To the GLAD Community:

After careful deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to cancel GLAD’s 40th Annual Summer Party scheduled to be held this weekend in Provincetown.

We want to say thank you to our supporters, sponsors, volunteers, host committee members, the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum, and all of our vendors, for your generous contributions to GLAD and to the Summer Party.

We were looking forward to the opportunity to connect in person, as we know so many of you were, and are disappointed not to be able to do so quite yet. But we are hopeful that time is coming soon!

We are at an important moment as we continue emerging from the COVID pandemic in the U.S. Vaccination rates are very high in Massachusetts and the rest of New England, and the vaccines are effective against transmission and in minimizing the severity of illness in the rare cases where transmission does occur. Public health guidance also provides confidence in the safety of holding outdoor events.

However, we also know that it is difficult and stressful for many to make decisions at this time about what is best given individual circumstances. Particularly with the news of increased cases in Provincetown, we don’t want to put our GLAD supporters in the position of making difficult choices to show their support for GLAD’s work. Your trust in GLAD is too important to us.

We are so proud and grateful for how our community has come together to support each other through this pandemic and we know that we will continue to do so as we emerge even stronger and with an eye toward equity and justice.

While we are canceling the in-person event this weekend, we are not canceling the fun – and we are certainly not canceling GLAD’s commitment to working for full equality for you and for everyone in our community.

Our online silent auction has been extended through August 7, so you still have plenty of time to bid on exciting items like:

  • An Intake and Two Follow Up Sessions at Acupuncture for Everyone
  • A Full Year Membership in the Defender Wine Club from Equality Vines, or
  • “RBG” Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Mirena Etcheverry

We will also hold a fun virtual event next month, to celebrate recent victories, talk about the work ahead, and commemorate the powerful work of our Summer Party Honoree, Soup Kitchen in Provincetown.

You will also be able to bid on three amazing live auction items:

  • A Getaway for Two to California Wine Country at Casa Secoyo
  • “Serendipity”, a one-of-a-kind painting by renowned artist, Michael Hartwig
  • Adventure at the 5-Star Amangiri Resort in Canyon Point, Utah

More details on that event will be available soon.

GLAD will of course honor all requests for Summer Party ticket refunds. If you have purchased a ticket to the GLAD Summer Party and would like to request a refund, please contact Mads Ouellette, mouellette@glad.org, or leave a message at 617-778-6718.

If you’d like to support GLAD’s mission of advancing LGBTQ equality by turning your ticket purchase into a fully tax-deductible donation, simply do nothing. And thank you!

Your support is what makes everything GLAD does possible. We hope that you, your family, and your loved ones are well, and we look forward to seeing you both online and in-person again very soon.

Toward justice,
Janson Wu
GLAD Executive Director