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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2011)
J«LJ° •community’ SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 WWW.JUSTOUT.COM Making Connections Gay Fair and LGBTQ Expo bring community resources together The waterfront Pride Festival may be but a fond summer memory, hut two upcoming events give the LGBTQ_community another chance to connect with local resources and businesses while taking in performances hy local artists— the first annual Portland LG- BTQ_Expo and the third annual Gay Fair on the Square. “The Pride Festival is the only other real place [LG B T folks] can see businesses that are catered to or friendly to them all in one place,” says Noah Culver, Portland LGBTQ_ Expo organizer and member of the Portland Area Business Association. Though C W Productions president Culver and his business partner are straight, both have friends and family in the LGBTQ_com- niunity and simply saw a need that their tradeshow company could fill. “We had been a PA BA member and in the community as a networking group. We had promoted other events we had at Pride and around town,” Culver explains. “So we thought, ‘W hy is there not a more business- to-consumer show out there?’” Culver says he initially got some push back about his motives and qualifications for put ting on an L G B T Q event, but that it eventu ally worked out. “I produce a car show but I don’t own a hot rod. I know people who do,” Culver ex plains, adding that he’s been around the LG - BTQ_community in some capacity for most o f his life. In addition to connecting L G B T Q . con sumers with friendly businesses and nonprofit organizations, the September 10-11 event will also bring LGBTQ_ performances and speakers to the Portland Expo Center. “Tradeshows can become kind of boring,” Culver admits. That’s why he’s invited the Al ley Cats Band, the Shannon Tower Band, the MARTY DAVIS BY ERIN ROOK Curious Comedy Showcase and Jack’s Bad Habit to provide musical interludes. The performances will be interspersed with speakers on transgender issues, domestic vio lence and other im portant topics. T ie LG- BTQ_Expo will also donate a portion of ticket sales to Cascade AID S Project. “We really wanted to put that as a focal point,” Culver says. “[CAP is] something near and dear to our community.” For those who want all the community love without the sales pitch, the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus is putting on its Gay Fair on the Square the following Sunday, September 18. “It’s really an outgrowth o f the chorus’ overall mission to uplift the gay community and affirm the worth of all people,” says fair founder and PG M C board president Seth Miller. “We wanted to bring our outreach concerts that we typically do in rural commu nities to Portland and use our performances as a spotlight for all the programs in the LG BT community.” I lelping focus that light on nonprofits, ath letic groups and health care providers are event sponsors Pride NW, Nike and Provi- The sights and sounds of Gay Fair on the Square 2010 dence Health and Services. New to the mix this year is the Domestic Violence Resource Center/Domestic Violence Safe Discussion. “It’s a really neat thing for people who are considering coming out, just coming out, new to town or looking to make new connections,” Miller says. “It’s in Portland’s Living Room. Ihere are no fences and no admission fees. Everyone is welcome.” The fair, prominently situated in Pioneer Courthouse Square, will feature performances by the PG M C , the Portland Gay Symphonic Band, the Portland Lesbian Choir and Confluence. For the first time, the PG M C will perform in collaboration with the Portland Gay Sym phonic Band on the piece “Testament o f Free dom.” The chorus will also perform pieces from “Brave Souls and Dreamers”— the show they’re taking to New York for the 10-year anniversary of 9/11— and other popular works from its repertoire. Because the fair is so centrally located, and Y occurs just after the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure wraps up, it also creates visibility for the LGBTQ_community. Depending on the weather, Miller says he expects up to 4,000 people to stop hy. “One o f the wonderful things about the fair are the people who weren’t expecting to find it,” Miller says. “We get great joy looking at the pictures afterward and looking at the ex pressions on people’s faces. M#] Portland LGBTQ Expo, Sat., Sept. 10,11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun., Sept. 11, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Portland Expo Center, 2060 N. Marine Drive; $7, $2 off with two cans o f foodfor Sunshine Pantry; 866- 571-2916 orportlandlghtqexpo.com. Gay Fair on the Square, Sun., Sept. 18, 12:30-5 p.m.; Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Sixth Ave. and SIV Morrison St.; free; 503-226-2588 or pdxgmc. org. A Maloy's Jewelry Workshop M-F 10am to 5:30pm Sat 1 lam to 5pm 717 SW 10th Ave Portland, OR 97205 503.223.4720 www.rhaIoys.com Great designs transcend time. M aloy’s offers a fabulous selection of antique and estate jewelry and fine custom jewelry, as well as restoration and repair services.