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.
Ray Musicbear Quirks the Folk
Ray Musicbear, influenced by Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Marianne Faithfull, and a host of others, will perform his traditional and contemporary folk music, folk rock, and more on Friday, May 18, at 7:00 p. m. at The Buzz Café, 905 S. Lombard, Oak Park. You won’t want to miss this performance! Leif/Lady Space says, “Enjoy your songs very much. Happy that I stumbled across them on MySpace. Thanks for the friendship and keep up the good work!” And Randy H. writes, “Your melodies match your truth well to my ears.” Visit Ray on MySpace at myspace.com/raymusicbear.
Monthly Potlucks Set for 2007
The OPALGA monthly potluck is held on the second Friday of each month at 7:00 p. m. in a member’s private home. The potluck is our longest-running tradition and provides a great opportunity to connect with others in the community. Please bring a dish to share, and if it is your first time attending, please let the host know so that we can introduce you to others.
In addition, potluck attendees are asked to bring pop, water, snacks, Jewel or Dominick’s gift cards, paper products, or hand soap to donate to our youth group programming. You can receive a gift-in-kind credit for your donation.
Please see the calendar for details.
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
Local Election Results
April 17 was election day in the Chicagoland area. In Oak Park, past OPALGA Co-Chair Ray Johnson ran for reelection to a four-year term on the Oak Park Village Board of Trustees. Johnson was first elected to the Village Board in 2003. In that election, he was the highest vote-getter, and this year he repeated his 2003 performance, receiving 4,815 votes, or 20.3%. Johnson will be joined on the board by his running mates Jan Pate and John Hale—both for four-year terms—and John Hedges—for a two-year term. Both Pate and Hale are also members of OPALGA.
To the south of Oak Park, longtime OPALGA member and past BUNGALO (Berwyn United Neighborhood Gay and Lesbian Organization) Board of Directors Chair Ted Korbos ran for a seat on the J. Sterling Morton High School District 201 High School Board. Korbos was defeated for a seat on the board by 244 votes. He received 3,463 votes, or 38.8%.
OPALGA continues to encourage its members to take part in the election process. Whether on a local, state, or national level, it is important that our members learn about and understand the issues that affect not only the LGBT community but also the broader issues that affect all citizens. As Trustee Reelect Johnson said during the campaign, “There isn’t a ‘gay way’ to fill a pothole.” While this may be true, participation in the electoral process by all is a right that should not be taken for granted.
Past OPALGA Co-Chair, Ray Johnson Receives Endorsement From The Victory Fund
You may not know about the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, but since 1991 it has helped hundreds of openly LGBT candidates win election to local, state and federal offices. The Victory Fund provides strategic, technical and financial support to those that it endorses and has been acknowledged as a determinative factor in the successful election or appointment of its endorsed candidates. The Victory Fund is also the nation’s largest LGBT political action committee and one the nation’s largest nonpartisan PACs.
Recently, the Victory Fund announced its endorsement of local Oak Park Board of Trustee candidate and past OPALGA co-chair, Ray Johnson in his re-election campaign. Johnson said, “I am very honored and proud to have been recognized by the Victory Fund. I truly appreciate their confidence in me and the work that I have done for the Village of Oak Park.”
You can visit the Victory Fund website at www.victoryfund.org and learn more about it and their work. The Victory Fund endorsed OPALGA member, Mary Colleen Roberts last fall during her successful Cook County Judgeship race. In the Chicagoland area, the Victory Fund also endorsed Debra Shore in her successful commissioner race for the Cook County Metropolitan Water Reclamation Authority. Debra holds the record for receiving the highest actual votes of any lesbian candidate for any office in the United States.
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.
