“A Night at the Tivoli” Returns; TRHPS to be Featured

Posted on by Jonathan

TRHPS

SPENCER, INDIANA – The historic Tivoli Theater in downtown Spencer will again be the site of Spencer Pride’s annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender (LGBT) History Month event “A Night at the Tivoli.” The community event, which is admission-free thanks to generous sponsors of Spencer Pride, Inc., is Wednesday, October 11th, at 7:00 PM. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

“We are proud to continue to have this event at the historic Tivoli Theatre. It gives us the opportunity to show off this local gem”, says Spencer Pride Inc.’s, President Jonathan Balash.

The main attraction for the evening is always the movie. This year’s film is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A 1975 cult classic, about 2 sweethearts who get stuck with a flat tire during a storm. They seek refuge in the mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite scientist. They meet a houseful of wild characters. Through elaborate songs and dances, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: “Rocky”. This movie has become a cult classic due to the interaction of viewers through dress, songs, and props.

The evening also includes a costume contest to win a prize! It will be an interesting and fun way for the audience to participate by judging the costumes. Another way to win is to take a chance on our raffle, which features fabulous items like an overnight stay at French Lick Resort including breakfast for two!

Owen Valley Winery will have their tasting room open to lure filmgoers into sampling their wine. The winery’s tasting room is adjacent to the Tivoli and will be open from 5:30PM-10:00 PM. For this event, alcohol can be taken from the winery into the theater. The tasting room will undoubtedly be a popular spot.

Many individuals and businesses are sponsoring “A Night at the Tivoli,” including Greencastle Walmart and many others who have made generous donations to ensure that the event remains admission-free.

In addition to the family-friendly Tivoli event, Spencer Pride, Inc., is coordinating LGBT History Month educational displays in a record-breaking (20) twenty libraries, public schools, universities, and other community organizations in Greene, Putnam, Lawrence, Owen, Monroe, Brown, Clay, and Knox counties. This is the eighth year that the organization has offered educational displays to libraries for LGBT History Month, and it is the fifth year that those displays will also appear in area schools and universities. Youth group, Iris, aided the development of this year’s displays.

In addition, our new retail space, Unity, at 46 E. Market St. on the courthouse square will be open until 7:00 p.m. and reopen following the event!  Stop in before and/or after the event and check out the many items hand made by local artists. It’s not too early to begin some holiday shopping.

For more information about Spencer Pride Inc., please visit www.SpencerPride.org or send questions to info@SpencerPride.org.  You can also find us on Facebook (SpencerPride) & Twitter (@SpencerPrideInc).  Our Youth Group, Iris, can be found on Instagram (@SpencerPrideYouth).

2017 Strategic Goal Results

Posted on by Jonathan

2017 Performance Results

At the recent annual Strategic Planning Retreat (theme: “Heroes Assemble), the Spencer Pride Board of Directors reviewed the organization’s performance over the past year.

When we we outlined the 2017 strategic goals back in late summer of 2016, a lot was unknown for us: whether our commUnity center would open as-planned, how receptive the community would be to the center, how we would best utilize the center given the limited space available for the public, and whether or not we’d have the volunteer bandwidth to continue the successful activities we’ve been doing for the last 10 years AND add even more on to our plate.

2017 4It didn’t take long for to us to understand how the year would unfold for us.  It was a truly phenomenal year by almost any measure: volunteer participation, financial support, media attention, & commUnity center impact.  When looking at our Strategic Goals in particular, we mostly accomplished what we had set out to do.

Our first goal was to Establish the Unity Shop, which involved opening the center in September & operating it consistently.  Although we initially opened 2 days per week, we expanded our operating hours by an additional day in May.  Within months, Unity became a central source of both new volunteers as well as revenue for us.  The Board agreed that we achieved this important goal.

Our next goal was to Implement our Safe Place Program.  This did occur on-time as planned, with the Spencer Pride commUnity center being an ‘official’ Safe Place (as a part of the National Safe Place network).  We supported this implementation with significant training for our volunteers in a variety of areas.  Training was provided by Prism Youth Community, Middle Way House, Indiana Youth Group, & MESA, among others.    Our volunteers are well-equipped to respond to any Safe Place needs at the center.  The Board agreed that this goal was also achieved.

