UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to a change in plans, I’m not going to be at PASS Summit this year, so I won’t be hosting this meetup in 2017. Check out details here.
Last year, I organized an (unofficial) PASS Summit LGBT Meetup. It was a bit of a last-minute party, and more than once I found myself saying, “Worst case scenario, I’ll end up having a chill cocktail party with some friends.” Turns out, I under estimated myself: I sold out of (free) tickets, the room was at full capacity, we raised over $3000 for The Trevor Project, and everyone had a great time.
In June, the LGBT+ community celebrates Pride Month, to coincide with the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City. Pride Month gives us a time to celebrate that we are proud to be ourselves, and that we aren’t ashamed to identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, straight, another label, no label, etc. Pride is a time to build our community, to promote equality, to be accepted, and to just have fun.
Let’s do it again
As Pride Month comes to a close, I thought it would be a good time for me to come out with the news that I’m going to organize another LGBT+ Meetup at PASS Summit this year. Summit is still a few months away, and I don’t have any details set yet–but I thought it was timely to offer the commitment to do another meetup. I’m not sure if two years in a row qualifies this as an “annual event,” but I’m hoping that this can become a long-running yearly event.
What’s my plan?
The meetup will be just up the hill from the Washington State Convention Center, somewhere in Capitol Hill (Seattle’s gayborhood).
The meetup will be free for anyone who wants to attend. Depending on the venue’s capacity, I may need to do ticket reservations–but it’s important that this be a free & accessible event.
I’ll do another fundraiser to coincide with the meetup, in order to support an LGBT+ cause. Donations will be optional, but awesome.
The meetup will be a welcoming and safe place. Harassment and hate are not welcome at my events.
The meetup is 100% altruistic. I organize it so that like-minded people can get together. I’ve had a couple sponsors friends approach me and offer to fund a food & beverage tab. I want to be completely clear–sponsors aren’t getting your names, they aren’t doing this for marketing. It really is pure altruism, to support both the PASS community and the LGBT community.
I’ll figure out the details later
As the time draws closer, I’ll post again with all the details of when, where, etc, so watch this space. If you were at last year’s event, and have feedback for me, please comment below, or email me (andy {at} am2 {dot} co).
See you at Summit.