Music Festival, Speakers, Drag Show to Highlight Freedom Week

Freedom Week, a week to celebrate students who identify as LGBTQ+ and educate the campus regarding LGBTQ+ issues, will kick off Monday, March 28. Freedom Rings will sponsor the week’s events. 

Neal Rose ’17, president of Freedom Rings, said, “Freedom Week is more than celebration, it’s also education. I’ve found that most homophobia and transphobia stems from a lack of understanding and one goal of the week is to educate people regarding what it means to identify as LGBTQ+ and create understanding.” 

This year’s events will include a panel, multiple speakers, a trivia night, the annual drag show, and the Love Outside The Lines Music Festival. 

On Friday, April 1 at 10 p.m., various students will take the Leedy Theater stage in the Allan W. Mund College Center as part of the annual drag show. The drag show, in its fifth year, will feature student performers Chick Nasty, Sassy Hollandaise, and Blue Bruster, as well as professional drag queens Kendramae Way Deaire, CaraMia Way, Aurora F Sterling, and Felicia O’Toole Buffington. 

After the drag show, there will be a screening of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” starting at 11:59 p.m. Open to the public, admission rates are $3 for LVC students and $5 for non-LVC students.

The Love Outside The Lines Music Festival will be held in the Underground of Mund Saturday April 2 at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public and there is a $5 admission fee for non-LVC students.

Rose said, “We decided to create the Love Outside the Lines Music Festival to give the week an appeal to all students on LVC’s campus. Those in Freedom Rings believe that the event can create a bridge for discussion. Most of the bands are LGBTQ+ Identifying in some way, so it is also about celebrating the accomplishments of those in the community.”

Additional educational events include speakers Jason Goodman and Joanne Carroll. Goodman, from the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, will speak about LGBTQ+ issues on Thursday, March 31. Carroll, from Trans Central PA, will speak about Trans* issues Monday, April 4. Both events will be at 7 p.m. in the Frederic K. Miller Chapel, room 101.