TieDye-0537The third goal was to Cultivate our Volunteers, which entailed nearly 10 significant actions related to training, supporting, & celebrating our volunteers.  When this goal was established last year, we had no idea that we would be tripling our volunteer based over the course of 2016 & into 2017.  We provided volunteer training, implemented a brand-new (and well-received) volunteer recognition program, kicked off new methods of signing up for volunteer opportunities, & utilize volunteers in new leadership roles.   While we are excited about the amazing growth we saw in this area, keeping up with the new volunteers meant that we couldn’t get 2 of our individual tasks accomplished that had been listed under this goal (developing & delivering Spencer Pride training to our volunteers as well as conducting a volunteer needs assessment).  The Board agreed that these two tasks are important enough that we didn’t want to consider this overall goal as achieved;  rather, the Board agreed that it was still in process.

Grow our Financial Base was our fourth goal.  This goal entailed maintaining & growing our financial support, including implementing a new fundraiser.  We absolutely accomplished our goal here.  The new fundraiser we implemented – the Spencer Coloring Book – was very well received.  It was so popular, as a matter of fact, that we are currently putting together a second coloring book which will feature all of Owen County.  The Owen County Coloring Book will be available for purchase at the commUnity center this November in time for the holidays.  The Board agreed that we achieved this goal & also decided to focus on financial sustainability & transparency in our 2018 strategic goals.

IssacOur final goal was to Foster Community Relationships.  This is a critical strategic goal for us that demonstrates our commitment to supporting our community & its many wonderful organizations by donating our time & financial resources.  Our partnership with the White River Valley PFLAG, volunteer work for the Tivoli Theatre, & hundreds of dollars in contributions to local organizations are a testament to our success in this area.  The Board agreed that we achieved this goal.

In summary, the Spencer Pride Board of Directors unanimously decided that we had completed 4 out of 5 of our strategic goals, with the one remaining goal nearly complete & on track for full completion by the end of 2017.

We hope that this information is helpful.  If you have any further questions about how we performed to our 2017 strategic goals, please reach out to us at info@SpencerPride.org.

Festival Breaks Records, Welcomes Many Newcomers

Posted on by Jonathan

2017 Festival from Dragonfly

The 2017 Spencer Pride Festival was an amazing success by nearly all measures. Well over 2,000 people took part in the festivities of the 11th annual event in the heart of downtown Spencer.  Although it was hot, attendees seemed quite happy with the entertainment, activities, & opportunities that the festival offered.

2017

The day was filled with activities for all ages, the entertainment on the main stage, the tasty food options, the third annual Pet Parade, Market Street Family Fun Area, & the Prism All-Ages Activity Zone. New this year was Cardinal Spirits serving up their signature cocktails under the shade of a tree & in sight of the entertainment. In addition, the marketplace received great feedback by festival-goers, many of whom spent hours perusing the items for sale & learning about important causes.

The marketplace was spread throughout the entire lawn of the courthouse and spilled into Franklin Street as well, where most of the food vendors and the Owen County Public Library’s Bookmobile were located. The alpacas brought by SuPaca Farms were a HUGE hit with everyone!

This year’s food vendors were quite diverse. From funnel cakes to french fries, from corn dogs to fudge to pretzels to corn on the cob and much more, there were plenty of tasty food options at this year’s festival.  Shake-ups and other cool treats and sweets were a welcome sight for festival-goers, especially as the weather heated up in mid-afternoon.

2017 Spencer Pride Festival-0058-2

Planned Parenthood won the ‘most engaging booth’ prize due to their highly outgoing volunteers & interactive display.

Free HIV testing was available throughout the day thanks to IU Health Bloomington.  The confidential testing took place at the Tivoli Theatre thanks to a partnership between the theatre & festival organizers.

