BELLOWS FALLS-Dr. Taronté Venable, certified chiropractic neurologist and owner of Temple Chiropractic in Bellows Falls, is also a singer-songwriter embarking on performing publicly.
Bellows Falls Pride is delighted to invite him to join the program on Thursday, Dec. 4 at the Rockingham Free Public Library, where a 12 foot by 12 foot section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The event is free. The quilt will be displayed in the third-floor meeting room at the library, which is elevator accessible.
"The iconic AIDS Memorial Quilt has signified loss and love like no other memorial for the last 40 years," organizers wrote in a news release. 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."
This year, the Quilt section will include a panel for Ron Squires, who made history as Vermont's first openly gay legislator, representing the towns of Guilford and Vernon. "A tireless advocate, he championed legislation to ban discrimination against gays and lesbians before his untimely death from AIDS-related illness in 1993."
The day-long event focuses on the acknowledgment of World AIDS Day and features several partners. The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, located in Brattleboro and Bennington, will provide information and walk-in HIV/Hep C testing free of charge throughout the day.
At 6:15 p.m., Venable will perform songs of love and loss that personify the AIDS pandemic, followed by Attorney Michael Haley from GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD Law), at 7 p.m.
Haley has worked on two lawsuits challenging the administration's ban on transgender military service, as well as cases challenging employer discrimination against transgender employees, and GLAD Law's first-in-the-nation challenge to the executive order attempting to bar transgender girls from sports. He has been a part of legislative efforts in both New Hampshire and Vermont and will offer updates for the coming session.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.