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| Out in Durango SideStory: Gay Mountain Fest rolls into Durango
by Missy Votel
The first-ever Four Corners Pride Festival will be held Sat., June 26, in Rotary Park. The aim of the event, which includes food, music, a beer garden and kids activities, is to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community in the Four Corners while raising awareness of rural LGBTQ populations. “We are trying to come out and celebrate the diversity in the area,” said Greg Weiss, Four Corners Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Diversity (4cGLAD) Executive Director. “We do live here. We’re your neighbors, your school teachers, your doctors. We’re just like any resident of the area.” According to fellow 4cGLAD member Diane Morazon, the day is not just about the LGBTQ community, but their straight friends, family, allies and anyone in the region who supports diversity. “You don’t have to be gay to like gay pride,” she said. “It’s about saying, ‘I like diversity. I like my gay friends and coworkers and neighbors. Let’s come together and party.’” Weiss said the event is regional, reaching out to all areas of the Four Corners. It will also be a family-friendly event with kids activities. “There are a lot of gay and lesbians who have children in the area, and we want their children, and children of their straight allies, to feel welcome,” he said. Weiss also said the event is a good time for those uncomfortable with their sexuality to begin to find self-acceptance. “A big part is to show people who are still in the closet that it’s OK to be who you are,” he said. The seeds for the festival were first planted last February by local students who attended the Colorado Queer Youth Summit in Denver. “They came back fired up and told us they wanted to do a pride fest,” said Weiss.
The seeds for the festival were first planted last February by local students who attended the Colorado Queer Youth Summit in Denver. “They came back fired up and told us they wanted to do a pride fest,” said Weiss. Buoyed by the success of 4cGLAD’s annual picnic/potluck as well as 2008’s Out on the Colorado Plateau summit, a two-day event attended by 175 people and put on by straight allies at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, Weiss believed the idea would fly. “I think Durango’s on the cusp,” he said. “It’s time to bring our barbecue into town.” Sage Grey, an upcoming senior at Fort Lewis College and president of FLC’s Prism, was among the students who attended the Denver summit. He said went in order to learn ways to affect change and wants to use the festival as a way to jumpstart that conversation regionally. “We need to look at how the city is handling the topic of gay rights,” he said. “There are two ways to deal with it – and in the rural community, it’s to ignore it.” He said that although, generally society has grown more accepting of homosexuality and locally some companies provide same-sex partner benefits, steps still need to be taken to legalize gay rights. “Ours is the only discourse still illegal as a minority in the United States because we don’t have enough presence from the gay community,” he said. “There have been no steps in the community to legalize us.” Beyond gay marriage, which Grey called a “religious” custom, he would like to see gays given the same partner benefits and equality afforded other citizens. “I want to be able to not worry about a hate crime, get benefits or be able to see my partner in the hospital if I choose to,” he said. Locally, Prism would like to create a resource center for gender and equality at FLC as well as a safe zone for LGBTQ students. “We need a place for people to meet, ask questions or get help if they’re being harassed,” Grey said. He echoed Weiss’ hopes to reach beyond Durango and into outlying rural areas with the event. Although Durango is fairly accepting, he said there is still a subculture of hatred that exists throughout the Four Corners, most notably exemplified by the murder of Fred Martinez. “In the Four Corners, there have been several murders. It’s not acceptable. People need to feel safe.” But like with other equality movements, from suffrage to civil rights, Grey admitted change won’t happen unless people demand it. “More people need to push for it,” he said. “We need to let people know we are here, and there’s nothing they can do to get rid of us. We can’t change who we are.” •
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The Independent Weekly Line on Durango and Beyond
A different sort of rainbow gathering is coming to Durango.