 1st Floor & in the Garden Level (Garden Level only on 1st Fridays) LGBTQA Youth Group (ages 18 & under) 7:00–8:30 PM in the Garden Level FIRST FRIDAY ALBANY

Special Artist Reception and Opening in the Romaine Brooks Gallery 5:00–9:00 PM on the 1st Floor Check out the artists at www.capitalpridecenter.org/RBG

SPECIAL events AUGUST FRIDAY, AUGUST 19TH - SUNDAY, AUGUST 21ST

Youth in Power: Pride Center Youth Leadership Camp Various Times Albany County, Feura Bush, NY

If you’re 18 or under and looking for a FREE weekend camp, this is for you! YOUTH IN POWER is for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, questioning, ace (LGBTQA) AND allied youth to build leadership and learn about social justice issues, all while being at CAMP! REGISTRATION PACKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW!!!

Visit here for more info about camp: www.tinyurl.com/ youthinpower ONLINE REGISTRATION IS HERE! https://www.capitalpridecenter.org/programs-services/ center-youth/summer-leadership-camp/ WHEN? Friday, August 19th-Sunday, August 21st Friday and Saturday camp times: 9am-8pm Sunday: 9am-6pm Pick up & drop off is at the Pride Center at 8:15am each morning.

AFFILIATE events The AGMC Holiday Concert Rehearsals Begin Wednesday, August 31, 2016 at 6:45pm at the First Lutheran Church, 181 Western Avenue, Albany. New Members Welcome! Contact albanygmc.org@yahoo.com for info.

Movie Night Second Tuesday of Each Month We will begin at 5 PM at Harvey’s Pub, 14 Phila Street Saratoga Springs. From there, we can decide who wants to see what movies and leave accordingly for Bowtie Cinemas.

Lesbian Networking Breakfast We meet on the third Thursday of each month, at the Country Corner Café on Church Street in the upstairs dining room at 7:30 AM. Latecomers are welcome.

Monthly LGBTQ Support Group Second Sunday of the Month 3:00 – 4:30 PM 125 High Rock Ave, Saratoga Springs Contact Caroline with questions: 518.857.9361 sponsored by Saratoga Pride & the Pride Center of the Capital Region. agmc

WHERE? In Albany County, Feura Bush, NY (To protect campers privacy and to create a safe space, location is only given out to registered campers/families/ staff) FREE TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM CAMP WILL BE PROVIDED. WHAT? YOUTH IN POWER will provide a welcoming, supportive, safe, and fun summer camp experience for young people who either identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, queer, questioning, ace, (LGBTQA) or as allies. This weekend program is jam-packed with a variety of workshops, social activities, and projects that focus on empowerment through social justice. Time at camp will incorporate “traditional” activities such as arts and crafts, boating, and lawn games in conjunction with youth-driven events, which are a key part of the YOUTH IN POWER experience.

QUESTIONS? Contact James Shultis, Director of Programs at jshultis@ capitalpridecenter.org or call (518) 462-6138 x15

is an affiliate of

AGMC

AGMC islookingfornewmembers Albany Gay Men’s Chorus

Rehearsals are Wednesdays 6:45 - 9:00 pm at the First Lutheran Church of Albany.

For more Information Website: www.albanygmc.org E-mail: albanygmc@yahoo.com Voice-mail: 518-459-7563 Join us on facebook... Albany Gay Men’s Chorus - agmc

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CommUNITY calendar SPORTS/ FUN & GAMES Gay Skate Tuesdays, 7–9:30 PM Rollarama Skating Center, 2710 Hamburg St., Schenectady An open skate for the LGBTQ Community! $9.50 w. Skate Rental/$6.50 w. your own skates. For more info contact David at DB40@aol. com or (518) 573-3962 Geek and Gaymer Night Thursdays, 9 PM Rocks, 77 Central Ave., Albany (518) 472-3588 Capital Area Pride Bowlers Sportsman Bowling Lanes 1652 Crane St., Schenectady.

