OLOC: 25th anniversary celebration at national gathering July 23-27

Only two more weeks before the momentous 25th Anniversary and Biennial National Gathering of Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (OLOC) in Oakland CA. Hundreds of old lesbians 60 years and older are expected at the celebration at the Oakland, Calif. Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, in downtown Oakland.

The celebration will include five days of workshops panels, caucuses, entertainment and socializing, with some events welcoming women of all ages!

With a lineup of notable lesbian presenters and performers and the presentation of the respected Del Martin Old Lesbian Pride Award, this gathering will be a time to recognize the achievements and significance of OLOC and its members.

Registration information can be found at http://www.oloc.org

Starting with a Wednesday evening (July 23) intensive, tracing the roots of feminism and envisioning OLOC’s next steps through stories and feminist political analysis, the weekend’s program continues, offering award-winning presenters and performers including:

Dorothy Allison,  poet, storyteller, feminist
Cherrie Moragahttp, playwright, essayist, activist educator
Chrystos, poet, writer, Land and Treaty Native American rights activist
Carolyn Gage’s riveting Lesbian Tent Revival
Writers’ Night with top-notch lesbian literary voices
The Del Martin Old Lesbian Pride Award
Dance with the Bay Area Lesbian Legends Boogie Band

Other highlights include an Intergenerational Panel, the Lesbians of Color Plenary with a tribute to Pat Parker and a reading of Movement in Black.

The Del Martin Old Lesbian Pride Award will be presented on Opening Night, Wednesday evening, July 23, to two deserving old lesbians, Arden Eversmeyer of Houston Texas, and Joan Emerson of the OLOC Bay Area Chapter. Recipients will each receive $500.

ARDEN, a committed member, served as OLOC’s co-director of OLOC from 1997 to 2004 as well as serving on its Steering Committee for 14 years. She founded The Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project, (OLOHP) in 1997, collecting stories of Lesbian friends who were ill and dying in the Houston Texas area where she lives. Now, she and others continue to collect the life stories of Lesbians 70 and older wherever they are and whenever they are willing to share them, with OLOC’s support and help. Arden co-edited two collections of OLOHP stories. A Gift of Age: Old Lesbian Life Stories and Without Apology: Old Lesbian Life Stories.

JOAN taught sociology at Carleton College where she also wrote articles that became classics. She left her academic career to train as a psychotherapist, working with children. Joan attended the OLOC National Gathering in Minneapolis in 1996 at age 61. Arriving “to explore the lesbian world”, 24 hours later she enthusiastically joined the Old Lesbian community and for 18 years – 1996-2013 – she worked in revitalizing and coordinating OLOC’s San Francisco chapter. Joan says: “Old age has been the best time of my life”.

This award solicits nominees worldwide and nominations include a description of the outstanding accomplishments of the nominee who must be alive and over the age of 70, and whose life and/or work has impacted the lives of old lesbians.

This is the third award to be given. The first was in 2010 at the National Gathering in Cleveland to activists Carmah Lawler and Kathy Glass. In 2012 the award went to Joy Griffith, long-time organizer of the annual Golden Threads Gathering in Provincetown MA.

A Wednesday intensive will trace the roots of feminism and envision our next steps through stories and feminist political analysis.

For, by and about Old Lesbians, OLOC works to empower and improve our lives with a support network consisting of a quarterly newsletter, regular e-news, more than a dozen chapters, and OLOC Gatherings both Regional and National. Using education and public discourse, we confront ageism, sexism, racism, classism, and we work for justice.

For more Information, please go to OLOC’s Web site at www.oloc.org, or email info@oloc.org or call 888 706-7506.

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