Much anticipated Butch Voices Conference

The Butch Voices Conferences is at the end of the month over the first weekend in October.  The full press release provides details on what looks to be a wonderful weekend.  This surely spells ROADTRIP!  Ms T.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Butches Convene in Portland for BUTCH Voices Regional Conference 

Date: September 3, 2010                                                                                  

Contact: Joe LeBlanc, BUTCH Voices Portland Regional Conference Chair

Email: butchvoices@gmail.com

Butch Voices, a grassroots organization dedicated to all self identified Butches, Studs, Aggressives, other similar identities, and their Allies is holding a Regional Conference on September 30th – October 3rd, 2010 in Portland, Oregon.

The BUTCH Voices Portland Regional Conference kicks off with their opening night art exhibition 6pm, September 30th at Q Center located at 4115 N Mississippi Ave.  Artists from all over the Pacific Northwest region will be highlighted in a month long art exhibit, Flavors of BUTCH Taste, curated by Jay Walls.  There will be a meet and greet event on Friday evening at Scandals Lounge located at 1125 Southwest Stark St. Following the meet and greet will be special performance by the queer interdisciplinary performance troupe, SweLL, composed of Ivan E. Coyote, Lyndell Montgomery, and Anna Camilleri.  

On Saturday, October 2nd there will be workshops and panels covering topics such as: Dismantling Racism in the LGBT Communities, Butch Porn, Two Spirits, Genderqueer, and Healthcare Advocacy from 9am to 6pm on campus at Portland State University located in four different rooms in the Smith Memorial Student Union.  This event, co-sponsored by the Queer Resource Center at PSU will include lunch and feature a Keynote Speech given by Kathleen Saadat, who hosts a long list of achievements including the Woman of Achievement Award from Oregon State University.

Saturday night BUTCH Voices will host the variety showcase BUTCH BUFFET at the Hawthorne Theatre located at 1507 SE 39th Ave.  The showcase will include live theater, drag, live music, and other talents including a segment from the SweLL performers, Bruce T.D. King as emcee, and from "America's Got Talent" butch hand-whistling sensation Sally Cohn.  Doors open at 8pm and showtime is 9pm.  The evening continues with Butch Dessert, the dance party at the Egyptian Club located at 3701 Southeast Division St.

Sunday, October 3rd there will be a spoken word and artists showcase, Gender/Queer, at In Other Words Women’s Bookstore from 2pm to 5pm.  BUTCH Voices will wind down their conference weekend with a Costume Contest and Karaoke Night to close things out at the Egyptian Club.

BUTCH Voices Portland Regional Conference Chair Joe LeBlanc states, "With our Regional Conferences, BUTCH Voices hopes to capture the differences among us within each region as a broad based community at large.  Each conference will have its own flavor and will bring to the table issues that are pertinent and specific towards our goal of empowering each other.”

ASL interpretation will be provided by DHOR. Tickets for SweLL are $12 in advance, and $15 at the door.  Conference registration is $10 for limited income and students, and $20 regularly which covers the other conference events and Saturday night performance. 

Registration is available online and more details on the BUTCH Voices website:  http://www.butchvoices.com/regional-conferences-portland/

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Mission Statement:

The mission of BUTCH Voices is to enhance and sustain the well-being of all women, female-bodied, and trans-identified individuals who are masculine of center*.  We achieve this by providing programs that build community, positive visibility and empower us to advocate for our whole selves inclusive of and beyond our gender identity and sexual orientation.

Our community is vast and growing and we have many identifications that resemble what the world knows as our “butchness.” We recognize our diversity as having a foundation rooted in butch heritage. We welcome the on-going development of movements intentionally and critically inclusive of our gender variant community. BUTCH Voices is a social justice organization that is race and gender inclusive, pro-womanist and feminist.

For more information on BUTCH Voices, visit http://www.butchvoices.com. 

BUTCH Voices, PO Box 40532 San Diego, CA 92164-0532

On Seattle Announcements Calendar.