Thanksgiving can be a wonderful time of year, a time to share a meal and conversation with friends and family.  Some in our LGBTQI family are disenfranchised from their blood families for living and being authentic. This is why it is so important for the Greater Dayton LGBT Center to have an Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for all in our LGBTQIA family, that we may share a meal and conversation and build community together. This year over 100 people came to the Center to share a meal and bring our “Family” together.  Likewise on Thanksgiving Day we opened up the Center again so anyone who does not have family to be with on Thanksgiving, could come share with our chosen family, and together we shared a fantastic meal together, played a few games, and had a fantastic day!

On Christmas day we will open up again so our chosen family can gather, play a few games, and enjoy a wonderful day. No one should be alone for the holidays!

Looking forward into the New Year, the Center has some exciting events coming up.  We have our Annual Women’s Valentines Dance coming up February 9^th.  This year it will be held at the LGBT Center, 24 N. Jefferson St, STE 200 in downtown Dayton with a live DJ, large dance floor, great food and fun for all.  Cost is $10.00 for LGBT members and $15.00 for non-members, membership has its privileges!

On February 23^rd is our 12^th Annual “Bowling for Pride” fundraiser. The event will once again take place at Poelking Lanes, 1403 Wilmington Ave, Dayton. Check it at 1 PM with bowling beginning at 2 PM.  Don’t forget our now famous raffle with all sorts of items for everyone, including your naughty side. This is a fun filled afternoon for the serious, and not so serious, bowlers. In fact the non-so serious is who we cater too! This year you may cut down on the check in time and purchase your tickets and pick your lane ahead of time, just follow this link to get your tickets today.

The Center will be beginning all new support groups in 2019. Please check the website often for the group schedules.

Happy Holidays!

As fall approaches and the seasons began to change, many changes are taking place within the Greater Dayton LGBT Center. Upon your next visit to the center you will find all new flooring and lighting to finish off our new look. We are installing all new cost efficient LED lighting fixtures all throughtout the center. The brighter intensity means better lighting using fewer fixtures and less expense to operate. No longer will you see the dirty old brown carpeting. Instead you will see a rich vinyl flooring that resembles wood flooring and new carpeting that complements the new wall colors and all these changes are just in time for some great up-coming events.

Our first event is a seminar: “Introduction To Banking & Finance.” We have partnered with PNC Bank to bring this informative seminar and workshop to you. So whether you are new to banking and finance or a seasoned account holder this seminar is for you. You will learn how to get the most out of your banking options. So join us September 26 at 7 pm at the Center.

On September 29 is our Fall Community Dinner where doors will open at 5 pm with dinner served at 6 pm. The Center along with our partners will provide the Lasagna as a main dish, please bring a side dish to share. Come for some great food and conversation as we talk about the exciting things happening at our Center and in our community.

October 11th is “National Coming Out Day” and the Center’s “Grand Opening”! Join us at 6 pm for the Grand Opening of our LGBTQ Center as our Center comes out of construction just in time for National Coming Out Day. Join us as we share coming out stories from all era’s and receive a history lesson in the stories themselves. Some came out when it was still illegal to be gay in Ohio while some enjoy walking openly in the streets today while holding hands. Grasp a glimpse of the struggles that got us to this point today and the work still ahead. For our grand opening you will be treated to hors d’oeuvres and a wonderful art show curated by local artist Chris “Red” Newman.

October 12th is the opening night to the Annual LGBT Film Festival at the Neon Theatre which features a entire weekend of wonderful and intriguing LGBT films. Attendees of the Opening Night Film are invited to the OPENING NIGHT PARTY at the Greater Dayton LGBT Center. They will enjoy a complimentary cocktail and delicious appetizers to kick off this year’s fest! (opening night party sponsored by Lisa Hanauer & Sue Spiegel.) The Greater Dayton LGBT Center is pleased to once again sponsor the centerpiece of the Film Festival with the screening of “Wild Nights With Emily.” From writer and director Madeleine Olnek comes a comical look at the life of Emily Dickinson starring the incomparable Molly Shannon as the literary icon. This quirky and irreverent film runs counter to the notion that Dickinson was a lonely spinster. Instead, we get a brighter picture of a more spirited woman who was forced to hide her love affair.