Spencer Pride’s commUnity center at 46 E. Market Street was a popular gathering and shopping destination.  Unique, locally hand-crafted, & resale items were available throughout the center, while the ever-popular raffles were located in the back room. This year’s raffle winners included Robert Smith who won a French Lick Overnight Stay for 2 with a $200 gift card; Terry Urban from Spencer who won a hand-crafted rainbow Adirondack chair; and Diane Salazar from Indianapolis who won a package that included a Bass Pro Shop gift card, Colts house flag, and a windcatcher.   Mark Mason won a package with items from the Cincinatti Reds & Indianapolis Indians;  He also won an overnight stay at French Lick Resort & a package that included a Canyon Inn gift card & CDs from a local musician.  Amanda Terrelll won two packages: a Monster gift basket & Holiday World package that included a Coca-Cola Cooler.  Ryne Shandy won two prints from Susan Anderson Shorter.

2017 4

Outside of the commUnity center, local artists were set up beneath canopies where they were showing off their various talents.  Painters, illustrators, knitters, & wire-benders all showed their unique skills to passersby.

All ages took advantage of the inflatable fun that filled Market Street. The deluxe slip-n-slide was well-utilized & appreciated given the balmy temperature. New this year in the Market Street line-up was Bloomington Aerialogy with aerial silk demonstrations and lessons.  Many people took part in observing these aerialists perform their gravity-defying acts while being suspended high above Market Street.

2017 5

Penny Zufall won the award for Spencer Pride, Inc., Volunteer of the Year, which was presented by president Jonathan Balash & volunteer coordinator Judi Epp.   Zufall was shocked at receiving the award & accepted the award & flower arrangement with tears of joy streaming down her face.

“Spencer Pride is 100% volunteer-driven, & without the help of amazing volunteers like Penny, we wouldn’t be able to put on the Spencer Pride Festival,” said Judi Epp.

Sheryl Daniels returned for her fifth year as Emcee of the Spencer Pride Festival. Sheryl is also the entertainment coordinator of the event & is responsible for all of the talented artists who perform. This year’s line-up included Quarryland Men’s Chorus, Different Drummer Belly Dancers, Hudsucker Posse, Window to My Soul, The Trip, Dan Wyatt & Larry Morley, The Retrovales, Owen County Civic Theatre, Zumba with Nancy Emerson & Crew, & finally, the Ladies of Spencer Pride Drag Show.

2017 2

The third annual Spencer Pride Pet Parade was a huge hit.  Nearly 20 animals (& their human companions) participated in the parade. A panel of kids evaluated each one before announcing two winners – one for most colorful and one GRAND PRIZE winner.  All of the pets seemed to enjoy the attention they received as a result of their involvement in the event.

Prism Youth Community coordinated a variety of activities for this year’s festival, including  Spencer Pride’s annual Coloring Contest!  Kids and adults alike were thrilled to show off their skills coloring the special page made by local artist Stephen Adams exclusively for the 2017 Spencer Pride Festival.  Also at the Prism All-Ages Activity Zone was a contest for the new Spencer Pride coloring book mascot, who is a non-binary raccoon.  “Camden” was announced as the winning name in the late afternoon.

One of the most obvious changes to this year’s festival was the participation of a lot more youth.  From booths such as Prism Youth Community & White River Valley PFLAG, youth were in front-and-center of the marketplace.  They also came out in large groups to attend the festival, which was apparent no matter where you were.  Several of the youth in attendance are members of the newly created youth group within Spencer Pride, which has begun meeting routinely at the Spencer Pride commUnity center.

2017 Spencer Pride Festival-9394

Volunteers at Spencer Pride, Inc., were pleased with how this year’s festival turned out.

“We received a lot of feedback from people at the event & even more afterward,” said president Jonathan Balash.  “It’s been overwhelmingly positive. People continue to recognize the uniqueness of what Spencer Pride is – a family-friendly rural LGBTQ+ pride event where ALL ARE WELCOME.”

Balash encouraged individuals who attended the event to share their feedback via their online survey, which can be found at www.SurveyMonkey.com/r/SpencerPride.

Sponsors of the 2017 Spencer Pride Festival included: Cook Medical, Boston Scientific, Walmart, French Lick Resort, & the Tivoli Theatre, among many more.

The 2018 Spencer Pride Festival will be held on June 2, 2018, and will be the 12th annual event.  Volunteers have LOTS in store for it, so interested individuals are encouraged to stay up-to-date on Spencer Pride’s work by continuing to visit their website and Facebook pages.

