Genesius Theatre to Present “Hairspray” in Outdoor Setting Downtown

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The Genesius Theatre production of "Hairspray" will be staged on Sunday, September 20 starting at 2 p.m. in the courtyard behind 601 Penn Street.

The free outdoor performance is being presented in cooperation with the Reading Downtown Improvement District and is being funded through a special grant from the Berks Art Fund of the Berks County Community Foundation.

Attendees are asked to bring lawn chairs. The area will be opened to the public at 1 p.m. Parking will be available in the Reed and Court streets parking garage. In case of inclement weather, the performance will be moved to the Santander Performing Arts Center at 136 North Sixth Street.

Other sponsors of the performance are Sweet Street Desserts and Melanie Mattes of the Mattes Group of Remax of Reading. United Artists Salon and Spa is the hair and makeup sponsor.

Genesius staged "Hairspray" in August to a sold-out run at its permanent location at 153 North 10th Street. For more information, visit www.genesiusdifference.com or call the theater at 610-371-8151.

1st Annual Pride Donation Poker Run - 11/14/15

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Saturday November 14th
$25.00 Donation

Start time 11:00am - Check in starts at 10, but you can not leave until 11:00! You must return to 3710 Circle Avenue for your final card and be checked in by 2:15.

  • Starting Point: Johnny & Hons 2546 -  Kutztown Road, Reading, PA 19605 - 610.921.2700
  • Participating Bars in Any order: Pike Cafe/Northeast Tap Room/ EBA - Excelsior Beneficial Assoc. (opens at Noon) - Address and directions will be provided the day of Registration
  • Final Check in: 3710 Circle Ave, Reading, PA 196060-Includes food, music and fire, BYOB

How Do I Play?

Submit your donation of $25 by October 31st
Check in a Johnny & Hons on Kutztown Rd November 14th starting at 10 and pick up your Card Worksheet

Take your worksheet with you to each participating bar and find the Card Check-In Table

Pick a playing card from the table & have the Card Checker write the card you picked, initial & stamp your worksheet

Any card space on the worksheet that does not have the initials and stamp of the designated Card Checker will not count

Once you have visited each Check-In Go to 3710 Circle Avenue for your Final Card & Check In to register your time.

WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE PURCHASE AT LEAST 1 BEVERAGE (NON ALCOHOLIC FOR YOUR DRIVER OF COURSE!) AT EACH PARTICIPATING LOCATION.

How much of my donation goes to Reading Pride Celebration? 

$20.00 ($5.00 will be divided between Food & Entertainment)

How will I win?

There are 2 prizes, Best Hand / Worst Hand

IN THE EVENT OF A TIE THE WINNER WILL BE DETERMINED BY THEIR FINAL CHECK IN TIME - WHOEVER WAS THERE 1ST WINS! WORST HAND RECEIVES THEIR $25.00 BACK! 

IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTUAL POKER RUN YOU MAY ATTEND THE FINAL CHECK IN AT CIRCLE AVE NO EALRIER THAN 1PM FOR A $10.00 DONATION

How will I know Reading Pride Receives my money? 

A MEMBER OF READING PRIDE WILL BE PRESENT AT THE FINAL CHECK IN TO COLLECT ALL FINAL DONATIONS

MONEY DUE BY OCTOBER 31ST to:

LORI GOOD
1421 CHERRY LANE
POTTSTOWN PA 19464
484-269-1318

LGBT Night at the Reading Fightin Phils!

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Join us for the 3rd annual LGBT night with the Reading Fightin Phils at The First Energy Stadium. Reading Pride Celebration has plenty of general admission tickets to give away for free! We will also be listing locations where they can be picked up as those locations become available. Also, for the first time, RPC friends are being offered a limited amount of tickets in the 67 Club which includes picnic type seating in blocks of 10 near third base line and an all you can eat buffet for 2 1/2 hours. Buffet includes: BBQ Chicken and Ribs, Macaroni and Cheese, Hotdogs, Hamburgers, Vegetable Lasagna, Corn, Pasta, Potato Salad, Tossed Salad, Fruit, Cookies, and Pepsi Products. This is all at a discounted price of $25! There is also a cash bar available in the Club 67! If you are interested in a free ticket, see or contact a RPC member and if you are interested in the picnic ticket, please contact Anthony Pignetti at APignetti@Fightins.com and tell him you are with the Reading Pride group. Remember, there are a limited amount of picnic tickets, so don't wait! Gates open at 6:00pm and game time is at 7:05pm. Hope to see you there!

