JUNE 4, 2009 ISSUE
High Country Pride Weekend June 13 and 14
Everyone is invited to the 5th annual High Country Pride Weekend—two days of events including a downtown Pridewalk, a movie screening, a DJ dance and a family picnic taking place Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14. The Pride Weekend is organized by Boone Pride, an organization dedicated to uniting, celebrating and supporting the GLBTIQA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, intersexed, queer and allies) community.
This year’s theme is “Your Rights, Our Rights, Human Rights,” adopted from the 2009 international InterPride organization theme.
“The whole concept of Pride started as a visibility and uniting process for the GLBT community,” said Gordon Hensley, a Boone Pride board of directors member. Now, it’s more about equality for everyone, he said.
“Everyone is invited to be part of it,” Hensley said. “It just means that you support equality in your community. Each of the events is very different by design to try to cater to different audiences or demographics.”
The first ever Pridewalk in Boone will take place on Saturday, June 13, from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. There you can purchase your tickets for the entire weekend of events and enjoy shopping, socializing and having lunch in downtown Boone. Tickets will be available at a booth across the street from the Jones House, and the first 100 people to purchase a ticket will receive a free rainbow bandana.
A movie matinee screening of Closets Are for Clothes, a filmed stage performance about coming out, will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on Bodenheimer Drive.
A community social and mixer will begin at the Broyhill Inn at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. A pianist will perform. Immediately following is the “Generations” Club Dance from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. at the Broyhill Inn. DJ Middleground from Greensboro will begin playing music from the ‘70s and progress through the decades as the night goes on. A cash bar will be available.
“The dance is usually slam-packed full of people,” Hensley said.
The weekend concludes with a family picnic and live music on Sunday at the Cove Creek School in Sugar Grove. Two area churches will provide potluck dishes and Boone Pride will also furnish a limited selection of food and sweets. This is an alcohol-free event designed for the entire family. Families and friends are encouraged to bring their own dishes to share.
The High Country Pride Weekend is open to anyone in the High Country area, including Ashe, Avery, Wilkes, Caldwell, Carter, Johnson and Watauga counties. Last year, about 300 people participated in the weekend, Hensley said.
“We’re diligently trying to make this for the wider High Country area,” he said. “We want to be as inclusive as we can.”
Tickets for all events are $10 and can be purchased online at www.BoonePride.org or on Saturday, June 13, at the Pridewalk. For more info, click to www.BoonePride.org.
Want To Go?
Dates: Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14
Times: vary
Locations: various locations, Boone area
Cost: $10
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