A day of gaiety and community

By TOM KANE

	TRR photo by Tom Kane The third annual Day to be Gay featured entertainer Lypsinka. (Click for larger image)

CALLICOON, NY — Gay people from Sullivan and Wayne Counties gathered together with their straight friends for a day of fun in the sun on Sunday, August 31.

The event was held for the third time in three years at the Delaware Community Center.

Lypsinka, a transvestite who has appeared in several recent films; Yolanda, a transvestite who sings her original songs; and Reno, an off-Broadway comedian, entertained the estimated crowd of 400 to 500.

“This is just a day for the gay community to get together and have some fun,” said David Knudsen, the event’s co-organizer. Kathy Reiser, host and producer of the WJFF program “Out Loud and Queer,” shared the organizing responsibilities.

“This kind of event shows that there’s diversity in the area,” said Sonya Heller of Jeffersonville and New York City. “There’s something for everybody today—gays, straights, dogs, cats. It’s great.”

“I think people are a lot more at ease dealing with gays,” Knudsen said. “We’re mainstreaming. Recent decisions by the courts in support of gay people, the movement in Canada to allow gay marriages, the acceptance by most of the Episcopal community of a gay bishop—these are all signs that people are not scared of us anymore.”

Knudsen sees gays playing an integral part in the rejuvenation of many local communities.

“We’re working side by side with our straight neighbors in places like Liberty, Livingston Manor, Barryville and Jeffersonville in order to make these places prosper,” he said.