There’s still time for Pride before the fall

By Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

When it comes to Pride events, it’s important to look past the billowing rainbow flags, past the sequined queens in tall shoes and even taller wigs, even past the community members who have come to either show pride in their LGBTQ status or their support as allies.

Newport’s first Pride event — Friday, Sept. 16, through Sunday, Sept. 18 — is packed with fun activities, but the most important people are the ones who probably won’t be there.

“When we talk about Pride, what we are really talking about is suicide prevention,” event organizer CM Hall said. “Pride is about affirmation, validating marginalized identities and the message that we are sending to people, especially kids, who are LGBTQ or are questioning and still living with fear or shame, is that we accept you, we love you, we celebrate you.”

The events begin on Friday with a pub crawl and a screening of the film, “Love, Simon” at the Newport Performing Arts Center.

The first major motion picture to show how a family deals with a teenage son coming out as gay, the film has been embraced by the queer community and widely positively reviewed by critics.

“Everyone knows someone or has someone in the family that is LGTBQ,” Hall said. “‘Love Simon’ is such a great movie for the message of how we in the community support our families.”

Saturday begins with the Super Queer Fun Fair at the Newport Recreation Center, with more than 22 booths of local and national resources, food, art and fun, and ends with the Fabulous Formal at the Primaltones Event Venue.

On Sunday, the Family and Friends Picnic at South Beach State park will be a potluck-style meal with live music provided by Grammy Award-winning musician Rand Bishop and Kathy Redwine. The event ends with the Pride Afterparty and Brew Launch Party at the Rogue Brewery, where a new Pride-themed brew will be launched.

Leading up to the big weekend, a few smaller events have already taken place, like a screening of “Kinky Boots” at the Newport Performing Arts Center. But it was an earlier event in the initial planning stages that really cemented Hall’s intention to move forward with the full event.

“One of the ways we were affirmed that Newport was ready for this was when we had our first fundraiser at Beir One in June and the theme was to dress in a color of the rainbow,” she said. “The owner had the idea based on the red dress parties in Portland, which are fundraisers for HIV/AIDS. The fact that he wanted us, even though he is not part of the queer community, to have the party there was the first signal. It was standing room only and spilled out into the street. It was a permission slip to not just be out about queer status, but also for non-queer people to be out about their ally-ship.”

A more formal form of support has come from the Newport City Council, which issued a proclamation declaring September 2022 “Newport’s LGBTQ Pride Month.” And, a rainbow flag will fly over City Hall for a week.

“I have known people that left the coast because they felt that they weren’t welcome here,” said Hall, who came out as queer in 1994, and who ran for and was elected to Newport City Council in 2018.

“We are literally giving Newport the opportunity to prove we are, as the town motto says, ‘The Friendliest,’” she said.

The support Hall has received as she has moved forward with planning and fund-raising for the event was definitely not limited to people in the queer community or politics.

“I have met so many people that have said ‘It’s about time,’ and they weren’t even members of the queer community, they were allies,” Hall said. “We are stronger together. Allies are the ones that pass the laws and that help us make real changes. Who are our sponsors? Allies. Everything we are planning is for allies too.”

The support has not been unanimous, but Hall said that is par for the course and hardly a reason to veer from it.

“I have heard from a detractor or two,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what year it is, there are always going to be people who need to express their negative feelings. But that is not us, we are a community with LGBTQ people working here, contributing here, providing art, science and public service. We’re here, it’s just time to celebrate and show welcome. And we want the message to go out to people in the queer community, especially the young ones, that we want you here, and we want you to live.”

For more information and a full list of event times and locations, go to newportpride.us.