In the January issue of Camp, we published a press release from the Kansas City Diversity Coalition about their new organization and their announcement that they will be producing a Pride festival in June. In their press release they announced a Jan. 30 planning meeting, open to the public.
As Kansas City grows, there are opportunities to create more events during the traditional Pride month of June. Jeff Edmondson of Hamburger Mary’s has taken the lead in uniting the area’s gay bars to produce a two-day event held in the streets outside Hamburger Mary’s and also on Saturday evening in each of the bars that participate. Plans are now underway, and Camp will keep you informed on the details in our upcoming issues.
Here is the press release from Hamburger Mary’s on the May 31-June 1 event:
“The Bar Coalition will host the event on Baltimore Avenue, next to Hamburger Mary’s KC. A smaller event was held in June 2012 at this location, but this year’s event will extend farther down the street to accommodate more people for the Friday night StreetBlast.
“Sales made in Hamburger Mary’s Glam Bar, the Deck, and a new ground-floor patio that will open this season will all go toward the PRIDE Event. So the total event space will be all of Baltimore Avenue from 19th Street to 20th Street, the front of Hamburger Mary’s parking lot, and the Deck overlooking it all. The Glam Bar area will be used as event space and dry storage, with food sales out of the garage doors. Only sales made in the Main Dining Room will be counted as Hamburger Mary’s sales during the course of the event.
Friday StreetBlast
“StreetBlast will be held Friday evening, May 31, from 7 p.m. to midnight. The Bar Coalition will seek local talent for StreetBlast. Jeff Edmondson, event organizer and manager of Hamburger Mary’s, said, “We feel it is necessary to rebuild KC PRIDE by celebrating our local artists, DJs, and other talent.”
Saturday Afternoon Pride Presentations
“The Saturday event, from 1 to 8 p.m., will feature talent, presentations, local groups and more. The Bar Coalition will contact area organizations that serve the LGBT community and offer each a block of time to present who they are, what they do, display their talent, etc. In addition, all Kansas City area gay bars will also have time on stage for musical acts or to speak to the audience.
“The goal is to rebuild KC PRIDE by using our local artists, organizations and more to show what the Kansas City LGBT community has to celebrate and be proud of.
Saturday Evening
“The afternoon event will end at 8 p.m., and then, beginning at 9 p.m., each of the area’s gay bars will host its own Pride event with specific themes.
“After all of the bills to fund the event are paid, proceeds will be donated to the LIKEME Lighthouse. The financial goals for this year’s event will be to financially benefit LIKEME Lighthouse and to create a reserve for making the 2014 PRIDE event even bigger.
“The LIKEME Lighthouse has already committed to providing all the volunteer help that the Bar Coalition will need to make this event a success.
“The KC Bar Coalition will also look to close out Kansas City’s PRIDE month of June once again with the “Purgatory Pub Crawl.” PRIDE month is traditionally held in June to commemorate and celebrate the historic Stonewall Inn revolt that began the Gay Pride movement.
“For more information or to learn about being an event sponsor, contact Jeff Edmondson. Phone: 816-842-1919. Email: barefootguy1966@gmail.com”
