William Way LGBT Community Center will stage its annual Homecoming celebration in a new space this year, one whose mission is fitting with the event title.
Homecoming will be held 7-10 p.m. June 6 at the John C. Anderson Apartments, 249 S. 13th St., the affordable, LGBT-friendly senior-living facility that opened earlier this year.
The celebration will be held in the JCAA courtyard, with dinner by Giorgio on Pine, as well as an open wine and beer bar, cocktails, a silent auction and live entertainment.
Chris Bartlett, executive director of the center, said the new space was a perfect fit for the fourth-annual fundraiser.
“Since John C. Anderson Apartments opened this year and since the center is doing the senior programming at the apartments, we wanted to invite the community into the fabulous courtyard and allow people to have the Homecoming experience in this wonderful new space,” Bartlett said.
Performers will include Dena Underwood, who Bartlett said will give guests a preview of the jazz stylings they’ll be treated to at this fall’s OutBeat festival, the nation’s first LGBT jazz festival, hosted by the center.
“It’ll be an early taste of the LGBT jazz festival in September that we’re gearing up for,” Bartlett said.
The event will also include the unveiling of the 2014 Homecoming Court. This year’s court includes Eric Ashton, Heather Coutts aka Lascivious Jane, Jasper Liem, Meg Rider, Jeff Shablin and Elizabeth Coffey Williams.
The community leaders were nominated and selected by a Homecoming planning committee.
Bartlett said all have committed significant time and energy to both the community and the center.
“The court represents community members who have been really invested in the community and at William Way, and who have been making a difference in what the planning committee deemed to be powerful ways,” Bartlett said. “Whether it’s in the business world or the nonprofit world or as a volunteer, this particular court represents individuals who have shown real dedication.”
Bartlett added that this year’s new location will make for a particularly festive celebration for Homecoming, held the night before the Pride festivities.
“This is the first time we’ve done a garden party so I think it’s going to be a wonderful expression of community on Pride weekend,” Bartlett said. “We’re going to be celebrating William Way and John C. Anderson Apartments and we’ll have a really diverse representation of community members to help us do that.”
Tickets are $50 for general admission or $35 for seniors, students or non-drinkers. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.waygay.org.