Going off the beaten-path sometimes creates the most authentic connections and memories when traveling. Looking at an old favorite with new eyes and perspective can bring out the best in an often-visited location. Or, perhaps for the most well-traveled visitor to Colorado, time giving back to a non-profit or supporting the environment creates a new sense of appreciation for the outdoors and public lands. The Colorado Field Guide brings fresh exploratory ideas and opportunities to visitors this summer with new look-and-feel planning tools and more inspiration from all corners of the state.
Here are eight ways to use the Colorado Field Guide to get to the lesser-known, travel like a local, and experience the unexpected on a Colorado visit this summer:
Plan Your Getaway: Build A Trip by Length, Region, City, Season or Activity. Heading to Colorado but for how many days? Looking for art galleries or hiking trails? Trying to avoid the usual hot spots and discover something new? The Colorado Field Guide homepage has a handy search criteria, so travelers can check out different itinerary ideas based on journey time or direction of travel. Each itinerary comes with recommended lodging and dining suggestions and is packed with daily activities. Search the full breadth of diverse activities for inspiration or pair unheard-of activities in a destination: stargazing to golf, wine tasting to hunting, mine tours to zip lining.
New Reasons to Visit the Well Known. Visitors have a new lens to look at Denver, Boulder, Aspen, and Telluride with the Colorado Field Guide’s “Top Chef” itinerary. Rich in homegrown ingredients, nationally recognized chefs and a thriving maker culture, it's no wonder Bravo set its latest season of "Top Chef" in breathtaking (and delicious) destinations in Colorado. Visitors can experience Season 15's highlights on this flavor-packed tour of the celebrated culinary scenes in four of the towns featured as locations in the show, starting with the Mile High City. Want more? Check out the Field Guide itinerary: Follow Top Chef Season 15 In Colorado: Inspired By Food & Wine Magazine
Places You Haven’t Heard Of. The Colorado Field Guide is the best place to dig for new destinations and regional road trips. Never heard of Sterling, Colorado? It just so happens to be home to Parts and Labor, the only brewery east of the 1-25 corridor. Despite being a small mom and pop brewery, the brews are already getting wide recognition, having been featured in Food & Wine Magazine as one of the top 25 breweries in the state. Parts & Labor is known for their wheat beers, which are produced from wheat grown just 5 miles from the brewery. Want more? Check out the Field Guide itinerary: Peaceful Plains: Explore Sterling & Logan County itinerary. Or try a new region: Northwest Colorado’s Grand Mesa is one of the largest flat-top mountains in the world, and its landscape sets it apart from much of the rest of Colorado — that so many lakes can be found so close together is a bit of an anomaly in this high-altitude state. Alexander Lake Lodge in Cedaredge is the perfect home base for activities and exploration of the area. Want more? Check out the Field Guide itinerary: 3 Days, 300 Lakes & 3 Scenic Trails On The Grand Mesa
First-Timer’s Guide to... Get the ultimate bucket list on a destination as a first-timer. The Colorado Field Guide includes the best dining, where to stay, and the highlights of outdoor recreation or culture, plus events visitors won’t want to miss. Fruita is well-known for as one of Colorado’s leading mountain biking destinations, but the Field Guide offers a broader insight of activities to check out, including local parks and public lands worth hiking, or local farms such as Moon Farms that offers tours of its petting zoo, plus the important scoop on where to get the best tacos in town. Want more? Check out the Field Guide itinerary: A Fruita Experience.
Learn About Regional Voluntourism Opportunities. The Colorado Field Guide has partnered with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado to connect visitors with ways to care for the state’s natural resources. A downloadable app features a calendar of volunteering events taking place in local towns and regions, such as river clean-ups and trail building, as well as task lists and inspiration for giving back. Visitors can collect points to earn badges via the app.
