The original inspiration for Out In The Park was simple. A bunch of gay friends, about 40 of us, got together at Riverside Park in Agawam MA on July 26, 1997, just to have a good time. We all had a great time on a wonderful, sunny, Saturday afternoon. OK, we had a Gay Ol' time!

We all had a great time, as we enjoyed the commaraderie, warmth and love of simply socializing with some of our gay friends. It was always a heart-warming sight to wave to our friends waiting in other lines at the Cyclone or the Mind Eraser, as well as every time we passed each other in the park. We even talked about how wonderful it was that Orlando, Florida had a Gay Day where tens of thousands of gay people showed up, we just wished that Orlando was a little closer to New England.

Many of us had heard of the mother of all gay days, Gay Day at the Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The reality was that most of us, simply were not able to afford to go to the world famous Gay Day in Orlando, and we all knew that we simply could not turn New England into another Orlando Florida. P'town begins to come close to Fantasy Land, but, there are no big amusement or theme parks like Disney, Universal or SeaWorld. But we could create our own special event. So, the idea for Out In The Park was born. An opportunity for all of us to get OUT, in an amusement park, and be proud to be gay.

While we were waiting to ride the roller coasters, a few of us talked about what a great time we were having and wondered "What if the whole park were full of gay men and lesbian women, and kids of all ages"? Hey, if we contacted EVERY GLBT organization in the New England and New York area and invited them to a Gay Day at Riverside Park, think of how many of us there would be? Hey, it wouldn't be Disney World in Orlando, but most of us just can't afford to go to Disney World, so let's do it here in New England at New England's SuperPark, The Great Escape at Riverside!"

So, after returning home from Riverside Park, we decided to try organizing our own Gay Day in New England at Riverside Park. One of us picked a date, created a website, and then we invited all of our friends and family, with an open invitation to the GLBT community, to attend a Gay Day. Of course we wanted everyone to tell all of their friends to come too, on Saturday, September 20, 1997!

And for seven years now, we have continuted to do just that, pick the date and tell everyone to show up. Every year, GLBT people from all over New England show up by the thousands, and have a great time! Over the years, we've heard from various GLBT centers, bars, churches, social, political, sports and youth groups chartering buses, even motor cycle clubs driving from as far away as New York City. People have traveled from all over New England, and in 2003, even as far away as Montreal Canada and Florida, just to attend Out In The Park.

Out In The Park did not begin as an offically recognized "gay day" at Riverside, but we think they had some idea that something queer was happening, especially when hundreds of us got there! Some of us still remember seeing "Jackie O." in her hot pink and black mini-skirt ensemble, complete with gloves waving to us! What a hoot! What a sight, in high heels, no less!

Originally, this event was more of a "happening" (OK, invasion). In the future, we hoped, we might be able to reserve the 10 acre picnic grove for GLBT groups, a BBQ/picnic and eventually be able to have a GLBT festival with entertainers and vendors.

The reality was that making a festival of this size happen, in a place like this, would require a major investment that a grassroots organization like ours, simply does not have.

But we remained hopeful, and dreamt of the day when Riverside Park (now, Six Flags New England) would look around and see that this event could mean a lot of money to them, and be a lot of fun for us! Back in 1997/98, they didn't seem to realize the buying power that the GLBT community has. Maybe they were afraid to "support" a gay day, much the same way Disney World was afraid of what might happen at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. (It is interesting to note that Gay Day in Orlando is still not organized by Disney.) If those were the lingering perceptions, they would change, but it would take time. And that time would not come until until 2003.

Some people like to think of Out In The Park, as an end-of-pride-season, after party. When we originally concieved of Out In The Park, we wanted a date close to October 11th, National Coming Out Day (www.hrc.org/ncop). So we originally chose the last Saturday in September because the weather is usually still warm and sunny. And hey, "What a great warm-up event for NCOD!".

Because of other special events on the Riverside Park schedule, namely their Blues Festival in 1998, we chose Sunday, September 20, 1998. That year, so many attendees complained that the water rides were not open at all (yet Riverside still charged the full price), that we decided for next year, we would pick a date when all the rides were open, August 29, 1999. Well, the water rides were open, but the park was swarmming with thousands of people. This time attendees were complaining about the long waiting lines for all the rides, and most said they would prefer that we hold the 2000 event in September again.

Out In The Park is not like most other gay "party" events, like various circuit or dance parties, and other women or men-centric festivals and events. Out In The Park is not a politically oriented event like most gay pride celebrations. Out In The Park is simply, a fun, all-ages, social event for all members of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning community, along with all of our friends, families and supporters!

The first Out In The Park was held on Saturday, September 27, 1997 from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm at Riverside Park in Agawam, MA. Based on attendees' feedback, we tried moving the date around, and in 1998 it was held on Sunday, September 20th, and in 1999 it was held on Sunday, August 29th, so that all the water rides would be open. After 3 years of moving the date around, we finally decided to settle on one "fixed" date every year.

So, in 2000, we began holding Out In The Park on the 3rd Sunday of September every year.

Like many fun events that become known, our event continues to grow.

Beginning in 2003, Six Flags New England offered us not only a digital coupon for our web site (so anyone could print as many as they needed), but Six Flags also printed 10,000 special discount coupons valid only for the date of our event! Local gay media such as InNewsWeekly and Bay Windows ran full-color ads promoting Out In The Park. We even had an ad running in the program guide for the Connecticut P.R.I.D.E. festival in Hartford CT. We were even able gave away free admission tickets on radio stations that featured GLBT programs, as well as through various GLBT fundraising events sponsored by GLBT organizations throughout New England and Albany NY.

For 2004, we will again be offering special discount coupons via our web site. We also plan to distribute thousands more printed discount coupons at all the Gay Pride celebrations throughout New England and New York. We are also negotiating advance ticket sales at various GLBT-friendly retail outlets. We are even planning on offering park admission tickets that include a meal/picnic/BBQ option in the 10 acre River's Edge Picnic Grove. And for the first time since we began Out In The Park, we will be able to realize the dream of holding our first ever festival featuring GLBT entertainers and vendors in The River's Edge picnic grove!

What are you waiting for? Go invite everyone you know who are "family" or friends to join us for a fun time for "the whole family".

We're here, We're Queer and We're having the time of our lives!

This is a major, all ages, fun event for the entire GLBT community of New England, you don't want to miss it! Out In the Park is more fun than a Gay Pride Parade, it's the BIGGEST Gay Day at New England's BIGGEST amusment park!