Gaybingo marks 10th anniversary

Resource Center Dallas marks the 10th anniversary of its monthly Gaybingo fundraiser on Saturday, July 16, in the Rose Room at S4, 3911 Cedar Springs Road. Doors open at 5 p.m. and games start at 6 p.m.

The theme for the evening is “Gaybingo Live!” and a number of special guests from previous events will be on hand to help celebrate the anniversary.

Hosts are Jenna Skyy, Patti Le Plae Safe and Asia O’Hara, and featured performers are the BVDs (Bingo Verifying Divas and Dudes).

The cost is $25 for 15 games of Bingo, including 10 regular games and five speciality games.

For advance tickets, go online to RCDallas.org. Advance ticket holders get in first when the doors open.

LSR sets Casino Night

Lone Star Ride Fighting AIDS will present its fourth annual Casino Night on Thursday, Aug. 4, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Games include craps, blackjack and hold ’em poker.

The event will be hosted by Audi Dallas, 5033 Lemmon Ave., and tickets are $50 in advance and $65 at the door. Admission includes cocktails and appetizers as well as enough chips to get started at the tables.

Players can spend their winnings on silent auction items when the tables close. The auction items include a $250 Aveda gift certificate, a $500 personal training package and more.

Lone Star Ride Fighting AIDS is a two-day cycling trip through and around the Dallas/Fort Worth area set for Sept. 24-25. LSRFA offers a number of routes, ranging from a one-day, 45-mile ride to a two-day, 180-mile ride.

LSRFA is an independent, non-profit organization that benefits AIDS Services of Dallas, AIDS Outreach Center of Tarrant County and Resource Center Dallas, and has donated nearly $2 million to the three beneficiary agencies since 2001.
For more information, go online to LoneStarRide.org.

Speakers set for trans summit

HOUSTON — Dr. Paige Schilt and Meghan Stabler have been announced as keynote speakers for the third annual Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit scheduled for Aug. 12-13 at the University of Houston.

Schilt, former director of national communications for Soulforce, will speak Aug. 12. She teaches English, communications and gender studies at Southwestern University, where she also recently served as interim assistant dean of multicultural affairs.

Schilt is a contributor to The Bilerico Project blog where she writes about trans family life.

Stabler, scheduled to speak on Aug. 13, is a nationally recognized trans spokeswoman and political activist. She has appeared on television, radio and in print media around the world to discuss LGBT and political issues.

Stabler, a past president of Pride Houston, an active leader on the Human Rights Campaign board of directors and AIDS Foundation, is a senior director at CA Technologies.

Josephine Tittsworth, chair of the committee organizing the summit, said the committee is “very excited” to have “two of our most outstanding leaders” speaking at the event.

Committee member Lou Weaver said that Schilt and Stabler are “some of our most dynamic community activists” and “some of our most knowledgeable experts on the trans community.”

FW church to protest Response

Members of Fort Worth First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ voted unanimously during a congregational meeting on Sunday, July 10, to endorse plans by some church members to protest Gov. Rick Perry’s day-long prayer event set for Sunday, Aug. 6, in Houston’s Reliant Stadium.

The event, called “The Response,” was arranged by the governor as a day of praying and fasting over the “crisis” the country faces.

It is being financed by the anti-gay American Family Association, which has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

It is the AFA’s connection to the event that has the members of the Fort Worth church and others most upset.

Phil Barnett, a lay leader with the Fort Worth church, said the AFA has “used hate speech disguised as the gospel of Jesus Christ, causing pain and suffering to GLBT people as well as people of faith traditions outside of Christianity.”

Protest organizer and church deacon Marvin Vann added, “We certainly respect the governor’s call to pray and fast for the welfare of our country, but we strongly object to doing that in collusion with a group that engages in hate speech and, therefore, misrepresents the gospel.”

Organizers said 15 to 20 people from Fort Worth First Congregational Church are expected to travel to Houston to protest Perry’s “Response” event, and they expect to be joined there by people from other churches around the state.

Protesters intend to be gathered outside the stadium as “Response” attendees arrive that morning, and will “protest via posters, flyers and silent witness.”