This upcoming weekend there are two different events taking place in the Queen City to celebrate community and Lesbian Day of Visibility.
On Friday, April 25 beginning at 7 p.m. Heidi Hemphill Samples’ Sapphic Spoken Word & Poetry group will host a presentation at North Davidson’s Divine Barrel Brewing, which will showcase powerful, funny, and heartwarming tales from the vibrant experiences of Charlotte’s women-loving-women community.
Attendees can expect to hear storytellers, poets, musicians and spoken word artists share their journeys, observations, opinions and life adventures. “It’s a lineup of powerful queer women – ‘Sapphics with something to say’ – sharing raw, real stories,” Samples told QNotes.
There are a few qualifications to be considered to capturie an opportunity at the mic. Producers and planners ask that potential speakers be out & queer, identify as a Lesbian or Sapphic woman (non-binary identifying is welcome), have some experience in storytelling, be able to keep the story between three to five minutes, and make an audience laugh, cry or think. Interested parties can email Heidi Samples, the host of the event, with their story pitch to be considered for the event at HeidiSamples@gmail.com. Divine Barrel Brewing Company is located at 3701 N, Davidson Street, Suite 203.
But that’s not all: the following evening on Saturday, April 26 beginning at 5 p.m., Milton Howard, the former owner of the Charlotte LGBTQ+ club “Nickel Bar” and a leader in the Queen City community will team up with Samples for a “grown and sexy” early evening family affair, with the intention of bringing all members of the community together. The bash will be a combination of music, dancing and the Soulful Spotlight Singles Mixer, inviting individuals looking to make new friends or find a special connection. The April 26 event takes place at Chasers in NoDa, located at 3217 The Plaza.Party-goers will be issued designated wristbands of varying colors to help keep things simple. Taken (in a relationship) participants (encouraged to bring single friends) will wear red, those in “complicated situations” will be given yellow and the truly single folks will wear green. Whether wing-womaning (or maning) for friends, or coming out and being open to what’s out there, the social shindig is sure to be a great way to groove on a Saturday evening.
Interested parties can reach out to the Facebook Group, Lesbian Friends of Charlotte, for more information and to RSVP if desired. More info is also available at their Instagram page, linked here.