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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2016)
10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM AS T O RIA PRIDE THE LOWER COLUMBIA Q CENTER PRESENTS THE INAUGURAL LGBT PRIDE CELEBRATION IN DOWNTOWN ASTORIA JUNE 9, 10 & 11 By REBECCA SEDLAK G Gay pride is coming to Astoria. The Lower Columbia Q Center is organizing the fi rst Astoria Pride event Thursday through Saturday, June 9 to 11. “Astoria Pride is a time when we all get to come together and celebrate who we are as a people,” says Marco Davis, chairman of the Lower Columbia Q Center, which serves the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asex- ual community. “In a lot of ways, it’s like the Scandina- vian Midsummer Festival: All the Scandi- navians get together. This is an opportunity for us to celebrate where we’ve come from, who we are,” Davis said. “Sometimes I don’t think we celebrate enough; we spend so much time fi ghting and rallying for things. This is that one time a year when we can actually, really celebrate.” ASTORIA PRIDE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Thursday, June 9 “The Madness of Lady Bright,” 8 p.m. KALA, 1017 Marine Drive, 18+, $10 Big Fat Gay Movie Night: “Purple Rain,” 10 p.m., Columbian Theater, 1114 Marine Drive, donations accepted Friday, June 10 Astoria Pride Gala, 7 p.m., Astoria Armory, 1636 Exchange St., $10 general admission Mezzanine, $20 general admission main fl oor, $120 premium table for eight w/ champagne Tickets on sale at A Gypsy’s Whimsy, 1139 Commercial St., the Astoria Pride Hub The festivities The lineup is full of events for LGBT individuals, friends and allies to show their pride. Gender-fl uid pop icon Prince will be remembered at a showing of “Purple Rain” at 10 p.m. Thursday at the Columbian Theater. Friday evening’s Pride Gala will feature a glamorous array of performances in the Armory. With general admission seating on the mezzanine and main fl oor as well as premium tables, attendees will enjoy drinks, appetizers by local restaurants and entertainment galore. Local “Dragalution!” cast members will lip-sync and dance, three guest drag queens — Shitney Houston, Annie DePressant and Annya Allnight — will perform, and Portland band Seven Cake Candy will raise the roof. Work Dance Company, a hip-hop and jazz/funk dance troupe from Eugene, will teach a free, all-ages hip-hop dance work- shop at Astoria Arts & Movement Center annex next to the Columbian Cafe at 1114 Marine Drive in an annex, or at the door Saturday, June 11 AIDS Memorial Quilt Viewing, 9 to 11 a.m., Astoria Armory, free Riverwalk Gay Pride Parade, 2 p.m., Bay Street to 11th Street, free “The Coast is Queer” art exhibit, 6 p.m., KALA, 1017 Marine Drive, free DJ Dance Party, 9 p.m. KALA, 1017 Marine Drive, free Hip-hop dance workshop, 6 p.m. Astoria Arts & Movment Center, 342 10th St., all ages, free Dance party with DJ Ali Aht, 9 p.m., Asto- ria Arts & Movment Center, 342 10th St., all ages, free SUBMITTED PHOTO The last display of the entire AIDS Memorial Quilt was in October of 1996 when The Quilt cov- ered the entire National Mall in Washington, D.C. Two blocks of the quilt will be on display at the Armory during Astoria Pride. at 6 p.m. Saturday, followed by a free, all-ages dance party. With Astoria Pride in its fl edgling year, organizers have received encouragement and support from the larger LGBT communities in Eugene, Portland and Seattle. “We have so many people coming from out of town who want to celebrate,” Davis said. The celebration culminates in the Riv- erwalk Pride Parade at 2 p.m. Saturday. All are welcome to join the parade or watch the walkers and bikers start at Bay Street under the Astoria Bridge and make their way to 11th Street. Emcees Dida DeAngelis and Portland drag queen Poison Waters will be on stage at Buoy Beer to entertain the crowd and announce notable parade participants and groups who have signed up in advance. In an effort to represent different aspects of the LGBT community, the Astoria Pride parade will be led by three grand marshals: HIPFiSHmonthly publisher and activist Di- nah Urell, who is a lesbian; longtime LGBT activist Tessa James Scheller, who is trans- gender; and Washington state Democratic Sen. Marko Liias, an openly gay member of the Washington State Legislature. “We did three grand marshals so that we kind of are encompassing everything, other than just a gay white male,” Davis said. “These are the things that you think about when you’re working in a diverse communi- ty: How do you honor everybody’s voice? “That’s really why we’re calling it Astoria Pride,” Davis said, “because it’s not just for ‘the gays.’ It’s for everyone. We’re nothing without the people who support us.” Honoring struggles of the past Beyond the celebration, Astoria Pride will also honor the history of the LGBT community. Two blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at the Armory. Managed by the NAMES Project Foundation, the AIDS Memorial Quilt aims to foster heal- ing, heighten AIDS awareness and inspire HIV prevention. Started in San Francisco in 1987, the full quilt now numbers 48,000 3-by-6-foot panels that commemorate the lives of people who have died from AIDS. “It’s such a visual and tangible part of our history and how terrifying the AIDS pandemic was,” Davis says. “It’s an aspect of our history that a lot of the up-and-com- ing LGBTQIA community aren’t aware of.” The quilt is the largest community art project in the world. By visually illustrating the number of people lost to AIDS, the quilt aims to humanize statistics. Sections are continuously on display in schools, churches and community centers around the country. Visitors can view the quilt blocks during Friday’s Pride Gala, during which there will be a moment of silence, followed by the Lower Columbia Q Center Choir singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The quilt will also be on display from 9 to 11 a.m.
