Tag: Our Center

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Coming Out Debbie Event LGBTQ Organization Our Center Place Transgender

TINN – Trans in Northern Nevada

Left to right: Erica, Francesca, Valerie. Credit: Erica Pionke.

I was at Our Center last weekend to participate in their program “Women Who Brunch.” On the website, it is billed as a “monthly event [that] mixes great food and conversation to encourage the growth of community in a friendly nonstructured environment.  Le[d] by our own volunteer[,] Debbie Dyke.”

Yup, that’s our Debbie.

Credit: Erica Pionke, 2018.

At the same time, Trans in Northern Nevada, or TINN, was holding a board game event.

TINN was wrapping up, but Valerie and Francesca spent some time with me so I could learn more about their organization. Apparently, Valerie had spoken during the meeting and talked about her intersex status.

Francesca is the co-founder and president of TINN. She said that they wanted an opportunity where transgender folks could get out and meet each other and learn from each other. TINN started in 2011 after a prior group, which was centered around the bars, fell apart.

Francesca said that she transitioned in 2011, legally changed her name in 2013 and underwent surgery in 2015. She said she dressed in female clothing when she was a child. She wanted to play with dolls and play foursquare with the girls, but she would find herself in trouble with the adults. She learned she was different in 1970 from watching a movie, but continued to live in her assigned gender until 2011 when she started transitioning. She even married a woman in 1975, and started cross-dressing again in 1985.

She said they hold these TINN meetings to hear people’s stories.  She said that having these talks makes you feel good.  Sometimes the meetings have 6 people and sometimes 30.  They also do movie nights, hiking, bowling, and are always looking to plan other events, too. Francesca loves karate and will take anyone to learn karate for many reasons, including self-defense.

The best way to find TINN is through a group on Facebook and programming events at Our Center. You have to fill out a questionnaire to get on the Facebook group. Just make sure you’re not looking for a relationship–that’s not what this group is about. As of today, they have 246 members. They also put out a paper resource guide that you can pick up at Our Center.

She is very proud of helping people. Data indicate that 82% of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves and 40% have attempted suicide. Only one person in their group has killed themselves.

When I asked Francesca what she wants people knew about TINN, she said she wished people knew that TINN is a safe group.  They accept everyone for who they are.  If the folks in TINN can help, they want to help you transition.  Having friends in a supportive trans group is the best thing you can do to not be alone.

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LGBTQ Organization Our Center Place

The Library is Queer…and Dogs!

Before you read this, check out my last blog on the Washoe County Library Downtown branch. The place is amazing. I give a little history, too.

Credit: Erica Pionke

The bulk of the library’s active LGBTQ events are the one or two Drag Queen Story Times over the last few years, minus COVID, of course. They have also marched in the Pride parade twice so far, and a staffed a booth at the event. If you google Washoe County Library and LGBTQ, the first hit is an online art exhibit called “Exploring the Queer Bible” which has been up for a long while.

Controversial much?

Did I ever mention that I love librarians because they are secret revolutionaries, waging quiet battles that we hardly even see.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

Not only does the library celebrate Pride, but they keep a calendar to celebrate other affinity groups. They encourage the library branches to put up displays of books for the different affinity groups based on the calendar and the library system hosts a spot on KUNR to promote affinity books.

Debi said that they try to continue to bring on relevant collections for everyone, including more secular and conservative groups. She said that a major role of a library is constantly evaluating the library collection, and one of the impactful ways of doing that is looking at whether they provide a diverse experience in the collection.

Some of the most-requested services or asks of the library are connecting all kinds of people to jobs and other resources. 

Jamie said that the library employs about 130 people total for the library. Jamie and Debi answer to the Library Director, Jeff Scott, who answers to the Board of County Commissioners for the library system budget.  Mr. Scott also reports to the five Library Board of Trustees, who make the final decisions on how the library system is run.

