Hello all,
In light of my transfer of blogs to Blogger, I'm going to paste our past blogs first. Enjoy - Shän
February 10, 2007 - by L. M. Lewis, Interim Co-Finance Director Hello all. As you see, I've finished the brand-new website format! Our E.D. gave it the "thumbs up" just last week and I was able to post some new info (like our sample newsletter and more community organization info). Also, make sure to check out our Photo Gallery (also available through the Timeline pages), which should be getting some new pictures for the 2007 season very soon. Until then, we'll keep you updated on the latest happenings via our Newsletter (emailed to you once per month) and on the website www.findmycenter.com . Looking forward to seeing you at our events/activities (check the top of the Home page for more info).
November 16, 2006 - by L. M. Lewis, Interim Co-Finance Director
Creating Change 2006 was just as I remembered... with a little extra splash here and there. Thank you to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for having created yet another successful year! This year's conference was particularly special to me because it was the first time I was able to attend the all-day Pre-Conference Community Center Institute, held on the Thursday before the main conference and workshops began. On a personal note, I was able to get up-to-date on the current Transgender Community's issues as well as see some local films that documented the life of local Trans people (click here for a description of the film, "The Same But Different", presented by INDYoutties.com).
I look forward to the new year, the new regime of the Center project, and the upcoming monthly newsletter! See the FAQ section on our FAQs page for more information.
September 10, 2006 - by L. M. Lewis, Interim Co-Finance Director Thanks to St. Louis Black Pride for yet another successful year! The new location of Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis not only brought new people to Black Pride, but also formally introduced St. Louis to a celebration that was formally held at Steinberg Ice Ring in Forest Park. We gave away three top prizes (a Noah's Arc Season One DVD pack, a RuPaul pack, and a Sharon Bridgforth bull jeans stories pack) and gift certificates from local LGBT-friendly and/or LGBT-owned venues Java Joe's Coffeehouse, Natural Uhuru Massage and Natural Hair Stylists, MoKaBe's Coffeehouse, and Coffee Cartel. See our homepage for links and contact information from some of our gift donors.
Also, a special THANK YOU to our volunteers Carl B. and Mike S. for helping us at this year's booth!
August 13, 2006 - by L. M. Lewis, Interim Co-Finance Director
Thanks to Ragged Blade Theatre for another fundraising opportunity for the Center! We gave away gift certificates from Mokabe's, CheapTRX, Java Joe's Coffeehouse, Left Bank Books, and Cicero's. All shops who gave us gift certificates are local LGBT-owned and/or -friendly businesses! See our homepage for links and contact information from some of our gift donors.
August 7, 2006 - by L. M. Lewis, Interim Co-Finance Director
I wrote the email below to a person who just moved to the St. Louis area and was looking for queer friendly businesses. I decided to tell him a little about our area and give my opinion on each. I hope this helps anyone looking for a little crash course in queer St. Louis. -- L. M. Lewis
Let me first start you off with the local news (paper, that is):
www.thevitalvoice.com and available in print at most gay-friendly places everywhere in the metro St. Louis area. It should give you a feel of the community... sort of :-)
Then, I'll tell you the central "gay" areas of town: Central West End (CWE), South Grand, Manchester Strip in Dogtown, and University City (U City). My suggestion is that you hang out in each area and get a feel of them. I've given some details of each area below:
The CWE is more of the higher-priced end of town and is currently turning into Condos. One of its main intersections is Euclid and Maryland streets with Euclid being the main shop street. It's right off highway 40 on the Kingshighway (north) exit towards the huge hospital, Barnes. This was gay-central in the past, but now it's moving moreso to the South Grand area.
The South Grand/Tower Grove Park area is the up-and-coming "gay" area of town with many LGBT people and families moving into the many homes in the area's Tower Grove neighborhood. Its main intersection is South Grand and Arsenal with Grand being its main shop street. The local coffeehouse, Mokabe's is lesbian-owned and really kinda contains a good heart of the community. Tower Grove Park is pretty dog-friendly, so if you have a pooch, feel free to walk him/her there. Also, Tower Grove Park is the site of the annual PrideFest celebration in June along with other LGBT-friendly gatherings.
The Manchester Strip is the "gay" bar area of town. Its main intersection is Vandeventer and Manchester with Manchester being its main shop street. Many bars cater to the male population with the exception of Novak's (traditional lesbian sports bar) and Attitude's (lesbian dance club). Most places on that street isn't open until after 4pm.
University City is actually not in St. Louis, but right on the cusp and is primarily leaning towards the college-age crowd. Its main intersection is Delmar and Skinker with Delmar being its main shop street. Its pretty active on the weekends, with musicians playing on the street and some late night venues like Blueberry Hill and The Red Sea that feature up-and-coming local artists and local record shop, Vintage Vinyl. The Pageant venue features both new and local artists and is a pretty cool place to see a show, there's virtually not a bad seat in the house!
Well, that's it for now. You'll also want to check www.gaystlouis.com for some of the latest updates on local happenings, meetings, organizational events, and programming. The next 'big' thing coming up is Black Pride which celebrates gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, and same-gender-loving individuals in the African American and minority communities. This year it will be from August 18-20 with workshops and opening ceremony at the Regional Arts Commission (across from The Pageant) and the outdoor Pride celebration held that Sunday (August 20th) in Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis near 6th and Market Streets. Their website is www.stlouisblackpride.org with FREE workshops and entry to the Pride festival.
Okay, hope everyone got that and now know the good gist of things going on in the St. Louis area as far as where to go and how to stay informed. There's a variety of other things to go to and see, but these areas contain the most concentration of gay/queer-friendly businesses!
June 26, 2006 - by L. M. Lewis, Interim Co-Finance Director
PrideFest was a success! We were able to raise money and, well, make connections as always. A lot of people who filled out the survey from last year stopped by and spoke to us and wanted to know the updates. We were more than happy to share our trials, tribulations, and thoughts. After months of research, I feel as though we're getting a tight grasp on this concept of renewed vigor in building, financing and running the Center. We recently went to a workshop in the St. Louis Library's Grants and Foundation Center, which is a great resource for those looking to get more information about grants, financing, and volunteer management. Check them out at http://www.slpl.org.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU to Liz M., Michael S., and John Z. for helping us this year's at the booth! They were awesome sales-folks and quickly made use of their charm for raising money to benefit both the Center and Pride St. Louis.
The LGBT Center had the pleasure of helping out with making metro St. Louis more green! Blue & I planted trees at The Green Center's park near the corner of McKnight and Olive in U. City.
The most enjoyable part of this adventure was that the whole day focused around youth participation. I remember a couple of little boys being determined in their planting, looking very seriously at the ground to make sure they did not step on any seedlings. I was emotionally moved. I like seeing kids take an initiative, effort, and care into what they do (which is rare nowadays).
