World AIDS Day
by indypride on Dec.01, 2009, under Uncategorized
Today is World AIDS Day, and for those of you looking for local observances, here are three that were brought to our attention:
Circle City HIV/AIDS Coalition
INSPIRATION AND EDUCATION TAKE THE LEAD AT CIRCLE CITY-WIDE WORLD AIDS DAY OBSERVATION THAT TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS KEEPING THE PROMISE TO STOP AIDS
INDIANAPOLIS– The Circle City HIV/AIDS Coalition will host a Memorial Service of Worship to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at The Church Within, 1125 Spruce Street, Indianapolis. The greater Indianapolis community is invited to this free community program.
“World AIDS Day serves as a yearly reminder that this disease hasn’t gone away,” said Jason Grisell, chairman of the Circle City HIV/AIDS Coalition. “We need to recognize that it is a global public health problem, even right here in Indiana.”
Local AIDS activists, public health officials, clergy and concerned citizens will join families touched by this crisis to take part in this program which is designed to highlight the place of Hoosiers in this pandemic health crisis. The memorial observance will give attendees an opportunity to look back and remember those that they have lost to HIV/AIDS while uplifting and encouraging all in attendance to the on-going fight to combat this crisis by raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and its real, but often dismissed, impact on people here in Indiana.
Joining in the celebration this year is sponsor Walgreens, “The Pharmacy America Trusts”.
This program is a cross-cultural program that seeks to bring the community together in a city-wide observation that stresses the changes in the disease over the years as well as the realities that HIV disease continues to impact and devastate lives.
“There are no race, color or sexual orientation barriers to this disease,” Grisell said. “We are all at risk.” We can celebrate those that we have lost, but we need to keep on fighting and encourage everyone to get tested, learn their status, and help educate to prevent the spread of this deadly disease.”
The event will feature displays of panels from the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, live music, and various speakers including civil and social rights activist Reverend Thomas Brown, Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church and a special presentation by Walgreens pharmacy. A reception will immediately follow the hour-long program.
In Indiana, there have been more than 5,000 deaths from HIV-disease since the state first started recording them in 1981. In Marion County alone, from January through June of 2009, there have been 108 newly reported cases of HIV, so there is much work to be done to keep the promise.
The Circle City HIV/AIDS Coalition is a non-profit community action group comprised of HIV/AIDS prevention organizations and individuals from secular and faith-based backgrounds in HIV education who are interested in prevention efforts that combat HIV/AIDS and supportive efforts that impact HIV positive persons across Indianapolis and its surrounding areas.
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Contacts:
Kimberly Wells, Marketing, (317) 828-1913
Jason Grisell, Chairman, (317) 630-1805
Indianapolis Urban League
World AIDS Day
Citywide Observance of World AIDS Day featuring National HIV Advocate Antoinette Bennett. Ms. Bennett is a 58 year old, long term AIDS Survivor (27 Years), Cancer Survivor and Incest Survivor from Brooklyn, New York. Come and hear her story live….
on World AIDS Day at the Indianapolis Urban League.
EVENT:
Citywide Observance, Awards Presentation, Guest
Speaker, FREE HIV/STD Testing, Mini Fashion Show Featuring Originals by Michael Bush / Candlelight Vigil (Delta’s)
Guest Emcee – First Lady Khris Ray – Radio One
DATE:
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
LOCATION:
The Indianapolis Urban League / 777 Indiana Avenue / Indianapolis, IN 4620
TIME:
6 PM to 9:30 PM
ADMISSION:
FREE to public
COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
The Act Against AIDS Leadership Initiative, Bright Ideas, Brothers United, Community Health Network, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Gallahue Mental Health, Indianapolis Urban League, Indiana State Department of Health, Kroger Corporation, Macy’s the Federated Group, Marion County Health Department, National Urban League, Radio-One, Ryan White Services, Starbucks Broad Ripple, The Bethlehem House, Walgreens Corporation
For more information contact: Deidra Coleman – Indianapolis Urban League – (317) 693-7644 (dcoleman@indplsul.org)
Riley Hospital & the Indiana State Dept. of Health
World AIDS Day
INDIANAPOLIS – Please join Riley Hospital for Children, the Indiana State Department of Health and others as they announce “One Test Two Lives-Prevent HIV Indiana” – a statewide campaign designed to reduce the mother-to-baby HIV transmission rate, which has increased 400 percent compared to the past 2 ½ years, by improving clinical practices.
WHAT: “One Test Two Lives-Prevent HIV Indiana” campaign launch with the Riley Hospital for Children Ryan White Center for Pediatric Disease, the Indiana State Department of Health, the Indiana Perinatal Network, and the Midwest AIDS Training + Education Center.
WHEN: Tuesday, December 1, 10 a.m.
WHERE: Indiana State House North Atrium, 200 W. Washington St.
SPEAKER: Dr. Elaine Cox, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease
WHY: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, perinatal transmission accounts for 90 percent of all AIDS cases among children in the United States. The goal of “One Test Two Lives-Prevent HIV Indiana” is to prevent HIV transmission from mother to baby by providing quick and easy access to a variety of resources for obstetricians, nurse-midwives and other providers to ensure all women are tested for HIV early in the pregnancy.
