The original inspiration for Out In The Park was simple. A bunch of gay friends, about 40 of us, got together at Riverside Park in Agawam MA on July 26, 1997, just to have a good time. We all had a great time on a wonderful, sunny, Saturday afternoon. OK, we had a Gay Ol' time!

We all had a great time, as we enjoyed the commaraderie, warmth and love of simply socializing with some of our gay friends. It was always a heart-warming sight to wave to our friends waiting in other lines at the Cyclone or the Mind Eraser, as well as every time we passed each other in the park. We even talked about how wonderful it was that Orlando, Florida had a Gay Day where tens of thousands of gay people showed up, we just wished that Orlando was a little closer to New England.

While we were waiting to ride the roller coasters, a few of us talked about what a great time we were having and wondered "What if the whole park were full of gay men and lesbian women, and kids of all ages"? Hey, if we contacted EVERY GLBT organization in the New England and New York area and invited them to a Gay Day at Riverside Park, think of how many of us there would be? Hey, it wouldn't be Disney World in Orlando, but most of us just can't afford to go to Disney World, so let's do it here in New England at New England's SuperPark, The Great Escape at Riverside Park!"

So, after returning home from Riverside Park, we decided to try organizing our own Gay Day in New England at Riverside Park. One of us picked a date, created a website, and then we invited all of our friends and family, with an open invitation to the GLBT community, to attend a Gay Day. Of course we wanted everyone to tell all of their friends to come too, on Saturday, September 27, 1997!

And ever since, we have continuted to do just that, pick the date and tell everyone to show up. Every year, GLBT people from all over New England show up by the thousands, and have a great time! Over the years, we've heard from various GLBT centers, bars, churches, social, political, sports and youth groups chartering buses, even motor cycle clubs driving from as far away as New York City. People have traveled from all over New England, and in 2003, even as far away as Montreal Canada and Florida, just to attend Out In The Park.

Out In The Park did not begin as an offically recognized "Gay Day" at Riverside Park, but we think they had some idea that something queer was happening, especially when hundreds of us got there! Actual park estimates were over 1,000 in 1997! Some of us still remember seeing "Jackie O." in her hot pink and black mini-skirt ensemble, complete with pillbox hat and white gloves, casually strolling through the park, waving to everyone! What a hoot! What a sight, in matching high heels, no less!

Originally, this event was more of a "happening" (OK, invasion). In the future, we hoped, we might be able to reserve the 10 acre picnic grove for GLBT groups, a BBQ/picnic, and eventually be able to have a GLBT festival with entertainers and vendors.

The reality was that making a festival of this size happen, in a place like this, would require a major investment that a grassroots organization like ours, simply does not have.

But we remained hopeful, and dreamt of the day when Riverside Park (now, Six Flags New England) would look around and see that this event could mean a lot of money to them, and be a lot of fun for us! Back in 1997/98, they didn't seem to realize the buying power that the GLBT community has. Maybe they were afraid to "support" a gay day, much the same way Disney World was afraid of what might happen at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. If those were the lingering perceptions, they would change, but it would take time. And that time would arrive in 2003.

(It is interesting to note that Gay Day in Orlando is still not organized by Disney, and has grown to become the busiest week all year in Orlando!)

Some people like to think of Out In The Park, as an end-of-pride-season, after party. When we originally concieved of Out In The Park, we wanted a date close to October 11th, National Coming Out Day (www.hrc.org/ncop). So we originally chose the last Saturday in September because the weather is usually still warm and sunny. And hey, "What a great warm-up event for NCOD!".

Out In The Park is not like most other gay "party" events, like various circuit or dance parties, and other women or men-centric festivals and events. Out In The Park is not a politically oriented event. Out In The Park is simply, a fun, all-ages, social event for all members of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Questioning community, along with all of our friends, families and supporters!

The first Out In The Park was held on Saturday, September 27, 1997 from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm at Riverside Park in Agawam, MA.