Travel Like a Local with Insider’s Tips. It’s the locals who are in the know, and the Field Guide has tapped its sources to get the low-down so visitors get to bag a unique view or exciting activity. A must-see road trip in Southwest Colorado takes visitors via the canyon-clinging stretch of spectacular roadway between Silverton, Durango and Ouray called “The Million Dollar Highway” either because it cost so much to build, the amount of gold ore that remained in the roadway’s fill or the figurative price for those amazing San Juan Mountain views. The insider tip recommends lunch in the trees at Soaring Treetop Adventures, where visitors can enjoy a four-course gourmet lunch on a suspended platform overlooking the beautiful Animas River. Want more? Check out the Field Guide itinerary: Adventure & History: Million Dollar Highway
New Ways to Road Trip. A novel way to look at Colorado’s mountain towns is through the lens of creative arts and culture. Colorado's new Creative Corridor runs through a handful of the state's Certified Creative Districts, including Carbondale, the North Fork Valley, Crested Butte, Ridgway and Salida — not to mention stunning landscapes, restaurants serving locally sourced menus and the spirit of the arts around every corner. Want more? Check out the Field Guide itinerary: Colorado Creative Corridor.
Search for the Hidden Gems. Nestled in western Colorado’s North Fork Valley, Hotchkiss, Crawford, and Paonia offer access to some of the state’s greatest natural treasures and activities. Explore landmarks like Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, partake in quintessential pastimes like fly-fishing, hiking, and wine tasting, and enjoy Rocky Mountain hospitality at its finest. Cozy up on a porch swing at The Stone House Inn for some primo stargazing, or take a drive up to the Needle Rock trailhead—where artificial light is nonexistent—another incredible stargazing locale. Want more? Check out the Field Guide itinerary: North Fork Valley Tour.
MGM Resorts International announced the release of UNIVERSAL LOVE, a collection of reimagined wedding songs for the LGBTQ community, celebrating the enduring and overwhelming power of love and music to unite.
UNIVERSAL LOVE offers six newly recorded versions of iconic love songs that give same-sex couples a soundtrack for their own love stories and feature pronouns changed to reflect the world of LGBTQ relationships.
The album includes boundary-changing songs from some of today’s most-beloved artists. Bob Dylan, one of the most influential and successful recording artists in American history, is among the visionary artists participating in this unprecedented project. Dylan re-recorded “She’s Funny That Way” as “He’s Funny That Way.” The album features five additional stellar artists whose involvement is a testament to the urgency of equality in entertainment: Kesha (“I Need a Woman to Love Me”), St. Vincent (“And Then She Kissed Me”), Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie (“And I Love Him”), Kele Okereke of Bloc Party (“My Guy”), and Valerie June (“Mad About The Girl”).
Phyllis James, MGM Resorts’ Chief Diversity & Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, said, “We believe projects like this will help all of us reach a point where seeing the world through the lens of people who happen to be different from us becomes natural and commonplace. It is an immense honor for MGM Resorts to spearhead this inspirational project which celebrates LGBTQ dimensions of the universal emotion of love.”
I have bad news. Mere hours after the Colorado House passed our bill to ban the harmful, discredited practice of conversion therapy on LGBTQ minors with bipartisan support, Senate Republicans assigned this bill to their kill committee. This means Senate Republican leadership has already marked this bill for death, and this bill won’t get the fair hearing it deserves. Let this be the last year that happens.
All that stands between our bill to ban conversion therapy and the Governor’s desk is one vote. Senate Republicans have the majority by one vote, and with that one vote, they have rejected bill after bill that would advance the LGBTQ community. We must change that in November.
We had a number of brave survivors come to testify for the conversion therapy ban in the House. For some, this was the fourth year in a row they’ve come to testify. Yet, Senate Republican leadership has already decided this bill’s fate without even giving these Coloradans a chance to make their case.
The IGLTA Foundation has partnered with the Pacific Asia Travel Association to provide a unique opportunity for a Hong Kong Polytechnic University tourism student to attend the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s 35th Annual Global Convention, 9-12 May in Toronto. Thanakarn (Bella) Vongvisitsin has been selected to attend the conference, considered to be the premier educational and networking event for the global LGBTQ tourism industry.
"The IGLTA Foundation is honored to partner with such a distinguished organization as PATA to provide opportunities to deserving young individuals in their pursuit to further understand and to strengthen LGBTQ global tourism," says IGLTA Foundation Board Chair, Gary Murakami, CMP, CMM, of MGM Resorts International. "We believe strongly that access to education and networking opportunities at the IGLTA Annual Global Convention is a pillar of the Foundation's efforts and working with PATA is a key to our success."