Some of the important points that they stressed during the interview:

  • This is not your parent’s library. Shushing librarians are a relic of the past.
  • Libraries value anonymity. 
  • The library will not label books that are LGBTQ, to eliminate inadvertent notification to looky-Lous on what a reader is reading.
  • Libraries don’t divulge lending histories of their patrons, not even to parents of children.
  • The libraries have space available, free of charge, for organizations.
  • The library has a programming committee that can even sponsor some events.
  • The library has a The Quad Maker Space, where you can make different things using their tools and machines.
  • The library hosts summer lunch programs for kids who otherwise get them at school during the schoolyear.
  • They just got a grant for a book mobile. So they can start taking the library on the road to remote places and homebound seniors.
  • Director Scott has been very supportive of their work to move into, in particular, the LGBTQ space; he approved the library to march in the Pride parade, and supported Drag Queen Story Time, even in the face of national news and opposition.

Since Jamie is the marketing person, I asked if the library system had any marketing strategy. They informed me that they have a new strategic plan.  They are excited about it because it brings new energy into their workspace. 

They plan to focus more on service to seniors, which includes homebound delivery.  The library also focuses on improving their space, including renovating two branches recently.  They have always maintained a focus on early literacy.

The library system also maintains a quarterly magazine, The Explorer, which shows all the goings-on in all the branches in one glossy-covered place.  They print 3000 magazines per quarter and distribute them to all the branches. They also put out a weekly email newsletter and try to keep consistency in their brand.

Jamie said she hopes to reach out to Our Center (see my prior post on Our Center) and create some kind of a partnership with them.

When I asked Jamie and Debi what are their favorite events at the library, Debi said she loves new book Tuesday.  That is when they get a cart of fresh, new books to shelve and lend. She said they spend over $1 million per year in new materials.

Jaime said her favorite events are the story times in each branch.  She used to do them and was known for her puppetry when reading.  She loves the Drag Queen Story Time (of course), which includes her friend Miss Ginger Devine, aka Christopher Daniels of Good Luck MacBeth theater company. Jamie also loves another program the library hosts called Paws to Read, where the library brings in therapy dogs to sit with the children during story time.  Please enjoy some adorable pics from their website.

Credit: Paws for Love website

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Art Beauty Debbie Dino Valentino Drag King Drag Queen Health LGBTQ Mom Our Center Personal History Place UNR

My ‘About Me’ Video

My ‘About Me’ video just dropped an hour ago. If you want to blow your mind, check it out.

It’s 3 minutes and 30 seconds or so of amazingness. Shot mostly on location in my exotic and luxurious Sparks, Nevada office. I also got to spend a lovely day with Debbie last Saturday, looking for rainbow things and taking photos and video footage all over Reno. I learned how to splice together film and audio, how to make the sound loud and quiet and how to add text and credits to a video.

I have to give credit to Nick Gapp, Media Production Specialist, at Dynamic Media Lab at UNR, who helped me with my video when I had gotten a little too “extra” and got lost in the sequence. He also showed me the ins and outs of sound mixing.

There is a lot of footage that did not make it into the video. There’s even more that did, but was removed. We tried to go to places that I’d mentioned in my blog like Our Center and Reno Little Theater and things that I wrote about in my blog, like rollerblading, and people that I met, like the Twampson Sisters and Dino Valentino, and, of course, my Debbie.

Please take a look, like it on YouTube, and maybe I’ll make some more!

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History LGBTQ Non-binary Organization Our Center Political Transgender UNR

UNR Queer Grad Collective

Credit: https://www.instagram.com/qgc_unr/

The Queer Grad Collective (QGC) is an officially-sanctioned Graduate Student Association (GSA) University of Reno (UNR) social club.  I met via Zoom this week with M (she/her/they/them) to learn more about them and the club’s origins.

M is a grad student pursuing a Masters in Fine Arts in creative writing, particularly in the genre of science fiction.  They hail from the fine state of Washington. Two years ago, M met Cas (she/her/he/him/they/them) on Lex, a text-centered social app that connects queer lovers and friends (I had to look that one up).  Cas, a Ph.D. candidate in the Environmental Science realm, had posted that there were no queer resources for graduate students at UNR. M and Cas met virtually and quickly came up with a constitution, found a network of students and faculty to support the group, and brought the school on board to found the QGC.

