Herland Sister Resources

lake eufaula state park, checotah, ok
october 24 – 26, 2008
  
It’s almost time for another great retreat weekend!  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, great conversation, good friends, good music, and lots of fun. 
On Friday night, Kara will be leading a fun meet and greet event, so that we can all get to know each other a little better.  The Saturday Night Concert will feature a duo from Tulsa known as Karma Sultra, with Lara covering the vocals and Ondrea on piano.  Karma Sultra is a blues/jazz/cabaret band that mixes torch classics and modern masterpieces for an unforgettable show.  You can check them out on myspace at                   http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=409668664.
On Saturday, our featured workshop will be “Self Esteem & Body Image” led by Dawn Singleton, Ph.D.  Dawn’s workshop will focus on learning how to better love and accept ourselves where we are right now.  If you can’t come for the entire weekend, consider coming at least for Saturday, as Dawn is an extremely talented and insightful woman, and promises to lead an unforgettable workshop.
In conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness month, Jeanne will be leading some exciting and fun craft/costume events at the retreat.  The costume contest will be inspired by the Krewe of Brassiere, a small but hilarious parade that precedes Rex at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  Start thinking now about how creative you can get with bras!  There will be several categories to enter after spending time together decorating and designing costumes revolving around what else…bras!  If you want to join in the festivities, please plan on bringing an extra bra or two (thrift stores are a good cheap source), a t-shirt to attach them to (unless you want to kick it up a notch and be closer to nature!), fabric, hats, gloves, shoes, stuffing (socks, tissue, bags of birdseed etc.), and anything else you think may make a great addition to your costume.
Jeanne will also be coordinating a pumpkin carving contest, with one of the categories being “best breasts”.  Bring your pumpkin and any carving materials you have, and help lend a little levity to this serious issue, supporting all the women we know and love, affected by breast cancer.
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.
Unfortunately, because of a minor incident at the last retreat, we have to revise the dog rules.  Dogs of all shapes and sizes are welcome, but we ask that if your dog “doesn’t play well with others” or shows any aggressive tendencies towards people or animals, please leave them at home with a sitter.  Everyone attending the retreat with a dog must sign a waiver stating that they are completely responsible for any injury or damage caused by their dog.  We hope that this promotes a more relaxing atmosphere for everyone.
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 to accommodate you.
Please send your registration as soon as possible.  When we receive your registration form, about a week 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.  Deadline is Oct. 17 in order to receive information packet before retreat, but may pay at the retreat if necessary.  If you plan to pay at the retreat, please call (405) 550-2312 to pre-register.
The Herland Retreat is whatever we make it.  Let’s make it great!

It’s time for a celebration, reunion, and just plain reminiscing.  Herland is turning 25 and everyone is invited to help celebrate.  Mark the date on your calendar: Saturday, October 4, 2008. Location: 2312 NW 39th, OKC. 

As part of our celebration, we’d like to invite you to send us your favorite Herland memories to become part of a 25th Anniversary scrapbook.  Please include your name only as you would be comfortable with everyone that comes in to Herland having access to read it.  We will edit as necessary to protect privacy (and reputations!) and the stories won’t be posted on our website.

Our plan is to put together a scrapbook with pictures and stories sent in by you, the Herland community.  Then, on the night of the celebration, we’ll ask some of you to share your stories at our gathering.  This will be a smaller, more intimate celebration than our 20th anniversary and the focus is on bringing people together and sharing. 

So type up your favorite Herland memory and send it to us by September 27 at: herland@herlandsisters.org or regular mail at Herland, 2312 NW 39, OKC, OK 73112.  Include a couple of photos, if you like, but only if you’ll let us keep them.

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.