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Category: Illinois

Carbondale candidates turn out for LGBTQ forum, plus puppet-making, prom attire, three big Rainbow Cafe events, more

Carbondale candidates turn out for LGBTQ forum, plus puppet-making, prom attire, three big Rainbow Cafe events, more

by | Mar 22, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , | 0

Six of seven Carbondale City Council candidates are slated to participate in tonight’s candidate forum on LGBTQ issues.

That’s the first of many progressive, LGBTQ affirming and intersectional events coming up in southern Illinois.

Learn in our Weekly Update about workshops for the upcoming All Species Puppet Parade, a youth prom closet by Alton Pride, and an important milestone for the SOIL Sisters.

Plus, Carbondale United wants you! The nonprofit is looking for a programming director; read about the position here.

And find all about the latest run of Rainbow Cafe special events coming March 31, April 2 and April 8. Read on!

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Springfield’s Pridefest, Bloomington’s Transgender Resource Fair, Peoria’s River City Pride, and more

Springfield’s Pridefest, Bloomington’s Transgender Resource Fair, Peoria’s River City Pride, and more

by | Mar 21, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , | 0

CENTRAL ILLINOIS — Though the big Ritz gala this weekend in Springfield is sold out this weekend in Springfield, central Illinois is bursting with LGBTQ affirming events in coming weeks.

Bloomington offers a Transgender Resource Fair March 31. The UP Center of Champaign County offers “Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche” April 1.

PFLAG Galesburg, Skate Palace and six other groups team up for Leading with Love Skate Night April 8.

And Springfield PrideFest starts raising money for its big festival (coming May 20) with Golden Girls Drag Queen Bingo April 21.

Check out our first TRM Weekly Update for Central Illinois.

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Harrisburg restaurant, drag community, LGBTQ youth group weather religious furor spreading to library board elections

Harrisburg restaurant, drag community, LGBTQ youth group weather religious furor spreading to library board elections

by | Mar 15, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , | 0

HARRISBURG, IL — First, a coalition of conservative Christian churches began attacking an LGBTQ youth group, calling it a recruitment tool to the “transsexual and homosexual lifestyle.”

Then, the coalition attacked the public library, and a moderate local church. Next up: drag performers and the gay-owned restaurant that started hosting them.

Now, two anti-LGBTQ candidates are running for the Harrisburg Public Library Board.

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Carbondale town hall, forum focus on LGBTQ; Royalty Pageant coming; Mt. Vernon Pride event, and more

Carbondale town hall, forum focus on LGBTQ; Royalty Pageant coming; Mt. Vernon Pride event, and more

by | Mar 11, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — Starting with Monday’s Town Hall, Rainbow Cafe has four big events coming up along with its daily work of providing support and resources to LGBTQ youth and adults.

Plus, Southern Il PrideFest sponsors a Carbondale City Council Candidate Forum.

Check out Mt. Vernon’s early start to the Pride season. And find links to learn about the Choate Mental Health crisis and how family members and activists are reacting.

It’s all part of the latest TRM Southern Illinois Weekly Update.

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Pride plans from Bolingbrook, Elgin, Plainfield, Naperville and more; Green book exhibit, Elgin Juneteenth fest honor Black history

Pride plans from Bolingbrook, Elgin, Plainfield, Naperville and more; Green book exhibit, Elgin Juneteenth fest honor Black history

by | Mar 9, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

Northern Illinois is bursting with LGBTQ+ Pride events and more, including two great ways to honor Black history.

Check out Pride events this weekend and coming up in Bolingbrook, Elgin, Naperville, Plainfield, and Rockford.

Plus, explore an LGBTQ+ ‘gayming’ event in Shorewood, the upcoming Juneteenth Festival in Elgin, and a somber exhibit about The Green Book of the mid-20th century, at Skokie’s Holocaust Museum.

It’s all in the new TRM Northern Illinois & Chicagoland Weekly Update.

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Killman holds candidate event, Rainbow Cafe calls out Tennessee anti-LGBTQ bills, and more

Killman holds candidate event, Rainbow Cafe calls out Tennessee anti-LGBTQ bills, and more

by | Feb 27, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

A bathroom bill that doesn’t even require multi-gender bathrooms triggers an Illinois state representative to cancel a planned appearance in Edwardsville.

Meanwhile, a Carbondale nonprofit is putting out a call of support for LGBTQ activist groups in Tennessee, where two anti-LGBTQ bills have advanced and are on the verge of becoming law.

