Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association
Since its inception in 1989, OPALGA has become one of the largest community based, multipurpose lesbian and gay membership organizations in Illinois.
FYI—Happenings About Town
On May 1, OPALGA sponsored the monthly Executive Board meeting of the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce. Each month, a member of the board hosts the meeting in the name of the business or organization that they represent. This is the first time that OPALGA has sponsored a Chamber meeting, and we had a great opportunity to heighten the awareness of our organization and, in particular, to highlight the upcoming OPAL Gala.
For Berwynites (or the Berwyn curious), the All Berwyn Committee is sponsoring the State of the City Address on Thursday, May 17, at 7:00 p. m. at Berwyn City Hall, 6700 W. 26th St. You are cordially invited to hear Mayor Michael A. O’Connor’s report card on our fair city and his plans for the future. Refreshments will be served afterward.
Save the date! Sevilla’s Tapas, 6543 W. Cermak Rd., Berwyn, is organizing a weekly “Gay Nite.” We have selected Thursday nights for this event, and we are planning to develop a themed launch party for June 7. Stay tuned for more information.
Finally, mark your calendars for Countdown to Midnight-Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Book Release Festival, which is scheduled for Friday, July 20. The Oak Park Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and The Magic Tree Bookstore are in the midst of creating a magical and fun evening for all ages. For more information about this exciting event, go to visitoakpark.com. Also, if you are interested in volunteering to help with this special event, please contact Michelle Dirks at (708) 524-7800, ext. 106, or .
Moonlight Dinner Paddle
BUNGALO and OPALGA join forces, forks, and oars for the Moonlight Dinner Paddle, a three-hour tour on the Chicago River. Choose your favorite boat (canoe or kayak), and paddle with us in the twilight up to River Park, where we’ll disembark for a surprisingly gourmet riverside dinner prepared by Brett’s on Roscoe. Then paddle back by the light of the moon and the antique fixtures of the Addison Bridge.
Plan to arrive early to ready your boat.
Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance.
Contact The OPALGA Center (708-848-0273) or Susan King (708) 216-9723 for tickets.
Be sure to keep your ticket and information flyer (map and other details included) handy for the July 28 event.
Date: Saturday, July 28, 2007
Time: Launch at 6:30 p.m. sharp
Cost: $40.00 per person
Award Nominations To Be Sought For 2007 OPAL, Carol Zientek & Brian Findlay Awards
Each year OPALGA gives three major award recognitions: The Oak Park Area Leadership (OPAL) Award, the Carol Zientek Award for For Distinguished Service, and the Brian Findlay Award for Outstanding & Long-Term Commitment. The OPAL Award is presented at our annual Gala (this year on Friday, July 13) and is presented to those that have exemplified the spirit of community service to OPALGA or the LGBT communities in the Oak Park area. The Carol Zientek Award and Brian Findlay Awards are presented at the Annual Membership Meeting (this year on Tuesday, May 22) and are presented to those who have provided distinguished service (Zientek) and for their outstanding and long-term commitment to OPALGA (Findlay).
We will be asking for your help to identify candidates for public recognition of their contributions. Award nominations forms will be sent out in early April. So, put on your thinking caps—we need your help!
Message from the Co-Chairs
Parties are fun! As most of us know, they are also a lot of work. And, although a certain amount of that work must be done whether you have two guests or three hundred, I think we would all agree that a party for three hundred is far more work than an intimate dinner gathering.
Now toss in entertainment, awards, a silent auction, and high expectations of a knock down/”drag” out event and, viola, the OPAL-Gala! If you have received your ‘save the date’ card (see article on save the date cards), you will notice that the date is quite new; mid-summer to be exact. The Gala Committee was caught in the Winds of Change and when the dust settled we had not a June date, nor a Saturday, nor a Holiday Inn in Hillside. I know some will be pleased with some of this change but others are disappointed to lose the many successful qualities of last year’s event.