So mark your calendars now for some exciting changes happening at your Greater Dayton LGBT Center!

Join us as The Greater Dayton LGBT Center presents Dayton PRIDE 2018!

A new event added for Dayton PRIDE 2018!

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin: The Gay Pride Weekend Kickoff
Thursday, May 31, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Downtown Dayton Public Library – Main The Eichelberger Forum, 1st Floor

This award-winning documentary examines the life and work of the creator of “Tales of the City” book series and PBS mini-series, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer Jennifer Kroot’s documentary moves nimbly between playful and poignant and laugh-out-loud funny with the help from Maupin’s friends including Neil Gaiman, Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, Sir Ian McKellen and Amy Tan. Maupin offers a disarmingly frank look at the journey that took him from the jungles of Vietnam to life in 1970’s San Francisco to the front line of the American culture war.

Friday, June 1st – Our celebration begins with an “Affair On The Square” from 5 pm to 10 pm, a beer, and food truck rally for the whole community to enjoy.  The Affair will feature entertainment by the Dayton Gay Men’s Chorus and The Rubi Girls.

Following the “Affair On The Square” will be a .5k Bar Crawl From Courthouse Square to what we affectionately call the Fruit Loop. This crawl is approximately .5K where we will be hitting each of the local establishments for a drink.  So plan now to join us for an “Affair On The Square” and the Svedka .5K bar crawl. For tickets, click HERE

Saturday, June 2nd – Dayton PRIDE  once again starts with a hearty breakfast served up at M.J.’s on Jefferson beginning at 9 am.  (Cost is a mere $5.00 donation per person.)

Line up for the Parade begins at 11 am at Cooper Park on the Corner of 2nd & St Clair Streets.  Step off will begin promptly at Noon.  The Parade will turn right from St Clair onto Third Street and proceed to Jefferson Street where the parade will turn right onto Jefferson proceeding down Second Street where it will turn Left.  Once on Second Street, the parade will continue to Main Street where it will turn left and proceed to Courthouse Square to the awaiting crowd of folks to welcome them to our community festival which will take place from Noon until 4 pm.  Dayton PRIDE 2018 will include a children & youth section.  Third Street will be blocked between Main & Ludlow to create this section.  The East end, close to Main Street will feature an Auto Show with both new and classic cars.  The West end will feature a small stage area for youth, children, and more family-friendly entertainment.  This area will have a tent for face painting and exhibitors geared towards a family-friendly atmosphere.  It will also feature a bouncy house for the younger ones to enjoy.

The highlight of every Dayton PRIDE festival will be happening on the Main Stage!  The excitement will continue throughout the day, we have a full line up of great local

photo courtesy of Maria Penelope Kenton

entertainers for your enjoyment!  An insightful group of exhibitors will be sharing their information and services and do not forget the great food and drink, and yes, BEER!

Want to perform on Dayton PRIDE’S Main Stage this year?
Click the link and find the online application here!

On Sunday, this year marks our 3rd edition of Spikes and Heels – A Greater Dayton Pride Kickball Tournament Sunday, June 3rd 12pm-6pm complete with a Beer Tent & Food Trucks.

3rd Annual Spikes & Heels at Greater Dayton Pride Kickball Tournament is an exciting addition to the Greater Dayton Pride events! We invite teams of all athletic abilities to this fun, family-friendly, & fantastic kickball tournament! Come in your best spikes or heels to play or come cheer on your favorite team! 

Join us on Sunday, June 3rd at Burns-Jackson Park, Dayton, OH 45410 from 11am-5pm!

Kickball registration is available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Captains, once available, please fill out an online registration form, and your team will be included in the tournament as soon as we receive your payment in full. Waiver forms must be completed by all team members at check-in at the start of the tournament on Sunday, June 3rd, 2018.