You can also learn about some pivotal Carbondale City Council happenings: a “Meet the Candidate” event by Clare Killman, and a gun violence study before the City Council Tuesday.

it’s all part of the TRM Southern Illinois Weekly Update.

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LGBTQ Pride plans announced for Galena, Quad Cities, Kewanee; two new dispensaries may open in Moline

LGBTQ Pride plans announced for Galena, Quad Cities, Kewanee; two new dispensaries may open in Moline

by | Feb 26, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , | 0

The Galena Pride Picnic, the Pride Party at Bass Street Landing in Moline, and the first-ever Kewanee LGBT Pride Fest are among the Northwest Illinois LGBTQ Pride events coming together.

Read about them here, along with the new name for the group that runs the Quad Cities Pride Fest, happening this year June 2 and 3.

Plus, learn about the cannabis dispensaries aiming to open in Moline.

It’s all part of the TRM Northwest Illinois Weekly Update.

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Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show

Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show

by | Feb 25, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

Kamrah is a trans-masculine belly-dancer from Chicago who defies stereotypes and will headline the Rainbow Variety Show in Carbondale tonight.

As someone who also studies microbiology and anatomy, and identifies as autistic and a “geek,” Kamrah also brings a new level to the term “intersectional.”

Read about Kamrah and other local performers who will take the Rainbow Variety Show stage tonight in Carbondale. The featured performers include author Rafael Frumkin, dancers Kimea Rhines and Darryl clark, vocalist and sound healer Pat York, and acoustic performers Shane Bruce, Jacqui, Elana Floyd-Kennett, Shane Bruce, and Curt Wilson.

The show raises money for the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center and its work of LGBTQ support and social opportunities, HIV and AIDS testing, harm reduction, and more.

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Learn about 19th-century transgender war hero in Russia, “second-wave Klan” roots in southern Illinois

Learn about 19th-century transgender war hero in Russia, “second-wave Klan” roots in southern Illinois

by | Feb 19, 2023 | , , , , , , , , | 0

Acclaimed sci-fi author Cheryl Morgan, the first-ever openly transgender winner of the Hugo Award for literary achievement, will lead an online talk Feb. 21 about Aleksandr Aleksandrov, a Ukrainian-born Russian war hero in the 19th century who lived as a man after being born a woman.

Historian Darrel Dexter will share his research Saturday into the “second-wave Klan” history of southern Illinois. Dexter’s talk at the Carbondale Public Library, also available online, will outline the rise and fall of the Klan during its second life in the early 1900s.

These two online events are part of TRM’s new weekly Online Event of the Week, highlighting virtual events that help present a more complete picture of society that includes marginalized identities.

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Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate

Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate

by | Jan 26, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

Angela Trudell Vasquez is the first-ever Latino poet laureate for Madison, Wis., a community with a thriving poetry scene.

She’ll speak Thursday, Jan. 26, as part of Galena LitFest in a presentation available in-person and online.

Learn about Vasquez’ childhood in Iowa City and Des Moines, her commitment to both editing and free-writing, and her many projects to bring the beauty of poetry alive for students and others.

Her talk tonight starts at 6 p.m.; pre-registration is required for both online and in-person attendance.

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New Bolingbrook youth program helps fill growing mental health support needs of LGBTQ youth

New Bolingbrook youth program helps fill growing mental health support needs of LGBTQ youth

by | Jan 19, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , | 0

The new Bolingbrook Pride LGBTQ youth program provides a monthly drop-in “safe space” for youth in Bolingbrook and Romeoville.

Allies and partners in the project include the Valley View School District, a University of Chicago professor, a suburban Chicago all-LGBTQ+ counseling service, and PFLAG Bolingbrook. Read about how this new drop-in program helps build on existing efforts in public schools and by other groups to help LGBTQ+ youth feel safe and accepted.

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Rainbow Cafe renovation aims for March opening of new Carbondale headquarters

Rainbow Cafe renovation aims for March opening of new Carbondale headquarters

by | Jan 16, 2023 | , , , , , , , , | 0

Rainbow Cafe aims to have its new headquarters in downtown Carbondale open for business by the end of March.

The new 3,000-square-foot space across the street from Carbondale’s Town Square will host Rainbow Cafe’s programming, AIDS and HIV testing, case management, office space, and a stage and open area for special events. Read about the renovation effort by and for Rainbow Cafe, which serves 20 southern Illinois counties with not only LGBTQ+ support services, but also harm reduction and other quality of life initiatives.

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