The latest updates for our 2010 event will be posted here.
PPD Council Meeting Minutes:
February
March, April not available
May
June
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Las Cruces Pagan Pride Day call for participation
Hello out there Southern NM and West Texas Pagan community!
This address is on behalf of the planning Council of the Las Cruces area Pagan Pride Day. This year Las Cruces area Pagan Pride day is scheduled for October 23rd, in Young Park. We hope that you will consider attending, participating, and creating a safe and vibrant community.
The Council is dedicated to hosting a wonderful event that encompasses as many aspects of paganism as possible, in a single-day, festival style celebration. We need help from the community to ensure that this happens. So now we are putting out the call for merchants, entertainers, workshop hosts, and more Council members. The more involvement from the community, the stronger the event will become. The event cannot happen on a large scale with the majority of you silent and watching to see what happens. We need participation from our community, so we may give back to our community on a whole. If you are not familiar with the International Pagan Pride Project, I would suggest you visit their web site and find out what its all about! Additionally, we are open to suggestions! Below is a brief explanation for the above mentioned aspects that we are lacking in participation.
Merchants should have family oriented items or services, and a tax ID number or business license. If you get your merchant fee in before August 1st, it will be $35. After August 1st, there will be another $10 late fee penalty. For more information on being a merchant, email Mahonri at pjwolfe69@yahoo. com.
Entertainers are scheduled for up to 45 minutes, and should be family oriented and non-inflammatory material. As PPD is a non-profit group, and a free event, entertainers are not paid, due to the limited amount of funding, but advertisement of your services is strongly encouraged. If interested in becoming an entertainer, or to give suggestions, contact entertainment coordinator Sarah at 526-1153.
Workshops are scheduled for up to 45 minutes. Workshops are free to the general public and workshop hosts are not paid for their time or materials. Advertisement of your services or specialty is appropriate during the workshops. Contact Victor at food4thoth@yahoo.com or Tania at taniatieman49@yahoo.com.
Council members are in service to the local pagan community, in helping to organize the PPD event. First and foremost we are committed to hosting a food drive to benefit a local charity, as all Pagan Pride Projects are required to do. Additionally, we organize mingling with like minded people and host a public ritual, helping to dispel myths and bring our local pagan community together. Council meets once a month for brainstorming. Other activities that you become involved with are based completely on the amount of time you have available to commit to the cause. It is strictly on a volunteer basis, open to all pagan and pagan-friendly pathways, and is NEVER a paid position. For more information to volunteer contact Sabine at friesianhair13@ yahoo.com.
In addition to needing help from the community through involvement, we are also hopeful for some donations to help host the event. Again, one of our main focuses is hosting a food drive for a local charity. Our budget annually is just around $1000. There is no one that receives payment for help with the event, as Council member, entertainer, or workshop teacher. To help give some transparency to this event, let me break down our expenses for those that are curious.
Park rental: $150
Event insurance: $450
Advertisement and printing costs: $100
Miscellaneous expenses such as fuel reimbursement, office supplies, signage, paper: $100
Table, chair, and tent rentals $150
Please consider donations to the cause, or attending our upcoming events that we have scheduled for fundraising efforts. I encourage you to make regular visits to our web site, for details about upcoming events (www.lascrucespaganpride.org). Additionally, if you are hosting classes or other public events, contact our web mistress to have your events posted to web site as well.
We hope to hear from several of you. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions that you might have for our area's event.
Many blessings,
Sabine and Council
LC-PPD Coordinator
Sunday, February 7: PPD's first Council Meeting.
A date of October 23 was set for this year's event, with the 16th as a fallback date in case this date was already booked at Young Park.
Statement of Purpose: The Pagan Pride Project is a non-profit organization. The primary purposes of this corporation shall be the advancement of religion and elimination of prejudice and discrimination based on religious beliefs.
Mission Statement: The mission of the Pagan Pride Project is to foster pride in Pagan identity through education, activism, charity and community.
Draft Vision for 2010: In addition to working toward the vision and mission of the National Pagan Pride organization LCPPD 2010 will have a great variety of workshops and entertainment, active, helpful and sufficient volunteers with a tribal community ambiance. We will have excellent weather with calm winds and sturdy tents/shelters. This will be a happy, fun festival with music throughout the event in a variety of settings (i.e. local bands, event CD to play at booths and possibly to sell). We will have comfortable, joyful participation of volunteers and the community. We will continue to have a Shrine of Remembrance/Altar Education Walk, Ending Circle with Spiral Dance, color, diversity and pageantry in ambiance, Return to the Goddess show, lots of wonderful vendors, excellent press coverage, increased attendance that is easier to record, and our wonderful site—Young Park. We will express public gratitude for all the good work and the contributors in making LCPPD come together and this will be a safe event for all to attend, as ensured by our Safety Patrol.