LGBT+ Night at the Reading Fightin’ Phils Free General Admission Tickets are available at:

  • Boscov’s - East, North, Berkshire plus Pottstown, and Pottsville (at customer service)
  • Co-County Wellness _ Berks and Schuylkill
  • Rumors Bar- Pottsville
  • V& S Sandwich Shop-North 5th St. Highway Temple
  • Say Cheese- Penn Avenue West Reading
  • Mike’s Sandwich Shop – Centre Avenue Reading
  • Equality PA - Ted Martin
  • Planned Parenthood/Spectrum - Reading
  • Pennsylvania Diversity Network- Liz Bradbury - Allentown
  • Pride of the Greater Lehigh Valley - Allentown
  • LGBT Center of Central PA - Harrisburg
  • TransCentral PA - Harrisburg
  • Central PA Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce - Harrisburg
  • Diamonz - Bethlehem
  • PSEC Harrisburg
  • PSEC Philadelphia
  • The Stonewall - Allentown
  • Candida’s Bar - Allentown
  • The Attic Youth Center – Philadelphia 
  • Mazzoni Center - Philadelphia
  • William Way LGBT Center – Philadelphia
  •  Our Sponsors also have tickets available:
  • Go Greater Reading – Main Office and GoogleWorks
  • Stoudt’s Brewing - Adamstown
  • PGN Philadelphia Gay News
  • Colebrookdale Railroad - Boyertown 
  • The WhistleStop Café - E. McGovern Avenue Lancaster
  • Venture Inn – Philadelphia
  • Reading Pride Celebration

“You are Beautiful”

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We invite you to celebrate with us by reflecting on the proclamation above at our 6th Annual Interfaith Service and Fellowship.

 

Saturday, July 11, 2015

7:00 PM

 

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Berks County

416 Franklin Street

Reading PA 19602

Participating Faith Communities from the following Traditions:  Native American, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity.


Love Wins!

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The Supreme Court extends equal marriage nation wide!

Join Reading Pride Celebration as we come together on #DecisionDay to celebrate marriage equality! 


ALL community members and ALL allies from anywhere are welcome and strongly encouraged to join us. The press WILL be there! Bring your flags and your best signs to celebrate! 


We will be gathering on the Reading side of the Penn Street bridge tonight at 5:30pm. Please make sure to not block the sidewalk for anybody else who needs to use the sidewalk. 
Some street parking is available, but there is plenty of safe parking in the garage behind the IMAX theater. 


Spread the word! Spread the word! SPREAD THE WORD! 
Show up and celebrate LOVE with us! Hope to see you there! 


And if you can't make it, we still want to see you celebrate! Tag us in your photos at home, work, or wherever you're celebrating marriage equality! Use the tags #DecisionDay and #RPC!

Sign up for text updates for this (and all future) official Reading Pride Celebration event!
To receive messages via text, text "@rpctexts" to 81010. 
You can opt-out of messages at anytime by replying, 'unsubscribe @rpctexts'.
Trouble using 81010? Try texting "@rpctexts" to (484) 948-4056 instead.
Standard text message rates apply. All personal information is kept private. Reading Pride Celebration will never see your phone number, nor will you see theirs. (Visit remind.com to learn more about this service.)

READING PRIDE CELEBRATION 2015 IS SMOKE FREE

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Reading Pride Celebration (RPC) is proud to support LGBT community health, and is proud that our pride festival will be designated as smoke free this year! This is made possible thanks to a grant that our friends at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center received from the PA Department of Health to raise awareness about the effects of tobacco on the LGBT Community.

Also as part of that grant, Bradbury-Sullivan Center is conducting a survey of LGBT-identified people in the Greater Lehigh Valley. We encourage our supporters to participate! It takes about 10-minutes, and results will be used to determine the need for future LGBT health programs in our region:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BradSullNeedsAssess

A Sponsor of RPC 2015:               

Richard Spangler, President 
Reading Pride Celebration

 

#DecisionDay Rally

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*PLEASE NOTE*
THE ACTUAL DATE OF THIS EVENT IS TO BE DETERMINED. IT WILL ONLY OCCUR ON THE EVENING THAT THE SUPREME COURT RULES FROM 5:30PM UNTIL 7:00PM.

Possible dates of the event:
-Thursday, June 25, 2015
-Friday, June 26th, 2015
-Monday, June 29th, 2015
-We anticipate additional days will be added and will post here as they are.

Join Reading Pride Celebration as we come together on the day the Supreme Court of the United States officially hands down its decision on whether the 14th Amendment to the Constitution requires states to license marriages between same-sex couples, and whether it requires states to recognize such marriages when licensed by other states.


ALL community members and ALL allies from anywhere are welcome and strongly encouraged to join us upon the announcement that marriage equality is the law of the land on #DecisionDay!