QGC’s mission is to make and create a safe community for queer graduates and people throughout the campus.  They have long-term plans to engage in activism, but for now, they are a social organization.

The group meets currently every other Friday from 11-noon.  They started two years ago in a virtual environment, then moved to in-person, then back on-line.  M said that they generally have about ten to fifteen people attend each meeting.

Right now, they are planning an end-of-semester afternoon picnic bash at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in Reno sometime in the first two weeks of May. 

M said to join the mailing list or log into Discord (I haven’t figured either of these things out yet) to get the details on the event.

Being a social group, their primary objective is connecting people on campus. They have an Instagram @qgc_unr. And they maintain this elusive listserve that I have yet to find.

M said that their marketing strategy thus far has been

  • Put up flyers at UNR campus bulletin boards
  • Use the QLAB listserve
  • Bulk emails to UNR department
  • Maintain an Instagram presence
  • Set up tables at the GSA club fair and other events
  • Partner with other student organizations, both graduate and undergraduate

They have plans to connect with Our Center in the near future.

When I asked M what they are particularly proud of being involved with at QGC, they said that they are just proud that QGC still exists.  M said that it has been tough in the last two years under COVID-19 restrictions to meet people in a town new to them and get to know each other virtually.

Nonetheless, QGC has partnered with the Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN), the student government of UNR, to host a Q&A for students. They’ve hosted a joint holiday party. They’ve partnered with the undergraduate Queer Student Union (QSU) on a gender-affirming closet exchange and plan to host a mentorship program with them next year. They’ve also partnered with QLAB; the local chapter of Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM); and UNR Pride.

When I asked about plans for the future, M said they had no hard plans right now because of the lingering uncertainty of COVID.  M did tell me about their undergraduate queer center in Washington, which had its own dedicated space, held book clubs, support groups, and bitch and stitches. Though M didn’t specifically say that was the goal, we did discuss how it would be great to have a place where all the LGBTQ organizations could meet and hold space.

Like me, M is excited to attend their first Pride in Nevada and see how the Biggest Little City does it.  When I asked what is one of M’s favorite queer spaces or events in Reno, they told me the Holland Project. I had never heard about it before; M says it’s an all-ages venue with a really cool art space and art classes.  M looks forward to going to a show there soon.

When I asked M what they want people to know about QGC, they said they want people to know that QGC is working to foster the first explicit community on the UNR campus for queer graduate students.  QGC is achieving this through community building activities and hopes to continue in the future with social activism and engagement.

Interview with M Sawan, Co-Founder
M Sawan, Interviewee. Credit: LinkedIn
Categories
Art Debbie Event History LGBTQ Our Center Political

Bull (Dyke) In a China Shop

On Friday, Debbie took me to see Bull in a China Shop at Reno Little Theater. I. Loved. It.

Evonne Kezios as lead character, Mary Woolley
Credit: Reno Little Theater facebook

I don’t know if it was because it was my first time back in live theater since the pandemic (I’m sure that helped), but this play gave me sooooooo many feels.

They still have a few shows left next weekend: March 24, 25, 26 at 7:30pm and March 27 at 2pm with a post-show talk-back. I plan to attend that the 27th matinee to experience all of the feels again. I look forward to hearing from the cast and crew.

You can read about the show on the theater website, but the gist is a historical story of two women, a professor and her student, who become the president of Mount Holyoke and a teacher there at the turn into the 20th century. But the real twist is they are lesbian lovers and, gasp!, feminists. The president, Mary Woolley, is a butch and assumingly unique in style and approach for her day, while her partner, Jeanette Marks is a more femme character.

They have an age difference, according to Wikipedia, of 12 years. So as whiny and immature as the Marks character is written and regardless that neither Debbie nor I are neither academics, the story very much reminds me of us.

I immediately connected to the demographics of the characters. I also realized quite early that I have never seen a butch lesbian character portrayed in live theater.

