Tag Archives: Southern Arizona Aids Foundation

Jell-O Wrestling 2018 on 4th Avenue

Posted on April 17, 2018 by | 1 comment

Saturday, April 21, 2018

On 4th Avenue (522 N. 4th Ave.)

6:00 PM   Gates Open/Pre-Event Games & Festivities

6:30 PM   Wrestling & Live Auction Begins

8:30 PM   Event Ends

“The 31st Annual Reno Gannon Memorial Jell-O Wrestling Extravaganza and Benefit Auction will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2018, on 4th Avenue.

Teams of wrestlers raise funds to wrestle in a pit of Jell-O, often with extraordinary costumes and characters. Between wrestling matches our Drag Diva Hostesses run a live auction featuring a variety of unique items selected to please the crowd.”

Get your tickets here at $25 or $30 : https://jello-wrestling.saaf.org/tickets/

https://www.facebook.com/events/183725532382366/

Carolyn’s note:  I’ve been to this wild extravaganza in the past, with the Divas soliciting for team donations in buckets, in anticipation of the various (and costumed) wrestling matches. We all swallowed a bunch of Jello shots, while watching & cheering  these teams of one or two wrestlers (sometimes famous people) take on one another in the cold, bluish/greenish? jello pit.  It’s a unique fun activity for a Spring Day in the Old Pueblo.  Check it out on 4th Avenue on Saturday April 21. Proceeds go to SAAF – Southern Arizona Aids Foundation

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Grand opening of Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th for LGBTQ Youth

Posted on January 12, 2018 by | 1 comment

SOUTHERN ARIZONA AIDS FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES OPENING OF

THORNHILL LOPEZ CENTER ON 4TH

 “ The Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF) is proud to announce the opening of Tucson’s newest youth center, the Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th. To mark the grand opening, SAAF invites the community and media representatives to attend a Ribbon Cutting and Open House on January 18, 2018 from 11:30-1pm at the Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th, 526 North 4th Avenue.

 The objective of the Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th is to serve youth through programming, direct client services, and community engagement, with a direct focus on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) youth. The central program of the Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th is Eon, a safe space for LGBTQ & allied youth. At Eon, youth can work on homework, access art programming through a collaborative with the Museum of Contemporary Art, participate in peer-to-peer education opportunities and harm-reduction, empowerment-driven programming. In addition to Eon, SAAF will collocate other youth programming at the Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th in order to best serve the community.

 The center is named after Curtis Thornhill, originally from southern Arizona. Mr. Thornhill said: “I am very excited to be part of a project giving youth, especially LGBTQ youth, a safe space in southern Arizona. The Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th will remind our whole community that our youth are loved and welcome.”

 SAAF’s Executive Director, Wendell Hicks, added: “SAAF has always been driven by transformative action. The Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th will change and save the lives of many, many youths and I couldn’t be prouder of that.” Adam Ragan, SAAF’s Associate Director of LGBTQ Initiatives noted: “What started a couple years ago as a dream of a few in the community is now a reality. Youth will have a safe space to access programs, education, art, and most importantly, each other. We know the power of peer-to-peer programming can really impact the lives of youth for years to come.”

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Jerome Beillard Festival of Life on Nov.18

Posted on November 16, 2017 by | Comments Off on Jerome Beillard Festival of Life on Nov.18

“The Jerôme Beillard Festival for Life is a live and silent auction benefiting the programs and services of the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation.

Featuring food, art and entertainment, Festival for Life is a celebration of style, fashion and compassion!

Tickets are $50 through November 3rd or $65 after November 3rd.
Get your tickets early by going to http://festivalforlife.saaf.org/

Event Schedule
5:30pm Registration opens
6:00pm Silent Auction opens
7:15pm Live auction starts
8:45pm Silent Auction section 1 closes
9:15pm Silent Auction section 2 closes
9:45pm Check-out opens/Event ends”

Hosted by Festival for Life and Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation

https://www.facebook.com/events/2050014631897403/

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Rainbow Crosswalk Dedication on 4th Avenue

Posted on August 7, 2017 by | 4 comments

“RAINBOWS ARE COMING TO TUCSON!!!  Tues. AUGUST 8th, at 10 to 11 a.m.

SAAF, Historic Fourth Avenue, Speedy Striping, and the City of Tucson have joined together to paint all 4 crosswalks at 4th Avenue & 6th Street rainbow! This is the first rainbow crosswalks project in Arizona. The rainbow crosswalks celebrate inclusivity and diversity in Tucson and shows the world that Tucson, Fourth Avenue, and the City of Tucson are proud to stand with, and celebrate, the LGBTQ community.