Because of other special events on the Riverside Park schedule, namely their Blues Festival in 1998, we chose Sunday, September 20, 1998. That year, so many attendees complained that the water rides were not open at all (yet Riverside Park still charged the full price), that we decided for next year, we would pick a date when all the rides were open.

On Sunday, August 29, 1999 the water rides were open, but the park was swarmming with thousands of people. This time attendees were complaining about the long waiting lines for all the rides, and most said they would prefer that we hold the 2000 event in September again.

Based on attendees' feedback, and 3 years of moving the date around, we finally decided to settle on one "fixed" date every year. So, in 2000, we began holding Out In The Park on the 3rd Sunday of September every year.

Like many fun events that become known, our event continues to grow.

Beginning in 2003, Six Flags New England offered us not only a digital coupon for our web site (so anyone could print as many as they needed), but Six Flags also printed 10,000 special discount coupons valid only for the date of our event! Local gay media such as InNewsWeekly and Bay Windows ran full-color ads promoting Out In The Park. We even had an ad running in the program guide for the Connecticut P.R.I.D.E. festival in Hartford CT. We were even able gave away free admission tickets on radio stations that featured GLBT programs, as well as through various GLBT fundraising events sponsored by GLBT organizations throughout New England and Albany NY.

In 2004, we again offered special discount coupons via our web site. We also distributed thousands more printed discount coupons at all the Gay Pride celebrations throughout New England and New York. We began selling a special "Deluxe Out In The Park Package" (a special park admission ticket that included an All-You-Can-Eat lunch in the River's Edge Picnic Grove and FREE Parking for the day). And for the first time since we began Out In The Park, we were able to realize the dream of holding our first ever festival featuring GLBT entertainers and vendors in The River's Edge picnic grove!

For 2005, we again offered special discount coupons via our web site. We also expect to distribute thousands more printed discount coupons at all the Gay Pride celebrations throughout New England and the Albany and New York City areas. We were all to again offer a special "Deluxe Out In The Park Package" (featuring a special park admission ticket that includes an All-You-Can-Eat lunch in the River's Edge Picnic Grove and FREE Parking for the day). But after planning the 2004 festival and realizing that most people came to the amusement park to ride rides, we decided against planning such a festival again.

For 2006 and 2007, Six Flags began selling special OITP discount tickets online through their website. We were were able to also offer the special "Deluxe Out In The Park Package" (featuring a special park admission ticket that includes an All-You-Can-Eat lunch in the River's Edge Picnic Grove and FREE Parking for the day) as well as the Out In The Park Special Discount Park Admission. Six Flags even offered OITP Upgrade Packages to Six Flags Season Pass Holders. Alas, this would be the last time Six Flags would be open or welcoming to our community, unless we paid extra for it and hide away at a "private party".

For 2008, Six Flags decided that they wanted to hold a Private Party. At first, this may sound like a great idea, but let's think about what this means to our coummunity and to the Gay Day events that we have been planning since 1997.

By making an event private at Six Flags, means NOT offering the usual discounts to the GLBT community, that Six Flags does offer to everyone else. This means that Six Flags Season Passes and any other discounted tickets or coupons are not vaild. To us, this change in pricing, while good for Six Flags pocketbook because it means they make more money off of everyone that attends, we feel charging us gay people EXTRA, smells of, well, let's call it uneven pricing. We can only assume that Six Flags feels being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersexed, means we should pay more? This all smells of discrimination, albiet, in a insidious way.

Also by making the event a "private party", Six Flags can bring in additional "special sponsors", which means even more cash in Six Flags' pockets - at our expense and exploitation. Six Flags claims that the "Private Party" event they now plan is "just for us", and it is, provided we pay extra and go back to hiding in the closet!

Is this what Gay Day at Six Flags has become? Apparently, over the years, Six Flags has systematically forced any other Gay Day event into becoming a private event. Over the past six years or so, we have watched as one all day event after another, has simply become a Friday night circuit party. Want to see the future as Six Flags does? Check out this: www.thetaskforceactionfund.org/outparks09/outparks09.html .

