Gay-iendly towns red stat draw LGBTQ tourists: 'We're here to be normal for a weekend'

Contents:

• GAY-IENDLY TOWNS RED STAT DRAW LGBTQ TOURISTS: 'WE'RE HERE TO BE NORMAL FOR A WEEKEND'
•  ARKANSAS LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS FAYETTEVILLE, AR

GAY-IENDLY TOWNS RED STAT DRAW LGBTQ TOURISTS: 'WE'RE HERE TO BE NORMAL FOR A WEEKEND'

— On the unt of three, about 50 gay upl kissed their partners the public square of a small town the Ozark Wilks, the event’s anizer, told the crowd to do over. But Eureka Sprgs, Wilks, who ns Out Eureka, an LGBTQ event and rmatn anizatn, is workg to create what he se as an oasis: a space for LGBTQ people to explore a quat Southern town while beg weled exactly as they ci and towns red stat have also begun urtg lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer tourists, as a way of showg their openns and bee there’s money to be ma. ”Oklahoma Cy tri to entice LGBTQ tourists wh s annual Memorial Day gay roo and s small but thrivg southwt of Eureka Sprgs, Fayetteville is on a siar missn, tryg to appeal to LGBTQ people Arkansas and neighborg stat, for whom gog on vatn to a major cy is st prohibive — or not at all sirable.

“Fire Island is fun, ” he add of the gay statn east of New York Cy, but Wilks wants to rema “te to who Eureka is” — a small town that’s wood, Southern and super gay. ’Fayetteville recently beme the first cy Arkansas to jo the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Travel Associatn, which provis ee rourc, travel suggtns and safety tips to LGBTQ travelers.

Courty Vcent GriffExperience Fayetteville tak out ads gay newspapers nearby ci and neighborg stat toutg s attractns and makg sure queer and trans folks know they n vis whout worry. A lifelong Arkansan, she knows she’s fightg an uphill battle — while she lov the state, she acknowledg that isn’t always a great place to be LGBTQ, wh a lack of workplace discrimatn protectns and snt health re for trans, Fayetteville Pri, the biggt gay event of the year, has flourished, drawg visors om all over the regn.

 ARKANSAS LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

The first para 2005 drew about 200 atten; last year, had over 15, Tanzella, print and CEO of the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Travel Associatn, was thrilled when Fayetteville wanted to be promoted by his anizatn. ”Tanzella said that recent years, gay tourism has “evolved om a one-size-fs mol to all the different nich.

Some “gay-iendly” plac she and her partner nsired seemed to ter only to men, while others, like Key Wt and Provcetown, felt too far om her home the South. The picturque town featur old saloons wh rabow flags, a hnted hotel, and dozens of other gay-owned shops, rtrants and bs. Every bar Eureka, rints like to say, is a gay Buckmaster, 36, mak the two-hour drive om her home Carthage, Missouri, to Eureka Sprgs a uple tim a year.

“Gay affluence” is a largely a myth, and transgenr people often face stctural hurdl to fdg work and hog. '” Avanzo, a gay trans man who grew up on the Wt Coast and currently liv Dallas, said.

LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS FAYETTEVILLE, AR

Northwt Arkansas Equaly is a nonprof anizatn providg programmg, tn, and advocy to serve, nnect, and empower the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ) muny. In 2022, NWA Pri celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Miss Gay Arkansas and Miss Gay Ameri pageants, heavily rooted Arkansas’ Queer history.

Jon has touched the liv of thoands of LGBTQ+ Arkansans and untls others across the untry as Miss Gay Arkansas 1972, Miss Gay Ameri 1973, and as owner of one of the largt and longt-nng LGBTQ+ nightclubs Arkansas and the south. PFLAG of NWAParents, Fai, and Friends of Lbians and Gays (PFLAG) is the largt anizatn ung fai and alli wh people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, or queer (LGBTQ).