The month is cold, but Worcester is thriving! The community center discussions are ongoing, and we will have a preliminary report in our next issue. For this issue, I focus on two organizations that are important to the Worcester cultural scene – Worcester Pride and Airspray.

Worcester Pride, now in its 41st year, reinvents itself nearly every year, and Airspray has been creating a new scene for more than two years. I asked them both to write up a few words about what to expect in the New Year. Here is what they had to say:

Worcester Pride
“For the 2016 program year, Worcester Pride will be launching the 2016 Pride Year with an ambitious calendar of events and a new organizational approach.

“We will have a General Committee meeting the first Tuesday of every month, but on the third Tuesday of every month, we will break down into six teams, each with a specific focus, to help propel our community forward. The teams are: Community Outreach and Support; Annual LGBTQ+ Events; Pride Week Events; Youth; Social Justice; and Fund Raising.

“Please join us at general meeting or a team meeting to help move Pride forward. Find us on Facebook (Worcester MA Pride) or email us at worcesterpride@gmail.com.”

Airspray
“Airspray is a queer community group that organizes LGBT social events in Worcester. We throw monthly queer dance parties every third Friday at Electric Haze at 26 Millbury St., Worcester. We average 200 people in attendance every time. We also run a monthly Morning After Airspray brunch at Chickpea, Worcester’s newest vegan café at 589 Park Ave. We’ve been going strong for two years now! As the co-founder of this amazing and energetic group, I could have never predicted that so many people would come together and help build an open, visible queer community in Worcester.

“We love to collaborate with various cultural institutions in our city. Past events that have been very successful have been at locations such as the Worcester Historical Museum and Arts Worcester. It’s so important for us to celebrate and bring our community into the wonderful spaces we have in this city. Worcester is a vibrant place to live that has a lot to offer, but it’s often the case that people don’t know of events or groups that might be of interest to them due to lack of access and thorough promotion.

“What does 2016 hold in store for Airspray Worcester? We plan to continue with our regularly scheduled events at Electric Haze and Chickpea. We hope to build more connections with other local cultural institutions – perhaps the Worcester Art Museum and the Sprinkler Factory Artist Group. Most importantly, we want to hear from you! What would members of the queer community like from Airspray? Please email us at AirsprayWstr@gmail.com.”

As always, please send us your events or let us know about groups that you would like to see published here at outandaboutworcester@gmail.com.

By John Trobaugh

John Trobaugh is a diversity project specialist in the Diversity and Inclusion Office of UMass Medical School.