Dear ROPnet,
We’ve been hearing about so many human dignity groups eager to spread joy, build community and have some good wholesome fun this summer. When the national reporting on Trump and the Supreme Court are pushing so many people to fret about the future or feel like giving up, our role is to build community, spread joy, and reach our hands out to our neighbors to create more hope and safety.
Want to join in this summer? A few Wallowa County queers have an invitation for you! Read on for details, follow this project on Instagram @ruralqueeropenmic, mark your calendar for when they are coming to town, and sign your community up to host them and get on the list of priority communities for a future queer open mic tour!
Happy Pride!
Sam and the ROP Team
Rural Queer Open Mic Tour – You’re Invited!
Hi there! Would you like your community to be a stop on our Rural Queer Open Mic Tour?
WHO: Marika Straw, Dani Savage, and AJ Savage – three badass rural queer organizers from Wallowa County + a paid (by us) opening act from your community + YOU and YOUR RURAL QUEER COMMUNITY! Dani (she/her) and AJ (she/her) are women of color and partners in marriage and business with their candle and incense company, The Girls of Riverwoods. Dani and Marika (they/them) are collaborators in music-making under the band name “The Fruit Snaxxx.” You can also find Marika’s music at marikastrawmusic.com.
WHAT: a traveling open mic by and for rural queers! Your community selects a queer performer for the opening act. We bring the emcees (get ready for some real ridiculousness from Dani & Marika), candles (made by Dani & AJ), and chair massage (from AJ, a licensed massage therapist!) Your community brings the performers – Songs? Stories? Drag? Poetry? Prose? Comedy? Dance? Karaoke? Skits? The possibilities are endless – we’re so excited to see what y’all come up with! We wrap it all together with opportunities for group & anonymous participation – and, of course, some rural queer love for you all. <3
We will also be bringing ~30 of the 2SLGBTQIA+ sex ed zines that were challenged at our public library to give away for free at each tour stop. If you’d like to read it online, here is the link. If you’d like to print your own copies, here is the link.
WHERE: All over rural Oregon! Maybe in your small town?! In a closed venue? In someone’s living room or backyard? A barn? You let us know what works best for your community!
WHEN:
- Sun, July 7th- Wallowa County, OR
- Wed, July 10th- Ontario, OR (Private Show)
- Fri, July 12th- Walla Walla, WA
- Mon, July 15th- Brookings, OR
- Fri, July 19th- Newport, OR
- Sat, July 20th- Lincoln City, OR
- Wed, July 24th- Astoria, OR
- Thurs, July 25th- Welches, OR
- Fri, July 26th- BZ Corner, WA
HOW: A side note, in case you are wondering “is this safe?” – good question! Our goal is to collaborate with you & your community to make it as safe as possible & do our utmost to respect safety & confidentiality needs. Every tour stop will have a safety plan made in collaboration with our team and the venue/organizers, as well as visible ways for attendees to indicate that they would not like their photo taken.
We are thankful that this project is fully grant funded (woohoo!). If you would like to contribute to this project’s longevity, sustainability, and reach, you are welcome to donate to the project via Venmo or PayPal.
Venmo: @ruralqueeropenmic
PayPal: ruralqueeropenmic@gmail.com
WHY: Because rural queers exist and we belong in rural spaces too! <3 Because we deserve safe(r) spaces to express ourselves! Because creativity, vulnerability, and silliness are balms to our often challenging rural queer existence!
Fill out the interest form if you wanna be a stop (there’s limited space for the rest of their 2024 tour but they are always looking for more folks to plan future gigs with!), or share the host recruitment flyer with folks you think might be interested!
Warmly,
Sam and the ROP Team