Open to all.More info: Dimas (518) 894-1083

KARAOKE Waterworks Pub Mondays, 10 PM–2 AM 76 Central Ave., Albany, (518) 465-9079 No Cover. (18+)

Oh Bar Thursdays, 10 PM–1 AM 304 Lark St., Albany, (518) 463-9004 No Cover. (21+) Waterworks Pub Fridays, 10 PM 76 Central Ave., Albany, (518) 465-9079 18+ (w. cover) ROCKS Fridays, 9 PM–12 AM 77 Central Ave., Albany, (518) 472-3588 Circus Cafe Saturdays, 10 PM–2 AM 392 Broadway, Saratoga, (518) 5831106 (21+) Center Square Pub Saturdays, 10 PM–2 AM 32 Dove St., Albany, (518) 729-2880 No Cover.

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LITERARY Open Minded Mic & Talent Showcase (for all performers) Every 1st & 3rd Thursday Sign up 8:30 PM, Start 9:00 PM Rocks, 77 Central Ave., Albany (518) 472-3588 Variety Open Mic Sundays, 10:00 PM–12:00 AM Waterworks Pub, 76 Central Ave., Albany (518) 465-9079

SOCIAL/SUPPORT GROUPS LGBT Support Group Thursdays, 3-4 PM Albany VA Medical Center, Behavioral Health Clinic, 10th Floor A Wing, Conference Room A1033 (518) 626-5395 All LGBTQ identified Veterans are welcome.

Out of the Closet I Am (for women who have sex with women) 1st & 3rd Wednesdays, 6:30–8 PM In Our Own Voices, 245 Lark St., Albany, (518) 432-4188 Men’s Empowerment Group 1st & 3rd Thursdays, 6–7:30 PM In Our Own Voices, 245 Lark St., Albany, (518) 432-4188 Voices of Unity (for Transgender people of color) 2nd & 4th Wednesdays, 6–7:30 PM In Our Own Voices, 245 Lark St., Albany, (518) 432-4188

TRIVIA Live Trivia with FriedaTuesdays, 8–10 PM ROCKS, 77 Central Ave., Albany (518) 472-3588

SPECIAL COMMUNITY EVENTS

The Autumn Gold Party Friday, October 14 6 PM - 8:30 PM Glennpeter Diamond Centre 1544 Central Ave, Albany (518) 689-3670 Autumn Gold Party: A Damien Center Raise the Roof Event at the dazzling Glennpeter Jewelers Diamond Centre!

The evening will feature a silent auction (stay tuned for word on the fabulous auction items!), delicious eats, a full cash bar, networking opportunities and a chance to learn all about the Damien Center’s current programming & future plans. Plus, like any true “gold party,” guests will be able to bring old jewelry they have lying around that they may sell to the folks at the Diamond Centre.

Funds raised will go in part toward helping cover costs associated with the construction of the new Damien Center building, which will include 20 permanent residences for homeless persons living with HIV/AIDS. Contact the Damien Center at (518) 4497119 for ticket information

GET LISTED! We want to share your eventswith the Capital Region’s LGBTQA Community.

Send the details of your event and a brief description to sminchin@ capitalpridecenter.org at least 6 weeks before your event. *event listings may be edited for space and content.

advertiser INDEX Albany Gay Men’s Chorus..................................................35 Albany.com.......................................................................... 31 Bakkerij Krijnen................................................................... 18 Century House.................................................................... 30 Choices Counseling & Consulting.....................................32 Falvey Real Estate, Craig LeClaire.................................... 18 HomoRadio......................................................................... 27 In Our Own Voices............................................................. 37 Jay Zhang Photography.....................................................32 Joseph Roche, Accountant................................................29 Law Office of Geri Pomerantz..........................................18

Mpower Albany is dedicated to providing innovative, sexpositive ways of bringing young GBT of Color together!

