Vampires, emeralds & rabbits, oh my!
on March 8th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
Ms. Trai La Trash ravages with her ruby lips at the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Emerald Empire’s Heart of Oregon pageant.
In Karen Petersen’s first full month at Pride Foundation, she goes all over the Oregon map meeting with allies and community leaders. Here’s her latest tour highlighting the work of three great LGBTQ organizations.
It’s hard to believe it’s March already. February certainly flew by, perhaps because of the three great events I attended that demonstrated to me the diversity and vitality of Oregon’s LGBTQ community. You know what they say, “time flies when you’re having fun!”
February’s first event found me in Bend, attending a Human Dignity Coalition party. In case you didn’t already know, HDC is a human rights group dedicated to LGBTQ rights in Central Oregon. Through their coalition building, queer and allied youth program, and community education and organizing, HDC has been promoting and celebrating diversity in Central Oregon since 1992.
The HDC party was bittersweet as we all said good-bye to long-time Executive Director, Jenni Peskin, who, on this evening, handed the mantle over to Bruce Morris. All of us at Pride Foundation welcome Bruce, wish him luck, and look forward to continuing to work along side HDC under his leadership.
Then it was off to Eugene to attend the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Emerald Empire’s Heart of Oregon pageant, where Edward Twist, Starla Knight and Artemis Mordent (and her whip!) were crowned Mr. Miss, and Ms. Heart of Oregon, respectively. For more than 35 years, ISCEE has been been bringing together its members and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars collectively to channel back into charitable and social causes. It’s our community’s version of the Rotary Club but with tiaras and more pageantry!
And if there’s anything I love more than drag queens, it is vampires, so I cannot wait until July when the Emerald Empire Court is throwing the Vampresses Ball – organizers are generously making it a fundraiser for Pride Foundation! I’ll let you know the date, time and place just as soon as it is confirmed.
My last party of the month also brought yet another first into my life, as I joined Asian Pacific Islander Pride here in Portland for their Lunar New Year celebration. Never having celebrated Lunar New Year before, I quickly learned that while the holiday is commonly referred to as “Chinese New Year”, in fact, many Asian countries, like Thailand, Vietnam, India and Korea, also celebrate, with this year being the Year of the Rabbit. Pride Foundation is proud to have funded API Pride’s campaign to increase their group’s visibility and membership, and to expand their educational and advocacy mission in our community.
Hope March is just as much fun!
