After a seemingly interminable winter, Philly is finally starting to get a taste of warmer weather — the perfect motivator to get out and involved in the slew of community happenings coming up this spring and summer.
This weekend touches off a veritable landslide of LGBT events that aren’t forecasted to let up until the summer doldrums hit us. While the packed community schedule will keep our staff busy, as well as those at local community organizations, we certainly can’t bemoan the diversity of offerings: The slate of activities demonstrates the investment of our community leaders and serves as an invitation to community involvement for future generations of leaders.
Just this weekend alone, I’m From Driftwood stages its second-annual fundraising brunch, a chance to learn about the organization that collects and disseminates LGBT stories from across the nation. The event is being held Saturday at the John C. Anderson Apartments, our LGBT-friendly, affordable senior-living space, itself a testament to the breadth and depth of our community. The next day, Delaware Valley Legacy Fund stages its annual HEROES event, which honors leaders of our community — from youth to allies to businesses and nonprofits. The occasion is a perfect time to both raise a glass to our leaders and learn from and be inspired by their work. Also on Sunday, City of Brotherly Love Softball League opens its spring season; hundreds of softballers and supporters will gather in Fairmount Park for friendly competition. CBLSL accepts players from all walks of life and all skill sets; nowhere else in the city can you see so many different types of people playing side by side, all for the common goal of safe, fun and accepting sport.
And each weekend after — and many times weekdays as well — the community calendar is peppered with community fundraisers, parties, workshops and discussions.
There will be large-scale gatherings like the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference in June, where our city will play host to trans leaders and allies from around the nation, who will share ideas and resources for meeting the evolving needs of the trans community. Or the celebration of the 50th-anniversary of the Annual Reminder Days, one of our community’s earliest LGBT-rights demonstrations, held right here in Philadelphia, where LGBT leaders will herald our history while looking towards the community’s future. We’ll mark the return of annual events like Pride and new initiatives like the installation of rainbow crosswalks in the Gayborhood.
Spring is in bloom, and so is our community. Now’s the time to get out, get involved and get excited about all the Philadelphia LGBT community has to offer.