Herland Sister Resources

lake eufaula state park
october 24 – 26, 2008

Ready For Another Great Retreat Weekend?  Well you’re in luck!  Mark your calendars and plan to attend the bi-annual Herland Retreat!  This time we’ll meet at Lake Eufaula State Park (formerly Fountainhead) on October 24 – 26, 2008.  As usual, the weekend promises to be full of relaxation, good friends, good music, and lots of fun.  Workshops and the Saturday Night Concert are being planned as we go to press, but if you are interested in leading a workshop, please let us know ASAP by e-mailing SAHatwork@aol.com or calling (405) 550-2312.  Remember – there are very few rules so be creative!  With such a great group of women – there are bound to be at least a few that share your same interests.

If you have never been to a Herland Retreat, you owe it to yourself to give it a try!  Whether you come solo or with friends, are a certified camper or city grrrl, or come from near or far, it’s a perfect, affordable opportunity to meet new friends, catch up with old friends, play board games and sports, explore nature, swim at Hummingbird Beach, learn or share something new at a workshop, strut your stuff at the open mic, express your culinary skills at the Saturday evening Potluck, sing and tell stories around the campfire or simply relax in an incredibly supportive environment. 

Your registration fee includes lodging in a cabin, a light dinner on Friday, scrumptious breakfast/brunch on Saturday and Sunday mornings,  Saturday evening Potluck Dinner (bring or plan on making a dish to wow your fellow campers), all workshops and group camp activities, and the Saturday night concert.

If you have any special needs, please be sure to include them on your registration form, or call one of the numbers listed below, and we’ll make every attempt at accommodating you.

After we receive your registration form, a few weeks before the retreat, we will mail you a packet which has the retreat schedule, a list of items you may want to bring, details about the weekend, and a map to Lake Eufaula State Park.  If you have questions, you may leave a message at (405) 550-2312 or (405) 521-9696 and someone with call you back.

There will be more information and another registration form in next month’s Voice, but remember…The Herland Retreat is whatever we make it.  Let’s make it great!

In a serious game of one-upsmanship, County Commissioner Brent Rinehart of Oklahoma County has really raised the ante on Sally Kern, Oklahoma State Representative.  The two are currently dueling it out for title of “Most Embarrassing  Oklahoman.” 
Rep. Kern scored first in the contest by exposing the “gay agenda” to a group of donors and equating gays to terrorists.  Luckily for her, she was secretly recorded and the resulting audio posted to YouTube.  Millions have enjoyed listening to her thoughtful insights about how gays in our society are like having cancer in your toe—you just can’t ignore it and let it spread!  Even Ellen (DeGeneres) tried to call her on the air and congratulate her for the well-placed opening volley. 

From Brent Rinehart’s re-election campaign comic book.  Illustration by Shane Suiters.
Now Brent Rinehart has risen to the challenge and is out to show that he will not be outdone by any woman!  The only County Commissioner with the guts to use a 16-page comic book for his re-election campaign, Brent takes the fight right into Kern’s territory (that is, the homophobic religious right constituency).  He’s got an angel on his side and Satan against him!  SCORE!!
He’s got a toga-clad Roman trying to drag a Boy Scout out into the woods! (In case you don’t remember—Rome was destroyed by homosexuality.)  SCORE!!  He’s got Peter Pan, another Roman, and Satan marching in the gay pride parade!  SCORE!!
And did you know that good ole boy politicians in Oklahoma are now liberals?  They are!  And they’re against Brent just like the homosexuals!  SCORE!! 
Chafing at all the attention given to Rinehart, Rep. Kern tried to get back into the spotlight by packin’ heat at the Capitol this week.  It’s way too early to call, but Rinehart has a big lead over Kern in this year’s title bout.  (And, he’ll be hard to overtake with the angel on his side!)

(from MSNBC and the LA Times)

Robin Tyler, left, and Diane Olson rejoice after marrying in a Jewish ceremony on the steps of the Beverly Hills courthouse.  (Luis Sinco, Los Angeles Times)

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first same-sex couple to wed after California’s Supreme Court declared gay marriage legal. (MSNBC)

Dozens of gay couples were married Monday after a historic ruling making California the second state to allow same-sex nuptials went into effect.

At least five county clerks around the state extended their hours to issue marriage licenses, and many same-sex couples got married on the spot.  “These are not folks who just met each other last week and said,  ‘Let’s get married.’ These are folks who have been together in some cases for decades,” said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

“They are married in their hearts and minds, but they have never been able to have that experience of community and common humanity.”

