Amy Sueyoshi, interim dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, will receive the Phoenix Award from the Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women and Transgender Community at its Lunar Banquet Saturday, April 20, from 5 to 11 p.m. at the Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline Street in Berkeley.
APIQWTC was formed in 1999 as a means of networking and communicating among the Bay Area Asian and Pacific Islander queer women's and transgender organizations. Officials said it is the largest Asian lesbian/trans organization on the West Coast with over 800 members.
Sueyoshi, a longtime LGBTQ scholar, is a founding co-curator of the GLBT Historical Society Museum. In 2017, she was the first Japanese American to be a community grand marshal in the San Francisco Pride parade.
She is also known for initiating the Dragon Fruit Project, an intergenerational oral history that explores LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander experiences and activism from the 1960s to 1990s.
At this year's banquet, the benefiting organization will be the Asian Prisoner Support Committee. It provides direct support to API prisoners and works to raise awareness of the growing numbers of APIs being imprisoned, detained, and deported.
Tickets for the banquet are $50. For more information, visit http://www.apiqwtc.org/.
Give OUT Day coming up
Horizons Foundation will again coordinate Give OUT Day, the only national day of giving for the LGBTQ community. The 24-hour online fundraising event takes place Thursday, April 18.
Last year, Give OUT Day raised nearly $1 million. The event, which began in 2013, brings together thousands of people making gifts to support a diverse cross-section of LGBTQ nonprofits, the majority of which leverage social media for support and outreach. The technology platform is provided for free and hundreds of organizations have utilized it to attract new donors, motivate their boards and other supporters, and raise their visibility.
"We are thrilled to be working with over 600 organizations on Give OUT Day," Roger Doughty, president of Horizons, said in a news release. "Participating organizations rely on the support of our community and this year we hope that Give OUT Day will make history and break the $1 million mark for the first time."
People should check social media accounts or websites of queer nonprofits they support to make donations.
Spring egg hunt in Duboce Park
Friends of Duboce Park will hold a spring egg hunt on the upper lawn of the park Sunday, April 14, from 9 to 10 a.m.
Organizers said that 1,000 plastic eggs will be "hidden" for kids to find. Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman will be on hand to start the event.
The free egg hunt is for children under 10; it will be divided into three different sections based on age. Contents of the eggs will range from candy to small prizes. The Easter bunny will be there for photos, and free coffee will be available.
Kids are encouraged to bring their own baskets to collect eggs. Bags will be available for those who forget.
Children will be encouraged to take no more than five eggs and that the plastic eggs be recycled in designated containers after they've been opened.
Duboce Park is located at Noe and Duboce streets. For more information, call Guillemette Brouillat-Spiegel at (415) 515-0956. The N-Judah Muni Metro line stops right at the park.
Oakland Zoo to celebrate Earth Day
The Oakland Zoo will celebrate Earth Day early Sunday, April 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with more than a dozen local and global environmental organizations onsite to help visitors learn ways to be more eco-friendly and save wildlife animals, plants, and pollinator species.
This year's theme is "Planting for Pollinators," which are impacted by habitat loss, climate change, and toxic pesticides, zoo officials noted.
The zoo is taking action in this regard by implementing methods to help preserve and create migration corridors essential for helping plant species reproduce and thrive. According to a news release, the zoo has three dedicated blooming butterfly gardens, a variety of native plants, and is in the planning stages for ecological recovery zones around its California Trail.
At the Earth Day event, guests will have the opportunity to learn about different ways to save pollinator species and take a pledge to grow pollinator-friendly plants.
All ages are welcome. The Earth Day event is included with regular zoo admission, which is $20 for children/seniors and $24 for adults. Parking is $10.
The zoo is located at 9777 Golf Links Road. For more information, visit http://www.oaklandzoo.org.
NCLR to honor clients, member of Congress
The National Center for Lesbian Rights will honor freshman Congresswoman Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico) and Pennsylvania state Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, the first African American gay man elected to state office there, at its anniversary celebration Saturday, May 18.
Additionally, the organization will recognize Stefany Galante, Danny Zins, and Kate McCobb, three clients who won significant victories in immigration, trans rights, and the campaign to end conversion therapy.
Cindy Myers, NCLR's interim executive director, will also be on hand.
Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and is one of the first Native American women in the House of Representatives (the other is lesbian Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids of Kansas).
Kenyatta won election last year to his state House seat.
NCLR's party consists of a reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis, 780 Mission Street. Immediately following the dinner is an after-party down the street at Metreon CityView, 135 Fourth Street.
Tickets are $400 for dinner and the party, or $125 for the party only. For tickets and more information, visit http://www.nclrights.org.
Funding renewed for San Mateo Pride center
The San Mateo County Pride Center has announced that its state funding was approved for two more years.
In an email to supporters, center officials said they went to Sacramento to make a presentation to the Mental Health Service Oversight and Accountability Commission to seek the funding extension. About 50 supporters of the center also made the trip.
Lisa Putkey, program director of the Pride center, wrote in an email that the funding amount is $1.55 million, which includes $700,000 a year for services and $150,000 for evaluation and development of a replicable tool.
In other center news, it is looking for artists and performers for its queer open mic night that is planned for Friday, May 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pride center, 1021 South El Camino Real, San Mateo. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the center plans an evening of love, laughs, and joyful tears. Interested people can email [email protected].
East Bay park district offers free Fridays
To celebrate the East Bay Regional Park District's 85th anniversary, the district has planned a number of special events and programs, including free park Fridays and free concerts.
Beginning this month, park entry and other fees will be waived every Friday until December. Fee waivers include entrance, day-use parking, swimming, dogs, horse trailers, boat launching, and fishing permits. The fee waiver does not apply to special event permits/reservations, camping, or state fees such as fishing licenses and watercraft inspections.
Free concerts are planned from June through September at regional parks in Alameda, Castro Valley, Antioch, and Oakland. All will be family-friendly music events with food and beverages available for purchase.
The park district oversees 73 regional parks that draw over 25 million annual visit per year.
For more information, including concert dates and locations, visit http://www.ebparks.org.