The San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce is excited to host the 8th Annual National Coming Out Day event, only this year it will be a GAYla where LGBTQ leaders, organizations, community members, and allies can celebrate Coming Out in unity. Featuring a Keynote address by City Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, the first openly black gay man elected to any office in Texas, and a special performance by our fabulous Emcee Kristi Waters.
Join us Saturday, October 9th at Hilton Palacio del Rio from 6:30 pm – 11:30 pm.
Guests will enjoy a cocktail reception, dinner service, awards ceremony, DJ, and dancing. We will proudly honor our 2021 award recipients: Monika Prochazkova – Chamber Champion Award, Judge Rosie Speedlin-Gonzalez – Community Impact Award, and Lifetime Achievement Awards presented to our Chamber Founders Lisa Shelton, Darrell Parsons, and Robert Vargas III. It will be an evening of inspiration as we have surpassed our coming out stories to survive, succeed, and become community leaders. Our support goes out to those who struggle to come out by showing them we are a family and they are not alone.
LGBT History Month, recognized throughout the month of October, has blossomed into a nationally coordinated effort to highlight exemplary role models within the LGBT community. National Coming Out Day was created in 1988 in recognition of the importance of “coming out.” The day champions the idea that homophobia thrives in silence, and that the act of making one’s sexual orientation or gender identity known makes it easier for others to do the same.
The San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce has proudly hosted the National Coming Out Day event since 2014. To commemorate this holiday, we have prepared the 8th annual celebration for National Coming Out Day’s 33rd anniversary, marking the anniversary of the first-ever March on Washington for LGBT Rights.
Our Coming Out GAYla is open to anyone who would like to celebrate and support our LGBTQ+ and allied community.
We are currently accepting registration for sponsors, tables, and individual tickets at http://www.salgbtchamber.org/national-coming-out-day.