Volume II -- Issue 8

The Quick Lineup...

• Rodeo Play Day August 18th
• Allentown's Greater Lehigh Valley Pride August 19th
• New Discount for Members
• Lots of new photo's
• Volunteers needed for ASGRA
• Gettysburg Trail Ride into History
• October Dance

From The Editor

I'm back from Alaska...I was put on a puddle jumper in Fairbanks kicking and screaming and whined all the way to Anchorage. I didn't want to leave and I still want to go back. I can do the newsletter from Alaska... I swear! *sighs*

We never made it to the Big Sue, but we did a grand tour of the Great State with 3 nights of camping and fishing. I got to eat at the Moose's Tooth and I got a grand tour of Clear Air Force Station. We traveled from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back down all the way to Valdez. The above pictures on the left and right were taken on the way to Valdez from Copper Center and the middle was me with my big catch, two pink salmon, after it took me two and a half days to learn how to fish stupid. ...ask me about it sometime when you see me out.

Hugs and kisses,
~Jade

Volunteers For Atlantic Stampede 2007 Needed

ASGRA needs volunteers for all areas of Atlantic Stampede 2007.

The Rodeo Dates are September 7 – 9, 2007 If you would like to volunteer to help please click on the "Sign Me Up!" Link below and fill out the form.

Sign Me Up

It will go directly to Beth Brockelman Volunteer Coordinator for ASGRA. Any questions please feel free to contact

Beth at Volunteers06@asgra.org or Ladyofsongs@aol.com

Thank you so much to all volunteers in the past and for the future.

Letter From The President

Howdy gang,
We just spent the weekend at Harrisburg Pride. The weather cooperated and we had a great time. I don't think we had a moment without a crowd around our table. I want to thank Mike and Jon from ASGRA for coming and joining us. The board of Directors from ASGRA are behind our rodeo association 100% and have offered their experience to us. Many of their board have even become members of LGRA.
The Atlantic Stampede is very special to me. I had joined ASGRA in 92 and will be competing in 7 events next month. I am now the only competitor that has competed at all 16 of their rodeo's. I am proud of my rodeo roots and if it wasn't for their rodeo LGRA would not be in existence today.
We are looking forward to seeing many of our members at their rodeo. Please let us know if you are coming so we can keep an eye out for you. On the Saturday of the Atlantic Stampede we'll be looking for members who want to march in the grand entry. Lets show our pride!

My pet project for this summer has been pulling together our rodeo playday and BBQ. On Saturday August 18th from 10am until 2pm we will be at our rodeo venue, Bit by Bit Stables, teaching several of the rodeo events. We'll be going over basic instruction for calf roping, goat dressing, steer deco and chute doggin 101. This is a great hands on opportunity for anyone that wants to try one of these events. We have 2 very special guest instructors, Mike P and Mike P. The Mikes have won multiple buckles all over the country in the camp events and are the best goat dressing team around. Not bad for a couple of Jersey boys. Please visit our web site under upcoming events for more information.

I hope everyone is having a super summer. I keep hearing stories of members enjoying the beach. Maybe I'll take some time myself to head on down. Please be safe and we look forward to seeing you at an event soon.