Past successes and future improvements were discussed along with fundraising and organization.
Sarah Heartsong and Ginette Novello were named as event co-coordinators to assist Event Coordinator Sabine Whitley.
Victor Gibbs will work with Tania Tieman on workshops.
Tania was also named Treasurer in absentia due to her extensive background in bookkeeping. (Hope that's OK with you, Tania--see what happens if you miss a meeting?)
Volunteers still needed for Welcome, Information, Networking coordination.
Tentative date for Saturday, March 13 set as next PPD Council Meeting.
Apologies for not having the minutes available for March or April. Here are the minutes from May submitted by Event Coordinator Sabine Whitley:
This was a meeting to decide how to proceed for the rest of the year, and what we would do or not do for 2010 PPD.
It is clear at this point that without more participation, that this year will be a smaller event, which seems to be ok with most. Between now and the next meeting, we will gather efforts and try to get more people involved. If this does not work, then we will scale down, do a food drive, the altar education project and healing and remembrance shrine, and a public ritual. The food drive and ritual are the bare minimum that we have to do for national's guidelines.
Next meeting will be June 27th at 5 pm at the Gibbs' house.If by the next meeting there is no big shift in the energy, we will work on scaling back and maybe just keeping the baseline of energy going, and ramp it up next year again.
It was decided that there should be a minimum of 10 merchants by July 1. Vicki will be soliciting donations for the Silent Auction. The Mabon ritual is still on the books, so we need to know what kind of paperwork to get moved through to have it at the UU church again, along with the Silent Auction.
A car wash will be scheduled soon as well. Brandon and Jada volunteered to help, and I am hoping that other young members in the community will step up and help out for fundraising.
The Gibbs donated another $50. Thank you!!! The fundraising focus is for the insurance, at $420 (that was last year's coverage cost). We also have about $100 for miscellaneous expenses, such as copies, tables and chairs, fuel cost, etc.The motto at this point is to let go of what is not truly needed, and continue with the bare essentials, until Spirit provides the means for more. We are a smaller group this time, and if we need to scale back, so be it. Keep praying, and keep up the networking.
Many blessings
Sabine
Las Cruces Pagan Pride
Board Meeting June 27, 2010Location: Victor Gibbs' home.
Meeting called to order approximately 5:15 p.m.
Board Members Present :
Sabine Green, PPD Coordinator; Mahonri Telles, Merchant Coordinator; Ginette Novello, Co-coordinator and PPD Website Manager; Tania Tieman, Secretary; PSU Co-presidents Jada Eubank, Blaine Proctor, Brandon Proctor, and their friend Richard; Sarah Barnett, Entertainment Chair; Vicki Nance, Silent Auction Coordinator.
New Additions:
We had 2 new people join us at the meeting: Kristin Stair and Lorie Jackson. Welcome!
Vendor Updates:
Acrylic Dragon - dragon-themed art and stuff
Ardantane - Pagan retreat and learning center
Books Etc.
Dancing Dolphins - face painting
Funky Karma - incense, books, statues, tarot cards
Fortunes Told - Tarot by Nashoba
Old World Antiques (Sabine & Mahonri)
Shems' henna artist (hopefully)
Esperanza Telles - massage therapy
White Rabbit Enterprises - emu oil, soy candles.
Food Vendors:
Jessie's Barbecue - Barbecue cuisine, soda.
Deb's Dawgs - hot dogs, chips, soda
Feroz - East Indian cuisine
Pending Vendors:
Metaphysical Life Center and The Adera Center. Sabine will follow up and have information at next board meeting.
Workshop Updates:
Tarot card readings - Nashoba
Pending Workshop Presenters:
Tortuga Tribe spokesperson (Tania has contacted her folks with the tribe and I'm waiting on a call back to see who will come and talk to us but it sounded like they would be interested). Tania will have information at the next board meeting).
Remember our workshop and vendors need to sign the release form. Available on the PPD mailing list from last year and edit it for each person that needs to sign one.
