Just out., January 07, 2011, Page 17, Image 17

OREGON S LESBIAN/GAY/Bl/TRAN S/QUE E R NEWSMAGAZINE
JANUARY 7 2011 \J
O U R
H IS T O R Y
All-Inclusive Affordable Senior Living
Luxury studio, 1 & 2 b e d ro o m a p a rtm e n t hom es,
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zation. Admission is free and open to all ages.
“We want to have that history on display as
part of an art exhibit,” Strong says. “I’m just
trying to build it so it becomes a really huge
thing for everybody.”
It’s a rich history to document. The Impe­
rial Sovereign Rose Court was born in 1958
with the formation of the Court of Transyl­
vania by self-appointing Queen Samuel I.
Samuel’s reign lasted eight years, until a group
of gay men calling themselves the Pruitts of
Portland entered the scene, throwing biannual
charity balls at which a “Rose Queen” was
crowned.
In 1970, the title changed from Queen to
Empress. In wasn’t until 1971, however, the
designation of Empress became a democratic
process and not until 1975 that the court
crowned its first emperor, Rose Emperor I
Kim of the Lumberjack Court.
Although the court—through drag shows,
community dinners and other outreach proj­
ects—has raised funds for philanthropic
causes throughout its history, those efforts
intensified as AIDS began to claim the lives
of, ultimately, one-third to half of its
members.
One of the city’s first AIDS-related chari­
ties, Esther’s Pantry, was named after Rose
Empress XXIV Esther Hoffman Howard
(aka Chester Brinker)—the first member of
the court to die from complications of AIDS
in 1985.
Today, the court and its members continue
to raise funds for HIV/AIDS education and
prevention, scholarships for LGBTQ_ youth
and other worthy causes. And, of course, they
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manage to look spectacularly fabulous while
doing it. With such a long history of both
doing and looking good, the court has been
left with a vast collection of items to artfully
display its history in the community.
Those who attend the show will not only
witness these special items, some of which
have never been seen before, they will also
have the opportunity to experience one of the
court’s rituals—a title-awarding ceremony.
Reigning monarchs Rose Emperor XXX-
VII Chad Hammer and Rose Empress LII
Tsunami Foxx will present Q_Center Execu­
tive Director Kendall Clawson with an as-
yet-undisclosed title in a special ceremony.
“It’ll be just like a knighting ceremony,”
Strong explains, complete with kneeling and
swords. Clawson’s title will be unique to her
and chosen by the reigning monarchs.
Strong says the organization periodically
grants titles to members of the community—
sometimes in jest—but for Clawson, the title
will honor her work at Q_Center’s helm.
“It will be appropriate, not funny or jovial,”
Strong notes, though he is unsure of the ac­
tual designation. Regardless of the title
Clawson ultimately receives, the ceremony
will mark another historic moment destined
to be remembered on the walls of the room in
which it took place. It]
E mbrace O ur H istory : T he I mperial
S overeign R ose C ourt ’ s S econd A nnual
A rt S how , Opening Reception and Title Cer­
emony; Tues., Jan. 11, 7 p.m., exhibit rum
through Jan. 31; Q Center, 4115 N. Mississippi
Ave.;free; rosecourt.org.
W alk-in te stin g for g u ys into guys
in
Clark County
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