2017 Spencer Pride Festival-9218

2017 Spencer Pride Festival 2-1207

Spencer Pride organizers expressed appreciation for attendees, vendors, & sponsors of the 2017 Spencer Pride Festival.  It was the best attended & most engaging event yet.

More information about Spencer Pride and the Spencer Pride Festival can be found at www.SpencerPride.org.

Feedback Respectfully Requested

Posted on by Jonathan

20172017 2

The 2017 Spencer Pride Festival was a huge success on Saturday.  If you attended, we need your HELP!  Each of the past 6 years we have requested feedback from attendees through an online survey from SurveyMonkey.  Providing this feedback gives us an idea of what you really enjoyed about this year’s event.  It also tells us how we can improve for next year’s event, which will take place on Saturday, June 2, 2018.  We have used the survey feedback EVERY year to help make each year better than the last.

The survey can be found below.

A thorough description of the festival will be posted on our website this week. In the meantime, be sure to check out the hundreds of photos we’ve uploaded from the event on our Facebook page.

 

2017 Festival Entertainment Line-up

Posted on by Jonathan

We are proud to share our entertainment line-up for the 2017 Spencer Pride Festival.  This line-up features many returning entertainers as well as some first-time performers as well.  Young or old, drums to drag, vocal to instrumental to dance, we have a diverse set of performers for our 11th annual event.

The Spencer Pride Festival is an admission-free, family-friendly event.  All of the entertainers listed below will be performing on the Ivy Tech Stage.  Festival attendees are encouraged to picnic in the lawn and experience the fun of Spencer Pride for the entire afternoon.  The festival begins at 10 AM and lasts until 5 PM.  In addition to the live entertainment, the Spencer Pride Festival consists of a large marketplace with nearly 100 vendors, plus raffles, giveaways, & a variety of other activities.  Our Family Fun Area, located in Market Street, contains fun things for kids of all ages.

Below the entertainment line-up you’ll see the participants in the 2017 “Ladies of Spencer Pride” Drag Show.

2017 Drag Show Lineup

Scholarship Winner Announced

Posted on by Jonathan

Issac

Spencer Pride and White River Valley PFLAG are excited to announce our 2017 $1000 scholarship recipient.  Issac Young has been selected as our second award winner and comes to this place with a long history of work to move equality forward.

For the past three years, Issac has been involved with Prism Youth Community and has been part of Prism’s leadership team since its creation. As the previous chair of Prism’s Education and Training committee, Issac was involved in various trainings for over two years.  Working from the perspective and experiences as a transgender individual, Issac addressed many audiences of professionals about how things can be made better for students and youth across the state.

Recently, Issac travelled with Prism Youth Community to Washington D.C. for the HRC’s 4th annual TIME TO THRIVE conference.  The group met advocates including Al Franken and Dolores Huerta and attended workshops to develop a broader sense of issues faced by today’s youth across the nation.  In his words, “I’ve been emboldened by the places I been and the people I’ve met to do the work that I can in my community.”

Issac has been accepted to Columbia College Chicago’s Honors Program and he states, “I plan to continue my efforts promoting education by getting my degree in Video Game Art/Development so that I can help create games that increase diversity within the field of video games. I want my video games to tell real stories and promote the sharing of these stories. Just as I was helped and encouraged to tell my story and share my truths, I want my games to empower others to do the same.”

May Meeting Packed with People & Productivity; Mascot Names Narrowed Down

Posted on by Jonathan

Meeting - Jonathan

Sunday’s monthly Spencer Pride volunteer meeting at the commUnity center was well-attended & very productive.   It’s obvious that the festival is now just under one month away, given all of the flurry of activities happening.  Thankfully, we are an organization well supported by our volunteers.  They make everything that we do possible!