Still, the committee has retained the very funny Georgia Ragsdale as our mistress of ceremony and locked down the date with the hospitality proven Elmcrest Banquet Hall. Moreover, after all, isn’t it the company, getting together with all our friends, that makes this event exceptional? Okay, I know some of you said, “The open bar.” Well, that, too.
Now, since the Gala has been pushed back a month, there is still time to join the planning (an execution) committee to help. (There are times we’d like to be on the execution committee!) Even if you feel unskilled or not sure how you would help, there are very simple tasks as well as undertakings that require the integration of multiple sophisticated commissions. The committee can use people with contact for auction donations, sponsors, advertisers, design and are willing to make phone calls and pick-ups; the list goes on. If you feel, you can donate a little or a lot of time, it’s a great way to get to know people and have some fun. Please contact Donna K. at or Dan S. at .
Save-The-Date: Our Annual Membership Meeting, Tuesday, May 22
OPALGA holds two major meetings each year for our members. In November, we hold our Annual Meeting which is mandated by the organization’s By-Laws. At this meeting our Co-Chairs give a report on the state of the organization, the treasurer provides a financial report and the results of the Board of Directors election is announced and ratified. In the spring we hold an Annual Membership Meeting which is when we sincerely thank our members for their continued involvement in the organization, and we award the Carol Zientek Award For Distinguished Service and the Brian Findlay Award for Outstanding & Long-Term Commitment.
We hope that you will be able to join us for our Annual Membership Meeting which will be held on Tuesday, May 22. Look for your invitation with all the details on this special event in mid-April.
Powerful, Exotic, Enticing, Rich, Quixotic, Moving, Exciting
These are words that evoke images, thoughts, and emotions. All of these words have been used to describe the music of Lojo Russo. Says the St. Paul Pioneer Press, “Lojo blends alternative, folk, jazz, and Celtic styles into a lush pattern of sound”. In addition, The Pulse of the Twin Cities, “One hell of a voice...a lot of lyrical power”.
On Friday, April 20th, OPALGA and the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation cosponsor a performance by this unusual musician, featuring, and songs from her very recent CD, Stoic Abandon as well as from the rest of her varied repertoire. With this latest CD, Lojo desires us to take a chance – to think outside the musical box and believe that words stoic and abandon are not opposites, but merely reflections of themselves, of life. It’s the balance of soft/loud, rock/folk, stoic/abandon that makes this album adventurous. Lojo makes it human.
Come be with this extraordinary artist Friday, April 20th, 7:00 P.M. at the Buzz Café, 904 south Lombard in Oak Park.
Contemplating Parenthood Workshop
OPALGA is pleased to offer our third annual 1-2 day workshop on “Contemplating Parenthood in the Gay & Lesbian Community”. Join us on Saturday, June 9th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to hear professional perspectives and on Sunday June 10th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. to participate in panel and small group discussion and activities with gay and lesbian parents and their children. The workshop will be held in Oak Park at the Hephzibah Children‘s Association – Family Based Services Foster Care & Adoption office located at.
This workshop was first offered in the spring of 2005 and participant feedback included: “Well planned and thought out, great job, thank you!” “One of the best workshops I have ever attended.” “We can’t wait to have a family. ” “Thank you, this was worth far and beyond the cost of the weekend! ”
Local Attorney Rosemary Mulryan is our opening guest speaker on Saturday. Her presentation offers great insight into the legal issues facing gay and lesbian families, including co-parent adoption. Other professional speakers will address artificial insemination, surrogacy, foster care & adoption (private adoption and the adoption of state wards).
A Resource Table at the event offers various materials to encourage further exploration on this critical topic, including “alternative” insemination, surrogacy, foster care, domestic and international adoption, second parent adoption and OPALGA Membership and Program information.
The fee for the workshop is $75.00 for an individual and $130.00 for couples. All workshop organizers and presenters volunteer their services. Your workshop fee helps to fund OPALGA’s youth programming.
Share Your Story
OPALGA currently visits about 10 college classrooms each year to provide education to students on LGBT life. Although some want more clinical presentations, the majority are interested in an individual experience and personal narrative. Because of the increasing demand, we would like to create a speaker’s bureau and complete a training this summer so we are prepared to hit the ground running in the fall.