Vongvisitsin, a Thai national, is working on her PhD at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and is active with ILGA, Youth Voices Count and the Asia Pacific Transgender Network. The conference scholarship provides an all-expenses-paid trip and conference registration to the event.
"It is my greatest honor and opportunity for me to be awarded with PATA/IGLTA Scholarship that fully supports my travel to attend the world's biggest LGBTQ tourism convention!” Vongvisitsin said. “I am so thrilled to integrate my direct experience as an LGBTQ advocate, a member of the transgender community and my research background in tourism and hospitality management to fully contribute to LGBTQ tourism research. I feel that this scholarship is the kick-off for me, and this chance will help me to learn the best practices from LGBTQ tourism experts.”
This is the sixth year the IGLTA Foundation has offered its Building Bridges Scholarship Program to tourism students and small business owners, and it is the second time the non-profit has collaborated with another organisation on the project. IGLTA and PATA formed a partnership in 2015 and the application process for this joint sponsorship was open to students attending educational institutions that are PATA International members.
“PATA holds the fundamental belief that all travel and tourism stakeholders have an equal voice that should be heard, and we continually work to establish bridges for all people of goodwill from all countries to access and empathise with each other. In addition, we have always been a strong advocate for the development of young tourism professionals within the region. This scholarship highlights our commitment to both these endeavours,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. “I would like to personally congratulate Bella on being selected for this tremendous opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the travel and tourism industry, and the significant impact gay and lesbian tourism has socially and economically across the globe.”
In an all-new digital series launching next Tuesday, April 17 on LogoTV.com, fans of the pop culture phenomenon “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will be given a glimpse into the fierce closets of six fan-favorite drag queens. During “Out of the Closet,” an intimate six-episode series, viewers are invited into the homes of Acid Betty, Aja, Alexis Michelle, Kimora Blac, Manila Luzon and Sasha Velour to explore their wardrobes and learn what inspires their fashion as well as the process that went into some of their most iconic and “wig-snatching” looks.
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NMAC has released Expanding Access to Biomedical HIV Prevention: Tailoring Approaches for Effectively Serving Communities of Color, a new report that establishes strategies to effectively use techniques such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Treatment as Prevention (TasP) to end the HIV epidemic in communities of color. The full report is available on NMAC’s website at nmac.org/blueprint.
“Ending HIV needs to be more than just a slogan,” said Paul Kawata, NMAC’s Executive Director. “We need effective planning and strategizing to ensure that PrEP and TasP receive more widespread use in communities of color and marginalized populations that are bearing a greater HIV burden. That means including these communities in studies, ensuring that they have access to health care providers whom they trust, and that outreach efforts are culturally sensitive. It’s a big task but an absolutely vital one. This report outlines strategies to reach and effectively serve these communities.”
The report’s specific recommendations for communities of color include:
Focus on the South and strengthening healthcare infrastructure.
Promote biomedical HIV prevention tools through community education and awareness campaigns.
Strengthen health literacy and increase health system navigation services.
Combat stigma associated with HIV and PrEP.
Train more providers to be equipped to navigate across cultures and communities and provide effective HIV treatment and prevention.
Expand the scope of sexual health clinics.
Adapt service delivery to reach people of color.
Actively counter mistrust of providers and the health system.
Cultivate a diverse workforce of health researchers and professionals trained in applying multidisciplinary approaches.
The report also includes recommendations for specific populations, including transgender people of color, gay and bisexual men of color, cisgender women of color, and adolescents and young people of color.
This report is the second part of a two-part report, Blueprint for HIV Biomedical Prevention. NMAC and its partners conducted more than 20 interviews with a diversity of stakeholders in the summer of 2016 to inform the first part, the State of the State Report, and used those interviews as the starting point to distill a focused list of recommendations to expand access to biomedical HIV prevention in communities of color. The recommendations were also informed by discussions that took place at two conferences hosted by NMAC: the National HIV PrEP Summit in December 2016 and the National Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit in December 2017.