Key accomplishments recently:

  • Billboards are now up in Spencer (near Walmart) & Cloverdale (along I-70)
  • Flyers are printed & ready for distribution
  • A total of 23 sponsors are registered for the festival
  • The number of registered vendors is 85 & continues to rise
  • We have started receiving items for our Choose-Your-Own Raffles.  Some of the items we’ve received include tickets to sports events, decorative items for the lawn, gift certificates, etc.
  • Festival t-shirts have been ordered & will be available within the next couple of weeks.  Remember – festival volunteers get a free shirt!
  • Festival signage has been ordered
  • Some festival decorations (17′ tall rainbow banners) have been ordered & receive

Meeting - Mascot Names

Meeting - Penny Chatting

Other items discussed at the meeting include:

  • The board recently approved 2 policy changes/updates: (1) Volunteers are no longer permitted to drink alcohol while volunteering nor arrive for volunteering activities while already intoxicated.  While there haven’t been any specific issues with this, the Board felt it was responsible to employ caution in this area so that we do not risk the positive reputation of Spencer Pride. This was also a timely decision since this is the first year where cocktails will be sold at the festival.  (2) There is now a no-weapons policy at the Spencer Pride commUnity center.  Signage will be going up soon asking for patrons to respect this policy.
  • The after-Pride Volunteer Party will be on Sunday, July 9 at Jonathan & Jacob’s home from 2-6 PM. There will be no monthly volunteer meeting in June due to the festival.
  • Work is underway at the commUnity center to install air conditioning, which should be complete by the festival

The Welcoming & Activities Committees met as well.  A summary of the discussion in those meetings is shown below.

Welcoming:

  • Much discussion took place regarding the logistics of the 50-50 drawings & Welcome Booth
  • The festival program draft was reviewed & changes recommended
  • The number of volunteers, tables, & canopies required to support Welcoming responsibilities was determined

Activities:

  • The Family Fun Area is now completely finalized.  Contracts have been signed & paid for both PartyZone Rentals & Bloomington Aerialogy
  • The Pet Pride Parade still needs a ‘marshall’ & a “caboose,” both of which would be new this year
  • A significant focus of additional meetings will be on managing & scheduling raffles as well as soliciting participants for the Dunk Tank

And finally, the time came to vote to narrow down the list of proposed mascot names.  We received more than 40 recommendations and only 5 could move on for final voting at the festival.  The 5 chosen by volunteers include:  Camden, Cooper, Rainbow, Rikki, & Stonewall.  We are really excited about these options!

Meeting - Mascot Names

This year's festival t-shirt has been ordered and will be available at the commUnity center for sale within the next couple of weeks
This year’s festival t-shirt has been ordered and will be available at the commUnity center for sale within the next couple of weeks

“Free Mom Hugs Tour” Coming to Spencer Pride commUnity center

Posted on by Jonathan

FMHTOn May 1, the first ever “Free Mom Hugs Tour” launched from Oklahoma City.  The tour will be making a stop in Spencer this Saturday, May 6 at the Spencer Pride commUnity center, which is located at 46 E. Market Street.  Kicking off at 4 PM, the event will include distribution of countless “free mom hugs” to anyone interested in receiving one.

The “Free Mom Hugs Tour” is making way to its final destination at the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City.   The tour will stop in 10 cities & surrounding communities.  The purpose of the tour is to reassure the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, & queer) community that they are valued & loved, & to raise awareness of their dignity & worth.

The “Free Mom Hugs Tour” is the brainchild of two mothers of LGBTQ children: Sara Cunningham of Oklahoma City & Laura Beth Taylor of Dayton, Tenn. Cunningham, the parent of a gay man & author of How We Sleep at Night, is a well-known advocate for participating in PRIDE events, carrying her “Free Mom Hugs” banner. When she reached out to Taylor, a transwoman who is the parent of LGBTQ children and author of Shattering Masks, the plan took shape.

“This isn’t a march; we’re not setting out to protest something, but rather to attest that all people – regardless of the margins in which they find themselves – are deserving of love, dignity & compassion,” Taylor explained. “Our goal is to express that in each city we visit as we encourage others to do so, too.  It’s a simple exercise of loving our neighbors,” she added.

Cunningham noted, “Every time I’m out with the banner, I meet more youth & young adults who need reassurance that they are not alone, that there are people who love & support them. I also meet parents who need to be encouraged on their path of loving & accepting their LGBTQ kids. That’s the message we will carry along with our banner.”

The Tour culminates in New York City on May 14, which is Mother’s Day, near the historic Stonewall Inn, considered by many to be the birthplace of the LGBTQ equality movement. Subsequent annual Tours will conclude on Mother’s Day at other landmarks significant in the history of the LGBTQ equality movement.