Mpower Albany 77 Central Ave, FL 2 Albany NY 12206 518-694-6797 tommyr@albanydamiencenter.org ​www.AlbanyDamienCenter.org

Mark Witecki, CPA, CFP.................................................... 25 Mary Kay Cosmetics ..........................................................32 MPower Albany ................................................................. 37 New York State Fair........................................................... 22 Queer Engineer................................................................... 28 Riverstone Consulting....................................................... 32 Saratoga Pride.................................................................... 28 Security Supply/Bath Expressions Showroom................31 Spare Time Entertainment.................................................26 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church ..............................................32 Tri City Rentals.................................................................. 40 Welcoming Congregations................................................28

In 2015, 20,000 copies of CommUNITY Magazine were distributed to public locations throughout the region and 60,000 copies were delivered directly to our subscribers Start directly reaching thousands of customers in the LGBTQ Community contact Steven @ (518) 462-6138 or sminchin@capitalpridecenter.org commUNITY JULY-AUG 2016

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pride center PROGRAMS & SERVICES

Your Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Community Center since 1970

Community Empowerment

Training & Education Services

Engaging the community to build and sustain safe and empowering spaces through social connection, resource sharing, and advocacy. Trans* Pride, Women’s Pride, and Men’s Pride organize peer led support groups and social events that celebrate and address the needs of each unique identity.

Rainbow Café also provides a fun and welcoming space for the entire community with monthly events like Movie Nights and Supper Sunday.

Comprehensive and customized trainings, presentations, and technical assistance for healthcare providers, K-12 schools, colleges, businesses, organizations, and any group seeking to enhance environments and services for LGBTQ individuals.

Vintage Pride Connecting older LGBTQ adults to each other and the broader community with social gatherings, educational opportunities, and special events.

Creating new memories while celebrating and honoring their resilience and contributions to our community.

Family Pride Helping LGBTQ headed families in the Capital Region achieve their goals of building and sustaining healthy and happy families by engaging parents and children in the planning process of monthly social events and educational opportunities.

Center Arts

Business Alliance Business Alliance members gain exclusive visibility, ways to leverage customer allegiance & access to a dedicated consumer base. Monthly Mixers to meet up with friends, distribute business cards, and make important business contacts.

Capital PRIDE As the producer of the largest annual Capital Pride celebration in Upstate NY, the Pride Center brings a record breaking 30,000 festival and parade attendees, and 35,000 people celebrating throughout PRIDE week each year.

CommUNITY Magazine The Pride Center’s bi-monthly publication highlights & informs the larger Capital Region on local LGBTQ news and events as well as supports other LGBTQ organizations. We reach over 3,000 avid readers per month.

Our Romaine Brooks Gallery spotlights the work of LGBTQ artists/themed works while engaging with the surrounding local community by participating in Albany’s 1st Friday showings at the Pride Center.

Center Youth

BUILDING pride

ENGAGING community EMPOWERING lives

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pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

Support, outreach, & advocacy for LGBTQA youth ages 18 and under.

Programs include regional groups, Albany Youth Organizing! Drop-In Space, HIV testing, the Center Youth Action Team, GSA support, and annual events.

THE PRIDE CENTER’S SERVICE AREA

Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren, Washington, Columbia, Greene, Fulton, and Montgomery counties

Vintage Pride

August Potluck August 21st

1-3 PM

First Presbyterian Church 362 State Street, Albany Vintage Pride offers casual social opportunities for LGBTQ adults 55+ and their friends of all ages For more information 518-462-6138 programs@capitalpridecenter.org

www.capitalpridecenter.org

NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT #798 ALBANY, NY

332 Hudson Avenue Albany, NY 12210

BUILDING pride

ENGAGING community EMPOWERING lives

Distinguished Living...Successful Living...Gay Living Tri City Rentals is a Proud Supporter of the LGBT Community

Visit one of our 24 Fine Capital District Apartment Communities

www.TriCityRentals.com 40 |

pridecenter OF THE CAPITAL REGION

518.862.6600