Liberty Stampede is on! I traveled to Denver in July to get our inaugural rodeo in 2008 approved by the IGRA Board of Directors, of which I am a member, and glad to say it was a big success. We’re officially on for May 9-11 of 2008, so plan it on your calendar now! First off, if you’ve never been to the Denver area – go. It’s beautiful beyond your wildest dreams – my boyfriend and I spent the first day awake 16 hours just to be able to drive around to the sights – Red Rocks, Rocky Mountain Park, Golden….and that’s just the beginning. But watching the Colorado Gay Rodeo Association’s rodeo – in their 25th year – was just as much a breathtaking experience. Part of what makes IGRA work so well is the dedication of many people who devote their time and effort from across the country to put on the rodeos that go on in our circuit in about 20 cities a year. These are people for whom farming and livestock are a part of their lives, but also people who have immersed themselves in the culture not just for the fun, but also to bring a positive force in the GLBT culture. I am proud that the Liberty Gay Rodeo Association has been certified a 501(c)3 charitable organization, where we as a group can really truly do some service to the community. I am grateful for the many people who chose to become members early on, even before the pieces of the puzzle are together. And now, with our host hotel (the Loews hotel – one of Philadelphia’s landmarks) and rodeo grounds (the great people at Bit By Bit Stables in New Jersey), it’s time we need you more than ever before. For anyone who’s been to one of IGRA’s rodeos – especially ASGRA’s rodeo in Washington, DC/Maryland every year – can attest to the amount of work and people that volunteer to put it on every year. Now you can be a part of bringing the same excitement to Philly! You might say “but I’m not a rodeo guy/gal, what can I do?”. Well for every rider or steerwrestler or even wild-drag contestant, there’s a ton of people behind the scenes, preparing the event, securing sponsorship, providing security, finding resources, helping with tickets, and the list can go on. We even are holding “play days” where you can learn to compete in a fun, safe atmosphere, and our next one is coming up fast (August 18, to be exact, check our website for more info). You can even help with the chute crew – and say you’ve “had your Urban Cowboy moment”. Our association is for all of us, and depends on your support. Our Board meetings are open to any members, so if you have any inkling to see what’s going on and how you can get more involved, by all means come on down, it’s the second Wednesday of every month at the Loews on Market (the website www.libertygra.org has all the info). And if you can’t make it on a Wednesday night, even if you think you live too far to be of help – contact one of us and we’d be glad to bring you on board. And finally – if you’re a member who is up for renewal I can’t stress how vital to us it is to you to renew as soon as you can. Every little bit goes a long way, and the stronger we are, the better this event’s going to be. Now let’s rodeo!

Ernie Bowers
Trustee, Liberty GRA

LGRA at the movies - Justin John Costello

Hello and welcome to the first edition of LGRA At The Movies. If you know the name of a movie you’d like to see, press [1] now…oh wait. Wrong service. During this years GLBTQ Film Festival, several members of LGRA got together to check out the Philadelphia Premiere of the Remake of a Musical which was a Remake of an Original John Water’s film titled Hairspray. Now, long before the release of the new film starring the likes of Michelle Pfeifer, John Travolta, Christopher Walken and Queen Latifa rumours and opinions ran rampant, mostly negative, of course. John Waters was pissed that it wasn’t filmed in Baltimore . Travolta is completely over the top as Edna, originally played by Divine! With so much controversy, you’d have thought the film was a remake of The Last Temptation of Christ! No need to be upset, boys and girls, because if you take the film for what it is, you’ll have a blast. Hairspray is a fun, tune-filled two hours of entertainment! More than entertaining, it is possibly the most marketable of message films out there today. From sexuality, obesity, to racism and bad hair, the film deals with all the issues in a family friendly way and environment. Which, of course, was not what Water’s films are supposedly known for. Or what Waters himself is about. But, if you want a fun time with good tunes and some great laughs, go see Hairspray Now Playing at a Theatre Near You!

Next up for LGRA At The MOVIES,
Rob Zombie’s Halloween!!!!!
Who’s with me????

Until next time, peace.

From Secretary/Volunteer Coordinator - Chris Maurizio

Howdy everyone, hope you’re keeping cool on these hot summer days. As September is slowly creeping up on us so is the end of our raffle to the ASGRA Rodeo in Washington D.C. We will be drawing the winning ticket at the Loews Hotel on August 8 during our Board of Directors meeting. The winner of the raffle will get one room for two nights (September 7th and 8th) and two weekend passes. The weekend passes get you entrance into the Friday and Saturday night dances and the Saturday and Sunday rodeo. The cost of these raffle tickets are $5 each. You can purchase the raffle tickets online using our website (http://www.LibertyStampede.com) or from one of the board members. So if you are planning to go to the ASGRA rodeo take a chance on winning a weekend for two.

The photo website that I was using to share photos from various LGRA and country events has planned to go out of business. However, thanks to one of our members (Kate) I have created a photo album on Google’s system. I’ve also transferred the website domain from the old site to my current registrar (GoDaddy.com). What this means is that the old link will still work as well as a new one I’ve set up. The links to this website are http://www.lgraphotos.com and http://www.lgra-photos.com – please let me know if you have any problems with either link.

I’ve added a photo album of our recent visit to the Bit by Bit farm on July 21 – go take a look at the beautiful grounds where we’ll be having our rodeo next May and take a peek at the cute little barnyard kitties.

Until next month… Rodeo Up.

