When you think of homecoming, your mind probably darts straight to a Friday Night Lights vision of huddled football players and metal bleachers full of aggro sports fans — you know, things that don't involve a whole lotta gay. But for their first-ever homecoming bonanza, event organizers at William Way prove that you don't have to hut-hut and rah-rah to reconvene with old friends or take a stab at meeting new ones.
Co-organizer Rudy Flesher says the event, planned in addition to the mass of Pride weekend festivities, was not only created to bring resources into the center but to rectify community concerns that the Gayborhood is an oasis of bars and businesses that caters mainly to gay white men. "We want to establish William Way as a place that is safe, inclusive and welcoming for all people across the LGBTQ spectrum, like women, trans people and people of color," he says of some of the groups that commonly tend to be overlooked.
With a host of accessible programs and an impressive archive that chronicles Philadelphia's gay past, Flesher says there's no better symbol of universal acceptance in the city than William Way. "It's a great landing place for someone who's getting oriented to all the different aspects of the community," he says. "You'll find that it's the most diverse across all LGBTQ perspectives."
Thats why he;s lending his time and drag talents to the creation of the centers first homecoming party. As "The Notorious OMG," he'll serve as host to an evening packed with entertainment, including performances by the radically inclusive gospel choir A Voice 4 All People, the Liberty City Kings and the drag queens from Tabu Lounge's Sinful Sunday party.
Sat., June 11, 8 p.m., $20-$75, William Way Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., 215-732-2220, waygay.org.
