BRATTLEBORO — June is LGBTQ Pride month, and here in Brattleboro the Pride Committee is putting on events throughout the month. These events celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities. Most events are free or sliding scale.
Beginning on Friday, June 1, Pride month kicks off with an LGBTQ art exhibit at the Hooker Dunham Gallery. The opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and a variety of local artists will exhibit. They include NC Casey, Rich Cianflone, Adrienne de Guevara, Robert Diercks, Annie Flanagan, Michael Gigante, Robin Harney, Mikki Lamoureux, Stephen Lloyd, and Alex Potter.
Two films will be shown, “Riot Acts” on Tuesday, June 5, and “Kinky Boots” on Tuesday, June 19. “Riot Acts” is a film about gender variant musicians, featuring The Shondes, who will perform in Brattleboro later in the month on June 16 at the Stone Church. “Kinky Boots” is a British comedy. The films begin at 7 p.m., at the Marlboro College Graduate Center on Vernon Street.
On Wednesday, June 13, Brattleboro Selectboard member and radio show host Ken Schneck will give his lively presentation “Queers, Jeers & Beers,” with film clips and discussion, examining LGBTQ sexuality in film. This event also takes place at the Marlboro College Graduate Center, and begins at 7 p.m.
The Shondes, a band playing “traditional Jewish political pop punk,” will perform at the Stone Church on Main Street, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 16. Admission is sliding scale, $10 to $15.
The history of AIDS activism is examined on Friday, June 22, in “ACT UP: A History of Direct Action,” a presentation at the Menspace at 15 Grove St., beginning at 7 p.m. A short film will be shown, followed by a panel of speakers with direct experience of the early days of HIV/AIDS.
Following with another form of direct action, on Sunday, June 24, Schneck will lead a community mural project called “The Concrete Quilt.” The quilt will be on the cement wall in the High Grove parking lot, and community members can purchase a “quilt panel” for $1 to $20 each, and paint the 3 x 6 foot space in the manner of the AIDS quilt panels.
Performance artist Peterson Toscano will perform “Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible,” a solo performance at the New England Youth Theater, beginning at 7 p.m., with a $4-to-10 sliding scale admission. Toscano is a survivor of 17 years of ex-gay therapy, and has since created and performed numerous comedies about his experiences.
Brattleboro's own LGBTQ film festival CineSLAM opens Saturday, June 30, at the Hooker Dunham Theater with two showings of “The Oldest Lesbian in the World,” first at 6:15 p.m. and then at 8:15 p.m. CineSLAM continues on Sunday, July 1, at Tree Frog Farm in Guilford at 3 p.m, with more films and a barbecue. Admission is $10 for Saturday, $12 for Sunday, or $20 for a weekend pass. More information available at www.cineslam.com.
Closing out the month on June 30 is the annual Pride Gala Dance Party at the American Legion, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., admission $5. DJ Buck will provide dance music.
For more information on any of these events, see www.mensprogram.org, or contact Alex at 802-254-4444, alexanderbpotter@gmail.com.