New Haven Pride Center

The lantern pour – uh, tour – went on with umbrellas in hand.

This year, the Center expanded upon its annual Wine Tasting with a series of tasting events designed to offer a number of different activities for Center members and community members alike.

The series kicked off with the first-ever Beer Tasting September 16.  About 20 participants joined in the fun with board members Maureen Thomas and Kristal Barnes as they shared their expertise on some of the more interesting beer selections out there, proving there’s more to life than Budweiser and Miller. 

The tasting opened the minds of the attendees, who found some new favorites to bring home with them.

Following the success of the Beer Tasting, the Center held a Community Forum and Open House to allow people to get a taste for what’s going on at the Center.  Factilitators from a good number of the groups currently meeting at the Center, including A Course in Miracles, Northeast Ursamen, GLANCE, Rainbow Support Group and CT Soffa were on hand to provide information aobut what their groups were up to.  Most importantly, it allowed different parts of our community to converse and get to know each others’ groups, as well as allow people to find out information about all of the important services the Center has to offer.

The Open House also served as the official launching point for the Center’s new Web site, which went life in mid-September, offering more information about the Center and upcoming activities.  The site can be accessed from the same location as the previous Web site, www.nhglcc.org.

Even a heavy Autumn downpour could not deter a group of history buffs from taking a tour through a prominent local cemetery in October,. Even though there was rain, the Cemetery Lantern Tour and Chocolate Tasting on Friday, October 19 at New Haven’s historic Evergreen Cemetery was a success.
This was the first partnership with Evergreen Cemetery and one that is expected to become an annual event. What was interesting to note was even though the “tiki” torches that were strategically placed at the various notable locations were washed out, there was one that burned bright. The legend of Midnight Mary – whose spirit returns every midnight – provided the sole candlelight during the downpour. The observation was duly noted.

Finally, no tasting season would be complete without the annual Wine Tasting Event, which took place Nov. 2.  This year’s event focused on moderately priced wines, and was a hit, with a successful partnership with Coastal Wines & Spirits, a Branford mainstay.  The Center also partnered with the New Haven Mix ‘n Mingle Group, who held one of their popular socials in tandem with our tasting, bringing in new faces to a tradition of the Center.

We appreciate all of you who turned out to our events, but fear not!  If you missed them, rest assured you can expect the tasting season to return next year, as certain as the changing of the leaves.