Dear Friends, Fans and Committee Members of Leather Pride Night,
We are in a conundrum.
As you may know, Leather Pride Night was founded as an expression of community interest and support by a collection of organizations that served the New York City Metro Area leather and fetish community. The work of representatives from those organizations, augmented by a few “GDIs” made the event happen: items were solicited, volunteers were recruited, ticket sales were handled and publicity was managed by those groups and their members.
Times have changed in the New York City leather scene. It’s been almost a decade since the demise of GMSMA, Many of the other groups have come and gone. Some still exist in diminished capacities, and those few that are still strong, are focusing their energies on their own activities. We mourn the lack of a leather community, but we appreciate that times are changing, new interests and venues have replaced old ones, and people are finding their way into the activities we celebrated without the formalized community that we once were.
These times, and the change they bring, are also affecting Leather Pride Night. Over the last few years, we have seen participation by our founding groups diminish. Our monthly planning meetings are now attended primarily by those GDIs (including ourselves) who had at one point represented groups, but have recently been working to preserve LPN and it’s legacy as members-at-large of the greater community. Sadly, for the last six months, the numbers of people at the table has been dropping precipitously. Those of us at the table can no longer produce Leather Pride Night by ourselves: it has begun to feel like LPN, as so many of its founding groups, has outlived its role, if not its usefulness.
That being said, and because we have no wish to see LPN end or falter, we must ask of you now: “Do you want to see LPN survive?”
We do, and will be at the regular LPN monthly meeting on April 2, 2015 at the LGBT Community Center at 8 PM. For LPN to survive, not just in the future, but this year itself, we need you to show up. LPN needs a committed core of 15-20 people to make it work. If you are willing to be one of those people: to commit to showing up, to commit to helping sell tickets, to commit to helping to gather the more than 80 items we need to raffle and auction off, please show up on April 2nd. Please bring friends, please tell your friends and please demonstrate that the Community still needs this event to exist.
Decisions will be made that night that will impact the future, and we hope you will join us to say “YES! LPN is important and I want to make sure it continues.”
Thank you for your commitment to the past, and we hope that you can join us on Thursday, April 2nd.
With highest respect,
J. Grant Anderson and Witti Repartee
Co-Chairs, Leather Pride Night Committee
