Get OUT!
For Gay Days
In New England,
New York, Ohio
and Montreal!

These events are all open to the public. The whole idea is to create a 'Gay Space' where Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Questioning people, their friends, families and supporters can be themselves and just have fun. One day, we will all be treated equally and fairly, simply as human beings.
Until then, we are going to Get OUT!

These events are open to, and sponsorship of, and participation in these events, by area GLBTQI organizations is STRONGLY encouraged.

The more of us that participate,
the more fun we'll all have!

Who attends these events? Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning people of all ages, parents and their children, youth groups and adults of all ages, and of course, our supporters.

Let us know if your organization is interested in being a sponsor.

How did these events begin?

1997

It all began in July 1997, when someone got the idea to start a Gay Day at then, Riverside Park in Agawam Massachusetts. Something like the Gay Day At Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, only a little different, and about 1500 miles closer to New England.

That someone, was Gary Turner and he got the idea while hanging out with a bunch of his friends. Those friends were the New England Bears, and about 40 of them made their annual trek to Riverside Park for a day of fun in the sun.

After having a great time, Gary decided to start a gay day that was open to the entire GLBT community. So, Gary went home, picked a date, created a web site, and emailed all of his friends. He told his friends to show up, bring all their friends and have fun! Word of mouth, or email, can be a powerful tool. Gary's friends told all their friends, and so on. The rest is history. In 1997 we had over 1000 attendees.

This is exactly how "Gay Days" at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida began?


2000

In 2000, we added two more Gay Days: Out On The Farm (as of 2005, Out At The Fair) At The Big E, and Out In The Court At King Richard's Faire.

We also decided, from now on, to hold Out In The Park At Six Flags New England on the 3rd Sunday of September.


2003 - It's OFFICIAL!

In 2003, Out In The Park became an "official" Gay Day, as Six Flags New England decided to come aboard and help make this event a huge success. Over 10,000 special Out In The Park discount coupons were printed and distributed, only about 5-6 weeks prior to the event, along with running advertisements in In Newsweekly and Bay Windows. We also began offering downloadable web coupons for attendees to use on the day of the event. On September 21st, we counted between 2,500 to 3000 attendees!

With the overwhelming success of Out In The Park in 2003, we realized that our next event would change dramatically within a year's time.


2004

In 2004, we celebrated the 8th anniversary of Out In The Park At Six Flags New England, and prepared for our first ever Festival in the 10 acre River's Edge Picnic Grove with GLBTQI entertainers and vendors!

Also in 2004, a group of excited friends, became Out In The Park, a non-profit, all volunteer organization. And we became a program of Project 100, Inc. / The Hartford Community Center, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

Six Flags New England printed over 48,000 special Out In The Park discount coupons which were distributed at Gay Pride Festivals, bars, bookstores and other locations throughout New England and Eastern New York state with special emphasis on Boston, Provincetown, Worcester, Northampton and Springfield MA, Albany, Troy and Lake George NY, New York City, Providence RI, Portland Maine, Burlington and Brattleboro VT, Hartford, New London and New Haven CT. Advertisements were run in In Newsweekly, Bay Windows, Metroline Magazine and Out In The Mountians.

In 2004, Out In The Park At Six Flags New England reached another peak, with park attendance between 5,000 and 7,000! For 2005, we expect to exceed 10,000!

We also celebrated our 5th anniversary of Out On The Farm (Now, Out At The Fair) At The Big E and Out In The Court At King Richard's Faire.

With word spreading about our biggest event, other folks have looked to us to help either start events in their area, or have asked us to help them make their event bigger, better and more successful.

In 2004, we added the following, to our list of Gay Days In New England:

• Out In The Kingdom At "King Arthur's" / CT Renaissance Faire
  
• Out On The Lake At Lake Compounce
  
• Out Around The Lake At The Great Escape
  
• Pride In The Park At Funtown/Splashtown USA (only for 2004)
  
• Pride On The Lake (now, Out To The Lake) At Canobie Lake Park
  

Our roster of "official" Gay Day events grew to include:

• Out In The Park At Six Flags New England
  
• Out In The Court At King Richard's Faire
  
• Out In The Kingdom At "King Arthur's" / CT Renaissance Faire
  
• Out On The Lake At Lake Compounce
  
• Out Around The Lake At The Great Escape
  

2005

The 2005 season is shaping up to be our most exciting yet!