Please join us on August 8 at 10am as we dedicate the Rainbow Crosswalks to the community.”

https://www.facebook.com/events/332219370557158/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%22106%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D

Preview below of 1st rainbow painted crosswalk, courtesy of Monique Vallery, Events Director at Historic 4th Avenue,  from FB.  Check out all four crosswalks tomorrow at the dedication.

 

 

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Jell-O Wresting Extravaganza on 4th Avenue

Posted on May 1, 2017 by | Comments Off on Jell-O Wresting Extravaganza on 4th Avenue

“The 30th Annual Reno Gannon Memorial Jell-O Wrestling Extravaganza and Benefit Auction will be held on Saturday May 6, 2017 on 4th Avenue at 7th Street.

Teams of wrestlers raise funds to wrestle in a pit of Jell-O, often with extraordinary costumes and characters. Between wrestling matches our Drag Diva Hostesses run a live auction featuring a variety of unique items selected to please the crowd.”

“Admission tickets for the 30th Annual Reno Gannon Jell-O Wrestling Extravaganza & Benefit Auction taking place on Saturday May 6, 2017 are now available! All tickets purchased online will be mailed to purchaser by April 23, 2017. Any tickets purchased on or after April 24 will be held at the will-call window under purchaser’s name. The will-call window opens at 4pm on Saturday May 6 and you will need valid photo ID to pick up will-call tickets.
Purchase Admission Tickets- $25 each

Saturday May 6, 2017

On 4th Avenue & 7th Street

4:00pm   Gates Open/Pre-Event Games & Festivities

4:30pm   Wrestling & Live Auction Begins

8:30pm   Event Ends

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Free showing of “1984” at Loft Cinema

Posted on April 3, 2017 by | 4 comments

Free Screening!

1984

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Join us for a special free screening of the classic film version of George Orwell’s chillingly prophetic novel, 1984, on April 4th, the day Orwell’s protagonist Winston Smith begins rebelling against his oppressive government by keeping a forbidden diary.

TUESDAY, APRIL 4 AT 7:30PM | FREE ADMISSION at Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd.

Presented by the University of Arizona Department of English and The Loft Cinema.

“A dystopian, futuristic society trapped in a state of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance and public manipulation.    A tyrannical political leader known as “Big Brother.”  An average citizen who dreams of rebellion.

Join us for a special free screening of the classic film version of George Orwell’s chillingly prophetic novel, 1984, starring John Hurt and Richard Burton. The screening date of April 4 is also the day Orwell’s protagonist Winston Smith begins rebelling against his oppressive government by keeping a forbidden diary. Over 90 independent cinemas in the U.S. will be banding together to screen 1984 on April 4.

Following the film will be a talkback and panel discussion on the novel’s relevancy to our current political climate, featuring Christopher Cokinos, UA Department of English; Marcia Klotz, UA Department of English; and Bradley Schauer, UA School of Theatre, Film and Television.

Come early to meet representatives from local organizations doing important work in our community at an outdoor Activist Fair, starting at 6:00pm and presented by The Loft Cinema.   Groups scheduled to appear include ACLU of Arizona; Colibri Center for Human Rights; Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona; Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation; Tucson Audubon Society; and YWCA Tucson.  Copies of Orwell’s novel will also be available for sale at this event, courtesy of local independent bookstore, Mostly Books.

This stunning screen adaptation of George Orwell’s prophetic 1948 novel envisions a world in which the government completely controls the masses by controlling their thoughts, altering history and even changing the meaning of words to suit its needs. The film is set during April of 1984 in post-atomic war London, the capital city of the repressive totalitarian state of Oceania. Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a government bureaucrat whose job is rewriting history and erasing people from existence. While his co-worker Parsons (Gregor Fisher) seems content to follow the state’s laws, Winston starts to write in a secret diary despite the fact the Big Brother is watching everyone at all times by way of monitors. He silently suffers and tries to comprehend his oppression, which forbids individual human behaviors such as free thinking and sex. He meets Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), who works for the Ministry of Truth, and they engage in a stoic love affair. They are soon found out, and Winston is interrogated and tortured by his former friend O’Brien (Richard Burton in his final film appearance). This second adaptation of Orwell’s classic novel (the first was released in 1956) was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Michael Radford (Il Postino: The Postman). (Dir. by Michael Radford, 1984, UK, 113 mins., Rated R)”

Special thanks to our community partners:

ACLU (local website/national website)

Colibri Center for Human Rights

Planned Parenthood (local website/national website)

Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation

YWCA Tucson

Tucson Audubon Society

 

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