We are looking for men, women and transgender individuals who are willing to share their story with anywhere from 8 to 80 students in a college classroom setting. Our training will include creating your narrative, what to share, class exercises and how to deal with difficult or sometimes offensive audience members. We will also have some scripted information for you to share as part of OPALGA’s outreach including information on the organization and our programs.
Sharing your story is a powerful way to connect theory with the real world. Many of these students remark that they have never met a gay person…even in the year 2007! The more diversity we can share about our community, the better.
If you would like more information or would like to sign up for the free training which has yet to be scheduled, please contact Susan at 708-386-3463 or email . We need you!
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
We are in need of volunteers to help facilitate two of our drop in programs. TGIQ meets every Saturday night for LGBT adults 21 and over. RED is for les/bi/gay women ages 16-26, and we are looking for women to facilitate this program. The volunteer commitment includes attending a training session, completing a background check and application, and volunteering a minimum of one evening per month. If you are interested, or for more info, please contact Susan at 708-386-3463 or .
Book Club
The book club continues to meet each month at The OPALGA Center. In August we hope to have a special treat! Author Carol Anshaw has graciously agreed to come to Oak Park to lead the discussion of her novel Aquamarine. One of our book club members - Joyce, came up with the idea and called Carol to ask if she’d come lead our discussion. Thank you Joyce!
Selections through September 2007 are as follows:
April
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The coming of age story of Esperanza Cordero in the Hispanic quarters of Chicago.
May
Patience and Sarah by Isabelle Miller
In the early nineteenth century, in a puritanical New England town, two women fall in love.
June
Wilderness Trek by Dorothy Tell
(2nd Sunday) Kay and her life partner lead six very dissimilar women on a two-week trek into the Oszrk mountains. A sensual, suspenseful, highly entertaining story.
July
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Documents Bechdel’s childhood experiences and coming-of-age as a lesbian, and her heartbreaking relationship with her distant father, a closeted gay who ran a funeral parlor.
August
Aquamarine by Carol Anshaw
Olympic swimmer Jesse Austin is seduced and consequently edged out for a gold medal by her Australian rival.
September
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
A love story told alternately from the viewpoints of time traveler Henry and his wife, Clare.
The book club meetings take place on Sundays from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. and are held at The OPALGA Center, 947 Garfield, Oak Park. All books are available through amazon.com. In addition, copies will be made available at the Oak Park Public Library as well as at The Book Table. Remember there is a contribution to OPALGA for every novel bought at the Book Table. Just let them know you are with the OPALGA book-club meeting.
Contemplating Parenthood Workshop
Have you been thinking about becoming a parent? Where do you begin? Let the experts answer your questions at our two-day workshop.
OPALGA is pleased to offer our third annual 1-1/2 day workshop on “Contemplating Parenthood in the Gay & Lesbian Community.” Come and join us on Saturday, June 9th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to hear some professional perspectives and on Sunday, June 10th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. to participate in panel and small group discussions and activities with gay and lesbian parents and their children. This workshop will be held in Oak Park at the Hephzibah Children’s Association – Family Based Services Foster Care & Adoption office.
Saturday is all about the experts. Local Attorney, Rosemary Mulryan, is our opening guest speaker on Saturday. Her presentation offers great insight into the legal issues facing gay and lesbian families, including co-parent adoption in the state of Illinois. Other professional speakers will address artificial insemination, sperm and egg donation, surrogacy, foster care & adoption. You will have the opportunity to ask specific questions and participate in an enlightening discussion.
Sunday is all about the kids. You will have the opportunity to speak to parents and their kids about their journey. From what do the kids call you, to how do you handle school and play dates. Our families will share with you and answer your questions.
The fee for the workshop is $75.00 for an individual and $130.00 for a couple. All workshop organizers and presenters volunteer their services. Your workshop fee helps to fund OPALGA youth programming.
If you are interested in attending the workshop call The OPALGA Center at (708) 848-0273 or send an e-mail to info@opalga.org.