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Contact:
(317) 234-1811
http://www.1test2lives.in.gov (website not active yet)
Bag Ladies World Tour – Lafayette
by indypride on Nov.23, 2009, under Indy Pride Bag Ladies
The Pride Bag Ladies made a return engagement at Zooleggers in Lafayette, IN on Friday night, November 20th. It was a hot time and special thanks go out to Zooleggers’ owner Wayne for inviting us back, the great bar staff and the Zoolegger “ladies” for all of their help backstage. A special thank you to our sister Amanda Love for being the hot hostess/emcee! It was also great to see so many of our friends who made the trip up from Indianapolis.
Congratulations to Lafayette Pride on their beautiful office/meeting space at 640 Main Street! They are doing a great job in their community and are to be commended. If you are in the area stop by and visit them and check out their rotating show of local artists. Check them out at http://www.pridelafayette.org.
Lessons learned by a relatively new Bag Lady –
1) Press- on nails are not the same as “temporary” nails.
2) Be sure to have your shoes on in the dressing room when Sequoia is around (I’m sure my toe will heal someday)!
3) It is a good thing to have the “wig whisperer” nearby (and you know who you are).
Hope to see you all soon at an Indy Pride event.
Ahneeta Martini,
Bag Lady & Indy Pride Board Member
Smoke Free Indy?
by indypride on Aug.21, 2009, under Gay Life in Indy
Indianapolis has had a no smoking law on the book for a few years, but it really only affected restaurants. On top of that, if a bar serves food, they could opt to not serve the under 18 crowd so that they could continue to be a smoking establishment.
For those of us who are non-smokers, this is just something we’ve had to deal with. Smokers always tend to fall back on it being their right to smoke, and if non-smokers do not want to breathe it they can go elsewhere, which to me is a bit disingenuous, because where exactly are we going go? It is just one of those catch-22 situations, which is only exacerbated by the fact that Louisville, which is in the tobacco belt and 90 minutes away managed to go smoke free well over a year ago, and it seems, anywhere you travel, those cities are going the same way.
Without making this an argument for or against smoking, the general consensus was that no gay bar in town was going to go smoke free until it was mandated by law. Talbott Street attempted to do so, but there were some strategically placed complaining which made them to change direction and just make the Legend’s Drag Bar smoke free, which don’t get me wrong was great because that is a low ceiling room that really got pretty smokey, but it still wasn’t the whole bar. Then Greg’s started to survey the clientele on whether they should limit smoking to the back patio. The survey came back an overwhelming majority supporting the smoking limitations. Once Greg’s announced they were going smoke free on August 1st, then Talbott Street quickly followed, and we have been enjoying the clean air at both for almost a month now.
It was with great surprise that Metro announced that they would be going smoke free on October 1st. I always figured since they were a restaurant and more of a sit down bar type establishment, they would be one that would totally wait until there was a law. I’m happy to have been proven wrong. It really does take balls for them to do this, almost more than Greg’s and Talbott, because they still have competition from restaurants that allow smoking like Olly’s, English Ivy’s, and The Varsity, but I truly commend them for taking the leap.
Greg’s, Talbott, and Metro should all be celebrated for taking a limited smoking stance. We all know the health hazards of smoking, and while it becomes muddy to start taking away the rights people have over their bodies, I believe this was the right thing to do for the good of the community.
Country & Gospel Brunch 2009
by indypride on Apr.21, 2009, under Uncategorized
On Sinday (typo and I’m keeping it..HA), April 19th, the Indy Pride Bag Ladies held the 2nd annual Country & Gospel Brunch. It was a fabulous show, which went a lot smoother than the year before. The first time out, I don’t think anyone had any idea just how popular it was going to be, but this year, Sequoia Pentecost and Rachel Yoder were ready for it.
For my money, the best line of the night came from Rachel Yoder when talking about tipping, “Jesus may have risen, but our standards haven’t!”
Here are some pictures from the event.
And We’re Back!
by indypride on Apr.17, 2009, under Circle City IN Pride, Gay Life in Indy, Indy Pride Bag Ladies
I know I have been a horrible Pride blogger, but since we’re an all volunteer organization, it is sometimes hard to keep all these balls in the air. However, now that we are less than two months away from the Circle City IN Pride, I am going to try harder to make this a semi-relevant blog. I may even recruit some guest bloggers to keep this material running.
