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Coupled with the slogan “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise” is the theme for the 19 th World AIDS Day on December 1: “Leadership.” In Houston this year, a group of community leaders and advocates have collaborated for several months to coordinate World AIDS Day events and bring greater attention to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
“I got mad and fed up,” says Jane Weiner, whose Hope Stone dance troupe participates every year in the Illumination Project, the annual World AIDS Day evening of dance. She is one of the principal organizers of this new World AIDS Day Houston endeavor. “AIDS is gaining numbers but losing steam in the public eye. Today, more than ever, AIDS needs to be brought back into the spotlight so we can eradicate it.”
Because December 1 falls on a Saturday this year, some activities will take place from Thursday through Sunday. Updated information on events will be posted on the website www.worldaidsdayhouston.org .
Here is a select listing of events:
AIDS Foundation Houston will hold its yearly World AIDS Day luncheon on November 30, 11:30 a.m., at The Corinthian downtown. Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame is the guest speaker.
Earlier in the month, AFH presents its third annual Art for Life exhibition and benefit auction on November 8, 7-9 p.m., at Gremillion & Co. Gallery. The event, part of the Mukuru art series, will feature 34 artists.
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran (United Church of Christ) will hold a bilingual World AIDS Day service on December 1, 7 p.m. The Gay and Lesbian Latin Organization (GALLO) and the Center for AIDS also sponsors of the service at the church (1107 Shepherd).
Houston GLBT Community Center will present an exhibition of work by artists who participate in the Art League Houston HIV+ Healing Art Group taught by Kermit Eisenhut. The exhibition will go on display on November 30; some pieces will remain on view throughout December. The center (3400 Montrose Blvd., Suite 207) will host a reception on December 1, 2-5 p.m. Works of art will be available for purchase.
The center will also put up a Tree of Remembrance in its lobby. Throughout December, the center invites individuals to bring ornaments or pictures in remembrance of friends and loved ones lost to HIV/AIDS.
Houston Transgender Unity Committee and Houston Area Community Services (HACS) host a November 30, 1-4 p.m., open house at the HACS transgender clinic (1710 West 25th St.).
The Illumination Project, the dance performance benefit now in its sixth year, takes place on December 1, 8 p.m., at the Hobby Center. Performers this year are Two Star Symphony, David Neumann, The Elements of Vogue, and Andee Scott and Hope Stone with the Houston Boy Choir. $25-50. Proceeds benefit Bering Omega Community Services and the Baylor Pediatric AIDS Initiative.
Montrose Counseling Center offers three programs. From November 1 through January 2, individuals may decorate a link for the Paper Chain of Remembrance at the counseling center (401 Branard). The center will host an HIV/AIDS Across the World display, November 26-December 7. On November 30, the center will hold a 6:30 p.m. outdoor World AIDS Day candlelight observance.
Queer Music Heritage, the monthly segment on Queer Voices, the weekly KPFT radio program, will feature songs dealing with the AIDS crisis on November 26, 9 p.m. JD Doyle produces and hosts the segment, which airs at 90.1 FM. Segments are also archived at www.queermusicheritage.com.
Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church will present nine panels from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt on December 1 and 2 at the church (2025 West 11 th St.). See OutFront this issue for more information.
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church (5102 Dabney) will hold its annual World AIDS Day Mass of Remembrance on December 1, 11 a.m. The celebrant is Archbishop Cardinal DiNardo, recently appointed a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI. The service is co-sponsored by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and United Way of Greater Houston.
Thomas Street Health Center, Harris County Hospital District, will host an 11 a.m. memorial service and a noon-4 p.m. information fair this year on November 30 at Ben Taub General Hospital (1504 Taub Loop).
Also on November 30, the Thomas Street Patients Advisory Council will host its traditional Tree of Remembrance ceremony on the grounds of the clinic (2015 Thomas St.), sponsored by the Hospital District. After a short program at 11 a.m., individuals will be invited to hang ornaments or place pictures of loved ones on the tree, which will remain up through December.
Some World AIDS Day events had not been announced by press time. Check www.worldaidsdayhouston.org for updates and more details._
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