SONG started Gaycation several years ago out of a deep need for us to be together as LGBTQ+ people, Black people, people of color, immigrants, rural people, and working-class Southern people.  So it is with sincere heartbreak that we announce that Gaycation 2020 is canceled this year. Keeping our people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make it impossible for us to convene larger numbers of our members together physically.

With the funds allotted for Gaycation, we want to invite YOU, SONG members, to vision a space of collective joy in your community and submit a proposal to make it happen. Gather a few of your comrades and plan a SONG Summer Staycation in your city or town that will cultivate joy, connection, and LGBTQ liberation in your community.

Gather 3-5 SONG members, hop on a call or a video conference with your crew and cook up some ideas to make the SONG Staycation truly magical. SONG’s Spokescouncil will select 6 proposals and grant up to $5,000 to each project (for a total of $30,000). Your proposal can be brief! It can be written or a video or an audio recording. Proposals are due by August 10, 2020. if you have trouble or need support  email takeaction@southernersonnewground.org.

All we ask you to do — besides spreading LGBTQ joy + celebration — is to take a picture of your event  or activity  and tag @ignitekindred #SONGStaycation2020.

Have an idea for how to take the magic of Gaycation and bring it home? Here are some examples to get the juices flowing:

  • You could project a classic LBGTQ film on the side of a building with folks sitting 6 feet apart + get some local Black-owned food trucks to provide snacks. Hand out flyers with invites to the next SONG meeting!
  • You could create a homo version of Merry Maids + mask up to visit the homes of elders in your community to offer a deep clean! Rest up with a glass of sweet tea on the porch + ask them to offer you a tale or some good queer wisdom!
  • You could organize to paint or tag a mural on the side of unused wall space in your community with a crew!
  • You could buy seeds, shovels, good dirt, and supplies to plant a community garden!
  • You could rent a DIY #DefundThePolice ice cream truck to drive around the neighborhood with popsicles + flyers about local abolitionist campaigns!
  • You could get a crew to write up a nature guide with pictures + descriptions of native plants for a hike in your area

Your proposal should include:

  • A brief description of what you plan to do
  • A budget for your plan (if selected, the $5K will be disbursed to your crew via 1 PEX card, like a debit card). You will receive your PEX card 15 days after you fill out the necessary paperwork.
  • A safety plan for your event — outlining what steps will be taken (in line with CDC guidelines) to protect everyone from COVID-19. As queer people we know how much our survival depends on each other and how we have saved each other’s lives time and time again. All of us have different needs — because of injury, trauma, or disability. Make a plan to build out collective access + include that in your proposal
  • Your plan should not only benefit you + your 2 friends or lovers. Just like Gaycation is not a resort or a vacation rental, but a space built for LGBTQ people by LGBTQ people, your Staycation should be an offering to SONG’s broader membership + community.

Gaycation is for SONG members and so is SONG’s Staycation 2020. JOIN or RENEW your SONG membership by clicking here!

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