Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project - NSRAP

2012 Community Hero Awards Gala

Spirited Activism

NSRAP’s 2012 Community Hero Awards Gala will be held on Saturday, October 20th at 6 p.m. at the Marriott Halifax Harbourfront (1919 Upper Water Street).

This Gala is the annual celebration of the important work completed by NSRAP. It is also a time to celebrate the contributions of member of our communities and allies. The evening consists of cocktails, a silent auction, a three-course dinner with live entertainment and is followed by a dance.

In honour of Spirit Day, we encourage you to demonstrate your activism by wearing purple to demonstrate for LGBTQ youth who face bullying.

Speakers & Performers

We are proud to welcome the Honourable Darrell Dexter, M.L.A., Premier of Nova Scotia and leader of the Nova Scotia NDP as our keynote speaker. Candy Palmater will be reprising her role as our Celebrity Mistress of Ceremonies. She is a self-proclaimed recovered lawyer who turned from the courts to the comedy stage. Local Haligonian performer Stewart Legere will entertain us with his musical stylings.

Following the gala, DJ Motlette will open up the dance floor.

Awards

During the gala, NSRAP will present three separate awards as nominated by the public and selected by members of our Board of Directors and Gala Committee. While we received numerous nominations and are immensely proud of the work so many in doing for LGBTQ rights in Nova Scotia, these are the designated award recipients:

  • Reverend Darlene Young Community Hero: Karen Finnigan – You may not know her name but if you are LGBTQ and live in Cape Breton, you have benefited from her tireless efforts. Karen is a social worker for the Cape Breton District Health Authority creating safer community spaces for LGBTQ Cape Bretoners, both youth and adult alike. As one of her nominators wrote, “Cape Breton would not have the strong Queer community it does without Karen’s leadership.”
  • Raymond Taavel Media Award: Jesiah MacDonald – Jesiah became spokesperson for transgender rights this year when he filed a human rights complaint against MSI for charging him for a medically necessary hysterectomy, claiming it was part of his transition process. A generally soft-spoken man, Jesiah stepped into the media spotlight, “Someone’s got to talk about it because if I don’t stand up and say this is what happened to me and this is why it was wrong, then what if it happens to somebody else?”
  • Corporate Stewardship Award: prideHealth – prideHealth is collaboration between the Capital District Health Authority and the IWK focusing on LGBTIQ health care in Halifax. Their achievements are both public (creating an It Gets Better video, having the pride flag raised at CDHA & IWK facilities and hosting lectures) and private (taking public health officials on a tour of a bathhouse, reaching out to media to provide information on STIS, being a resource for patients and health care provider alike).

Tickets

Individual tickets have closed as of 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 16th. If you are still interested in attending, please contact us to see if we can make arrangements. Please note that no special meal orders can be placed now.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship opportunities, ranging from silent auction donations to title sponsors, are available. See the options in our Sponsorship Package.

Advocates

Marriott Halifax HarbourfrontViaRail

 

 

 

 

Cheerleaders

 

 

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