Celebration Event -- 2010 July 10

California Men's Gatherings presents... LBGT Library Celebration Event - San Diego Saturday July 10, 2010 Warm up your Pride a little early in a place we don't usually...the Library!  This is a landmark event for SD City Libraries and it should be fun AND interesting! DATE:  July 10, 2010 TIME:  12pm - 3pm LOCATION: Lemon Grove branch of the San Diego Public Library:  8073 Broadway, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 RSVP:  Not required, but if you know you're coming, it'd be good to know!  Email sdEvents@TheCMG.com if you think you'll be there! EVENT COST: This is a free event. DESCRIPTION:    When openly gay librarian Jennifer T. suggested a "Pride" program at her Lemon Grove library to celebrate gay writing and authors, she was met with a very cautious okay.  So far, response has mostly been from those opposed to the event and she is really hoping for turnout from the community to show that we value our libraries and their role in sharing our world through books and other media.  This sounds like a great chance to enjoy a valuable program AND let the public know we do support our own in education.  And we just learned that the city library systems is watching Lemon Grove as a test of whether to implement this citywide next year!  So Jennifer has really put it on the line for our community. Once upon a not-too-long ago, books by Oscar Wilde and Quentin Crisp would have been unfindable…novels like "Tales of the City" and "Dancer from the Dance" would have been banned…movies like "Milk", "Go Fish", and "The Celluloid Closet" could not have been checked out.  Open-minded librarians and administration are the salvation of young people craving a connection to the gay world and help the straight world learn about who we really are. Here's Jennifer's description of the event: A Pride Celebration: A Festival of Literature, Music & More!!! Music by Lisa Sanders, Mary Dolan & The Gay Men's Chorus Ensemble! Speakers Sally Hall & Toni Duran! Six Authors! Henna Tattoos Gay/Lesbian Themed Storytime! The hip-hop themed Kruciaal Element Dancers! Emcee for the day: Former SD Pride Director Ron deHarte!!!  Even health screenings! The first 100 after 12pm to check out 15 library items will receive a pair of Padres Tickets. At 3pm the first 20 folks that check out 50 items will receive a 1 day pass to the sold out Comic Con!!!   Spread the word... Please post on your FB Wall and tell lots of supportive folks! Come together for an interested afternoon of focus on the books that shaped our community, the men and women who dared to write them, and today's gay authors, some of whom will be featured and present. Note:  CMG will probably be able to staff a table at the event at no cost to us!  Still working out those details but please let us know at sdEvents@TheCMG.com if you would be willing to greet people at that table on behalf of CMG. By all means, invite any friends of the community regardless of gender or orientation to lend our mutual support and learn together. Afterward, if the mood strikes some of us, we may go out for a bite to eat together in the area. What to Bring: Nothing special, but if you happen to own a CMG T-shirt or sweatshirt, please wear it to help us find each other...especially newcomers to the group! Parking: There is free parking at the library and at the church across the street, though car pooling is  encouraged. All CMG events are drug free. This event is also alcohol free. Sponsored by the CMG Local Events Committee in San Diego. All men, local or visiting, are welcome. Please feel free to bring along a friend (or 2!) you would like to introduce to the CMG.   _____________________________________________________________ The California Men's Gatherings (CMG) is a statewide community of thousands of men who get together for a wide range of local events -- from the healing to the hilarious, and the sacred to the silly -- from personal growth workshops to pool parties to theater outings and our very own trademark Puppy Piles.  Plus we host three annual Gatherings and two annual Weekends that some call "Summer Camp for Men."    Since 1978 , CMG has been a place where all men -- gay, bi, trans and straight, from 18-80+ can find a different way to connect -- more openly...more honestly...with less fear... and a lot more fun, with some truly unique and supportive men.   If you have never been to a CMG Gathering, Weekend or Local Event, this is a great way to find out about the California Men's Gatherings and the many wonderful men who attend our three annual Gatherings, two annual Weekends and our many Local Events. (Click here for more details on CMG).   The men who attend our Gatherings, Weekends and Local Events are a diverse group of men of varying ages, beliefs, religious traditions, and spiritual practices.   We have differently-abled men and men from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds.   While CMG attendees are predominately gay and bisexual, all men 18 years or older are welcome, including those who are transgender or straight.   _____________________________________________________________ To the CMG Website | Events Page