T&T LGBT Colour Their World for Pride 2008
The LGBT community came out in their numbers to celebrate its Pride Memorial event in Trinidad & Tobago. Once entering along the galvanised Rainbow walkway you were immediately treated to a decked out environment and welcome setting, created and installed by this year’s planning group and design team of Robert Solomon.
The 14th annual LGBT Pride Memorial 2008 event, entitled, ‘Colour Your World’, was celebrated on the Sunday 27 July at Bohemia and was produced and co-hosted by MSMNPA in collaboration with a planning group of individuals informally known as TTFLAG.
Besides masses of balloon towers, yards of candyfloss fabrics, hundreds of white lights and twinkling floors, Bohemia was again transformed and outfitted just for this occasion with rented tents, tables and seating; stage, sound and lighting systems; DJ; portable toilets; and the best looking, user-friendly and efficient bar managed by the guys of Athenz Promotions.
“It is all cost effectively produced and managed, even though when it all adds up the figures are staggering and frightening,” says DENI, MSMNPA’s Project Director, “…with the majority of monies going towards the different infrastructural rentals, contracted technical services and materials required to include the things you don’t see like light bulbs, garbage bags and toilet paper. The event planning team comprises of volunteers; and the bar and décor teams manage their own costs, materials, supplies and human resources. We also see it necessary to provide nominal stipends to the performers, security and front-of-house personnel when sourced.”
The T&T LGBT Pride Memorial has become something of a tradition and began as a grassroots informal gathering and backyard cook-up amongst a few to pay respect to those lost from HIV and AIDS. Over the years it has evolved but able to establish, develop and even upgrade / maintain some traditional elements.
Cyrus, one of its founders explains, “Some of the yearly activities include the hanging of the T&T HIV Quilts, display of the MSM Photo Memorial Wall, reading of the community’s Names Project List, engaging testimonials by individuals and the lighting of memorial candles, to honour those who have passed on, and those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.”
Currently, the MSM Photo Memorial Wall is a series of seven red framed panels of photos of members of the male gay community. Originally it comprised only of persons who died from HIV and AIDS, but has recently evolved to also serve as a historical and cultural tribute of and for all of its community. In that way it has outgrown the in-community stigma that some associated to it as the ‘AIDS Wall’, and new photos are being added of persons who have died of other causes.
New activities initiated this year by the TTFLAG group were the Rainbow Signature Wall and Walkway; LGBT Cultural Exhibition Area which featured various mixed media artworks of Geoffrey Stanforde; and coordination Velvet Underground’s merchandise booth.
The event’s programme was hosted by Rochelle and featured a sterling and sensitive community address by Salorne Mc Donald, Regional Programmes Officer for SFH / PSI Caribbean. He noted how the Photo Memorial Wall possessed several persons who were very instrumental in his life; how they in various ways had impacted on his work; and the continued and necessary role T&T LGBT possess in the national fight against HIV.
With brilliant performances, there were individual testimonials who with much conviction, spoke freely of overcoming personal fears and biases, getting HIV tested, the necessity for ongoing prevention, information sharing and discourse about HIV, caring for persons living with HIV, being HIV positive, and the benefits of accessing ARV treatment. Equally heartfelt was the appeal made by the transgendered community for a greater understanding and respect from the broader community.
To honour those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, there was the reading of the Names Project List and lighting of two hundred memorial candles.
In the interest of community building and establishing support systems there were presentations by five interest groups: Caribbean Coalition of National AIDS Programme Coordinators (CCNAPC), the Caribbean Anti Violence Project (CAVP), Friends for Life, Velvet Underground, and Community Action Resource (CARe).
The programme concluded with the release of 100 helium filled environment-friendly white balloons, etched with the names of persons patrons paid tribute to.
Throughout the evening, MSMNPA’s prevention team provided health and support services and information sharing in and out-of their booth. Some of their activities consisted of HIV/AIDS multi-media slide show presentations, engagement in a HIV Testing Signature Pledge, Quiz and safe and unsafe male and female condom use demonstrations, referred persons to HIV/STI Testing and Treatment Sites, and disseminated their pre-packaged prevention gift bags which contained relevant printed materials and condoms and lubricant sachets.
“This is our third year we are producing this event and I really wanted to make it fresh, exciting and as special as possible. It’s all good to have ideas but many fall by the wayside when the work starts, and sadly most time all you are left with are what are always done every year. This year, I was determined that our group introduce and produce new elements to add to the traditional ones”, DENI noted, “and we are extremely grateful and like to thank the community for coming out to be a part of this year’s Pride, Cyrus and Bohemia for always being there, all who assisted in its production and programme, and most importantly our sponsor, the National AIDS Coordination Committee (NACC) of Trinidad & Tobago.