Moments before Xathanael Todd began singing in front of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum on Saturday morning, he had a "little bit" of technical difficulties with his phone to play background music.
After debating for a little bit longer, he decided to sing the tune, "A little bit" from, "Crazy, Just like Me" in an acapella version.
Upon finishing, he received a lot of love from the Vallejo community.
The song was part of a kickoff event in Vallejo for Pride month as well as the Doris Fish exhibition, "Ego as Artform" that is being hosted all month at the museum. See that story at https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2024/05/30/vallejo-naval-and-historical-museum-stands-with-lgbtq-community-with-doris-fish-exhibition/. Fish was a Doris Fish was a drag queen, artist, actor and writer, based in Sydney, Australia, and San Francisco.
Ms. Bob Davis, who helped organize the Doris Fish exhibit, said a few words outside the museum to kick off the event.
"I have to admit, I'm a little bit nervous," Davis said to chuckles from the crowd. "Thanks so much for coming here and please come inside and enjoy the exhibit. This event the museum is doing for the second straight year is so important because it shows we're not in hiding. Yes there are pressures, yes there are opponents to us and I won't say what they've been telling us. But we're not going to hide, we're going to let people know we're here.
"And we're going to be charming," Davis continued.
Thomas Bilbo, an activist in the LGBTQ community also spoke outside the museum. As a former board member of the museum he was very pleased to see many events taking place this month at the venue.
"It's so wonderful to see many institutions being embraceful of the culture and diversity," Bilbo said.
Bilbo mentioned that one of the events on Friday will remember the 49 victims and 53 wounded from the Pulse Nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016 at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
"It's important for people to honor those lost in incidents like that," Bilbo said.
Bilbo said he and his partner began the day by hoisting a new Pride flag at their home in Vallejo.
"We want people to know that our home is a safe space for people," Bilbo said.
Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum Executive Director Trevor Allen also said it was important for him to let people know the museum is also a safe space for everyone.
"I know it says Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, but this is your museum," Allen said. "We were very excited when Ms. Bob Davis asked us if we would be interested in a Doris Fish exhibition."
For a list of Vallejo and Solano County Pride events during the month, visit the Gay Network Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/VallejoGayNetwork. A flag raising will be held at Vallejo City Hall of Monday at 10 a.m., while Benicia City Hall will do the same at 11 a.m. that day. The Florence Douglas Center will raise a Pride flag that day at noon, while the Greater Vallejo Recreation District will do the same at 12:15 p.m. that day.
No comments:
Post a Comment