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Author: Christine Hawes

Walkers, runners, pageant contestants sought by Southern Illinois Pride group

Walkers, runners, pageant contestants sought by Southern Illinois Pride group

Apr 23, 2023 | , , ,

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — It’s been four years since Southern Illinois chose its first-ever Pride Royalty. Blanche DuBois and Faim Lee Jewls have been volunteering as ambassadors for the art of drag, and for LGBTQ+ Pride, since then.

On May 13, that all changes. Drag veteran Jodie Santana is overseeing Southern Illinois’ first Pride Royalty Pageant in four years. To bring out more contestants, and to counter anti-drag sentiments that emerged over the past year in neighboring states, Pride in Action-Southern Il. is opening the pageant up to any competitors within a 150-mile radius. That includes Kentucky and Missouri.

Learn more about the Pageant, how to attend or get involved, and other pride efforts in southern Illinois.

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Carbondale candidates turn out for LGBTQ forum, plus puppet-making, prom attire, three big Rainbow Cafe events, more

Carbondale candidates turn out for LGBTQ forum, plus puppet-making, prom attire, three big Rainbow Cafe events, more

Mar 22, 2023 | , , , ,

Six of seven Carbondale City Council candidates are slated to participate in tonight’s candidate forum on LGBTQ issues.

That’s the first of many progressive, LGBTQ affirming and intersectional events coming up in southern Illinois.

Learn in our Weekly Update about workshops for the upcoming All Species Puppet Parade, a youth prom closet by Alton Pride, and an important milestone for the SOIL Sisters.

Plus, Carbondale United wants you! The nonprofit is looking for a programming director; read about the position here.

And find all about the latest run of Rainbow Cafe special events coming March 31, April 2 and April 8. Read on!

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Harrisburg restaurant, drag community, LGBTQ youth group weather religious furor spreading to library board elections

Harrisburg restaurant, drag community, LGBTQ youth group weather religious furor spreading to library board elections

Mar 15, 2023 | , , , ,

HARRISBURG, IL — First, a coalition of conservative Christian churches began attacking an LGBTQ youth group, calling it a recruitment tool to the “transsexual and homosexual lifestyle.”

Then, the coalition attacked the public library, and a moderate local church. Next up: drag performers and the gay-owned restaurant that started hosting them.

Now, two anti-LGBTQ candidates are running for the Harrisburg Public Library Board.

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Events planned across Iowa to fight anti-LGBTQ bills

Events planned across Iowa to fight anti-LGBTQ bills

Mar 2, 2023 | , , ,

You can join five events coming up to protest or learn about the anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in the Iowa Legislature.

Find out about events happening this Sunday in Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa City.

Also coming up: the online “Urgent Meeting for Iowa Trans* Families,” a chance to focus in on proposals affecting transgender youth and their families. Those bills are the ones likely to make it through this Friday’s “funnel” for committee approval.

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One Iowa Action posts tracking page for Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ+ proposals

One Iowa Action posts tracking page for Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ+ proposals

Mar 1, 2023 | , , , ,

One Iowa Action has a page tracking 29 bills that include measures considered anti-LGBTQ+ .

The page, an annual service by the lobbying arm of One Iowa, is gaining even more focus this year. Iowa is among 14 states noted by the ACLU as having a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed among state legislators.

Here’s a look at the One Iowa Action tracking page, some of the bills it’s tracking, and Iowa’s overall legislative process, including its “funnel weeks” — one of which ends this Friday.

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Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show

Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show

Feb 25, 2023 | , , , , , ,

Kamrah is a trans-masculine belly-dancer from Chicago who defies stereotypes and will headline the Rainbow Variety Show in Carbondale tonight.

As someone who also studies microbiology and anatomy, and identifies as autistic and a “geek,” Kamrah also brings a new level to the term “intersectional.”

Read about Kamrah and other local performers who will take the Rainbow Variety Show stage tonight in Carbondale. The featured performers include author Rafael Frumkin, dancers Kimea Rhines and Darryl clark, vocalist and sound healer Pat York, and acoustic performers Shane Bruce, Jacqui, Elana Floyd-Kennett, Shane Bruce, and Curt Wilson.

The show raises money for the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center and its work of LGBTQ support and social opportunities, HIV and AIDS testing, harm reduction, and more.

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Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate

Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate

Jan 26, 2023 | , , , , ,

Angela Trudell Vasquez is the first-ever Latino poet laureate for Madison, Wis., a community with a thriving poetry scene.

She’ll speak Thursday, Jan. 26, as part of Galena LitFest in a presentation available in-person and online.

Learn about Vasquez’ childhood in Iowa City and Des Moines, her commitment to both editing and free-writing, and her many projects to bring the beauty of poetry alive for students and others.

Her talk tonight starts at 6 p.m.; pre-registration is required for both online and in-person attendance.

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Kings and Queens Club in Waterloo will reopen no matter what, owner vows

Kings and Queens Club in Waterloo will reopen no matter what, owner vows

Jan 20, 2023 | , , , ,

John Hayes vows to keep Kings and Queens Club, Waterloo’s only LGBTQ+ bar, open no matter what.

He announced the bar’s temporary closing right after New Year’s and now has at least a dozen people who have made serious inquiries.

Kings and Queens Club opened in 2001 under Jona Von Blaricom, and Hayes took over in 2011. The bar has a long history of supporting causes and nonprofits and bringing out a spirit of LGBTQ+ acceptance in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area.

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New Bolingbrook youth program helps fill growing mental health support needs of LGBTQ youth

New Bolingbrook youth program helps fill growing mental health support needs of LGBTQ youth

Jan 19, 2023 | , , , , ,

The new Bolingbrook Pride LGBTQ youth program provides a monthly drop-in “safe space” for youth in Bolingbrook and Romeoville.

Allies and partners in the project include the Valley View School District, a University of Chicago professor, a suburban Chicago all-LGBTQ+ counseling service, and PFLAG Bolingbrook. Read about how this new drop-in program helps build on existing efforts in public schools and by other groups to help LGBTQ+ youth feel safe and accepted.

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Rainbow Cafe renovation aims for March opening of new Carbondale headquarters

Rainbow Cafe renovation aims for March opening of new Carbondale headquarters

Jan 16, 2023 | , , ,

Rainbow Cafe aims to have its new headquarters in downtown Carbondale open for business by the end of March.

The new 3,000-square-foot space across the street from Carbondale’s Town Square will host Rainbow Cafe’s programming, AIDS and HIV testing, case management, office space, and a stage and open area for special events. Read about the renovation effort by and for Rainbow Cafe, which serves 20 southern Illinois counties with not only LGBTQ+ support services, but also harm reduction and other quality of life initiatives.

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