Woolley is an aggressive, ambitious, visionary and unique woman and feminist, to which I also could relate. One important line I will never forget was when Marks was berating Woolley for not carrying forth her vision of revolution, and Woolley replies, “I am the revolution.” I immediately thought of all the women like Debbie who have moved through the world as themselves, forwarding the LGBTQ+ change we see today just by being themselves.

There is also an understory of impatience of youth versus the calculating risks and rewards in the battles of revolution. This includes the antagonism of selling ones values out for money that allows them to live their dreams and the dreams of their partner. This is the perpetual question for anyone working toward social justice.

The lead characters, Evonne Kezios as Woolley supported by Tara Rispin as Marks, are fantastic. It took me a minute to fall in love with them, but I did. Hard.

Terri Gray was perfect as proper and equivocal Welsh, who I wanted to punch by the end of the play. Sydney Tello as Pearl and Claire Hachenberger as Felicity were absolutely adorable. Felicity made me laugh the hardest because she was such a chill goofball.

Claire Hachenberger, Sydney Tello, Tara Rispin
Credit: Reno Little Theater on facebook

Kudos to the Director, who I hope to hear from at the talk-back. The lighting designer, Chad Sweet, did a great job creating a lot of different environments and turning the stage into a wash of different colors and lighting over something like 26 scenes in 90 minutes.

Let’s talk about these friends, though: Intimacy Director Adriano Cabral and Assistant Intimacy Director Thomas Rao. These friends, working with the main characters, created some bedroom and night time scenes unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in live theater. I actually found the intimacy choreography on Thomas’ website and I’m a little disappointed that I don’t think I got to see all the goods they had choreographed.

Tara Rispin, Evonne Kezios
Credit: Reno Little Theater on facebook

The intimacy scenes were really very family-friendly, but, like I said, unlike anything I’d ever seen in live theater before. They seemed very genuine and I felt the intimacy. Maybe I’m just thirsty for content like this.

My favorite scene was Woolley, on a river in China surrounded by unseen diplomats, reflecting in monologue on her love for and return to see Marks again after 6 months traveling. Her musings were so lovely. All the feels.

If you saw or see the play, please drop me a note to tell me what you thought of it. And if you happen to catch your name on an alert in this blog as having contributed to the play, please repost and Thank you.

Credit: RLT
Categories
LGBTQ Non-binary Our Center Place Transgender

Our Center – The Leader of the Pack: Stacey Spain

Credit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-spain-aa161029/

Stacey Spain is the new fearless leader at Our Center in Reno. She has brought life to the Our Center Facebook page, requiring her volunteers to post twice per day to keep patrons of Our Center always thinking about the programs that will bring them in to Our Center and then back, again and again.

She was hired in December of 2021 as the very first paid employee of the organization, but brings with her an extensive background in public service, including grant writing and work in arts programming. She is currently working 30 hours per week at Our Center.

When I visited her last week, she had just finished another meeting with a community organization who was interested in using the space. Stacey said that she fully believes that community spaces are meant to be used and not to sit vacant and empty in between meetings. She is working on bringing in various organizations beyond the LGBTQ panorama, including Girls Scouts, a Women of Color book club, the Northern Nevada Democratic Socialists of America, and 12-step recovery groups.

Of course, the standard events that fall under the Pride flag are still present at Our Center, like PFLAG, transgender youth support groups, and senior programs. Stacey said that the programming focus right now is the senior, youth and transgender demographics. But from the discussion that I had with her, I could tell that she also had an affinity for family events.

She lit up when she talked about the services that Our Center provides to those in need like a small food pantry and sleeping bags. She talked excitedly about health programs she would like to see promoted at Our Center, like HIV testing. She would also like to start a scholarship program for queer kids. She was quite proud of the cozy lending LGBTQ library that takes up a nook in the office space.

Stacey explained to me that she answer to the Our Center Board of Directors which is currently 5 members and meets monthly. She also said that there are several Our Center committees that do a lot of work, which include programming, fundraising (including the Northern Nevada Pride Celebration that happens each year in Wingfield Park on the fourth weekend of July) and governance.