Circle City IN Pride News
I’m currently redesigning this portion of the website, but you can get the basic schedule and information on volunteering. We NEED your help! If you’re interested in booth space or being in the parade, both of those applications are still available. http://www.indyprideinc.org/circlecityinpride/
Upcoming Events
Sunday, April 19
2nd Annual Pride Bag Lady County/Gospel Brunch
Place: Talbott Street
Time: 12:00 Noon
Catering: Hoaglin Fine Catering
Tickets: $20.00 in advance; $25.00 at the Door (if available)
Proceeds: Benefit the Damien Center
Monday, April 20
Spotlight – One Night, One State, One Reason
Place: Clowes Hall
Time: 7:30 p.m. http://indianaaidsfund.org/spotlight.html
Thursday, April 30
Dining Out For Life
Location: Various Restaurants in Indy
Proceeds Benefit the Damien Center! http://www.damien.org/
Website Updates & Upcoming Events
by indypride on Jan.08, 2009, under Circle City IN Pride, Gay Life in Indy, General Pride News
I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season. It has been a busy time around here, and I am just now refreshing the website for 2009.
Some Important Updates:
Indy Pride Community Calendar: The calendar has been updated through October 31st of this year. If you see anything missing, please shoot me an at webmaster@indyprideinc.com.
Circle City IN Pride Committees: Committees are currently forming and hard at work on organizing Circle City IN Pride 2009. As you can imagine, it is a herculean effort getting this off the ground, and we need all the help we can get to make this one even better than last years. Be sure to check out the list of committees to see which one is the best fit for you!
Those are the biggest, but there are also additions on the Board, Pictures, and Upcoming Events (including Laugh Out Loud) pages. So, be sure to check those out, too.
Upcoming Events:
January 10th – IndySlugger’s Benefit at Greg’s – Come out and support the IndySluggers softball team as they raise money to travel to their first tournament of the year in sunny Tampa, FL. There will be a beer bar and 50/50 raffle.
January 14th – Indy Pride Board of Directors Meeting
January 15th – Indy Pride Membership Mixer at Agio. Free Appetizers! Door Prizes! Everyone is welcome!
My New Years resolution is to update this blog more often, and we’ll se how far that goes. 
Nick,
Webmaster & Indy Pride Board Member
Weekend Action
by indypride on Dec.12, 2008, under Gay Life in Indy, Indy Pride Bag Ladies
Outside of the millions of holiday parties to go to, there are a couple events I would like to point out for the weekend.
The biggest and most important one is the annual Bag Ladies’ Holiday Show, “All the Stockings Were Hung…” The show is taking place on Sunday, December 14th at Talbott Street. The doors open at 7, and the show will start at 8. So, come out and see your favorite Bag Ladies do their thing to support the Indiana Youth Group. You will see all of your favorites like Cadillac Barbie, Sequoia Pentacost, Donna Rhea, Holly Luyah, Halle Pino, and Summer Clearance. If you can’t make it, check back on Monday for pictures!
In other performance news, Portia Lynn Van Buren will be hosting her annual holiday show at Cosmos. While it is not an official Bag Lady event, if you go to both events, you can double your pleasure by seeing Holly Luyah and Summer Clearance twice in one weekend!
Happy Holidays!
Happy Thanksgiving and Upcoming Events
by indypride on Nov.26, 2008, under Gay Life in Indy, General Pride News
Even with the downtime for the holiday, December is shaping up to be very busy.
As always, for more information, check out the Indy Pride Community Calendar:
Monday, December 1
World AIDS Day – 20th Anniversary Celebration<
Place: St. Luke’s United Methodist Church
Time: 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, December 2
Pride Bag Lady Bus Tour Photo Party
Place: Cosmos
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
December 4
Pride Night At the Phoenix Theatre: On Thin Ice
Place: Phoenix Theatre
Showtime: <7:00 p.m.
Tickets: $15.00
Sunday, December 7
Holiday Diva Show
Place: Talbott Street
Doors Open: 7:00 p.m.
Showtime: 8:00 p.m
Bring a wrapped gift
Indy Pride would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
Bag Lady Tour Photos
by indypride on Nov.11, 2008, under Indy Pride Bag Ladies
I have to apologize because I didn’t realize most people couldn’t see the photos on the Flickr account. The main problem was that I had set an age restriction on them so that unsuspecting youth might not stumble upon them because, lets face it, we get a little out of control on the bus. However, since I’m new to the Flickr world, I didn’t realize that this made it impossible for someone without a Flickr account to see the pictures, even if they’re 90 years old. So, after looking over the pictures and seeing that we didn’t really have anything to worry about, I re-uploaded everything, and you should be able to see everything now.
Check them out at our Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/indyprideinc/
Nick,
Indy Pride Board Member & Webmaster
Downtown Walgreens to Focus on HIV/AIDS
by indypride on Nov.07, 2008, under Gay Life in Indy
I just wanted to point out a story running in today’s Indianapolis Star. Walgreens, in a effort to refocus back on its origins as a health care company, not just a place to buy chips at 2am, is making their downtown store, at 16th and Meridian, a pharmacy specializing in HIV/AIDS treatment. While this is nothing new to the Indianapolis community, with the presence of BioScrip, this will be the first such service that is open 24 hours a day.
Noelle Redmond, HIV/AIDS coordinator for the state of Indiana, is based in the store, and it is her job to train pharmacists on the the ins and outs of treatment.
If you would like more information, here is the link to the Indy Star article:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20081107/BUSINESS03/811070436
