The Tivoli Theater was the site of Spencer Pride’s “A Night at the Tivoli,” an annual educational event celebrating LGBT History Month, held on Wednesday, October 14th. We are always honored to have the opportunity to work with the Tivoli Theater staff, and we look forward to Spencer Pride’s volunteer night at the Tivoli on the second Saturday of each month.
This was the sixth year that Spencer Pride has held an event in commemoration of LGBT History Month. Approximately 150 people were in attendance to show support for the educational efforts of Spencer Pride and to have some weeknight fun! We are so grateful for the strong showing from the local community for the event.
Twenty of our loyal volunteers from Spencer Pride, Inc., were on hand to help the event run smoothly and ensure that everyone had a good time. It is our passionate volunteers who ensure that we are able to pull off such fantastic events.
The doors opened at 6:00 PM for an invitation-only VIP reception for sponsors and community leaders. Our thanks to local sponsors: Greencastle Walmart, Foxy Mutts, Insurance Pros to name a few. Several representatives from the community attended the reception, including representatives from the Spencer Town Board, Tourism Bureau, and other civic organizations. The reception featured delicious hors-d’oeuvres, wine, and live music by Dan Wyatt. It was wonderful to see our sponsors and special guests interact with influential members of the Spencer community and develop relationships!
The main draw of “A Night at the Tivoli” each year is the free film. We always try to choose a film that families can enjoy but that also has an educational message about the LGBT community. This year it was put to a vote to folks on our Facebook page and website, and the winner was “Kinky Boots.” Based on a true story, and the basis for a Tony-Award-winning Broadway musical currently touring the country, the Golden Globe-nominated movie portrays an unlikely partnership formed when the uptight owner of a men’s dress shoe company struggling to stay afloat teams up with a drag queen find a way to save the business. In the process, the two discover they are not so different after all.
A raffle featuring “experience” items was ongoing throughout the evening. Many items were donated by the local community, such as tickets to the Bloomington Symphony at the Tivoli, a Private Shopping Experience at the Dragonfly and a Private Tour and Tasting at Owen Valley Winery. We were fortunate to have unique official “Kinky Boots” items, thanks to Jackie Hall of Bloomington. The raffle was both popular and financially-successful for our not-for-profit organization.
Prism Youth Community-Bloomington hosted a Trans* Trivia Contest, which was an eye-opener for many attendees, some of whom were anxiously surfing the web on their phones for answers! We were proud to have Prism Youth Community-Bloomington’s participation in this important educational portion of the evening. This year’s event also featured a Creative Footwear Contest in honor of “Kinky Boots.” With a dozen entries, it was one of the evening’s highlights!