She told me of a story of a mother who had come in to the office with her child after her child had told her that they wanted to transition to female. The mother was visibly scared, confused, and heavy-hearted. Stacey was able to take the mother into a private room and discuss services and support for the mother, while a transgendered woman who had been serendipitously volunteering in the office that day was able to spend some time in the office talking to the child. Stacey said it was the perfect situation.

Several weeks later, Stacey saw the two together at an Our Center group function and they all looked much more adjusted and lighter.

She ran into the child in the office just recently with a big bow in her hair and a beautiful smile on her face. Stacey said it warmed her heart.

When I asked Stacey what her favorite program was at Our Center, she told me that it was probably the “We Are Family Movie and Game Night.” She loves when the LGBTQ parents get together and their children can see that they are not the only ones with LGBTQ parents. She told me that she, too, has a family which has been involved in the family events at Our Center.

If you have questions, please contact Ms. Stacey at the office. Her email is stacey@ourcenterreno.org.

Categories
Event LGBTQ Non-binary Our Center Place Transgender

Our Center LGBTQ(+!) Community-Based Programs

Picture of progressive pride flag with BIPOC and Trans chevron, but also with interlaced circle for Intersex.
Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inclusive_Progressive_Pride_flag.png

We are going to keep talking about Our Center, because there is so much that it does and provides for the LGBTQ community. They post daily on their Facebook page about all the programs and events they run 5 to 6 days a week.

Our Center has been in existence as an organization since 2009. Before they had a brick and mortar location, they were hosting programs for the LGBTQ community. Programs create the fellowship that make up the heart of the Our Center community.

Our Center’s primary focus for programming are youth, senior and transgender folks. After talking to Stacey Spain, the first and only person on the Our Center payroll and just hired in December 2021, I picked up that she also has a desire to really engage LGBTQ families in Northern Nevada.

Stacey also told me of her many plans to start health-based programs like HIV testing and clincs. She wants to bring some programs out into the community, like attending plays on the town. She wants to make sure to have programs that involve all groups, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

Our Center provides services and resources to homeless youth and others in need. They have a small food pantry and sleeping bags if needed. They also refer those in need to other social services in Northern Nevada.

Stacey handed me the list of events that are happening in March 2022. Strap in, because you are about to get the full-month social calendar.

Inclusive Flag. Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/vexillologycirclejerk/comments/o09amq/a_more_inclusive_pride_flag/

First Tuesday of every month (March 1) 6-8pm – We Are Family Movie and Game Night for parents who are LGBTQ and their children

First Wednesday of every month (March 2) 6pm – Our Center Board Meeting (open to all)

Weekly on Wednesdays (March 2 and thereafter) —

  • 2-3pm – Senior coffee time
  • 2-4pm – Social services assistance
  • 6:30-7:30 – Alcoholics Anonymous meeting

First Thursday of every month (March 3) 6-7:30pm – Silver Dollar Court

Weekly on Thursdays (March 3 and thereafter) —

  • 5-6pm – Transgender Youth Support Group (call 775-600-4467 @Hillary or Sam for approval before attending)
  • 6-7:30 – Girl Scout Troop 258 – ages 5-18 (contact enterpeace72@yahoo.com to join group)

First Friday of every month (March 4) 7-9pm – Queer Karaoke

Weekly on Fridays (March 4 and thereafter) —

  • 2-4pm – Social services assistance
  • 7-8pm – Narcotics Anonymous meeting

Weekly on Saturdays (March 5 and thereafter) 10:15am-12:30pm – Womens’ Al-Anon

Sundays – Closed

Mondays – Our Center only open by appointment

Second Tuesday of every month (March 8) 6-7pm – Asexual support and fellowship group

Second and Fourth Tuesdays of every month (March 8 & 22) 6-7pm – Gay/Straight Alliance Consortium

Second Fridays (March 11) 3-5pm – Movie Night

Second and Fourth Saturdays of every month (March 12 & 26) 11am-1pm – Knitting Group

Third Tuesdays of every month (March 15) —

Third Wednesday of every month (March 16) 6-8pm – Northern Nevada Black Cultural Awareness Society Board Meeting

