A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Juneau Pride Chorus Sings "Songs for the Soul"

Juneau "Femme Fatale" Raises $3000 For Four A’s

Where to Find GLBT Alaska – Annual Events, Revised Again

Recurring GLBT events

Anchorage

• MCC Religious services (Christian) – Sunday worship at 2 p.m. and Wednesday “Step by Step” at 6:30 p.m.
• Transgender Support Group – Sundays 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the GLCCA.
• Alaska Women Write – Women writers’ workshop. Thursdays 6-8, Immanual Presbyterian Church.
• Gay, Joyous and Free AA Meeting – 6 p.m. Mondays at the GLCCA.
• Anchorage FrontRunners – Coastal Trail running group. May-Oct. Mondays 6 p.m.
• This Way Out, The International Lesbian & Gay Radio Magazine – Wednesdays 8:15-8:45 p.m. on KWMD.
• Mad Myrna’s Divas Variety Show – Fridays 9 p.m.
• Side Street Saturdays – Saturdays at noon, an LGBT writer’s group at Side Street Cafe.

Mat-Su Valley

• LGBT Social group – Wednesdays 5 p.m. at Vagabond Blues in Palmer.

Juneau

• SEAGLA Social Fridays – 6-8 p.m at the Imperial Bar & Billiards, Downtown.
• Juneau Pride Chorus – Fridays 5:15-6:45 p.m. Juneau Pride Chorus, a women’s chorus, rehearses at the Resurrection Lutheran Church, August-May. Marsha

Fairbanks

• Pump House Wednesdays – LGBTA social group Wednesdays at 9 p.m. at the Chena Pump House.
• UAF Gay-Straight Alliance – GSA meeting Mondays 5-6 p.m. in the Women’s Center (Eilson 112)

Anything else?

Wedding Bells in the Juneau Empire

Crispian Smith, of Juneau, and Jeroen van Dalen, of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, were married in a ceremony attended by family and friends on March 29, 2008, in the Old Church in Amsterdam.

 

Mr. van Dalen is the son of Cees van Dalen, of Schiedam, the Netherlands, and Atie and Dick de Zeeuw, of Amsterdam. He received his doctorandus from the University of Maastricht and works as a content management consultant.

 

Mr. Smith is the son of Phil and Deborah Smith, of Juneau. A graduate of Juneau-Douglas High School, he received his bachelor’s degree from the New School for Social Research in New York City and his master’s from the University of Amsterdam. He is a case manager at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

 

After a brief honeymoon on the Belgian coast, the couple returned to their home in Amsterdam.

Update to ‘Juneau Responds’

Last night, at the KTOO studio with the panel and the Mayor, audience turnout was more than hoped for. We’d hoped for at least 20, but more than 30 turned out. It was a very moving experience. Our panel did a great job, and about a half dozen in the audience participated too. We were well represented by our city government: in addition to the Mayor, our Deputy City Manager was there, as was Jonathan Anderson – our elected Assembly member and current chair of PFLAG Juneau. Friends, family, parents, and allies all were there with us who are of the GLBT community. It was the first production KTOO has ever done with their new digital equipment – so we were part of history in that 21^st century shift. KTOO’s staff, in particular Terry Tavel the producer – who also wrote the grant for this Anyone and Everyone – made us all feel very comfortable and welcomed. The studio was full of energy, rapt attention, and a lot of love.

 

I believe the final product from last night’s taping will make us all proud.

 

I’m just so grateful to everyone who is being involved and making this all possible!

 

Sara

Juneau Responds to "Anyone and Everyone"

by E. Ross

A woman describes an evening at home with her son, an evening that occurred many years ago but is just as clear to her today. “He reached over and turned the radio off and said the ten words that changed my life: ‘Mom, have you ever wondered if I might be gay?'”

Anyone and Everyone tells the stories of families from Utah to North Carolina and Wyoming to New York, all connected by a common thread – a gay or lesbian child. This poignant and often heartbreaking documentary by first-time filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz (also the parent of a gay son) reveals moments of ‘coming out’ to parents and the family process of coming to terms with a child’s sexual orientation.

The film features parents from a wide range of religions, ethnicities, and political leanings, discussing their initial reactions to their child’s coming out. While a few showed unconditional support, others struggled with the new information, fearing alienation from their extended family, their church, or their community. Some parents simply did not understand the universal nature of homosexuality, and that it can affect anyone and everyone.  

Whether Japanese, Cherokee, Mormon, Catholic, or Hindu, these families all share a deep love for their children, along with the struggle for acceptance, both in their own home and within society as a whole. 

Anyone & Everyone is airing on PBS stations around the country, often followed by a presentation on local resources and personal reactions to the film. 

Anyone & Everyone in Alaska

In April, Anyone & Everyone will be shown across the state of Alaska, along with a panel discussion led by Mayor Bruce Botelho on resources for Alaskan families with gay kids. The panel will be filmed in KTOO’s studio in Juneau tonight, and supporters are encouraged to attend and to share their reactions to the film.

The Juneau chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) made the video available for preview and held several screenings prior to the discussion. They also spoke to Juneau’s Cooperative Council of Churches and sent a flier to the Juneau Human Rights Commission, the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, and members of a recent Suicide Prevention Roundtable.

One of the screenings was held before a service at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. “The reaction was great,” wrote Sara Boesser, representing PFLAG. “During the service, the leader of the day spoke in his sharing time about how he had two older brothers, both of whom were gay, and he wished that there had been a movie like this to help his parents and whole family.”

Anyone & Everyone depicts PFLAG meetings where families get support and help. The national organization of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through support, education and advocacy. With over 500 local chapters, PFLAG provides opportunities for dialogue about sexual orientation, to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.

This film is especially important since up to 26% of gay teens who come out to their parents or guardians are told they must leave home. Of the approximately 1.6 million homeless American youth, 20-40% identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Nearly 40% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students report being physically harassed.

KTOO is showing Anyone and Everyone on Thursday, March 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the Conference Room. The panel discussion led by Mayor Bruce Botelho will follow the screening at 5:30 p.m. in the KTOO-TV studio. Anyone & Everyone airs statewide on April 17 on Alaska ONE and KAKM, followed by a half-hour production of Juneau’s panel discussion. 

For information on the panel and broadcast, contact KTOO-TV or PFLAG Juneau. To learn more about Anyone and Everyone and to watch the trailer, visit www.anyoneandeveryone.com.

SEAGLA Social – NEW LOCATION

The SEAGLA Friday Social is moving: Friday 03/21 we will meet at the T.K. Maguire’s lounge inside the Prospector Hotel, starting at 6 PM.

This Weekend in Juneau

From Alaska GLBT News (subscribe)

 Free showings of Anyone and Everyone 3/22, 10-12 a.m. & 7-9 p.m.

Watch Anyone and Everyone before the KTOO discussion – so you’ll know what to say about it. Two free showings by PFLAG Juneau: 10-12 a.m. at the Valley Library (juice and muffins will be provided) and 7-9 p.m. in the Back Room of the Silverbow (with a no-host bar.) Watch the movie trailer: Anyone and Everyone