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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cathy Renna, 917-757-6123, cathy@targetcue.com
NOTE: to be credentialed for events please contact cathy@targetcue.com as soon as possible

Line-Up For National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration
July 2-5

National LGBT 50th Anniversary Ceremony At Independence Hall, 2 Concerts, 5 LGBT History Exhibits, Parties, National Interfaith Service, Fireworks, National Panels, Gay Pioneers Screening, And Gayborhood Festival

JUNE 24, 2015, Philadelphia, PA - Organizers of the National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration, from July 2 to 5, announced programs and participants for the four days honoring 50 years of LGBT activism and progress. The National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration will be the first national event after the upcoming Supreme Court marriage equality decision and will be attended by marriage equality heroes, Edie Windsor and Jim Obergefell.

Participating Leaders, Heroes, and Entertainers:

• Jonathan Allen, singer
• Sergeant Eric Alva
• Tracy Baim
• Ada Bello, Gay Pioneer
• Selisse Berry
• Tamika Butler
• Eliza Byard
• James D. Esseks
• Kirk Fordham
• Douglas Hallward-Driemeier
• John Holmes III
• Rabbi Linda Holtzman
• The Reverend Jeffrey Jordan-Pickett
• Kate Kendell
• Paul Kuntzler, Gay Pioneer
• Malcolm Lazin
• Michael G. Long
• Stacey Long Simmons
• Cynthia MacLeod
• Aisha C. Moodie-Mills
• GoGo Morrow
• Walter Naegle
• Kevin Naff
• James Obergefell
• Tynan Power
• The Reverend Susan Richardson
• Bishop Gene Robinson
• The Reverend Timothy Safford
• Brad Sears
• Judy Shepard
• Amanda Simpson
• Lieutenant Governor Michael J. Stack
• Rabbi Margot Stein
• Marc Stein
• Wanda Sykes
• Daniel Vail
• Jorge Valencia
• Senator Anthony Williams
• Edith Windsor
• Kenji Yoshino

For more information about specific events go to lgbt50th.org

Thursday, July 2

Wreath Laying at Gay Pioneers Historical Marker
2:15 to 2:45 p.m.
Independence Mall
FREE

Christ Church Religious Freedom Tour
5:15 to 6:00 p.m.
Christ Church
Free

National Legal Panel
6:30 to 7:45 p.m.
National Museum of American Jewish History
FREE

National Politics Panel
8:15 to 9:30 p.m.
Congress Hall
FREE

50th Anniversary Party
10 to 11:30 p.m.
National Museum of American Jewish History
For tickets go to: http://lgbt50.org/event/50th-anniversary-party

Parties
10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The Gayborhood
FREE

Friday, July 3

National Interfaith Service with sermon by Bishop Gene Robinson
4 to 5 p.m.
Historic Christ Church
FREE

“Gay Pioneers” Screening With Special Guests
6 to 7:30 p.m.
WHYY
FREE

Live Nation 50th Anniversary Concert
7 to 11 p.m.
Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing
For tickets go to: http://www.ticketmaster.com/lgbt-50th-anniversary-civil-rights-movement-philadelphia-pennsylvania-07-03-2015/event/02004EC9B89B3F45?artistid=2131282&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1

Parties
10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The Gayborhood
FREE

Saturday, July 4

50th Anniversary VIP Lunch: Honoring Edie Windsor and Judy Shepard
11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Independence Visitor Center
For tickets go to: http://lgbt50.org/vip-lunch

National LGBT 50th Anniversary Ceremony with MC Wanda Sykes
2:15 to 3:15 p.m.
Independence Hall
FREE

VIP Cocktail Reception: Honoring James Obergefell
4:30 to 6 p.m.
Stratus Rooftop Lounge, Hotel Monaco
For tickets go to: http://lgbt50.org/event/vip-party

Wawa Welcome America Concert
7 to 11 p.m.
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
FREE

Parties
10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The Gayborhood
FREE

Wawa Welcome America Fireworks
11 p.m.
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
FREE

Sunday, July 5

Street Festival
Noon to 6 p.m.
The Gayborhood
FREE

Parties
Noon to 2 a.m.
The Gayborhood
FREE

All Week

Five LGBT History Exhibits
(Times Vary, please look at lgbt50th.org or on venue sites for more information)

• African American Museum
• Free Library of Philadelphia, Central Library
• Liberty Bell Center, Independence National Historical Park
• National Constitution Center
• National Museum of American Jewish History

FREE (most exhibits)

The organized LGBT civil rights movement was galvanized when activists from New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia staged demonstrations at Independence Hall for equality each Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969. When 40 activists picketed in front of Independence Hall in 1965, it was the largest demonstration for gay equality in world history.

Organized by Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings, the father and mother of the LGBT civil rights movement, these “Annual Reminders” laid the groundwork for the Stonewall riot in 1969. After Stonewall, the Gay Pioneers suspended the Annual Reminders and turned their energies to help organize the 1970 march from Greenwich Village to Central Park marking the first anniversary of Stonewall.

There is no registration fee and most programs are free.

For more information, visit www.lgbt50th.org and www.gaypioneers.com.