Third Thursdays of every month (March 17) 6-7:30pm – Transparenting – Parents/caregivers/supporters of transgender and gender variant youth

Friday, March 18 – Outing to Reno Little Theater to see “Bull in a China Shop”

Third Fridays of every month (March 18) —

  • 3-6pm – BINGO
  • 6-6:30 – Out and About Seniors Group

Monday, March 21, 6pm – Volunteer Meeting

Tuesday, March 22 —

  • 6-7:30pm – LGBTQ Veterans Peer Support (Nevada Department of Veterans)
  • 7-8pm – Gay Prom Planning

Fourth Thursday of every month (March 24) 6-7:30pm – PFLAG

My call to action today is to ask you to plan to attend at least one event this month to support and grow the Our Center community. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Categories
LGBTQ Our Center Place

Reno’s Our Center

Photo of Stacey Spain standing in a room at Our Center.
Coffee bar at Our Center.
3-tiered yarn station with loads of colored yarn and fabric spilling over.
Left to Right: Stacey Spain of Our Center, the coffee bar, the yarm station in the ART room. Taken by Erica Pionke.

Welcome to Our Center. This will be the first in a series of posts about the Biggest Little LGBTQ Community Center in Reno, which has an active Facebook presence. My hope is that this blog will show me as a human person walking around and observing in the LGBTQ world of Reno, while Our Center is the hub from which most of my adventures will eventually connect. Our Center is the Kevin Bacon of the Reno LGBTQ scene.

Our Center is located at 1745 S. Wells in Reno.

The space is a walk-up storefront taking up about half of the building and approximately 3,000 square feet of space with a lot of nooks and crannies within. Parking is available on the street out front or in a lot on the south side of the building.

Upon walking in the door, you find yourself in the lobby where they kindly ask visitors to sign in via ipad.

To the left is a bulletin board that takes up a full nook and 1/3 of the storefront window. There you can find listings for events and groups within Our Center and in the community.

Small nook with bulletin boards and flyers attached. One wall has cabinets and pamphlets.
Bulletin board. Taken by Erica Pionke.

To the right is the reception desk and LGBTQ merch displays. The racks have t-shirts, beer coozies, pride flags of all sorts, bumper stickers, rainbow jewelry, and other came-to-slay-bought-some-gay merch.

Debbie at the Our Center reception desk.
Display case with rainbow merchandise.
Clothing rack with t-shirts and gay pride flags on top.
Clockwise from top: Debbie at the reception desk, t-shirt merch, tchotchke merch. Taken by Erica Pionke.

Walking back into the bowels of the Center, there is a very tight boardroom to the left.

Tight board room at Our Center with about 8 comfy boardroom chairs around a long conference table.
Board room. Taken by Erica Pionke.

As you keep walking back, you pass a small office, a small open work room and a tiny corner kitchen space.

On the right is a brightly-colored open space with a work table and cabinets that have scissors, yarn (for the bi-monthly knitting group), markers, glue, and everything your 3rd grade art teacher could have supplied to you. A bulletin board showcases its artists.

Colorful art nook with table and four chairs and lots of art supplies.
ART room. Taken by Erica Pionke.

Beyond the art nook is a library nook packed floor to ceiling with LGBTQ literature for the reading and borrowing. There are a few comfy chairs in that nook. I kick myself for not taking a pic of it.

The back of the Our Center space opens up into a large conference space that wraps around into a colorful medium-sized annex. The large room has a coffee bar, large flat-screen television, piano, tables, chairs, and a comfy leather sitting area.

Conference room. Taken by Erica Pionke.

The colorful annex sports shelves of board games and another little work space and couches. The annex then leads around into a supply room which appears to lead back to the main hallway.

Back room with a person in a yellow cardigan at a small table with their laptop. The picture shows shelves full of games and the walls are painted blue and bright pink.
Colorful annex to the conference room. Taken by Erica Pionke.

I may have missed a room or two. Like I said, there a lot of little nooks to hide out and work or relax and chit-chat. Subscribe to my blog at the bottom of this page to read more about Our Center in the next few weeks.