This year will be the third annual Cortland Community Pride Festival! We are extremely excited to bring this event back! The festival will be on Saturday July 19^th, from 10am to 2pm at Courthouse Park in Cortland. We will have over 60 agencies and vendors, a raffle giveaway, a pride costume contest, and our family friendly drag show! Our Pride Emcee, Jo Boring, will also be back this year to help run the music, help with the event, and have a good time. We also have a group of sponsors that gave over $5500 to help fund the event this year! We are extremely thankful to all of our sponsors and partners that are helping with the event. You can find the full list of sponsors on the flyer for the event and on the Center’s website.

It is officially Pride season! There will be Pride events taking place at many cities all over the place starting in June and that means an increase in travel, being outside, large groups, and fun! Each Pride will have their own set of events and timeframe, but I wanted to make to go over some reminders on how to stay safe and have the best time you can.

This month’s article might be on the shorter side, but I think it’s important for those of us in the community to remember to reclaim and embrace joy, and for our allies to help uplift or protect us when they can.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to announce to everyone that Pride Season is almost here and the Cortland LGBTQ Center is hard at work to bring a range of events this summer! While Pride is celebrated in June, Pride Season is not just one month, and it is important to remind folks that the LGBTQ community is here year round. The Center will have our normally planned monthly groups and events, so keep an eye out for those as the season gets closer!

(Written by Advisory Board Member Garry Haraveth) Empowerment doesn’t have to be grand or revolutionary to be impactful. Small, everyday acts of self-empowerment have the potential to inspire more significant movements, leading to justice, equity, and systemic change. When one person finds their voice, stands in their truth, and claims their worth, the effects ripple outward—touching friends, family, and entire communities. Social change always begins with individuals who recognize their power and use it to create a meaningful impact.

I know I have talked a lot in the past about staying safe, and I believe I have touched on this topic at least a little bit when talking about relationships, but I felt it important to dive back into some ways to stay safe while being online. Being online has become such a big part of our lives that we sometimes forget that there are potential risks– falling for a scam, posting too much information, or someone trying to take advantage of you. Even if you know what to look out for, it’s also important to check in with those you are close to and make sure that they also know at least some ways to stay safe.

Most of my articles for the newsletter pull inspiration from things I’ve heard during a training at work, conversations I’ve had with friends, or my own experiences or the experiences from folks in the community. Today’s is no different, but I will be talking about the current state of the country and things I’ve seen or have picked up on and hopefully it can help you as the reader find some kind of footing in this chaos.

We are all familiar with shame and how it can make us feel small, or anxious, or guilty, or like nothing we do is good enough. Shame can cause or come from all of those feelings and more, and it’s often seen as a terrible thing, and while I don’t think shame is a fun emotion, I do think it can be a good learning point about how you are handling situations where shame might come up. I want to explore different kinds of shame, what we might be able to learn or use from that shame, and hopefully make shame a less powerful emotion so that we can learn with curiosity and growth.

With the holiday season here, I wanted to take a moment to look back at what the Center was able to do this year and thank all of the support we got at our events, the folks who invited us to do trainings and talks, and the participants at the Center-led groups. 

By the time this newsletter comes out we will most likely know the outcome of the 2024 Election. For many communities, not just LGBTQ+ communities, there is a lot of stress around the election. I won’t take up time going into all of the reasons, but the stress is there and I’m hoping this article can help offer some ways to at least remind people to take care of themselves and try to let go of some of the stress.