Friend, there are so many events and opportunities to support our LGBTQ+ community this month. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to catch it all, including multiple Trans Day of Visibility events, Dining Out for Life, scholarships, Drag Takeover Disney Edition, and much more, including a sneak peek at the brand new PFLAG SDC Book Club!
Also just a reminder that memberships expired on December 31, but it’s not too late to renew or become a member for the first time. Your membership allows us to continue our work as allies for the LGBTQ+ community. We provide support, education, and advocacy for members of the community and their friends and families. We need you! Please sign up today. And thank you to everyone who became a new member or renewed their membership last month!
👸 Drag Takeover Disney Edition 🧜🏽♀️
On March 29, from 7:00-10:00 pm, you can support NC Center’s Pride by the Beach by attending the Drag Takeover, Disney Edition at the Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros, Solana Beach. This helps Pride by the Beach remain a free event. And it’s not too soon to mark your calendars for the Festival, which takes place on June 11.
Transgender Day of Visibility Flag Raising
Please join The San Diego LGBT Center for the Transgender Pride Flag Raising on Thursday, March 31 from 10:00-11:00 am. The event will take place at the Hillcrest Pride Flag, 1500 University Avenue in Hillcrest.
Enjoy the flag-raising ceremony along with trans and nonbinary vendors and artists. An open podium will be available to encourage our community to share what transgender and nonbinary visibility means to them.
🏳️⚧️ Transgender Day of Empowerment
The Transgender Day of Empowerment will be held virtually on Friday, April 8 from 6:00-8:00 pm. Join San Diego Pride as the community celebrates the rich diversity of San Diego’s transgender community.This year’s program will be virtual to keep our community safe and will include trans speakers, community awards, and the announcement of the 8th Annual Tracie Jada O’Brien Transgender Student Scholarship recipients! The event will stream on Pride’s Facebook and YouTube. The link will be available a week before the event.
For more information, contact info@sdpride.org.
Pride Youth Art Show 🎨
The Pride Youth Art Show will be held on April 9th from 5 – 7 p.m. San Diego Pride Youth Programs invite you to join the Youth Art Show, a space that showcases young local LGBTQIA+ artists and performers. Art is a positive form of expression, and we welcome the opportunity to encourage our youth to share their stories with loved ones, friends, and the community. This year’s theme is Justice with Joy. The event is being held at the San Diego Pride Office, 3620 30th Street in North Park.
San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus: Broadway, Our Way 🎤
Broadway, Our Way will be presented on April 23 at 8:00 pm and April 24 at 3:00 pm at Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Avenue, downtown. By popular demand, the Chorus returns with Broadway melodies! As you can expect, there are over-the-top numbers and some of their favorites from the Broadway songbook! For tickets: https://sdgmc.org/event/broadway-our-way/.
Dining Out For Life 🧑🍳
You can be a lifesaver. The Center’s 16th Annual Dining Out for Life® is Thursday, April 28, 2022. Dozens of participating restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, and nightclubs in San Diego will donate a minimum of 25% of sales for The Center’s HIV/AIDS services and prevention programs. For restaurant locations: https://thecentersd.org/dofl-locations/
If you would like to volunteer as a goodwill ambassador at any of the locations, you can sign up at MyImpactPage.com
Here Comes The Sun, Songs Of Hope ☀️
San Diego Women’s Chorus
Celebrating their 35th anniversary, the Chorus presents Here Comes the Sun, Songs of Hope on April 30 & May 1. It is being held at Patrick Henry High School, 6702 Wandermere Drive in San Carlos. They are thrilled to announce that it’s their first in-person concert since the start of the pandemic. It is a vibrant celebration of the power of community and a tribute to the joy of renewal and hope. For tickets: www.sdwc.org.
More Scholarships! 🤑
While the PFLAG SDC scholarship deadline has passed, there are still more scholarship opportunities. Lambda Archives is accepting applications for the Larry T. Baza Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship provides a measure of financial stability to students living in San Diego, Northern Baja California and/or Imperial County region who are both LGBTQ+ and one of the following identities: Chicana/o/x, Latinx, or Chamorro (Guamanian).
Criteria: Provide proof of acceptance to or enrollment in community college located in San Diego or Imperial County Region; attach a video, audio, visual, or written essay on any obstacles you had to overcome in pursuit of attending college. The deadline to apply is May 1, 2022. You may apply here:
VIDA LGBTQ Latinx Scholarships are open to LGBTQ Latinx individuals who have made a positive impact in our community and plan to change the world for the better. Scholarships are open to those individuals attending school in Tijuana, BC, MX or San Diego County. The scholarships will open on April 1 and the deadline is May 31, 2022. To apply, visit https://vida.community/scholarship.
Out at the Park ⚾️
San Diego Pride’s Out at the Park will be held on Friday, May 6 as the Padres take on the Marlins at 6:40 pm. Tickets are $35, but will be discounted if we purchase 10 or more tickets together. If anyone is interested in going as a group, please contact scohenrichards@pflag.com.
There is a “Tailgate Party” happy hour event in SD Pride’s decked-out space from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in Gallagher Square (formerly Park in the Park). Note that food and drinks are not included in the ticket price. Besides the pre-game gathering, the ticket price includes a seat in Pride’s section, a commemorative Out at the Park Padres hat, and a $10 donation to San Diego Pride. You can also buy individual tickets at padres.com/pride.
