Press

With a late August Cape Cod sunset as the backdrop, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will host its 10th annual Provincetown Sunset Deck Party. The Task Force will also give its 1997 Provincetown Community Services Awards to two who have worked hard for the local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

The theme of this year's party is "Making Waves: A Decade of Impact on the National Scene." The event will be held on Sunday, August 24, 1997 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Red Inn in Provincetown. This year's honorees are Ellen Harris (posthumously) and Outer Cape Health.

Provincetown art gallery owner Ellen Harris Winans died late this spring. She was one of the most successful lesbians in business in the country and was featured on Gay and Lesbian Cable Network News. Her highly successful gallery supported many local and nationally acclaimed gay and lesbian artists. She served as both treasurer of the Provincetown AIDS Support Group (PASG) board of directors and as co-chair of that organization's annual auction. Irene Cramer, partner of the late Harris, will receive the award on her behalf.

The Outer Cape Health Services is considered to be on the cutting edge of AIDS research and one of the best HIV clinics in the country, says Jim Rann, a board member of both Provincetown Positive/People With AIDS Coalition (PPPWAC) and PASG. Executive Director, Scott Penn will receive the award for the agency. "He has found many sources of funding for the agency and has brought alternative treatments, such as acupuncture, nutrition counseling, and massage therapy to Outer Health Services," says NGLTF board member and Provincetown resident John R. Dreyer.

There will also be a silent auction to commemorate Provincetown's support for NGLTF over the past 10 years. Ten paintings, by local artists have been donated for the auction. For more information contact event host-committee co-chair, Susan Culligan, at (508) 487-2248. To preview the art, visit our website at http://www.ngltf.org/ptown.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.