MARGARET MURRAY WAS brand-new to Washington, recently hired as the executive director of One In Ten, when she found herself walking through the 2006 Capital Pride Festival along Pennsylvania Avenue.
”It really did showcase this amazing community that’s here,” she recalls. ”I really felt like I had come home. It made me think taking the job with One In Ten was the best decision I ever made.”
With One In Ten, Murray was taking the reigns of an organization that not only once stepped in to run Capital Pride, but is famously known as the cultural caretaker of the D.C. GLBT community. Since 1991, the organization has given the nation’s capital the Reel Affirmations International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Add to that a myriad of other offerings that have joined the lineup as the organization grows. There’s the ”Laugh Out Loud” comedy series, the ”Walk the Red Carpet” fundraiser and the ”Plant a Seed” grant program, to name a few.
”I’m really excited that a summer film festival we’re doing is bringing in a whole new group of partners for us,” adds Murray, pointing to the Wonderland Ballroom, The Center, Arlington Cinema Drafthouse and Hillwood Estate. At Hillwood, for example, One In Ten will offer a June 23 outdoor screening of Pillow Talk, complete with a ”Best Doris Day Look-Alike” contest. And don’t forget the advance screening of Hairspray — the ”Hairspray Beehive Bash” — at the Drafthouse on June 27.
For anyone who wants to make the transition from audience to participant, now is the time, says Murray.
”We’re actually kicking off planning for the 2007 Reel Affirmations festival, so now is a perfect time to get involved.”
For more information call 202-986-1119 or visit www.oneinten.org.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!