Bring your flags and your best signs to celebrate! 
We will be gathering on the Reading side of the Penn Street bridge that evening at 5:30pm. Please make sure to not block the sidewalk for anybody else who needs to use the sidewalk. 
Some street parking is available, but there is plenty of safe parking in the garage behind the IMAX theater. 
Spread the word! Spread the word! SPREAD THE WORD! 
Show up and celebrate LOVE with us! Hope to see you there! 

Sign up for text updates for this (and all future) official Reading Pride Celebration event!


To receive messages via text, text "@rpctexts" to 81010. 
You can opt-out of messages at anytime by replying, 'unsubscribe @rpctexts'.
Trouble using 81010? Try texting "@rpctexts" to (484) 948-4056 instead.
Standard text message rates apply. All personal information is kept private. Reading Pride Celebration will never see your phone number, nor will you see theirs. (Visit remind.com to learn more about this service.)

Post Pride Party!

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Join us for the OFFICIAL Post-Pride Party of Reading Pride Celebrationafter the festival on Sunday July 19, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Goodnights Lounge in Reading, from 6pm until midnight! This year we will have a drag show with Alexxus Kane, Miss Gay Pennsylvania America 2000, Victoria Robinson Miss Gay Pennsylvania America 2014, and the dancing diva herself, Fauxie DeFauxie De-Glamouré! We will also have a light food menu and drink specials! Cover charge is $5. This is a 21 and over event!

Genesius Theatre Presents: “RENT”, Opening June 17th, 2015

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Tickets available here!

1996 Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award – Best Musical! Winner! 1996 Pulitzer Prize! An inspiring musical about friends and artists struggling with addiction, poverty, AIDS and most of all, love.   “What makes Rent so wonderful is not its hipness quotient, but its extraordinary spirit of hopeful defiance and humanity.” – The New York Times

Queen & King of Pride 2015

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It's time, once again, to choose a Queen and/or King of Reading Pride Celebration!


This year, we have moved away from a standard run-of-the-mill pageant and put the decision of our next Miss/Mr. Reading Pride Celebration into the hands of our community. We hope you are as excited as we are to see the new contest format!

Please read all of the enclosed information carefully and return all signed forms and an electronic or paper copy of your valid state ID before May 27th, 2015. When submitting your application, please make sure to include your required information for Round 1. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Miss/Mr. Reading Pride Celebration liaison, Kim Kalbach, at mustbekimmie@yahoo.com

All submissions for the contest should be sent to the contest coordinator at rpccontest@gmail.com. In addition to electronic submissions, all required submissions may be done by giving physical copies to any Reading Pride Celebration committee member, sent by mail, or dropped off in person at a Reading Pride Celebration general membership or subcommittee meeting. When providing physical copies, please make sure it is on an unscratched CD that is clearly labeled with your contestant name and which round it is for. If mailing your application, it must be sent early enough to be received by June 26th, 2015. Any mailed applications received after this date will be refused.

To mail you application, please send it to:
Reading Pride Celebration
PO Box 15242
Reading, PA 19612


Reading Pride Celebration reserves the right to refuse any application.

Download the application here!

 

 

 

LGBTea Dances PRIDE Fundraiser

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Fundraiser for the LBGTQ+ community in Chester County:

“Join us in June for our inagural Community-Wide “LGBTea Dance” Fundraising event. We are in the process of establishing a non-profit to foster a safe and supportive environment for the LGBTQA community through social fundraising events. Our goal is to partner with organizations, corporations, and current community inititiaves to develop and grow LGBTQA community programs that help our kids, friends, and family members get the support they need right here in Chester County.
This June, we will host an event at Fellowship Hall in Phoenixville. All profits from the night’s event will be used to fund the nonprofit start-up costs and support the GSA (Gender & Sexuality Alliance) Club at our local Phoenixville Area High School. The kids are ecstatic to have community support and have agreed to create the decorations and programs themselves with our assistance.They have decided to use the money raised to fund programs at their school and pay for a field trip to New York to learn more about the LGBTQA history and culture, including a visit to Stonewall.
Join us for a night of fun and dancing!! Enjoy music by DJ Sal, an appetizer and dinner buffet, desserts provided by Marly’s BYOB and Bridge Street Chocolates, FREE goodie bags from local businesses and organizations, silent auctions, 50/50 raffles, and MORE!!
Tickets will go fast, so purchase soon. If you are interested in becoming a corporate sponsor, please contact Rachel Stevenson at lgbteadances@gmail.com for 484-447-0089.
Thank you in advance for ALL of your support. We are blessed to live in such an amazing community and look forward to create this new non-profit right here in town.”
— LGBTea Dances