The goal is for everyone to feel welcome. The events attract a diverse crowd, she adds - gay, straight, different racial and social backgrounds. The monthly event is modeled after similar events in such larger cities as Boston and Los Angeles, although instead of just showing up to a venue en masse, Wetherall and other organizers work with local places ahead of time to let the venue be part of creating the event’s atmosphere. A fun event like this brings out everyone.” “It’s a nice cross section of the community. “Each person has a different reason for going,” he says. With his background in community development, Burck quickly got involved with the organization level of the events. “It just didn’t compute with my image of South Bend.” “Two hundred-plus people going to an event,” he says. Most of the events have a place for dancing, as well as a place for people to relax and socialize.Īdam Burck, who moved from Chicago to the area about a year ago, says he was searching for an active gay network locally. The events are normally held the second Saturday of the month, but sometimes switch to a different weekend during football season or if there’s another big event that day.Īlthough there were and are LGBT-welcoming bars in town, Wetherall says GGB fills a niche that people wanted but didn’t find in the area - an upscale, nonsmoking socialization environment. In March, they’ll head to Main Street Grille in Mishawaka. This Saturday, GGB is taking over the gym at Madison Center with an ’80s-themed dance party, with attendees encouraged to wear their favorite Lycra, Day-Glo and tennis shoes to dance in. Now they have to get a little creative with their locations, so they can host the crowd size. They’ve grown out of a lot of their initial venues, Wetherall says. “The fact that we have something that attractive for people to drive that distance says a lot about what we’re doing,” she says. The events draw folks from cities and towns around the area, but also regionally, with people driving in from Chicago, Grand Rapids and Indianapolis to come to the parties. It was a respectable size, organizer Willow Wetherall says, but it was small compared to the 200-plus crowd the event attracts now, three years later.
In December 2012, 40 people attended the first Guerrilla Gay Bar event in South Bend. The inclusive Grand Valley State University was recently named one of the top 50 colleges or universities in the country when it comes to being LGBT-friendly.Editor's note: The February Guerrilla Gay Bar event was changed from Feb. The city’s commitment to helping the LGBT community flourish is reflected in educational settings such as the Grand Rapids Community College which passed a transgender policy allowing students and staff to use the bathroom or locker room of the gender with which they identify. The group offers scholarships to low-income transgender students – and by generally creating a region and city that are understanding and supportive of the transgender community. The Grand Rapids Trans Foundation was founded in December 2015 at a crucial time for the public to support transgender residents. The Grand Rapids Pride Center not only serves LGBT and allied communities through referrals, resources and social groups, but also hosts the annual Grand Rapids Pride celebration during the second weekend of June at Calder Plaza. The West Michigan Gay Men’s Chorus, more than 30 voices strong, presents a regular schedule of concerts around town and LGBT-inclusive churches and spiritual resources provide an open and affirming environment for all.
Rumors, another nightclub in the downtown area, caters to the LGBT community as does the Diplomat Club, a gay-owned and operated bath house since 1980. The oldest gay bar, the Apartment Lounge, is still going strong here after 40 years. The walkable downtown Grand Rapids area is jam-packed with more than 100 restaurants, clubs, theaters and museums. This fair and equitable treatment has made Grand Rapids an even more inviting place for young, bright, creative-minded professionals. Named one of the “Gayest Cities in America” by The Advocate magazine in 2012, Grand Rapids became the 36th city in the state of Michigan to add protections for the LGBT community in its non-discrimination ordinance.