Articles in Pride
PrideFest Grand Marshals Say Gay Son is a Blessing, Unity is Essential
From Anchorage PrideFest:
The Anchorage PrideFest 2008 steering committee selected Jane and Norm Schlittler as Grand Marshals for this year’s Celebrating Diversity Parade.
Jane and Norm have been involved with the Anchorage GLBTA community since 1995, when they joined Anchorage PFLAG. They have been PFLAG board members since 1997.
“Having a gay son has been a huge blessing in so many ways,” Jane explains. “We’ve enjoyed being PFLAG parents, promoting the PFLAG message at every opportunity.”
If you’ve heard Jane speak at public events, you may have heard her say that sometimes parents go ‘in the closet’ when their gay kids come out. “It seems silly now, but that’s the typical reaction of parents,” she explains. Organizations like PFLAG are a critical resource to parents adjusting to the knowledge that a son or daughter or family member is gay.
While Jane is the determined PFLAG mom you’re likely to see speaking to groups around Anchorage, Norm is busy helping make Anchorage PrideFest happen each year. He is the quiet force behind the plethora of permits we must secure from the Municipality before the Parade and Festival on the Park Strip can take place. So this year the PrideFest committee asked Norm to step away from his desk and step into the Grand Marshal carriage with Jane, so we can honor his dedication to PrideFest.
As this year’s Grand Marshals and long-time members of the Anchorage GLBTA community, Jane and Norm encourage all groups, organizations and individuals to pull together and work toward our mutual goals for this community.
“We make frequent trips to San Francisco to visit our two daughters and grandchildren,” said Jane. “Each time we’re encouraged by the amazing progress we see there. If Alaska is ever to move out of the ‘dark ages’ of civil rights, a strong, unified community of GLBT and straight allies is absolutely essential. Together, we must inform the general public about these issues and increase voter participation.”
The Anchorage GLBTA community is united in our love and appreciation of these two dedicated PFLAG parents, and we welcome them as Anchorage PrideFest 2008 Parade Grand Marshals!
Know Your Status: Four A’s Extends Hours for National HIV Testing Week
National HIV Testing Week
June 23-28, 2008
Mission Possible: Know Your Status
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to get tested to KNOW YOUR STATUS. Even though it is 100% preventable, 30-40 Alaskans are diagnosed with HIV each year. One of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones from HIV is to KNOW YOUR STATUS and get tested.
Extended HIV Testing Hours at Four A’s
June 23-26, 2008
9 a.m. -7 p.m.
1057 W. Fireweed, Suite 102
Free HIV Testing at PrideFest
Saturday, June 28, 2008
1-5 p.m.
9th and L Street Clinic (Across from the Parkstrip)
All tests will be performed with the OraQuick Rapid Test which produces results in 20 minutes. For more information on National HIV Testing Week, contact Alex Barros, Director of Prevention: abarros@alaskanaids.org
Extended hours are also available for free HIV testing at various locations in Juneau, June 24-28. Contact Lee Wagner, Southeast Outreach Specialist.
Five Days and Nights of GLBTQ Movies at Out North
PrideFest Film Festival at Out North
June 24-28 at 5 pm, 7 pm & 9 pm
(except 6/24: 7 pm & 9 pm only)
$6.50 online, $7 at the door.
Out North celebrates PrideFest with a week of GLBTQ features, documentaries, shorts and animations, sponsored in part by 4A’s.
The festival kicks off Tuesday night with the feature “Eleven Minutes,” a documentary about Jay McCarroll, winner of the first season of Project Runway. Wednesday’s features are “Out Late,” about people coming out later in life, and “Ask Not,” about the military ban on gay soldiers.
Three features screen on Thursday. “Be Like Others” shows the difficulty of gay life in Iran. “Eternal Summer” follows the romantic life of a young man in China. In “Whirlwind,” a sexy man upsets the relationships of a group of friends in NYC.
Friday is teenage girl night with “Sonja” (photo) a coming out feature from Germany, and “Same Sex Parents,” a French drama about a girl with gay parents.
Saturday’s feature is “Before I Forget” and is sponsored in part by 4 A’s. This witty French movie shows what happens to an aging gay gigolo after his sugar daddy dies.
The festival also includes five programs of short films.
See the complete list of films, descriptions and showtimes at www.outnorth.org.
Gay Surfing Romance With Family Values Screens at Bear Tooth
At the Bear Tooth
June 23 at 5:30 p.m. & 7:50 p.m.
Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach spends his days working a dead-end job and helping his needy sister care for her son. In his free time he surfs, draws, and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe. When Gabe’s older brother Shaun returns home, he is drawn to Zach’s selflessness and talent. Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family.
Winner of numerous awards including Best Feature, Best Actor, and Best New Director in over 10 Film Festivals.
“Beautiful and emotionally gripping.” – SFGate.com
SHELTER screens twice Monday night as a Bear Tooth exclusive premiere in partnership with Anchorage PrideFest. Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief drug use. $3.
Mapplethorpe Movie at the Museum
Black, White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff & Robert Mapplethorpe
Anchorage Museum, Movies for Your Mind
June 21 & 22 at 6 p.m.
Sam Wagstaff pulled Robert Mapplethorpe from a Queens suburb and handed him a camera. Mapplethorpe pulled Wagstaff from a stuffy, upper-class existence and brought him to the heights of passion.
Yale-educated and born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Sam Wagstaff’s transformation from innovative museum curator to Robert Mapplethorpe’s lover/patron is portrayed in this engrossing documentary. The NYC art world was abuzz with a new spirit during the heady years of the ’70s and ’80s. Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was at the center of that world, with images that provoked reactions from awe to anger.
Documentary. Not rated but contains some sexually explicit images. Anchorage Museum: Movies for Your Mind. Tickets $4 for members, $6 general admission & $5 for seniors. Movie site: http://www.blackwhitegray.com/
Drag Queen Bingo!
Join Adam & Steve at Snow City Cafe on Thursday, June 26, 7-9 p.m for their annual fundraiser. Admission is $5 unless you come in drag or bring 5 cans of food for the Four A’s food drive. Drag Queen Bingo is an all ages event, with fabulous prizes and entertainment.
Route Change for Anchorage PrideFest 2008
The Anchorage PrideFest Parade will go down 9th Avenue this year, due to construction along the usual route and the Statehood Celebration on 4th.
The Parade will begin on E Street & 8th Avenue, move south on E for one block, then travel west along 9th from E to L. The Festival will be in the usual place on Delaney Park Strip between K & L.
Parking may be more difficult. Plan to carpool, walk, take the bus or ride your bike.
OUT is IN – Alaska: Anchorage PrideFest 2008
by E. Ross
The roar of the motorcycles, the dance music and cheering crowd, a river of rainbows flowing through downtown Anchorage – yes, it’s almost time for Pride!
“OUT is IN – Alaska” is the theme of Anchorage PrideFest 2008. The Celebrating Diversity Parade will be held on Saturday, June 28 at 11 a.m., followed by the Festival on the Delaney Park Strip at noon.
PrideFest t-shirts are available at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Anchorage (GLCCA) for $20. They will also be sold at the Identity Pride Booth at the Anchorage Market (formerly the Saturday Market) the weekend before the parade.
Performers, sponsors, vendors and parade groups can download applications from the PrideFest site.
