The organizers of OutFest and Philly Pride are gathering other Pride organizations from around the state for a conference in State College to coincide with Penn State’s LGBT Pride week.
The Keystone Pride Conference, planned by Philly Pride Presents senior advisor Chuck Volz and executive director Franny Price, will help Pride groups network and learn from each other as well as educate and train the next generation of LGBT leaders.
The conference will take place 9 a.m.-noon at the HUB Robeson Center on the university’s main campus. The event is free, but attendees are asked to RSVP.
While most Pride conferences charge membership and attendance fees, which tend to discourage and prohibit smaller Pride groups from attending, Keystone organizers wanted their conference to be free for exactly that reason.
“It’s something we have always talked about doing, and are so excited to finally put something together so we can all meet,” said Volz. “So many groups can’t attend the larger Pride conferences because of the cost.”
“The need for a free or low-cost Pride conference is there for all of us,” he added.
So far, organizations from Philadelphia, South Jersey, Reading, Northeast and Northwest Pennsylvania will be in attendance.
Key components of the conference will include getting to know all the attendees, discussing issues and organizational successes, a presentation of Volz’s “Gay Pride 10 Commandments,” the establishment of a comprehensive Pride calendar and information-sharing on booking entertainment and obtaining insurance.
Volz also hopes he will be able to share what he and the organizers of Philly Pride have learned over the years with the next generation of LGBT leaders.
“It’s important to keep bringing in new blood,” said Volz, “with new brain cells,” he joked. “When you get college kids and the student-body type involved, it’s a wonderful thing.”
Part of educating this new generation includes teaching them their history, said Volz, who will be presenting a Power Point showcasing the origins of the LGBT-rights and Pride movements, including the Annual Reminder Days, celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer in Philadelphia.
For more information, visit www.phillygaypride.org. To RSVP for the conference, email [email protected].