Laura Beth Taylor explained that they found out about the Spencer Pride commUnity center when they initialy struck out looking for something in Indianapolis.  They expanded their search window & saw that Spencer had its own LGBTQ+ center.  “We were so excited to see something outside of a major city – where community is often more personal,” Taylor said.

The overall rate of homelessness & suicide in the LGBTQ community is nearly 10 times the rate of the general population, according to the CDC. Furthermore, it is estimated that 25 percent of LGBTQ youth who come out in religious circles are immediately turned away by their families. The “Free Mom Hugs Tour” demonstrates what love & support can look like and educate community leaders about the unnecessary risks LGBTQ children, youth & young adults face on a daily basis.

Spencer, Indiana, is the smallest town in the United States with a dedicated LGBTQ+ center.  The Spencer Pride commUnity center opened in September 2016 & will be expanding over the next year to offer additional services to the community.  It is currently a certified Safe Place & an LGBTQ+ Safe Zone.  It is also the home of Unity, a distinct retail shop selling items made by Hoosier artists & craftspeople.  100% of all profits from Unity support Spencer Pride, Inc.   Spencer Pride is a 100% volunteer-led 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization established in 2007.  More information about Spencer Pride can be found at www.SpencerPride.org.

Sara & Laura stopped at the Equality House in the first part of their tour, which launched from Oklahoma City on May 1stSara & Laura stopped at the Equality House in the first part of their tour, which launched from Oklahoma City on May 1st

Festival T-Shirts Unveiled; On Sale Soon

Posted on by Jonathan

The 2017 official Spencer Pride Festival t-shirt design was unveiled today.  The design is a simple one with a patriotic flare & a clear tie to Spencer Pride’s vision of making Indiana a more welcoming place for all people.

The shirts will be available exclusively at the Spencer Pride commUnity center in sizes ranging from small through 3XL.  Shirts will be available in two styles (v-neck or crew neck) & in 6 different colors.

The 2017 Spencer Pride Festival t-shirts will be sold for $14.99.  Individuals purchasing two shirts together will receive a $5 discount off of their purchase.

The Spencer Pride commUnity center will have the shirts on sale once they are available from the printer, which will be at the end of May.

The 2017 Spencer Pride Festival will take place on Saturday, June 3 from 10 AM until 5 PM.

WTP - Front - on Green - Final

WTP - Front - Final

WTP - Back - Design - Final

April Roadside Cleanup Underway

Posted on by Jonathan

Truman at CleanupSpencer Pride is proud to be partnering once again with Owen County Garden Club for Sweet Owen Community Clean-Up Month.   As a part of that effort, which was announced last month, we’ve been encouraging everyone in Owen County to clean up roadside trash all month long.

The Garden Club and Spencer Pride each held their own days where volunteers from the organizations were encouraged to come out in groups to participate.  There have been additional organizations who have taken up the call to do these types of events as well.

In addition to the larger volunteer days, a significant amount of work has been done by individuals within the community.  If you’ve seen black bags setting along the roadside this month, it was likely due to the clean-up efforts of local citizens who’ve been participating and taking advantage of the ability to dispose of this roadside trash absolutely free.

 

We hope that this effort both beautifies the county as well as shows our youth the importance of leaving the world a better place than we found it.

Roadside Trash

April Meeting Keeps Festival Momentum Going

Posted on by Jonathan

On Sunday, April 2, volunteers met for our monthly meeting to plan and organize the upcoming Spencer Pride Festival.  The meeting was well-attended.  Our demolition work day was the same afternoon, so we had to relocate our meeting to the courthouse lawn because the commUnity center wasn’t yet cleaned and put back together.  Thankfully, the sun was out and it was a beautiful, bright Spring afternoon for a meeting outdoors.

After going through the usual business updates and general discussion about the festival, the 3 committees broke out for focused conversation about our key areas.  Updates from each committee are below.

Welcoming
The Welcoming Committee is shown here in the foreground.

The entire group also discussed 3 other topics of importance.

