turned back and nose in the air of the at- titude queen. The audience roared with the laughter of self-recognition. Two women provided an enriching con- trast to the all-male chorus. Nancy Arm- strong was the guest soloist. Her clear soprano rang out against the deeper male voices. LeWana Clark was the sign lan- guage interpreter. Her interpretation of the music was a joyful addition to the music. The music spoke to a very varied audi- ence — whether it was a 40’s medley or Holly Near’s Great Peace March. There were grandmothers with their granddaughters, many lesbian and gay couples, older mixed sex couples, family groups of all descriptions. It was clear from the smiles and hugs during inter- mission and at the reception afterwards, that the concert was an event which had brought together a wide cross—section of our community. The community in and around St. Johns- bury provided a tremendous base of sup- port. Not only were there some 400 peo- ple in the audience, but local housing was provided for the chorus. Ten area faith communities co—sponsored the event (North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury; South Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury; The Danville United Methodist Church, The West Danville United Methodist Church; The United Methodist Churches of Plainfield and Adamant; Glover/Barton Friends Preparatory Meeting; East Burke Con- gregational Church; St. Peter’s Epis- copal, Lyndonville; Third Congrega- tional Church, East St. Johnsbury; and Lower Waterford Congregational Church). In contrast to the large show of support inside the church, there was a small protest outside organized by two funda- mentalist churches (Living Word of Faith Ministries and Lambs in Mission). They ran a quarter page ad in the Cal- edonian-Record with the headline “At- tention: Jesus Christ is Love!” and con- tinued in large type to “warn the public against false teachers who are leading countless numbers astray.” Twenty or so people were on the sidewalk outside the North Church “to let it be known at the judgment seat of Christ that we have taken a righteous stance in protest.” It was a new experience for members of the chorus; the first time in their ten-year history that a performance has been pick- eted. The police ensured that the pro- testors didn’t block access to the concert. About 25 minutes after the concert start- ed the protestors left. Kathy Goslant, a member of the ACAP Board of Directors and chief bouncer for the concert, pointed out the irony of the protest: “It was a great evening. I’m ac- tually glad the picketers showed up. We made more money. People changed their plans to come and show their support.” About 100 tickets were sold prior to the event, according to Rick Wold, ACAP treasurer, but in response to news of the protests, almost 400 tickests were sold on the night of the performance. The concert, a fund raiser for ACAP, raised over $2,300. The following night the chorus appeared at the Hopkins Center in Hanover, NH, at a fundraiser for ACoRN (AIDS Com- munity Resource Network). The chorus appeared more relaxed in Hanover, where there were no protesters and where their presence was advertised in foot-high letters on the marquee of the Hopkins Center. If you want to hear more from the gay and lesbian choruses, there will be a GALA in Denver, Colorado in June were over 80 choruses will be putting on a week of musical entertainment, sand- wiched in between Gay Pride and Gay Rodeo. V RONNIES' % BED &BREAKFAST %_ ffl/"’ 5!/0/f(&/( Located in downtown Montreal in a quiet luxurious setting, offering first class accommodation for women traveling on business or pleasure. Includes European Continental Breakfast. 783 rue Guy, Montreal, Quebec H3] 1T6 Tel./Fax (514) 939-1443 Rhona Luber Cantor, Proprietor % 17 June 1992 Russell to Run Continued from page 1 nothing less than full and equal partner- ship as citizens of this state.” » Russell said he anticipates this being an- other highly visible, volunteer-intensive campaign. He indicated that he intends to abide by campaign finance limitations enacted this year, even though these reg- ulations will not go into effect until Jan- uary 1, 1993. “I will abide by the mon- etary limits set in this legislation and I challenge other Senate candidates to do likewise.” ’ Russell appealed to supporters to get in- volved and help his campaign go “over the top.” “We need to send a very clear message this year that “almost” is not nearly good enough for us. We are going to go out there and we are going to win this year. It’s time to take our place at the table.” ~ Russell said that even though he is an- nouncing his candidacy now, his cam- paign will officially begin with a cam- paign kick-off event sometime in June (date and location to be announced). Anyone interested in getting involved in Russe11’s campaign is urged to call his office number at 482-2335 or write to Russell for Senate, PO Box 555, Hi- nesburg, VT 05461. V