6/1/09

We're Out and Proud!

The dust has settled, I’ve caught up on my sleep and my computer is working again. Finally, I can report that The Upper Delaware GLBT Center had its ‘coming out party’ and a great celebration it was. Our first meet and greet was a huge success. Somewhere between 150 and 200 people packed into the UpFront Exhibition Space in Port Jervis, NY. Our thanks to Debbie Raia and Gordon Graff who so generously provided their gallery for our event. What a perfect venue and what wonderful hosts!

We shared wine, food, stories and laughs. We listened to some great live music compliments of Colin Fricke and friends and viewed some awesome art. More than ten artists contributed over 50 works of art for our unique show, “Expressions of Gender.” Our thanks to artists Ricky Boscarino, Greg Hicho, Edward Hicks, Alan Kaplan, John Kirslis, David Lord, Debora Meltz, Seven Riddle, Mark Silverstone, Beverly Stern, and Greg Zukowski for sharing their talent. A special thank you to Debora Meltz who did a great job coordinating the art show (she made programs and name tags too) in spite of having to make an emergency trip to Florida when her 89 year old mother, who is apparently made of rubber, got into a car accident. Mom is fine, the car is totaled and Debora earned the name Ms. Frazzled.

We raffled off a coupon for a cake by ‘Fabio’ Disla, and then enjoyed the delicious sample! Next was a drawing for a beautiful floral arrangement donated by “Dominick”. Following a brief speech, in which I forgot to thank everyone, Danielle Gaebel and I unveiled our awesome logo. Danielle and Lori Malone from the River Reported and Stuart Communication Creative Services did an incredible job creating such a great image and new look for The Upper Delaware GLBT Center. The logo is as beautiful as the business cards, brochures and invitation to the event, which they also designed. The Waterwheel CafĂ© and The Patisserie Fauchere, along with many friends of the UDGLBT donated food adding to the assortment of cheeses and scrumptious treats, which were all provided by an anonymous donor and dear friend who also generously supplied a variety of wines and soft drinks. The food was prepared and served by Nikki Saurez and Vilma Melendez, and Arnold Green took care of the bar while Dianna Morrison staffed the membership table. Our thanks to all of you!

Finally, to the many friends of the UDGLBT who attended this event, became Charter Members, helped where needed, brought food, wine and good wishes for our new organization, we thank you. You have given us the confidence to move forward. It was wonderful to see so many people there, to feel the energy and to know we have such a great and growing family.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I love udglbtcenter.blogspot.com! Here I always find a lot of helpful information for myself. Thanks you for your work.
Webmaster of http://loveepicentre.com and http://movieszone.eu
Best regards