Chris

UP COMING EVENTS FOR LGRA - Tom Dykes - Social & Entertainment Chair

October Dance, we will be having a Fun Filled Evening of Country Dancing . Saturday, October 20th at PURE, keep a lookout for more information about this this FUN FALL EVENT. Watch for posters and check the Website in the near future for this information.

New BENEFIT for LGRA members, Starting Friday, August 3rd LGRA members will be able to get into Friday night Country Dancing at no charge by showing their membership card. This is good while Country Dancing is being played. Cover for LGRA members starts when Country music ends. A GREAT BIG THANKS TO THE OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT OF WOODY’S FOR THIS GREAT BENEFIT TO LGRA MEMBERS.

We are in need of Volunteers to help with our Booth at the Allentown, PRIDE in the PARK event on Sunday, August 19th. Anyone wishing to help out even for a few hours, please let Chris Maurizio our Volunteer Coordinator know. And remember you can earn your Liberty Points here.

Also, ASGRA, our sister association in the DC area, still has openings for Volunteers for their Rodeo the weekend of September 7-9th . You can go directly to their website to volunteer.

We still have raffle tickets available for the DC Rodeo, for $5 you get a chance to win a two day/two night stay at the DC Rodeo Host Hotel and passes for the rodeo events for the weekend. See or call a Board member to get your raffle ticket. Also we will be selling them at both Friday and Sunday Country nights at Woody’s.

Rodeo School is coming up on Saturday August 18th at our Rodeo Venue in south jersey. Please check out the LGRA website for information.

There is still time to sign up for the Membership Appreciation Pool Party being hosted by our Vice President, Jeff Bolognese. The party is Saturday, August 4th. Check out the Website under EVENTS PAGE for more information.

We are taking reservations now for the fun filled trial ride at Gettysburg, the Ride Thru History. This should be lots of fun and educational as well. Check the website for details.

I hope to see everyone at the up coming events. I know there are a lot of things going on for each and everyone of us, but LGRA needs your support to help us have a great rodeo in May of 2008. Let’s send summer out with a BANG and have lots of fun together. Bring your friends, family and loved ones along.

Trail Ride - Jeff Bolognese

The next trail ride will be Sunday, September 2, 2007 at 11:00AM. (Reservations are now closed for the August Trail Ride) We will be riding once again at Sheeder Mill Farm, 12 Sheeder Mill Rd, Spring City, PA 19475. For more information about their farm, visit their web site at http://www.smfhorses.com/.

To RSVP now, you can send an email to Jeff Bolognese.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Rodeo Play Day August 18, 2007

Once again LGRA will be putting on an educational play day 3 weeks before the Washington DC rodeo. We will be giving basic instruction in several beginner events. This is a great opportunity for those that have always wanted to learn how to compete but never had the opportunity to learn. This will also be the very first LGRA event held in our rodeo arena. Come try your hand and one of the events or just hang out and cheer us on. Either way lunch will be supplied by LGRA.

Allentown's Greater Lehigh Valley Pride August 19th

LGRA will be at Allentown's Greater Lehigh Valley Pride this year. Please stop by our booth and say hello and talk to our representatives about joining our Gay Rodeo Association!

Sept. 7 - 9, 2007 ASGRA's Atlantic Stampede Rodeo

The Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association presents Stampede 2007 in Washington DC and Gaithersburg, MD.

Sept. 17, 2007 Trenton Pride - Trenton, NJ

LGRA will be at Trenton Pride this year. Please stop by our booth and say hello and talk to our representatives about joining our Gay Rodeo Association!

Trail Ride Into History - LGRA Members Only September 29th, 2007

Imagine being able to literally Ride into History. Join LGRA as we do just that. We have 19 spaces reserved for a special trail ride through the Battlefields of Gettysburg through the Artillery Ridge Camping Resort and Riding Stable.

August Birthdays
LGRA wants to wish the following a special birthday wish:

Anonymous Member
Brandon Scott
Dennis McQuuie
Chris Marino
Pa Cowboy
Keith B
Anonymous Member
Ernie Bowers - LGRA Trustee
Tom Dykes - LGRA Social & Entertainment Chair and Assistant Rodeo Director
Jennifer Vrana - LGRA President

Join the LGRA Yahoo Group

It has come to my attention that this "yahoo box" may not be functioning properly. If anyone else has a problem please let me know. In the meantime if you are having problems please just cut and paste the following to join the group.

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/LibertyGRA/