IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jason Kildall – MCP Committee chair
Tel: 509-438-5433
Email: midcolumbiapride@gmail.com

Mid-Columbia PRIDE invites you to join us at the 2009
“Coming Home with PRIDE” Festival and Parade.

The third annual Mid-Columbia Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender PRIDE will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 18th-19th in the Tri-Cities.

Saturday will begin with Mens Kickball and Lesbian Softball Expo and then a W4W social at 4:00pm. The evening will end with the 2009 Miss Gay Columbia Basin Pageant from 9:00pm to 2:00am.

Starting at 10:00am on Sunday the PRIDE parade will begin at Out & About in Pasco and end at Memorial Park where from 11:00am-4:00pm the festival will take place. A diverse and entertaining line-up of performers is being assembled for your enjoyment at Memorial Park! The stage will present non-stop entertainment on Sunday. Topping off the PRIDE weekend with a Pink Party from 6:00pm to 2:00am that evening.

Detailed Schedule:
Saturday, July 18th, 2008
• Women’s Softball Expo 11am Memorial Park, Pasco WA
• Gay Boys' Kickball 1p Memorial Park, Pasco WA
• Woman 4 Woman Social at 4:00pm @ Out & About, Pasco WA
• Miss Gay Columbia Basin Pageant 2009, 9:00pm to 2:00am @ Out & About, Pasco WA ($10 cover)

Sunday, July 19th, 2008
• Mid-Columbia “Coming Home with PRIDE” Parade 2009, 10:00am,
From Out & About down Clark St to Memorial Park, Pasco WA
• Mid-Columbia “Coming Home with PRIDE” Celebration 2009, 11:00am-4:00pm
@ Memorial Park, Pasco WA
• The Pink Party, 6:00pm to 2:00am @ Out & About, Pasco WA

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June 16, 2009

Violence increases dramatically in Mid-West; number of murders at the highest level since 1999; NCAVP calls for education and prevention efforts.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Roberta Sklar: (917)704-6358 (c)

New York- Violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people increased 2% from 2007 to 2008, continuing the trend of a 24% total increase in 2007, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP)'s 2008 Hate Violence Report. Bias-related murders were at their highest rate since 1999 with 29 known anti-LGBT murders committed in 2008. Reports of violence in Milwaukee increased 64% and Minnesota and Chicago saw increases of 48% and 42%, respectively.

"We are deeply troubled about the 2008 statistics for a number of reasons including the fact that increases in victimization in the Upper Midwest far exceed the national increase of 2%. With Minnesota's 48% increase in 2008 and continued multi-year trend of such increases, we are concern for the safety of all GLBT Minnesotans even as we continue to work for equality," said Rebecca Waggoner Kloek, Anti-Violence Program Director of NCAVP member organization OutFront Minnesota.

NCAVP, a coalition of over 35 local anti-violence programs across the U.S, releases an annual report on anti-LGBT hate violence. The 2008 annual Hate Violence Report examines data compiled from 2,424 LGBTQ people who experienced hate violence in regions across the country including Chicago, IL; Colorado; Columbus, OH; Houston, TX; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles, CA; Michigan; Milwaukee, WI; Minnesota; New York, NY; Pennsylvania; Rochester, NY; and San Francisco, CA.

http://www.latimes.com LOS ANGELES -- An openly gay teen has been voted prom queen at his Los Angeles high school in a campaign that began as a stunt but ended up spurring discussion on the campus about gender roles and popularity.

Sergio Garcia said he felt "invincible" when he was crowned queen of the Fairfax High School dance at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday.

Days before the dance, Garcia told fellow students that he was "not your typical prom queen candidate. There's more to me than meets the eye."