🏳️⚧️ Pledge to Take the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey (also includes allies)
Please pre-register using the link below; when the survey is available, you will be sent a link to respond.
The U.S. Trans Survey (USTS) is the largest survey of trans people in the United States. The USTS documents the lives and experiences of trans people in the U.S. and U.S. territories. The request is for all trans people ages 16 and up to complete. It’s inclusive of people of all trans identities, including binary and nonbinary trans identities, and also includes allies of the trans community. It’s no secret that transgender people face discrimination and violence throughout society, from their family growing up, in school, at work, by homeless shelters, by doctors, in emergency rooms, before judges, by landlords, and police officers.
Go to https://www.ustranssurvey.org, use the button below, or look for the link on our Facebook page and website.
Sneak Peek: PFLAG SDC Book Club!
That’s right, PFLAG San Diego County is starting a book club! Look for details in next month’s newsletter, but we are planning an online book club where we can all read the same book and then meet for a lively discussion over Zoom. Discussion will be facilitated by PFLAG SDC Newsletter editor Louise Julig, and the first meeting will likely take place late May or early June.
If you want to get a jump on your reading, the first book will be Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen, by Jazz Jennings.
If you buy the book on Amazon, be sure to sign up for Amazon Smile first (see how at the end of the newsletter) so your purchase benefits PFLAG SDC. If you’re more of an indie bookstore person, you can find it on Louise’s Bookshop.org shop (proceeds will benefit Strong-Hearted Native Women’s Coalition as well as indie bookstores) or you can request it at any local bookstore or your library. If audiobooks are more your thing, check out the indie-supporting Libro.com. We look forward to reading with you!
Carlsbad High GSA “Don’t Say Gay” Protest
Carlsbad High School’s Gender Sexuality Alliance organized a street corner protest at the corner of Carlsbad Blvd. and Carlsbad Village Drive on the afternoon of Friday, March 18th. The protest was in reaction to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was recently signed into law by Florida Governor De Santis. Officially known as the “Parental Rights in Education Bill,” HB 1557 bans discussion of LGBTQ+ identity in classrooms and forces school authorities to out students to their parents. While the bill is nothing to celebrate, there was a lot of positive energy and support during the colorful protest. Passers-by waved, honked horns, and sometimes even joined in to say “It’s Okay to Say Gay,” and “We Will Not Be Erased.”
To My Daughter, With Love
From Jamie Lee Curtis
Last year, Jamie Lee Curtis announced that her second child is transgender and that she would be officiating her wedding. Curtis recently tweeted, “Happy birthday Ruby. I am proud 2 be your mother & am sending support 2 all trans families across the US targeted by conservative legislatures & I VOW 2 use my freedom of speech 2 SUPPORT my child & ALL trans children trying 2 live FREELY as who they are.” Her message included the above photo.
Curtis has been active in LGBTQ rights for a while. In 2020, she announced she would produce, direct, and star in How We Sleep at Night: The Sara Cunningham Story, a film about a real-life “devout Christian mother [who learns] to come to terms with her son being gay” and goes on to found the “Free Mom Hugs” organization to support LGBTQ people.
It’s always great to have someone with such a powerful voice as Jamie Lee Curtis as an ally!
Women of Distinction
Congratulations to The Center’s Pamuela Halliwell (she/her), Staff Counselor; Rebekah Hook-Held (she/her), Chief Public Affairs & Civic Engagement Officer; Cara Dessert (she/her), Chief Executive Officer; Carolina Alcoser Ramos (she/her), Client Crisis Responder & Community Advocate. These outstanding women are being recognized for their contributions to the LGBTQ community during Women’s History Month!
Cara and Carolina were named Women of the District by Senator Toni Atkins, and Pamuela and Rebekah were named Women of Distinction by District 3 Councilmember Stephen Whitburn and District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo, respectively. You have made the community proud.
😍 Thank You To Our Donors! 😍
Thanks to the following individuals who donate monthly to PFLAG San Diego County. A monthly donation helps provide predictable sources of funding for our programs and scholarships and we appreciate it very much!
Anna Covici
Lonnie Brunini
Maureen Steiner
Michael Wasilewski
PFLAG T-Shirts for Sale!
Make a fashion statement! For sale are PFLAG San Diego County 100% cotton T-shirts. It’s a mauve shirt with the PFLAG SDC logo on the back and a heart with the word “family” in different languages on the upper right on the front. Shirts can be purchased for $10 each. Sizes are Small through X-Large. To purchase, please contact scohenrichards@pflag.com.
Support Groups
❗️Note: some support group information has changed since last month
Support groups will continue to meet virtually until further notice. Check individual group for details. We encourage you to contact your support group facilitator at any time, as they will remain excellent resources for information. The support group locations, dates, and times will continue to be posted on the PFLAG San Diego County Facebook page. You can join in any of the digital meetings. For Zoom links, contact each support group.
Do You Shop On Amazon?
If you have an account with Amazon, you can help our chapter every time you shop. Go to smile.Amazon.com and search for PFLAG San Diego County. For every purchase, our chapter will receive .05% of the dollar amount of the order. This may not sound like a lot, but it adds up. So turn your Amazon habit into support for PFLAG!
Our Vision
PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Our Mission
By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through: Support for families, allies and people who are LGBTQ+; Education for ourselves and others about the unique issues and challenges facing people who are LGBTQ+; Advocacy in our communities to change attitudes and create policies and laws that achieve full equality for people who are LGBTQ+.
