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.
Message from the Co-Chairs
Our Annual Membership Reception is planned for Tuesday, May 22, at 7:00 p.m. The OPALGA Board of Directors is excited to provide an evening of food and beverages, socializing with friends, and welcoming newcomers. We are again especially pleased to present the Carol Zientek Award for Distinguished Service and the Brian Findlay Award for Outstanding and Long-Term Commitment to the organization.
We take great joy in hosting this event. It offers us an opportunity to thank our members for their continued gifts of their time, talent, and treasure to ensure the long-term viability of our organization. As President Bush is fond of saying, “Some say you are the elite, but I call you my base. ” Please join us for our “thank-you” reception on May 22.
Gay Pride Week is also just around the corner, and great activities are planned for OPALGA members and their guests. We are again teaming up with the Oak Park Area Convention and Visitors Bureau in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade—The Big “O” float will once again travel up Halsted and down Broadway in celebration of the Oak Park area LGBT community. If you would like to participate in the parade, please call The OPALGA Center at (708) 848-0273 for more information.
Do you like to paddle canoes or kayaks? A great outing is planned for the evening of July 29, a three-hour tour on the Chicago River. A gourmet dinner is included in the package. This event is cosponsored by our friends at BUNGALO. For more information, see the related article in this issue of Empower.
Last but not least, mark your calendars now if you haven’t already done so for the 11th Annual OPAL Gala on Friday, July 13. We will return to Elmcrest Banquets by Biancalana in Elmwood Park, where we will once again revel in the side-splitting antics of Georgia Ragsdale. It’s sure to be the best party of the year! Don’t miss it.
Please Join the Fun—A Day in Our Village Is Coming Soon
One of Oak Park’s finest traditions is its annual “A Day in Our Village” festival. This festival is an opportunity for community members within and outside of Oak Park to spend a Sunday afternoon in Scoville Park (at the corner of Oak Park Ave. and Lake St.) and learn about our various local organizations and businesses. Three years ago, OPALGA decided that it wouldn’t be a festive occasion without a little LGBT humor and dubbed our booth “A Gay in Our Village.” The name play has received a tremendously positive response from festival attendees.
This year, we take pride once again in promoting our organization and our services, but we need your help. The festival will be held on Sunday, June 3. We are looking for volunteers to help set up the booth, run it during the festival, and tear it down afterward. We are seeking volunteers to fill the following time slots:
10:30 a.m. to Noon (which includes setup)
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (which includes teardown)
All you need is a willingness to greet people and tell them about our organization. Last year’s participants all agree that they had a wonderful time. For your efforts, you will receive a T-shirt with our “A Gay in Our Village” theme. If you are interested in helping with this year’s festival, you can either call The OPALGA Center at (708)848-0273 or e-mail Brad Bartels at . Please join in the fun!
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 .