By request, in 2005, we added the following, to our list of Gay Days In New England:

• Out In The Realm At The Vermont Renaissance Festival
  
• Out In The Castle At The Robin Hood Faire in Hammond Castle
  
• Out En Le Parc A La Ronde Montreal Quebec
  

In 2005, we celebrate the fact that we currently plan and organize 10 different gay day styled events in New England, New York, and Montreal Canada! Of these ten events, currently nine are "official" gay day events where the hosting parks and facilities offer attendees special discounted admission tickets (two are available online directly from the park). For those of us that wait until the last minute, most of our hosts also offer special discount coupons to download from our website, and print and use the day of the event.

Our roster of "official" Gay Day events for 2005 included:

• Out In The Park At Six Flags New England
  
• Out At The Fair At The Big E
  
• Out In The Castle At The Robin Hood Faire in Hammond Castle
  
• Out In The Court At King Richard's Faire
  
• Out In The Kingdom At "King Arthur's" / CT Renaissance Faire
  
• Out On The Lake At Lake Compounce
  
• Out Around The Lake At The Great Escape
  
• Out In The Realm At The Vermont Renaissance Festival
  
• Out En Le Parc A La Ronde Montreal Quebec
  

In 2005 we also began offering both the Special and Deluxe Out In The Park tickets for sale through Six Flags New England's werb site (sixflags.com). It is important to point out that the Deluxe Out In The Park Package (park admission, FREE Parking and the All-You-Can-Eat Traditional Picnic Lunch) and the Special Discount ticket were ONLY available through sixflags.com. All meal-option tickets and packages (as always) MUST be ordered at least two weeks prior to the event.

It's Get OUT And About Weekend in Western Massachusetts!

In 2005, we also marked a return to offering a whole weekend of Gay Day Fun in Western MA! Saturday, September 17th was Out At The Fair At The Big E and Sunday, September 18th was Out In The Park At Six Flags New England.

As well as offering a special catered meal option at Six Flags New England (by special purchase of either the Deluxe or Super Out In The Park Packages), we are also began offering special advance purchase discount admission tickets to Out At The Fair At The Big E, and we are also offered a special catered meal option too! Please note: All meal-option tickets and packages MUST be ordered at least two weeks prior to the event.

As part of our Get OUT And About Weekend in Western Massachusetts, we have partnered with ValleyVacations.net to offer complete hotel, park admission, and meal option packages for both days.

The Ultimate Get OUT And About Weekend Packages (meal inclusive) were ordered directly by calling Valley Vacations directly at 413-586-2250. Standard Get OUT And About Weekend packages are also available. The Standard packages did not include the meal options at Six Flags New England or at The Big E.

For our event in Montreal, Out En Le Parc At La Ronde, special discount coupons were available in VOIR Magazine as well as a downloadable web coupon (to pack in your suitcase, just in case you can't decide until you get to Montreal to have fun at Gay Day).

This year, Out Around The Lake At The Great Escape in Lake George New York will be held on Saturday, September 24th (the weekend after Out In The Park At Six Flags New England).

It's Get OUT And About Weekend Lake George!

This change will allow everyone to have fun at Gay Day At The Great Escape on Saturday, and then head to Albany New York for the Capital Region AIDS Walk on Sunday, September 25th. We call this our Get OUT And About Weekend in Lake George.


2006

In 2006, The Six Flags Great Escape Lodge will be open, and we are already planning on adding a Friday afternoon/evening event for those folks who stay at the lodge. Visit the Out In The Lodge At The Six Flags Great Escape Lodge event page for details. The will also be an "official" event with special discounts, and will be part of the 2006 Get OUT And About Weekend in Lake George.

Also new for 2006, another "official" event, Out In The Shire With Queen Elizabeth At The Maine Renaissance Faire!


So,Get OUT!
Come join us this year,
You'll have a Gay Ol' Time!