The really big rush to the altar in the nation’s most populous state is not expected to take place until Tuesday, which is when most counties plan to start issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of couples from around the country are expected to seize the opportunity to make their unions official in the eyes of the law.

Local officials are now required to issue licenses that have the words “Party A” and “Party B” where “bride” and “groom” used to be.  In San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom, who helped launch the series of lawsuits that led the court to strike down California’s one-man-one-woman marriage laws,
presided at the wedding of lesbian rights activists Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84.  (In 1955, Martin and Lyon and six other lesbian women formed the Daughters of Bilitis, the first major lesbian organization in the United States.)  Well-wishers cheered when they emerged outside Newsom’s office after the ceremony.

Dozens of couples gathered outside the clerks offices in Alameda, Sonoma and Yolo counties, where hours were extended to accommodate gay couples who wanted to be among the first to marry.

Derek Norman, 23 and Robert Blaudow, 39, from Memphis, were in the Bay Area for a conference and decided to get married at the Alameda County clerk’s office.  “We might wait a long time in Tennessee, so this is our chance,” Blaudow said.

First in line to pick up a marriage license in Sonoma was Melanie Phoenix, 47, and Terry Robinson, 48, of Santa Rosa. They have been together for almost 26 years and plan to be wed in August.  “It’s an historic occasion,” Phoenix said. “I never believed it was really possible until Gavin Newsom took the first step in 2004.”

A throng of well-wishers and news media surrounded a lesbian couple as they were married in a Jewish ceremony in front of the Beverly Hills courthouse.  The ceremony was broadcast live on three newscasts in Los Angeles.  The couple wept and pressed their foreheads together, and onlookers whooped as the marriage became valid.

Unlike Massachusetts, which legalized gay marriage in 2004, California has no residency requirement for marriage licenses, and that is expected to draw a great number of out-of-state couples. The turnout could also be boosted by New York state’s recent announcement that it will recognize gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

A UCLA study issued last week estimated that half of California’s more than 100,000 same-sex couples will get married over the next three years, and an additional 68,000 out-of-state couples will travel here to exchange vows. The study estimated that over that period, gay weddings will generate some 2,200 jobs and $64 million in badly needed tax revenue for the state, which is ailing financially.

Some of those out-of-state couples are likely to demand legal recognition in their home states, setting the stage for numerous court battles.  However, some couples may wait to tie the knot because of a proposed constitutional amendment on the California ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.

okc taste of pride
Friday, June 13, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Gold Dome, 1112 NW 23rd Street, $20

okc pride at the zoo
Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Oklahoma City Zoo, 2101 NE 50th Street

okc pride strip show
Friday, June 20, 6 p.m. to 7:45p.m.
NW 39th Street between Pennsylvania and N. Youngs
The Strip Show is a party on 39th Street!  It will feature music and performances by Oklahoma’s most talented professionals and food vendors will be available.

okc pride parade
Friday, June 20, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
START: Memorial Park (NW 36th Street and N. Classen)
END: The Strip (NW 39th Street and N. Pennsylvania)
For the first time, the Parade will be an evening event.  Be a part of this magical summer night.  Awards will be given to selected entries in this friendly competition.  

okc pride festival
Saturday, June 21, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday, June 22, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Memorial Park, NW 36th Street and N. Classen 
The OKC Pride Festival is a two-day event, featuring live music, contests, and much, much more.

okc pride ice cream social
Sunday, June 22, 5:30 p.m.
Church of the Open Arms, 3131 N Penn 

okc pride concert
Sunday, June 22, 6:30 p.m.
Church of the Open Arms, 3131 N Penn 

OKC band Covert Union will open the concert at 6:30 p.m. followed by the Therapy Sisters at 7:30 p.m.  Suggested donation $10. 

the herland backyard pride picnic     
Saturday, June 21
5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Herland Backyard
2312 NW 39th Street

Don’t miss this awesome Pride event—the annual Herland Backyard Pride Picnic.  We grill up hotdogs, hamburgers, veggie dogs and burgers, with all the fixins, sides, and drinks. 
Plus you’ll hear music by Covert Union (Wende, Peggy, Nancy, Elyse, Sannie) and The Therapy Sisters (live from Austin, Texas) and many more! 
Food starts about 5:30 pm and music about 6 pm.  This is a family-friendly event.  So bring lawn chairs, kids, friends, and a donation, $5/person  (or more if you can).  Please no pets.