WILB HQ75 .0971 ui1N'r EY -/ E-M6UNLuNs nsid i>1TM ‘SKEETER BITES V More on the ‘Island Ponders’ FAITH MATTERS V Faith Matters and Growth Matters ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT V Vermont's Own Gay Men's Chorus ....v-::.|’ I"'5!'5§I, II ’ J4: HEALTH 8: H WELLBEING V The Healing Power of Music ,4’ J‘ .»-élw.-hr .~l!l1-rm VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 8 SEPTEMBER 1998__ WWW.VTPRIDE.ORG Queers Protest at Bread & Puppet I Twelve Tribes, aka ‘Island Ponders’, Provide No Common Ground at Theater Festival BY BARBARA DOZETOS A noisy collection of queers and allies banded to- gether in the vending area ad- jacent to Bread and Puppet on Sunday, August 9, to educate would-be customers of the Common Ground booth. The group of approxi- mately 20 people used chants and one-on-one ‘ conversation to enlighten the passing crowd to thebackground of the group who was running the coffee concession. Steve Penn of Syracuse, NY said, "I guess it is unfair to call them the ‘Island Ponders’ since there are a lot of other folks living in Island Pond, and it seems that the group is now refering to themselves as the ‘Twelve Tribes.”' They are also known locally as ‘T he Com- munity." (See “Skeeter Bites” ‘ column for details on the his- _ tory of the group and its teach- ings.) As the crowd and noise level grew, a Cassella’s Waste Management truck pulled up. After emptying the trash cans at the neighboring booth, the driver maneuvered the vehicle into the group of protestors without warning. The truck's came to rest against the leg of Mithcell Cohen from Brooklyn, NY. ‘ More Than Sports at Gay Games V . Peter Thomas of Essex Jct., VT joined 55 l . other musicians from 10 US states, Holland, Ger- many, and Norway to form a band which performed five concerts in Amsterdam during Gay Games V. ' The highlight of the band's weekwas their perfor- mance at the closing ceremonies which were held at the new Amsterdan Arena. The band is pictured here performing at the Gay Games Friendship WI- lage in Amsterdam. ' . The trip was organized by the Lesbian and Gay Bandsommerica, anationalorganizationwhich is comprbed of concert and marching bands from across the United States, Canada, and Australia. The Vermont area band is the Green Mountain Free- dom Band. For more information regarding LGBA orthe Green Mountain Freedom Band, you can write to Green Mountain Freedom Band, P.O. Box 5322, Burlington, VT gossamer@together.net. Security appeared on the scene and told the group to leave. "Leave or go to jail,” was the repeated threat from an ADA Security officer. Two ADA officers confronted Penn, Cohen, and several others, in- cluding one man confined to a wheelchair. The protestors main- tained their right to be present 05402-5322 or email issues. mont State Auditor. Barney Frank to speak at Flanagan Fundraiser Democratic Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts will be the featured speaker at a fundraising‘ event for State Auditor Edward Flanagan on Sunday September 13. Frank's will bespeaking out against the current Congres- sional attacks on the human rights of the GLBT community in V the United States. Openly gay, Frank is extremely vocal on queer Flanagan is running for reelection to the office of for Ver- The event will take place in the Lake Champlain Room of the Radisson Hotel in downtown Burlington, at 1:00 pm. Sug- I gested donation to the Flanagan re-election campaign is $25. Call (802) 862-3203 for ticket information. Vermont State Auditor Ed Flanaga n and Congressman Barney Frank ofMassachutsetts at an earlier meeting and claimed that they were not blocking the traffic to the Com- mon Ground booth. When asked why he was so hostile toward the group, the burly male Officer said, "You faggots make me sick," and radioed for State Police backup. He was shortly informed that there BREAD, p26 I t’s almost time for Vermont CARES AIDSWalk '98 This September and Oc- tober, Vermont CARES is hold— , ing AIDSWalk '98 in Rutland, Montpelier, St. Johnsbury and Burlington. The Walk /raises funds for Vermont CARES pro- grams, raises public awareness and creates a community of support for people with AIDS. The Rutland Walk is Sat- urday, September 19, 1998 at 11:30AM at Main Sheet Park. On Saturday, September 26, 1998, the Montpelier Walk will start at Christ Church, 64 Stage St at 11:30AM. In St. Johnsbury, the Walk starts at 12:30pm on Sunday, September 27, 1998 at Courthouse Park. The fourth Walk is in Burlington on Thursday, October 1, 1998 at 6PM. It begins at the Unitarian Church A This is the third year Ver- 1 mont CARES will have an AIDS Walk. Last year more than 600 walkers raised more than $30,000. Some walkers raised $1000 each; others formed teams at their work- place and raised more. VERMONT, p26