Please consider your donation to the Leon Bey Memorial Library.  Donations to the Leon Bey Memorial Library will provide shelving, books, computers, and monitors where folk can learn and study LGBT history. LGBT history will be taught on a regular basis so many may know where we came from and aspire to bring change in where we are going. To donate, please click HERE

Leon Bey was a long time resident of Dayton. He worked for the Dayton Metro Library for over 30 years and was responsible for many programs at the library.  He was a lover of history and shared his love of history with all who would listen.  Leon was famous for leading history walks through Dayton, often wearing a black cape, speaking fluently of ghosts, long-forgotten business moguls, the Miami-Erie Canal, famous Daytonians, even more famous visitors to Dayton, and murders!

Leon Bey was an active board member of the Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center in the 1980’s and was responsible for programming and growing center attendance.  In 1976 Leon, and then partner David Wright, revived the Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center and kept it from closing.  Bey and Wright wrote the bylaws for the Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center, which still exist today at the Greater Dayton LGBT Center.  Bey led the committee that organized Dayton’s 1st PRIDE celebration in 1987 where the committee picked strawberries by hand and served them for dessert at St. Andrews Church on Salem Ave.

In the early years of the Center, Bey organized  a “Men’s Hour” as well as a “Women’s Hour”. These programs ran from 1976 to 2004, and provided members a safe place to express themselves and be themselves without fear of reprisal.  At the October 2, 2002 meeting the discussion topic was “Just Married: Gay Marriage and the Expansion of Human Rights.” In 2004 the Men’s Hour held open discussion groups and once a month had a community dinner night, a tradition the Greater Dayton LGBT continues on a quarterly basis.

Leon Bey served as President of the Board of the Greater Dayton LGBT Center until 2000 when he suggested his own replacement, although Bey remained on the Board.  In 2000, Bey and new Board President John Gantt, along with the entire LGBT Center Board organized the first ever outdoor Dayton PRIDE celebration which was held on a Friday night on Courthouse Square.  In 2006, the 25th anniversary of the PRIDE celebration in Dayton, Leon Bey and David Wright served as Grand Marshals for the PRIDE parade in recognition of their 30 years of service to the LGBT Community.

Leon Bey remained active with the LGBT community and in 2008 assisted the Center in attempting to establish a permanent home on East Third Street in Dayton. In 2009 he played a crucial role in having the first Ohio Historical Marker which indicates a persons sexual orientation dedicated to Natalie Barney.  The marker was ensconced in Cooper Park in Dayton, adjacent to the Dayton Metro Library, and can still be seen today.

In addition, Leon Bey worked with the Neon Movie Theater to produce “Jim in Bold” in 2006 as a PRIDE month event at the Neon Movie Theater.  “Jim in Bold” is a documentary about Jim Wheeler, a gay high school student in Lebanon, PA who committed suicide in 1997 because of constant harassment at school.  Leon was always searching for the latest in LGBT cinema, art, and theater events that educated and inspired LGBT Center members and the community as a whole.

The excitement is building for Pride 2017 with many festivities just around the corner.  The first Pride event takes place on Wednesday May 31 at 7 pm at the Neon Theater as we screen “Handsome Devil.” This film is about Ned and Conor who are forced to share a bedroom at their boarding school. The loner and the star athlete at this crazy for rugby school where they form an unlikely friendship until it’s tested by the authorities. This is a film you will not want to miss so mark your calendars now for May 31^st.

Then we kick off PRIDE weekend with the “Affair on the Square” on Friday June 2^nd from 5 pm to 10 pm featuring food trucks and of course our famous beer truck. We have some fantastic live entertainment hitting the stage beginning at 6 pm with The Dayton Gay Men’s Chorus.  Headlining the evening’s entertainment is the one and only; The Rubi Girls! The evening is not over yet.  Following the Affair on the Square is our .5K Bar Crawl sponsored by Svedka Vodka.  Tickets for the bar crawl are $15.00 for center members and $20.00 for non-members.  Participants are led by team captains to all four participating bars, Club Masque, M J’s on Jefferson, The Right Corner and The Stage Door.  Your ticket provides a cocktail at each of the bars.  What a fun night!