Altar Education Project:
Sarah Heartsong was not present so we did not get an update from her on who has signed up to set up altars at the event.
Known Participants:
Celtic Wiccan: Lara Gibbs
Kemetic Orthodoxy: Ginette Novello and Tania Tieman
Shamanism: Penn and Stephanie
Spiritual symbology: Victor Gibbs
Veterans Shrine: Matt Hopper
UU Church Las Cruces: Sarah Heartsong
Pending Participants:
Druid: Rev. David Foster
Public Service Announcement:
Sabine Green will follow up with Frank Villasana and see if he can do the public announcement for PPD as well as a TV commercial (which worked well from last year). Sabine will have information for next board meeting.
Entertainment:
Sarah B. has confirmed the following groups to perform at the event: Jewells of the Desert, (Middle Eastern dance), Karuna and the New World Drummers & Dancers, and Return to the Goddess (The Eternal Dancers & Friends).Sound System:
Sarah B. has a system that she volunteered to bring for the event. We don't have a current one to use as the one we used last year belonged to Jennifer Perry who is moving to Phoenix and will not be here in October this year. We need to decide if we want to use the system offered or find a new provider by the next board meeting.
Other areas:
Networking Booth: Lorie Jackson
Information Tables: Dee Proctor
Altar Education Project: Sarah Heartsong
Merchants: Mahonri Telles
Workshops: Victor Gibbs and Tania Tieman
PPD Website manager: Ginette Novello
Entertainment: Sarah Barnett
Safety Patrol: Rick Proctor
Kid's Area: Lara Gibbs
Food Drive Charity: Laryssa Higgins
Veteran's Altar: Matt Hopper
Fundraising:
We received $135.00 from two donations for speaking fees from Tania Tieman and Ginette Novello for the UU Church of Alamogordo Lecture Series on June 12, 2010. Thank you to the UU Church of Alamogordo for giving us the opportunity and the invite to speak.
Vicki Nance is working the Silent Auction booth. She collected items donated from board members at the meeting this afternoon: Other board members who want to donate can bring their items to the next meeting or contact Vicki at [best way to contact you?] and she will make arrangements to collect the item(s) from you.
1. Two (2) handmade wall hangings with a witch theme donated by Lara Gibbs valued at $40 each ($40 x 2 = $80), and
2. Two (2) jewelry items donated by Ginette Novello valued at $65.00.
Food Donations for PPD Charity Recipient:
Discussion on which charity we would like to donate food for this year. Board members will check their notes to see who we talked to and make sure we haven't committed already and we will decide this at the next board meeting. Talk of contacting La Casa shelter for battered women.7/17 update: El Caldito Soup Kitchen has been verbally confirmed as our charity recipient, but official arrangements still need to be made.
Flyers for upcoming September events:
Brandon Proctor volunteered to do up a flyer for the upcoming September 2010 Mabon event. He will have a draft ready for review at the next board meeting.
Equipment Rental:
We discussed renting tables and chairs if needed this year from Action Rental in Las Cruces. It was decided that we would use them again this year. We paid $85.00 last year to rent five (5) big tables and twenty (20) chairs. We will need at least that amount this year.
We also discussed having a fundraiser to try and raise money to rent the items we need from Action Rental (tables and chairs). We will discuss again at the next board meeting. If we can do it we might do something along the lines of a carwash.
Future Events:
September 3, 2010 (Labor Day weekend) to discuss upcoming Mabon event and location to hold said event. We did discuss using the UU Church of Las Cruces again. Will need to follow up with at next board meeting. A date of September 18, 2010 is tentatively set for the Mabon celebration.
We need to decide on a location for this event. Do we want to rent a portion of a park somewhere here in the city (like Young Park's Pavilion) or perhaps a private location like one of the shops with space available for private events or do we want to hold it again at the UU Church of Las Cruces? We have two weeks to decide on this and then we will have to make a commitment. We will follow up with this at next month's meeting.
NOTE: Any of the places we chose will have a fee associated with the rental and some may or may not allow fundraising to occur at the same time as the event or in the same building (like the silent auction).
Next Board Meeting:
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at Victor's house again. Our October meeting will be at Young Park so we can look at the logistics and set up arrangements before the event.
Meeting adjourned approximately 6:30 p.m. for refreshments. Thank you Victor!
Tania Tieman
PPD Secretary
Please contact Event Coordinator Sabine Whitley if you would like to serve on the Council or assist in PPD preparations in any way. All help is appreciated!
