BELLOWS FALLS-The iconic AIDS Memorial Quilt signifies loss and love. Since 1985, when the quilt was conceived by Cleve Jones, it has served to provide context as a teaching tool for a generation that cannot comprehend the enormity of AIDS pandemic devastation in the world.
In collaboration with the Rockingham Free Public Library, the LGBT National Help Center, and Keller Williams Metropolitan Keene, Bellows Falls Pride will bring one 12-by-12-foot section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to acknowledge World AIDS Day.
The Quilt can be viewed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in the third-floor ballroom space of the library, which is elevator accessible. Members of Bellows Falls Pride will serve as docents for the exhibit to provide information and answer questions. The event is free.
Ian Graham, director of the library, said in a news release that he is pleased to collaborate on this project with Bellows Falls Pride.
"The Rockingham Free Public Library is honored to present this section of the World AIDS Quilt and to support Bellows Falls Pride in celebrating the lives of those who have died of AIDS in the past four decades."
The purpose of World AIDS Day is to engage communities in understanding, compassion, and hope throughout the world using this powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic and the 36 million people worldwide who have died from AIDS. "The section will feature the panel of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, who died from AIDS on November 21, 1991," organizers say.
More than 50,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels - each one commemorating the lives of individuals who have died of AIDS - have been sewn together by friends, lovers, and family members. The quilt weighs 56 tons, spans 1.2 million feet and includes more than 125,000 names. It is now too large to display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
View the Quilt at aidsmemorial.org/interactive-aids-quilt. To arrange a time for a group viewing at the RFPL, contact Susan MacNeil at susan@svidol.com.
On the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 4, Bellows Falls Pride will bring to the Opera House the award-winning 2023 documentary, Commitment to Life, chronicling the early days of the AIDS pandemic and the political indifference that created the environment that allowed the pandemic to continue to this day.
Against a rich Hollywood backdrop, Commitment to Life documents the true story of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles with original footage of the times. It features an intrepid group of people living with HIV/AIDS, doctors, movie stars, studio moguls, and activists who changed the course of the epidemic.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show begins at 7 p.m. For tickets, go to bellowsfallsoperahouse.com/classic-film-wednesdays-2.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.