Saturday June 3^rd starts off with a hearty breakfast beginning at 9 am at M J’s on Jefferson.  The parade begins lining up at 11 am with a check in at Cooper Park on the corner of 2^nd and St Clair Streets.  The parade will step off at noon as it turns right onto Third ST to Jefferson Street.  At Jefferson ST the parade will turn right and proceed north on Jefferson where the parade turns left onto Second ST.  The parade will then progress to Main ST where the Parade will turn left on Main and proceed to Courthouse Square.  Once at Courthouse Square the festivities will go into full swing with the festival running until 4 pm.  But do not worry, PRIDE is not over.  At 8 PM the Dayton Gay Men’s Chorus will be joined by the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and present “A Modern Dance, A Modern Funk” at the Victoria Theatre, in downtown Dayton.

On Sunday June 4^th PFLAG kicks off this PRIDE day with the 2^nd Annual Running With PRIDE 5K run/walk!  The start time is 9 am at Welcome Park, 1601 Edwin C. Moses BLVD, Dayton 45417.  Please register by May 9^th at www.pflagdayton.org.  Winding up our PRIDE weekend is the 2^nd Annual Spikes & Heels Kickball Tournament from Noon to 4 pm. This year the tournament will take place at Belmont Park. Food trucks and beer tent will be available so you may stop by and enjoy the frivolity. This is a super fun event as teams vie for a six foot trophy and named Spikes & Heels Champs!

So get plenty of rest now and join us for a fun and exciting weekend of PRIDE!

Today I am reaching out to all of you asking for your help, I believe you, like the Greater Dayton LGBT Center, have a desire and passion to see our LGBT community advance and grow. For over 40 years the Greater Dayton LGBT Center has been a catalyst for progress and advancement.

The Greater Dayton LGBT Center is very pleased to announce we now
have a brick and mortar home for the Greater Dayton LGBTQA Center
at 24 N. Jefferson Street, Suite 200, Dayton 45402. A home that will
embrace all, so you may know you have come home to a safe and secure
space!

After this past election so many people fear the uncertainty, so perhaps
there has never been a more important time for such a center. While we
have procured the New Center Space we need your help to bring the
whole vision to a reality. First and foremost, we need an angel to provide
new heating and Air for the new space. Our second priority will be the
access control system and ADA approved doors. We want the building to
remain a safe space so a door control system will be necessary to insure
this. Once the control system is installed, members will be able to swipe
their membership cards which will unlock the doors. Non-members will
be able to be buzzed into the space by our receptionist so all may use this
wonderful LGBT educational space which will feature an LGBT library
where our LGBT history is housed and taught. As we well know, LGBT
history is not taught in schools, so this give us this opportunity. Many
of our needs are now listed on our website under the “Donations for
Building” tab. Please consider a donation today. Your donation will make
a direct impact to our local LGBTQA community.

We are a wonderful caring LGBT community. We have survived deep
challenges in our past. We can and will do so again, but we cannot be
afraid to speak and act to ensure the future we want for ourselves, our
children and grandchildren.

Please consider your tax deductible donation today! Help us as we build
our LGBTQA community center into a safe, secure, and educational home
for today and tomorrow. Together We Can!
Sincerely,
Randy Phillips,
President The Greater Dayton LGBT Center
www.daytonlgbtcenter.org  (Click HERE for Donation Form)

Join us for our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. We will supply the Ham, Turkey and mashed potatoes. Bring a side dish to share or a dessert. It is time for our family to get together at our new home, 24 N. Jefferson Street, Suite 200, Dayton 45402

COME ONE, COME ALL, IT’S TIME FOR A BALL!

The Greater Dayton LGBT Center, in recognition of “National Coming Out Day,” is hosting our first ever COMING OUT BALL! The Ball will be held on October 22nd @ 7 P.M. at THE DAYTON RACQUET CLUB in the Kettering Tower, 40 N. Main Street in downtown Dayton. Ticket are $15 for center members and $20 for non-members.

Tickets are available online at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coming-out-ball-tickets-27239036692

Join us and dance the night away while enjoying food, friends, and frivolity! A cash bar will be available for adult beverages. Non-adult beverages will also be readily available!

Come Dressed to Impress and get your tickets today!

For questions feel free to contact (via Facebook or email) Allison Cox: aacox80@gmail.com or Rob Waldren

To reserve your seat click HERE
Sponsored by: Westminster Financial, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC