In celebration of our common humanity, we join with citizens from all around the world on September 21st for International Peace Day. This year we are excited to celebrate the EMPOWERED VOICES OF YOUTH in our commUNITY, who are leading the way to a more peaceful and just world. International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution and this day of peace provides a globally shared occasion for all humanity to commit to peace above all differences and to contribute to building a culture of peace.
Come and join us as we
march, chant, dance, rally, listen and create
with one another to celebrate our
connection, hope, and commUNITY!
Festivities include:
March
Unique voices from our International community
Performances
International Flag Ceremony
Face-painting
Sign Making
…and more!
AKRON PRIDE FESTIVAL
2019
The mission of Akron Pride is to unify and affirm the LGBTQ community and allies in celebrating our diversity and recognizing our likeness.
We will promote acceptance of all individuals by defending human equity.
“We came together, strong, unified, for the purpose of uniting the LGBTQ community for one day of celebration. With many obstacles and challenges ahead of us, we are willing to take risks and ask questions. With allies in tow, every person in this endeavor is helping to write history in this small city of Akron, Ohio. Every city in every state, no matter how big or small, should own their pride-strong, united, untethered! When there are many that say ‘no’ there is one to say ‘yes’-‘yes we can!’ Small city, big heart!”
-D. Lottman Cruise, President & Founder
RIVERKEEPER EVENT:
Hudson River Day at the Croton Yacht Club
- WHEN:
- September 7, 2019: 11:00AM to 4:00PM
- WHERE:
- Croton Yacht Club, 6 Elliot Way, Croton-On-Hudson, NY 10520 map
The Croton Yacht Club will be sponsoring its annual “Hudson River Day” celebration on Saturday, September 7th, from 11 AM – 4 PM at the Croton Yacht Club located at 6 Elliott Way in Croton-on-Hudson. The mission of the event is to promote interest in the history and ecology of the river, to cultivate future local environmental leaders and to promote, enhance and protect river related recreational resources.
There will be events and exhibits throughout the day targeting both children and adults, focusing on the history and ecology of the river, including a seining exhibition; hands-on exhibits for children such as toy sailboat making, fossil making; sailboat rides, and local artist displays and sales. Also, educational seminars will be conducted by NYSDEC Fisheries Biologist, Amanda Higgs on the Hudson River Sturgeon and Riverkeeper’s Nicholas Mitch who will speak about the ecological impact of the controversial proposal to build storm-surge barriers at the mouth of the Hudson River.
Free sailboat rides, will be offered by Ferry Sloops aboard their 22’ sloop-rigged Catboat the “Whimbrel” on a first-come-first-served basis. The sails will depart at 11AM, 12PM, 1PM, 2PM and 3PM. Guests can sign up at the Ferry Sloops table in the tent beginning at 10:00AM for any of the day's scheduled sail times. Limit of 4 passengers per sail. Passenger age requirement: must be at least 12 years old, under 18 years old must be accompanied by parent or adult guardian.
There will also be a youth fishing clinic and contest sponsored by the Hudson River Fisherman’s Association and the Yacht Club. Volunteers will be present during the hours of 11:30 PM and 3:30 PM and provide the use of fishing equipment and bait, free of charge. Fishing rod and reel combinations will also be awarded as prizes. All youths wishing to fish at the Yacht Club must be accompanied by an adult.
For additional information please contact Dennis Kooney at dennis@kooney.net or call 914-271-6384.
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The Islands
![[image]](https://i0.wp.com/www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/hudsonriverjourney/images/the_islands/image-1.jpg?resize=449%2C234&ssl=1)
Photo courtesy Giles Ashford/ashford7@yahoo.com
Upriver, channels diverge and a unique habitat of small islands and wetlands cry out for preservation. Here, mink, otter, and beaver live along the shore. Though huge container ships plow through the dredged, deep-water channel, this slow, low-lying stretch of the river is a link back to an earlier time. It offers a chance to re-discover our intimate relationship to the natural world.
![[image]](https://i2.wp.com/www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/hudsonriverjourney/images/the_islands/image-2.jpg?resize=212%2C157&ssl=1)
The Salomon Collection, The Historical Society of Rockland County
It’s in the quiet of the river that we get an inkling of how Native Americans lived: trapping fish, building small disposable dwellings, carefully observing the plants and wildlife. We no longer weave fishnets out of bark or make hooks out of deer bone, but just as the Lenape survived by adjusting their lives to the river’s, we’re beginning to understand that we need to respect, not dominate, the environment around us.
![[image]](https://i0.wp.com/www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/hudsonriverjourney/images/the_islands/image-3.jpg?resize=211%2C313&ssl=1)
Photo courtesy Giles Ashford/ashford7@yahoo.com
The decline of the bald eagle in the Hudson Valley was a direct result of human interference: from the use of pesticides to the destruction of habitat. And it’s humans who are helping to bring the eagle back. Riverkeeper works with scientists and government agencies to reduce pollution, preserve nesting sites, and protect the eagle’s main source of food, fish.
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A Benefit Concert for Daily Acts: Rising up for Climate Action!Enjoy a full day music festival centered around Climate action and ways you can reclaim the power of your every daily action. Also enjoy local & sustainable craft and food vendors, non-profit organizations, green technology demos, inspirational talks and info on climate action programs, a kid’s craft area, silent auction, and more! LEARN MORE about the event, Bands, and Presenters on our Concert page under the Support tab on our main menu.Bands preforming:
Rupa and the April Fishes
The Coffis Brothers
The Highway Poets
Dusty Green Bones Band
The Real SarahsPresentations by:
Brock Dolman – Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, Trathen Heckman – Daily Acts, Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, Sunrise Movement – Youth Climate Leaders, Trashion Fashion Show – CREDO High School + more to be announcedAll proceeds will benefit Daily Acts’ climate action programs
When: Sunday, September 8th, 2019 1pm – 7pm
Where: SOMO Village Event Center (Sonoma County’s 100% Solar Powered Venue)
Cost: $30, buy your tickets on our Eventbrite page here.
Please note that we have a new registration platform and if you have not done so already, you will be prompted to create a Daily Acts username and password. We are here to help by email or by phone (707) 789-9664.
THE NATIONAL HEIRLOOM EXPO AT SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA
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SOW TRUE SEED OF ASHEVILLE, NC
(417)924-8917
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243 Haywood St, Asheville NC 28801
community@sowtrue.com
Mon-Fri : 9am-6pm | Saturday: 10am – 4pm
Seeds and Garden Supplies
Art Exhibition – Christie Sheele: Atlas /Forms of Water
- WHEN:
- September 14, 2019: 5:00PM to November 17, 2019: 5:00PM
- WHERE:
- Albert Shahinian Fine Art – 22 E Market St, Rhinebeck, NY 12572 map
- TO ATTEND:
- Learn More
Join Albert Shahinian Fine Art for an exhibition of Christie Scheele’s Atlas/Forms of Water, running from September 14 – November 17, 2019. Scheele’s work in this exhibition focuses on water, and its environmental, political, and personal meanings.
Riverkeeper is pleased to join for the opening reception (9/14) and Benefit Gala for Regional Conservation Organizations (10/12).
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The First People of the River
![[image]](https://i1.wp.com/www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/hudsonriverjourney/images/first_people/munsee_country.jpg?resize=450%2C274&ssl=1)
The Salomon Collection, The Historical Society of Rockland County
People have lived along the shores of the Hudson River since the last ice age, bathing in its waters, living off its bounty, caring for its future. The Lenape tribe balanced the needs of man and the needs of fish and fowl, plant and animal.
![[image]](https://i1.wp.com/www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/hudsonriverjourney/images/first_people/sky.jpg?resize=448%2C322&ssl=1)
Photo courtesy Mo Fridlich: mofrid@hotmail.commofrid@hotmail.com
Henry Hudson ‘discovered’ what the Lenape called Muhheakunnuk, The River that Runs Both Ways.
![[image]](https://i0.wp.com/www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/hudsonriverjourney/images/first_people/lenape.jpg?resize=228%2C94&ssl=1)
Photo courtesy of Lenape Lifeways, Inc.
There were six to twelve thousand widely dispersed people — both Lenape and Algonquin — living in small bands on the lower estuary. The river connected them and was a major source of food. Travelling in dug-out canoes that held forty people, they’d visit and trade with each other. In smaller dug-outs, they’d set and pull fishing nets, harpoon the whales and seals that often came upriver, and shoot duck with bow and arrow.
Knowledge of and respect for the river was essential for survival. The Lenape believed in a single creator and a series of gods who looked after both people and animals. While women planted maize along the shore, and men hunted deer, Lenape children were taught to take only what they needed from the environment.
If the thousands of years of Lenape history seems to have been erased from the Hudson Valley, that’s partly due to the disease and intolerance that European settlers brought with them. But it’s also a result of how lightly the Lenape lived on the soil: generations of river dwellers left little more environmental change than some ancient oyster middens, rock drawings, and scattered arrowheads.V
![[image]](https://i0.wp.com/www.riverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/hudsonriverjourney/images/first_people/lenape_2.jpg?resize=210%2C292&ssl=1)
Collections of The New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, NJ, MG 1363
Before European contact, whales swam where the Manhattoes tribe lived, the Sinsink band fed off huge oyster beds that grew in the bays, and the upriver shallows provided shad, sturgeon, smelt, and crab for the Iroquois nation.
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2019 Festival Tickets & Passes
Tickets & passes are now on sale of the 2019 Global Peace Film Festival
Sept. 16-22, 2019
About the Festival
The Global Peace Film Festival, established in 2003, uses the power of the moving image to further the cause of peace on earth. From the outset, the GPFF envisioned “peace” not as the absence of conflict but as a framework for channeling, processing and resolving conflict through respectful and non-violent means.
People of good faith have real differences that deserve to be discussed, debated and contested.
GPFF works to connect expression – artistic, political, social and personal – to positive, respectful vehicles for action and change. The festival program is carefully curated to create a place for open dialogue, using the films as catalysts for change.
Don’t miss out on our Online Global Peace Film Festival, which goes live Monday, Sept. 16. Visit peacefilmest.org to watch the films in our online festival wherever you are, on whatever device you want!
CONTACT US
Global Peace Film Festival
P.O. Box 3310
Winter Park, FL 32790-3310
Schedule is up; Tickets & Passes now available
Tickets & Passes for the 2019 Global Peace Film Festival, Sept. 17 to 22, are available now. Browse the film catalogue, check the schedule, or dive right in and start buying passes or tickets.
Festival Venues
Bush Auditorium/SunTrust Auditorium/Tiedtke Concert Hall/Bush 176, @ Rollins College
Fairbanks Ave. & Interlachen Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789
Parking: SunTrust Parking garage on E. Lyman Ave. or there is 3 hour street parking. Parking on the Rollins campus is extremely limited.
The Orlando LGBT+ Center
946 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, FL 32803
Parking: On site or street parking
CityArts
39 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801
Parking: The Rogers-Kiene Building validates a portion of the fee in the Chase Plaza building parking lot. Patrons must enter CityArts to receive validation.
Enzian Theater & Eden Bar
1300 South Orlando Avenue, Maitland, FL 32751
Parking: On site
Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center
851 N. Maitland Avenue, Maitland, FL 32751
Parking: On site
Mount Dora Plaza Live
2728 Old Highway 441, Orlando, FL 32757
Parking: On site
Orlando City Hall rotunda
400 South Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801
Parking: City Commons Parking Garage (across the street from City Hall)
Ten Thousand Villages
329 N. Park Avenue, Suite #102, Winter Park, FL 32789
Parking: Street parking or North Park Avenue garage offers free parking
Winter Park Public Library
460 E. New England Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789
Parking: on site
FILM LISTINGS
Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066
65 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
At Arm’s Length
15 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary Short
Blue Goes Green: Net Zero Police Station
26 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary Short
Catching Giants
50 minutes | USA/South Africa | 2018
Documentary
Changing the Game
95 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary
College Crucible
41 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary
Community First, a Home for the Homeles
65 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
The Condor & the Eagle
80 minutes | USA/Canada/Ecuador/France/Peru | 2019
Documentary
Decade of Fire
75 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
Eating Up Easter
76 minutes | USA/Chile | 2018
Documentary
For They Know Not What They Do
91 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary
FusionFest Shorts
90 minutes | 2019
Documentary Short
The Gathering
24 minutes | USA | 2016
Documentary Short
heartbeat Iowa
USA | 2019
Documentary Short
Incompatible Allies
43 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary
JFK: The Last Speech
58 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
Keepers of the Future: La Coordinadora of El Salvador
24 minutes | USA/El Salvador | 2017
Documentary Short
King Bibi
87 minutes | Israel/USA | 2018
Documentary
LIKE
49 minutes | USA/Hong Kong | 2019
Documentary
A Living Earth
52 minutes | Belgium | 2018
Documentary
Marching Forward
60 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
Nailed It
60 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
The New Gatherers
2 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary Short
New Homeland
93 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
Plant the Seed
11 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary Short
Planting Seeds, Growing Justice
13 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary Short
The Plummery
8 minutes | Australia | 2019
Documentary Short
The Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution
56 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
The Public
119 minutes | USA | 2018
Narrative Feature
The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion
67 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary
Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook
79 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary
Right to Harm
75 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary
The Robo Con
16 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary Short
The Sequel
61 minutes | UK/Greece | 2018
Documentary
Travel Ban: Make America Laugh Again
84 minutes | USA
Documentary
Undeterred
75 minutes | USA | 2019
Documentary
The Uterati, Fighting Back in the War Against Women
51 minutes | USA | 2012
Documentary
Walk in My Shoes
60 minutes | USA | 2018
Documentary
Documentary Feature
What Will Become of Us
72 minutes | USA/Australia | 2019
Documentary
The Worst Thing
84 minutes | Germany/USA | 2019
Documentary
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Peace Lanterns Festival 2019
September 21, 2019
2:00-8:30pm
Gantry Plaza State Park
Long Island City 11011
Our next peace event that Heiwa Peace & Reconciliation Foundation is co-sponsoring will be annual Peace Lanterns Festival on Saturday, September 21 (UN International Day of Peace!!!) from 2pm – 8:30pm. It will be held at Gantry Plaza State Park in LIC, NY (along with East River, across the River from the United Nations) – Center Blvd & 49th Ave., LIC.
Schedule of Peace Lanterns Festival:
-Free Public Event. Donations are welcome. –
2:00 – 6:00pm Lantern Decorating, Origami, Face Painting, Henna Tattoos, Seedball Making, and African Dance.
2:30 – 5:30pm “Meditate NYC” – Public Meditation Day
Practice mindfulness and calming under the guidance of revered teachers from Buddhist and other traditions from across the globe.
3:00 – 6:00pm Public Paddling, organized by HarborLAB
6:15pm – 7:30pm Speakers and Interfaith Prayers for Peace
Music by Heiwa Peace Band
7:30 – 8:30pm Floating Peace Lanterns
108 lanterns with your words and images of peace and set them afloat with the setting sun.
Peace Lanterns Festival is co-sponsored by the HaborLAB, the Heiwa Peace Reconciliation Foundation of New York and the Buddhist Council of New York, in partnership with the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace, the Interfaith Center of New York, the Interfaith Center of USA, the Newtown Creek Group, the NY de Volunteers, the Origami Therapy Association, the Sikh Cultural Society, the TF Cornerstone, and the World Yoga Community.
PRESS RELEASE: ‘CELEBRATING AMBASSADORS OF PEACE’ (AOP) EVENT SET FOR SEPTEMBER 26 IN LOS ANGELES
“Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), an organization made up of prominent members of the entertainment industry that’s dedicated to promoting the arts as a means to peace, will honor several music business executives at its second annual Celebrating Ambassadors of Peace gala. More than 200 top entertainment industry leaders are expected to attend the event, which will be held Sep. 26 at the Holmby Hills home of CCFP board advisor and noted entertainment attorney Gary Stiffelman, whose clientele has included Justin Timberlake, Eminem and Yo-Yo Ma.”
A limited number of tickets for this exclusive event are available for purchase at the following site, along with sponsorship opportunities: https://www.creativecommunityforpeace.com/gala/honorees/
Web: http://CreativeCommunityForPeace.com
Contact: Alexandra Greenberg
Direct: 213-216-1755
Email: agreenberg@falconpublicity.com
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On Thursday, September 26, Creative Community For Peace (CCFP) will hold its second annual “Celebrating Ambassadors Of Peace” (AOP) event at the Holmby Hills home of noted entertainment attorney and CCFP Advisory Board member, Gary Stiffelman, Esq. (whose clients have included Justin Timberlake, Eminem, Yo-Yo Ma, Trent Reznor, Maroon 5).
In 2018, CCFP honored Scooter Braun, Geffen Records President Neil Jacobson and Warner Music Group executive Aton Ben-Horin. This year’s honorees are: Aaron Bay-Schuck (CEO/Co-Chairman Warner Records); Jacqueline Saturn (President, Caroline Music/CMG); Troy Carter (Founder of Q&A and Atom Factory); Walter Kolm (former President of Universal Music Latino and now manages Maluma, Carlos Vives, and Wisin amongst others); and special artist honoree, Ziggy Marley (GRAMMY Award-winning artist).
The honorees were chosen for their commitment to championing artistic freedom and advancing the idea that music and the arts are a powerful force for building cultural bridges. Through their work and influence, they have advanced coexistence to create a better future for all.
As stated by CCFP Co-Founder David Renzer, and Director Ari Ingel, “Creative Community for Peace was founded by entertainment industry executives on the principal that music and the arts can be a unifying force to bring people of different backgrounds together. We also believe that a cultural boycott of Israel does not further the prospects for peace.”
The honorees shared their excitement to be recognized as Ambassadors of Peace and the importance of CCFP’s work, stating the following:
Aaron Bay-Schuck: “I am honored to be recognized as an ‘Ambassador of Peace’ by Creative Community for Peace and humbled to be receiving it alongside such accomplished industry executives and friends. The cultural boycott movement is detrimental to prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as to artistic freedom around the world, and I will continue to stand with my friends and colleagues who are dedicated to using music and the arts to bring people together.”
Jacqueline Saturn: “I’m honored to receive the Ambassadors of Peace award from Creative Community for Peace. Music and all creative art forms have the unique ability to pierce through cultural barriers, reshape perspectives, and create common ground. CCFP bridges divergent communities, enabling them to find a common voice. Now more than ever, the creative community must take a courageous stance against those that seek to divide rather than unite. I am proud to be in a position to empower artists from many different backgrounds to help us get to “higher ground.”
Walter Kolm: “It’s an honor for me to receive an Ambassadors of Peace award this year. I’ve always been a firm believer in the power of music to bring people together, which is why I support CCFP and their mission. The fact that so many incredible Latin artists I’ve worked with over the years, like Maluma, Carlos Vives and Wisin, have performed in Israel is a testament to this. Our artists are always embraced with enthusiasm and love in such a way that truly shows that music crosses all cultural and national boundaries to unite us.”
Troy Carter: “There is no better way to bring people of different backgrounds together than through the arts. This is why I share the vision of Creative Community for Peace and am proud to receive their Ambassador of Peace award.”
Ziggy Marley: “It is an honor to be one of CCFP’s 2019 Ambassadors of Peace. We all should use our voices, music, and art in the struggle for justice, love, and peace for all human beings of all races, religions, and ethnicities. I am thankful to be a part of this year’s ceremony. One Love”
More than two-hundred top entertainment industry leaders are expected to attend the event, which will feature special musical performances. Sponsors include Sony/ATV, EA Music, BMI, Epic Records, Atlantic Records and Warner Records among many others. Variety, which recently included CCFP honoree Jacqueline Saturn on their “Women’s Impact Report,” is the event’s official media sponsor.
A limited number of tickets for this exclusive event are available for purchase at the following site, along with sponsorship opportunities: https://www.creativecommunityforpeace.com/gala/honorees/
Web: http://CreativeCommunityForPeace.com
Video: https://vimeo.com/332545709
Contact: Alexandra Greenberg
Direct: 213-216-1755
Email: agreenberg@falconpublicity.com
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A $30 donation per guest is highly appreciated.
My Queer Valentine Reception
Hosted by Torpedo Factory Art Center and Target Gallery
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Friday, February 14, 2020 at 7 PM – 10 PM
Next Week18–32°F Sunny
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105 N. Union St, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
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Art in Person and in Progress. Located in Old Town Alexandria, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to 165 working artists, seven galleries, The Art League, and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. Free admission.
My Queer Valentine Shows the Richness of LGBTQ Life
The warmth of recognition is strong inside the exhibition.
“Acrylic” by Aurele Gould, 2017
I took my girlfriend to see My Queer Valentine on a Monday morning; it was a date, I told her. We took the Metro down to King Street and walked to the Alexandria waterfront. Once we got there, we strolled into The Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery, hands interlocked.
For My Queer Valentine, the contemporary gallery’s spring show, the small space is filled with large-scale photographic prints, paintings on both large and small canvases, and sculpture. Visually, the pieces cover a broad range of styles, including a digitally influenced take on Abstract Expressionism, geometric interpretations of fire, Basquiat-esque mark-making and writing over photographs, sculpture with few references to recognizable forms, canvases made three-dimensional by the attachment of glittery found objects, and small silkscreen prints. Thematically, they may at first seem to not cohere, but that’s only because My Queer Valentine’s juried works cover a diverse and rich swath of queer life.
As for taking my girlfriend, I had another motive that I didn’t say aloud, though she may have picked up on it. I wanted to enter that exhibition as a visibly gay person, and I wanted to see how that affected my experience of the art. It was the right choice. My Queer Valentine does more than curate work that examines what it means to be LGBTQ in the 21st century: It creates a queer space warm with the joy of recognition.
Some works speak directly to that joy, like artist Cat Gunn’s abstract canvases. Their dramatic patterns represent the harmony of being in a relationship where their partner sees them as their authentic, nonbinary self, they write in the wall text. There are glittering squares and wobbling lines moving back and forth across the plane, but things seem to be coming together the longer you look—parts that once made no sense have an internal logic that reveals itself with sustained attention and open mindedness. Recognition can be dangerous, and the closet offers safety, but it also means hiding behind a mask. The relief of dropping the charade and being seen is transcendent.
My Queer Valentine isn’t camp, not as a whole, but it’s full of artworks made by people who understand the humor and the wondrous pompousness of queer glamor. (That glamor and its high drama are knowingly self-important because there are still so many people who wish we didn’t have it.) The first pieces the viewer encounters play with the feminine trappings of artificial jewelry, glitter, plastic, and resin, all in bright, loud colors; one piece dripping with sequins invites viewers to “lick me until ice cream.” That kind of playful sexuality thrives in many of the works, even the more subdued ones. A beige canvas on the opposing wall asks the onlooker to “come (cum on my) back.” The half-joking, half-serious attitude toward sex is one of My Queer Valentine’s greatest strengths, highlighting the laughter and joy inherent in queer life and queer sex.
Linda Hesh’s “Kissing Booth” is another joyful artwork. It’s not a stunning feat of technique and construction; it’s just a wood and steel booth, like one you might see at a county fair in the ’50s. It advertises itself as, unsurprisingly, “KISSING BOOTH.” It’s not anchored to a wall. Instead, it stands out from a corner and beckons viewers to come in, where they might notice that its gingham pattern is made up of pictures of kissing same-sex couples. I’ll admit my biases here: I’ve always had a love for participatory art. But the booth’s standing invitation to come inside, to take a picture kissing underneath it, and to share that picture with the world is a brave act, even in 2020 in Alexandria—brave for the artist and the piece inviting those kisses, brave for the people who choose to do so. Even though queer desire is hypervisible in contemporary life, it’s not always recognized as a loving, human affect. By asking people to kiss, Hesh affirms the romance of the gesture and the genuine safety of the space around it.
The most striking pieces were by D.C.-based photographer Matt Storm, a transgender man. His work is challenging, cheeky, and hard to look away from. The two images on display come from his Act of Looking series, where he returns to the same studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the famous gay vacation spot, to photograph his body “to create an expanded lexicon of ways to see a body, inclusive of ways to see my body,” he writes in his artist’s statement. In the first image, we see him standing naked, in a pose that looks relaxed but requires him to hold himself in place with his own strength. His muscles are tense but not flexed. His face isn’t overly expressive, but there’s a spark of playfulness in his eyes and a hint of a smile on his mouth. And his arm drapes behind his back, coming to rest between his legs, where he holds his fingers playfully—an obvious commentary on how, as he says, “my body is incongruous with how we are taught to see bodies.” In another, he clasps his hands in front of his crotch, fingers crossed. We can’t see his face, but we can feel the humor. The piece is titled “Crossing my Fingers, Getting Away with Something.”
But a different series of works stopped me in my tracks. Aurele Gould’s photographs pulled my gaze from the moment I entered the gallery. When I saw her triptych of an athlete putting pre-wrap around another girl’s thigh, I felt a lump in my throat. “A moment of transference is constructed, a care and an intimacy among women,” she writes in the wall text. Immediately I thought of Barbara Kruger’s 1981 piece “Untitled (You Construct Intricate Rituals),” which famously says “You construct intricate rituals that allow you to touch the skin of other men” over an image of men roughhousing. But I thought of it less because of its artistic impact and more because, for years, queer kids on Tumblr have been using it as a memetic reference point for jokes about the forbidden, magnetic pull of another person’s skin. In the three images of the piece, we see hands grab the inner thigh, let go to wrap the tape around, and return to place both hands on the partner’s leg.
Likewise, I’d been primed to see Gould’s piece “Acrylic” before I walked in—it represents My Queer Valentine online—but I stopped myself from making a beeline to it. When I did make my way over and allowed myself to look, I noticed for the first time the two models’ sharp, long, matching acrylic nails gently cradling each other’s faces. That striking image is made more striking by those glittery nails. Gould knows this: “I like how thought processes can fold unto each other, like thinking about when stereotypes can be used and who they can be used by,” she wrote in the wall text. I felt a pang of recognition. I smiled. The two lovers in the photograph stared at me, nails shining, and I took my girlfriend’s manicured hand and stared back.
105 N. Union St., Alexandria. (703) 746-4587. torpedofactory.org.
Awakening Humanity’s Consciousness as One,
“Celebrating Our Planet,
Healing our Heart“
The13th AnnualWORLD PEACE EARTH DAY CELEBRATION 2020
Planet Heart Logo © Elana Stanger,
a.k.a. St. Angel www.diversityarts.com Come join us on EARTH DAYWednesday, April 22, 2020, at
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Portions of the Proceeds supportWe, The World andPlanet Heartto produce these events.“We hear Mother Earth’s call to simultaneously become more heart centered and action oriented. Feeling Mother Earth’s sacredness in our hearts can be profound motivation to act on Her behalf. Many actions are needed now, from calling legislators to attending rallies … art making, creative planning, spreading the word, writing letters to the editor … advocating for clean water, renewable energy … as well as social, racial, and economic justice issues that are inseparable from co-creating a sustainable, thriving world that works for all. We believe these actions are most effective, and most beautiful, when they are inspired by and carried out with love and respect for this beautiful planet, all who reside here, and whatever divine energies are loving us and encouraging us through this Great Turning. This feeling of connection, love, and inspiration is what we seek to create through Planet Heart’s Annual World Peace Earth Day. Please join us, be inspired, keep your heart open, and channel that love into action. ”
Ellen Osuna, Environmental and Peace Activist
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Global Love Day
The Vision
We honor each May 1st as a symbolic day of unconditional love and call upon all people and all nations to gather together in the wisdom of peace and love.
Global Love Day is the universal recognition of our innate oneness through love. It is our vision to unite one and all in a celebration of love and compassion. Join people around the world in celebrating and expanding LOVE.
We are one humanity on this planet.
All life is interconnected and interdependent.
All share in the Universal bond of love.
Love begins with self acceptance and forgiveness.
With respect and compassion we embrace diversity.
Together we make a difference through love.
When we come from this limitless love we naturally and easily embrace ourselves and our fellow humanity. Opening our heart, we allow unconditional love to be our guide and compassion to be our gift to life.
We invite you to celebrate with us by consciously focusing on love and what it means to you throughout this day. We hope that by practicing love in all areas of your life, you will find it easy to love unconditionally all year long. Our main themes explain it best…”Love Begins With Me” and ‘Celebrating Our Humanity.”
Be a part of it. Spread the word. Share your love.
Think: Global Love Day;
Feel: Love Begins With Me;
Remember: May 1st
We Celebrate our Humanity
As we continue to connect with people and organizations around the world, we are amazed at how much is being done in efforts to positively assist humanity. There are so many wonderful people and associations that are actively working on behalf of a community, nation and even in global proportions.
As we often remind ourselves, what is presented by mainstream information sources is frequently a narrow and negative perspective of what is happening upon this planet right now. To the contrary, we see and know that good and right is occurring everywhere. Look for love and you will see it all around you.
This simple reminder changes the very nature of our experience. We are what we place our attention upon. When we allow love to be our focus of life, we expand this in our everyday activities. It is as simple as changing each perspective and allowing the negative and limiting views to be released and replaced by a higher, more loving understanding.
We appreciate and are grateful for the courage each of you express. In a world that has historically revered the negative and fear-based aspects, it takes strength to be and share love. It is time for love to become our common vision.
Please join us. Be a part of this global day by choosing love, compassion, peace, and unity. Share this information with your friends, relatives and coworkers. Love locally and spread it globally.
Participate
Our first Global Love Day was presented on May 1, 2004. A variety of celebrations and events were held by individuals and groups around the world that initial year and the day was recognized with over a dozen proclamations from prominent Governors, Mayors and Councils. Since then we have continuously expanded each year to include many more communities and nations and now have over 580 proclamations honoring the day with thousands participating individually and at events. We are into our second decade of sharing love and celebrating our humanity – will you join us?
We have a special section dedicated to Global Love Day here on our site filled with ideas of how you can get involved and host your own local event on May 1st. Follow the dropdown tab above and find some suggestions of how you can participate and also find examples of what other creative events have been held before. You can find our Global Love Day social site pages too.
Our annual Art, Essay and Poetry Invitational is held in conjunction with Global Love Day each year and encourages anyone young at heart to submit their art, essay or poetry based on the tenents and vision and theme of the day. See our Guidelines for more information on this special related program.
The Global Love Day Flyers have been translated in over 37 languages so far and all are available to download and print right from your desktop.
The Initial Vision
(An open letter from Founder Harold Becker in 2004)
The Love Foundation is delighted to announce the first annual GLOBAL LOVE DAY on May 1, 2004 with this year’s theme of Love Begins With Me. Join people from around the world as we acknowledge, celebrate and share the love we have within. This is a special day of recalling that love is the link that binds us all. It is also the awesome power that heals and transforms everything it contacts.
Each of us is a potent force of love when we allow this energy to express itself. There is nothing we have to ultimately do, rather we need only allow ourselves to feel and be love. It is that simple. Global Love Day is merely our way of saying let’s remember love is ours to be and to share every moment of our lives.
We understand this day is a symbol of what we can do every day of the year. Our intent is to join together in a conscious recognition that love is always present. For so many, love is often hidden under layers of hurt, trauma, drama, pain and suffering. Emotional memories, unspoken doubt, fear, resentment and a multitude of old beliefs often keep us from realizing these thoughts and feelings have no real power over us. We give them power by living in the past and being afraid of the future. We ignore the love that is present every moment while embracing limitation. It is time to change that. It is time to release ourselves from our own self created bondage.
You and I have the opportunity to make a difference. Together we can embrace our unlimited self, the part of us that knows love and expresses it naturally and simply. It is when we accept ourselves just for who we are that we transform the moment into peace, security, joy and love. This process begins with releasing our limiting beliefs, past mistakes, lack of self worth, pride and ego through the conscious act of forgiveness. It is up to us as individuals to undertake this journey. We begin the transformation when we turn within and accept our self. We change the world when we change our perspective.
As we come to know who we are and why we act and react the way we do, we start to see ourselves in the faces of humanity. The reflection of hurt is our hurt, their pain is our pain, another’s anger is our anger. It is also seen in the face of nature. Her destruction is our destruction. These seemingly random expressions are our past thoughts seeking manifestation. It is our constant reminder that love is the answer. We build a new reality in this current moment when we let go. When we choose love over fear, kindness over hate, integration over separation, and peace over war, we bring a new reflection to humanity… our loving selves.
So, please accept our invitation to love. Join us hand-in-hand as we share our love on this planet once again.
Love, light, and peace,
Harold W. Becker
Founder/President
Founder’s Address 2019
Welcome Dear Friends to Global Love Day 2019,
We join our hearts this day in celebration of life itself. Coming together around the globe, we unify our highest intention and collective potential, igniting the creative spark that lights our shared journey forward on this precious planet we call home. Realizing our magnificence as loving beings, each of us holds the key to our brightest futures. Compassion, kindness, joy and peace are our natural expressions when we recognize that love begins with me.
As one humanity on this planet, we have a common heritage and universal destiny. With each unfolding moment, we are comprehending the grandness of our personal and combined opportunities to evoke our heart-felt wisdom. It is a simple knowing that all life is interconnected and interdependent and our gift to the world is appreciating one another with grace and dignity.
We all share in the Universal bond of love and, from this essential understanding, we build fresh, new realities that infuse the very best of who we are. In this way, we consciously manifest for the greatest benefit of all. We begin with self-acceptance and forgiveness as the cornerstone to a foundation built solidly on love. This ensures we inspire, nurture, cultivate and express our dreams of a better world for our children and the earth herself.
There are infinite possibilities before us to explore as we walk in harmony with everyone and everything around us. It is with respect and compassion that we embrace diversity. We learn and grow through our countless interactions and expand far beyond the sum of our parts when we allow ourselves to evolve beyond our present perspectives. The majesty of life reveals itself within and about us when we open our hearts. Together we truly do make a difference through love.
With happiness, delight and love, I welcome you to our sixteenth Global Love Day celebration.
Love, light and peace,
Harold W. Becker
Founder and President
The Love Foundation
Virtual Rites of Spring 2020
We gather in May for our 42nd time to celebrate the sacred Earth and the turning of the seasons in the mountains of western Massachusetts.
Join us online, (and in person in September) – as together we:
Weave the web of community;
Share in ancient traditions and new rituals;
Look forward to what we can become;
Learn through workshops and dialogue;
Light the Sacred fire;
Feel the rhythms of life in our drums and dance to raise our spirits;
Form lasting friends and see families grow as we come together in community – learning, sharing music, celebrating with ritual, and fueling our joy.
Register now for virtual Rites of Spring programming!
We are terribly sad not to be able to be together for the first time in 42 years, but we are excited to be able to still offer a substantial program. Zoom links and program details will go out to everyone who registers.
Please spread the word!
Virtual Rites of Spring 2020 – EarthSpirit
www.earthspirit.com
We gather in May for our 42nd time to celebrate the sacred Earth and the turning of the seasons in the mountains of western Massachusetts. Join us online.
Saturday
- 8 – 8:30 AM Family Program – Seasonal Stories and Creative projects with Andrew Coate, and Sarah Rosehill
- 11:00 AM Workshop: Pagan Perspective Permaculture Primer with Martin Bridge
- 3:00 PM Web Ritual
- 8:00 PM Bardic Circle Sign Up Sheet
- 11:00 PM DJ Meow Meow
Sunday
- 8 – 8:30 AM Family Program – Seasonal Stories and Creative projects with Andrew Coate, and Sarah Rosehill
- 11:00 AM Workshop: Anamanta: a Pagan Practice for Troubled Times with Andras Corban Arthen
- 3:00 PM EarthSpirit FUNdraising Kickoff with Billy Bardo, Anya, Arianna (and maybe Patrick)
- 6:00 PM The Feast at home
- After Feast: DJ Dawn Dance Party! with Dawn Flatt
Monday
- 11:00 AM Closing Ritual with Deirdre and Andras Arthen
Plus Recorded Programs on YouTube
- Healing Ritual
- Building a Sacred Shrine
- Maying!
- Preparing your own Feast
Register Online
If you are registered and paid for Rites of Spring 2020 (May or September), please follow this link to get your virtual Registration number. This program is an included add-on to your registration.
To register if you are not already signed up for Rites of Spring: Admission for the week is a sliding scale $50 – $100. Please pay what you are able, to help us keep going through this time of crisis. No one will be turned away for serious financial hardship, as long as you pay something. Additional contributions are appreciated.
Once you are registered, close to the date of the virtual events, you will receive a registration code, an accessible link and password for the Zoom sessions, and a link to the Facebook Virtual Dining Hall. Please save that registration number for access to the Virtual Dining Hall or for any questions on your registration.
We look forward to seeing you all online.
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| Join the Next Pulse – SUMMER SOLSTICE Sunday, June 21st at 12pm PT, 3pm ET, 7pm GMT Timezone ConverterThis month’s theme: Celebrating Our Coherence Featured Organization: Earthdance Global Featured Musician: Miranda Macpherson
Followed by the Earthdance ConcertReserve My Space
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