  • Decorations for the stage:  We discussed this for a short period of time to generate some ideas.  Ultimately it was agreed that final decisions on decorations could wait until the May volunteer meeting.
  • T-Shirt designs:  The t-shirt design needs to be drafted so that we can start the process of having the shirts made.  We will reach out to some local artists to see if they are interested in helping to design the shirt. We need their ideas within 2 weeks in order to meet our timeline for the shirts.  The goal is to order the shirts by no later than May 1st.
  • Cardinal Spirits partnership:  Cardinal Spirits (a local distillery in Bloomington) will be selling cocktails at Spencer Pride.  This is a first for us.  We believe that we can maintain a family-friendly atmosphere while allowing responsible drinking as well.  We will have Cardinal set up their canopy and a pride lounge (the only area where drinking will be permitted) on the south lawn.

If you are interested in helping plan our event, or if you are interested in volunteering at our event in any way, please send us an e-mail at info@SpencerPride.org and we will be happy to get you the necessary information to get started.  We’d love to have you join our family.  It’s fun and it makes a difference!  In May, we will be meeting every Sunday from 4-6 to work on the festival plans.

The Welcoming Committee discussed the following:

  • Decorations for the welcome booth in order to make it more visible.  Purchases will be made over the coming month to support this.
  • We need to get the right supplies for our roaming 50-50 sales.
  • The strategy for updating the informational kiosk.  Some things need to be printed in advance from VistaPrint for weather-protection.  Other items (such as sponsor recognition) we aren’t able to discuss until we get closer to the event and understand the number of sponsors we will need to advertise on the kiosk.
  • We will not be using the merchandise cart on the lawn; instead, it will be used by the Activities committee as a prominent location from which to sell Dunk Tank tickets on the street.
  • The billboard design is complete and was sent to Lamar.
  • The festival fliers will be designed by a local artists (who is also one of our volunteers).  The plan is to have the fliers printed locally and ready to distribute to our volunteers at the May meeting.
  • The festival program will need to be printed by mid-May.  Volunteers will review last year’s program for recommended changes and the committee will finalize plans at the May volunteer meeting.
The Activities Committee
The Activities Committee

The Activities Committee made the following decisions:

  • Contracts are ready to be signed and paid this week for Bloomington Aeriology and PartyZone Rentals.  Bloomington Aeriology will be participating in Spencer Pride for the first time and will be doing both performance as well as lessons throughout the day.  PartyZone will be providing a Bounce House, 3-in-1 Sports Challenge, Deluxe Slip-n-Slide, Toddler Town, and Dunk Tank.   These will all be placed on Market Street.
  • The dunk tank will utilize the old merchandise cart.  This will help bring some shade to the street for our volunteers staffing this booth, plus it will draw more attention because of the large umbrella.
  • We need to spend time soliciting for raffle donations. We do not have many items as of this time.

The Marketplace Committee, which has a lighter load that doesn’t kick into high gear until May, discussed the following next steps:

  • We need to update the vendor communication letter, which will be sent Mid-May.  We will likely also send a reminder e-mail this month to those who have already registered, stating that the set-up information will be coming in Mid-May.
  • We need to update the layout based on some of the changes that have occurred this year.  After that is complete, we can begin making vendor assignments.
  • The inventory of our canopies and tables needs to take place in the next 4-5 weeks.
The reason we couldn't meet in the commUnity center
The reason we couldn’t meet in the commUnity center

Demolishing Expectations (& Walls) at the commUnity center

Posted on by Jonathan

CrewPennyOn Sunday, April 2, nearly 15 Spencer Pride volunteers spent the day doing some really nasty work at the commUnity center.  They hammered, sawed, pried, & shoveled to clean the old paneling, plaster, & other surfaces off of the 130-year old brick walls in the back of the center.

This effort was undertaken to help further prepare the space (hopefully for the upcoming installation of air conditioning) & to continue our effort to restore & beautify our building.

This was a disgusting job, but our dedicated volunteers went all-in.  They donned appropriate safety gear, tools, & set to work on the task.  Our original goal was to expose as much of the walls in the back room that we were able to do.

In the end, ALL of the walls were completely cleared.   Volunteers also removed one wall entirely near the back of the center & cleaned up some of the mess out back.

MarissaWe always say that we have amazing volunteers.  This is just one more example of their passion & dedication.  Being paid with nothing but donuts, home-made cinnamon rolls, & pizza, our resilient crew knocked down our expectations!

TomCathy