And So We RISE : HoCo PRIDE and Friends

Before I forget to remind you: HoCo PRIDE is this weekend! (It was rescheduled due to weather.) This year’s theme is RISE: Resist, Inspire, Support, Empower.

Howard County Pride, Sunday October 26th, 11 am - 5 pm

Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods

A grateful shout out to the good folks at HoCo PPRIDE who do the work and make this event happen. You can support their work today by participating in the restaurant fundraiser at Shake Shack.

DONATION DAY

Wednesday, October 22nd 11 am- 10pm

Mention Donation Day at the register or use promo code DONATE

on the Shack App, web, or kiosk at checkout and we'll donate 25% of your total meal purchase to

HCPSS PRIDE

MALL IN COLUMBIA

10300 Little Patuxent Parkway | Columbia, MD 21044

Also today:

PFLAG National kicks off their new initiative: Fighting For Our Pride.

PFLAG families know this: love and liberty are inseparable. That’s why we launched Fighting for Our Pride—a nationwide campaign focused on advocacy at the state and local level, where many of the most harmful policies are being introduced and passed. This campaign equips, trains, and mobilizes families to push back against these attacks and fight for the dignity, safety, and rights our loved ones deserve. Together, we’ll work to create safe and inclusive learning environments, secure access to care and protection of privacy, and protect full recognition and dignity in public life for LGBTQ+ people.

You can be there for the announcement by registering for the Zoom event which will be tonight beginning at 8:30 pm. To learn more and to register, click here.

Did you know that HCPSS has a resource page for LGBTQIA+ Youth? Now you do! A lot of work went into getting it there. The more people know it is available, the more folks will turn to it and/or recommend it to a friend in need. You - - yes, you! - - might connect someone to valuable resources.

Freestate Justice will be hosting a free Name Change Clinic tomorrow, October 23rd, from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, at the White Marsh Library.

Finally, congratulations to HoCo Local Chris Hefty who was honored as the 2025 Progressive Champion by the Howard Progressive Project. Hefty’s work for the local LGBTQ+ community includes: Planning, Marketing, and Events for Howard County PRIDE as well as serving as Acting Vice President on the Steering Committee of PFLAG Columbia Howard County. They also provide Marketing - Events Planning support for PFLAG and serve as a Rainbow Youth & Allies Youth Instructor.

Wow. That’s a lot.

A great reminder that, despite the current wave of hatred and destruction, we are blessed to have people in our community who continue to lift us up.

Village Green/Town² Community

Comments

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

They Can Wait

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Columbia Chance Connection

Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!” We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...

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