Though they will say these "new" events (oddly enough, also called Out In The Parks events - Gee, where did they get that idea?), are NOT Circuit Parties, they are put together by producers of other circuit parties. Check out these links to see whatelse they do: MarkNelson.biz, TwistedLife.com and together at OutInEvents.com. And if these events are NOT Circuit Parties, why are their tickets available on circuiticket.com? See another list of their events here.

Six Flags is trying really hard to make everyone else think that their "Gay Day" events are NOT circuit parties. Check out the event times and you will find that they all take place on Friday nights (so why call it a "day" event?). So, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it probably is a duck! We say buyer beware!

When we began Out In The Park in 1997, we never imaged that one day, in not only Massachusetts, but also in five other states including Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Iowa would eventually legalize same-sex marriage! Sadly, we also never imaged that 30 US states Would amended their constitutions to ban it. Effectively legalizing discrimination of same sex couples. While not currently offering legal same sex marriage, New York and Washington, D.C. do recognize the marriages of gay couples who have married elsewhere. Granted, same-sex marriage laws in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will not go into effect for the 2009 season. And who would have guessed that Same-sex marriage would also become legal in Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Spain and South Africa?

So, with same sex marriage legal in MA, CT and VT, we have to ask: Why do we need a "Private Party", where we can be hidden away from the public's view?

Gay Day events are well known as a chance for everyone to come out, including those of who are out and proud, as well as those of us who might simply be curious. By coming out in public, we all can see each other and know that we are not alone.

By Six Flags making their "Private Party" event private and "just for us", it also means excluding many members of our community. Over the many years that we have been planning Out In The Park, it has been especially heart-warming to see so many old and new friends, and thousands of members of our community, young and old, simply come out, come together, and have fun. For this reason alone, not to mention the increased costs to anyone attending, we decided to continue to plan our open-to-the-public event. So while Six Flags held their Private Party on Saturday, September 20, 2008, we went ahead with holding our GAY DAY event on Sunday, September 21, 2009.

For some people, this seemed a bit confusing and counter productive. But, many people clearly understood what it means to be out and proud of of who we are IN PUBLIC. As we talked to several people who attended both events in 2008, it was very clear that instead of paying extra to attend the "private party" on Saturday, many more of our brothers and sisters came out on Sunday!

Sadly, Six Flags Theme Parks future has never looked bleaker than this year.

On Sunday, Jun 14, 2009 - Six Flags filed for bankruptcy protection (http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/quotescharts/news/), and SFTP, Inc continues to operate under their Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At the time SFTP filed, they were carrying $2.4 billion in debt, but the 2008 season income was only $275 million. With this credit market and bad economy, its hard to imagine Six Flags surviving much longer.

Call us skeptical, but when Six Flags shares have traded below one dollar since September 2008, and they closed at 26 cents back in June, and are now down to less than 12 cents each, its very hard to believe the end is not near. What are Six Flags stocks worth now? Find out here: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/quotescharts/showDetailedQuote/?qm_symbol=SIXFQ

But wait! There's more! A lot more! Find out what Wikipedia has to say about Six Flags and Premier Parks at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_flags. Sadly, as you read further along in the Wikipedia article, the financial picture looks bleaker and bleaker. And be sure to check out all the parks and properties that Six Flags / Premier Parks has owned and subsequently closed over the past 10 years or so here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_flags#Premier_Parks).

So, after all is said and done, we can really only come up with one big reason for Six Flags to try to entice the GLBTI community into going to a "Private Party". BIG PROFITS FOR SIX FLAGS!

We hope to see many more of you for the REAL GAY DAY: Out In The Park At Six Flags New England on Saturday, September 19, 2009!

What are you waiting for? Go invite everyone you know who are "family" or friends to join us for a fun time for "the whole family".

We're here, We're Queer
and We're having the time of our lives!