by David W. Shelton
Chairman, Clarksville Pride, Inc.
www.clarksvillepride.com

Here’s your chance to participate in shaping the way we promote and celebrate Clarksville Pride 2007! We’re announcing a contest to come up with the winning theme for this year’s festival! We’re planning for the THIRD annual Clarksville Pride festival, and we need YOUR help. We’ll need volunteers, donations, sponsors, advertisers, and of course good old fashioned committee members.

After all, this is YOUR Pride. It’s Clarksville’s biggest and best gay party, and we’re growing every year! So what are we planning for this year? It’s so much, that we can hardly believe it ourselves.

• 2005 Clarksville Pride Theme: Celebrating Diversity in the Queen City
• 2006 Clarksville Pride Theme: Equality=Healthy=Pride
• 2007 Clarksville Pride Theme: ??????

Email your ideas to chairman@clarksvillepride.com by January 31. The Pride committee will then vote on the theme ideas on the meeting of Feb. 3. We’ll announce it shortly thereafter. 

COMING EVENTS 

First, in late February we’ll have a special drag show, where we’ll partner with Clarksville’s premiere GLBT club, The Rail-Road. Look for great entertainment, specials, and a LOT of fun.

Then, on March 17, we have the third annual Rainbow Ball The ball has evolved ever the years, and we’re looking forward to yet another exciting night filled with great food, dancing, and speakers. Tickets will be available through the Web site, and we’ll have them available at various locations across town as well. So here are some details: 

Our goal is to make the Ball an affordable night for EVERYONE. With that in mind, we have several pricing scales. Dinner is an option. If you’d like to spend the entire evening with us and have dinner, then you can purchase the “with meal” option. If you’d rather save a little money and eat fast food and then join us at 8 after dinner is served, then purchase the “without meal” option. 

• $50 for singles, $85 for couples (with meal)
• $25 for singles, $45 for couples (without meal)  

And new for this year, we’re announcing special STUDENT rates. That’s right; this year’s ball will also serve as Clarksville’s FIRST GLBT PROM! Student pricing is as followed:  

• $30 for student singles, $55 for student couples (With meal)
• $15 for student singles, $25 for student couples (without meal) 

Please have your valid student ID for discount purchase. The ball is open to both high school and college students, so start making your plans now. Tickets will be on sale in the next couple of weeks, and will be on the www.clarksvillepride.com Web site shortly. 

Also, be planning for the 2007 Miss Clarksville Pride Drag Pageant, coming in April. We’ll be announcing the date of this event soon.

And finally, Clarksville Pride 2007 will be at the Clarksville Fairgrounds on JUNE 16. That’s right, we’re moving the event to “Pride Month.” Calpernia Addams will return, and we’ll be announcing more as we go into the year. So stay tuned!