From Staff Reports
Organizers of QueerBomb Dallas, the LGBT Pride event held every June, this week announced details of the 2018 event and launched fundraising efforts to help pay for the party, rally and march.
QueerBomb Dallas 2018 will be held Saturday, June 16, at 7 p.m. at RBC, 2617 Commerce St. in Deep Ellum. Founded in 2014, the event is marking its fifth year, and founder and organizer Daniel Mullens-Spencer said this year’s Bomb is as important as ever.
“With the current political and social climate it can be really difficult sometimes to find a reason to celebrate, that’s exactly why we must,” Mullens-Spencer said. “Pride means loving yourself and your community even when the world around you may be working to shove you back into a closet. It’s an act of resistance, and we are serving it loudly and proudly.”
Alex Stone, another QueerBomb organizer, stressed that the event remains “sponsor-free.”
“We have never compromised on that,” she said. “That’s a radical thing in a time where it is often compromise or die for Pride events.
It keeps this celebration in the hands of the community and hearkens back to Pride’s activist roots.”
Still, there are costs involved, so organizers each year turn to the community to fund the event. And organizers have launched an online fundraiser at GoFundMe.com/QueerBombDallas2018, so that the community can respond.
“It doesn’t take much to make QueerBomb happen, only about $5,000 each year,” Mullens- Spencer noted. “We raise all of that money in the community, and that allows us to hold a Pride celebration that won’t ask you to change your internet provider. Whether you give $1 or $100, everything helps.”
Stone explained that donations help the organizers cover the costs of permits necessary for the event, lighting and sound equipment, venues and entertainment. And, she added, “It also helps us keep this celebration free and open to all ages, which is vital.”
Stone said that while donations to QueerBomb are not yet tax-deductible, organizers have filed for official 501(c)(3) tax status to ensure QueerBomb’s sustainability. “We want to be around for a long time,” she said.
QueerBomb 2018 will be held June 16 at RBC, 2617 Commerce St. in Deep Ellum. Gates open at 5 p.m. The event is open to all ages and is free to the public. To donate to the event visit www.gofundme.com/queerbombdallas2018. Donations will be accepted right up until the day of the event. For information email queerbombdallas@gmail.com.