To the members of the board, 

We the undersigned craft this petition to call for the continuation of LGBTQIA+ friendly programming at the RiverPark Center and by proxy the GhostLight Lounge. Queer people have struggled throughout their lives to find a sense of belonging and a safe haven to be themselves. With such a scarcity of safe havens, we would be heartbroken to have these spaces and events taken from us. We know that there are concerns about family values, children, and the elderly, but we are all of those things. We are families. We are all ages, and the RiverPark has been a part of our lives since some of us were very young.  It has brought people together in a way that nowhere else in the community has.

From the Owensboro Symphony to Johnson’s Dance Studio, country music concerts, gospel groups, comedians, and drag performances, this staple of  our community has always been about celebrating different people and different arts groups. It has been a beacon of diversity and inclusion for all in Owensboro and its surrounding cities. For all walks of life, the RiverPark Center has been somewhere for everyone to come together away from our daily grind.

When our community is allowed the space to thrive, particularly in the arts, we gain the ability to gather safely together, to form chosen families, and to build a community. For one year,  as of this month, the GhostLight Lounge has hosted drag shows nearly monthly. The June 17th Pride Night shows were packed, with 100s in attendance. This 21+ event was the first of its kind in Owensboro, and the positive response was overwhelming. The amount of people who came to the performers afterwards to tell them they were the first drag show they had ever seen was staggering. The range in age of these audience members was also staggering. 

It must also be noted that every performer who has traveled to this venue this year has offered to come back due to the amazing experience RiverPark uniquely provides. For local performers, when given the time and space to thrive, we develop stars Owensboro can be proud of. There are a handful of us living right here right now who, regardless of whether we've been doing this 12 years or 12 months, have benefitted greatly from this last year of simply being able to work on our craft at home. We are a community of love, and we need and deserve more of this. We are so humbled and grateful by the opportunities granted to us by RiverPark Center and GhostLight Lounge and only want to keep doing what we do for you and our community.

Lastly, we believe it is important to acknowledge the relationship theatre and art have played in the LGBTQIA+ narrative, as well as the contributions from the community to many longstanding art forms. Many art forms simply would not exist without us. We urge you to let the RiverPark Center continue to be the place where memories are made for everyone. If we let diversity die, we will lose art. If we lose art, we will  lose ourselves. We want  you, the board of RiverPark, to know that you matter to us, that these spaces and this programming matters to us. We hope that we matter just as much to you.

Signed, 

The Local LBGTQIA+ community and their allies