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Category: Illinois Lead

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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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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LGBTQ+ Friendsgiving Dinner Part of Bolingbrook Pride’s emphasis on promoting “understanding through conversation”

LGBTQ+ Friendsgiving Dinner Part of Bolingbrook Pride’s emphasis on promoting “understanding through conversation”

by | Dec 3, 2022 | , , , , , , | 0

Bolingbrook is one of the most diverse suburbs of Chicago. “We have lots of diversity, and we all live next to each other,” says Allaina Humphreys, co-head of the Bolingbrook Pride, only four years old.

With events like Saturday night’s LGBTQ+ Friendsgiving Dinner, Bolingbrook Pride is aiming to create “understanding through conversation” and takes a non-controversial approach to its mission: providing safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people and especially youth.

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