San Diego based Pop/Soul vocalist and songwriter Danielle Alexa releases the video for "Spin In Circles" featuring Laganja Estranja and Gia Gunn of RuPaul's Drag Race. Shot in La Jolla, California, the 23-year-old out artist transforms into a drag king before a night out on the town with her girlfriends. It's an endeavor that tackles the concept of gender. As with her video cohorts, Alexa wants to show the world she has an unashamed, strong sense of self. The support of her friends allows her to harness the courage to reflect that visually.
"I wanted to make a fun and thought provoking video for 'Spin In Circles,'" Alexa tells Billboard. "The video illustrates coming to terms with one's self in a deep haze of smoke. It is about fluidity being acceptable, and one's ability to be themselves."
"Laganja Estranja and Gia Gunn are two of my favorite people from RuPaul's Drag Race. They have the courage to be absolutely fabulous, and I was so happy that they wanted to take part in my new video."
Did you know that in 2015, 88% of students in Colorado reported hearing
anti-LGBTQ remarks from peers and school staff on a regular basis? In
fact, sexual orientation and gender expression remain two of the highest
reported categories of identity-based harassment and assault in
Colorado schools. Despite these realities, there are a number of actions
that communities can take to improve the safety and inclusion of LGBTQ
students in their schools.
Pixelated: Sculpture by Mike Whiting is the rare exhibit that
brings back childhood memories of video game arcades as well as calls to
mind modern artworks in great museums. Set within the lush natural
spaces of the Denver Botanic Gardens, the bold colors and geometric forms of Whiting’s
sculptures are also a witty complement to garden landscapes that are
simultaneously natural and cultivated.
The Creating Change Conference is being placed in the experienced hands of Andy Garcia, ensuring it is on track for a powerful 31st convening in Detroit, 2019.
On April 10, the National LGBTQ Task Force announced Andy Garcia as the next director of Creating Change. Garcia succeeds Sue Hyde, the conference’s founder. The search for a new director was initiated when Hyde announced in November that she had accepted the position of executive director of the Wild Geese Foundation.
The primary goal of the Creating Change Conference is to build the LGBTQ movement’s political power from the ground up to secure the full freedom, justice, and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the United States. In addition to running the annual Creating Change Conference, the director oversees the Creating Change Department, including its leadership development programming.
“It is my pleasure to welcome and celebrate Andy Garcia as he takes the wheel of the Creating Change Conference,” Hyde remarked, adding, “His years and wealth of experiences and relationships in the LGBTQ movement will well serve Creating Change, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and the movement.”
Garcia stated his excitement to lead a conference he knows well, saying, “I am thrilled and honored to join the National LGBTQ Task Force as the new Director of Creating Change, a conference that has been part of my life for nearly 25 years.”
Garcia explained the importance of the conference he is set to lead, “Creating Change celebrates what is best about the LGBTQ movement: our abundant strength, our powerful diversity, and our unending commitment to a broad, progressive vision of working for justice and liberation.” Garcia added that Creating Change is more than just another conference, “Through its values, the spaces it creates, and the people it brings together, Creating Change has shaped the lives of so many of us, not just as activists, but as people.”
Garcia comes to the Task Force from the Equality Federation, where he has served as the Senior Manager of Leadership Programs. In that role, he coordinated the Equality Federation Leadership Conference, an annual training and organizing event for leaders and activists from statewide LGBTQ political organizations from around the United States. Prior to the Equality Federation, Garcia worked for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Garcia has also served in many roles within the LGBTQ movement. Garcia served on the staff of The Pipeline Project, working to increase the number of people of color in leadership positions within the LGBTQ movement. He served as program director at the Boston Alliance of GLBT Youth (BAGLY), which included organizing the annual BAGLY Youth Prom, an event that annually draws over 2,000 youth from throughout New England. Garcia also served on the staff of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC).
Carey remarked that she had enjoyed working with Garcia before when they were both on staff at NYAC, “I am thrilled that Andy will be joining the Task Force staff to usher in the next era of the Creating Change Conference and our leadership development work. I had the pleasure of working with Andy many years ago supporting LGBTQ youth leaders, and I’ve followed his career since then—both in the LGBTQ movement and in the reproductive rights arena.”
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