Download our annual calendar of events here!
Special Notice from Equality Prince William
The E=PW Board continues to monitor the Federal, State, or local news in regards to the pandemic. The situation is currently changing with increased number of vaccinations and decreased COVID case numbers. Because of this, we are incorporating more events throughout the year. Below is a list of events currently scheduled. Thank you, be safe, and we hope to see everyone in the near future.
Equality Prince William Board of Directors
Upcoming Events
01 Jan 2021 — EPW Membership Renewal Begins
14 Jul 2021 — Happy Hour – Bungalow Alehouse – Woodbridge, VA – 6:00 – 8:00 pm
21 Aug 2021 — Summer Picnic (outside venue) – in planning stage
19 Sep 2021 — Manassas Out of the Darkness Walk – Manassas, VA – Registration 10:30 am; Event 12:00 – 2:00 pm
03 Oct 2021 — Equality Prince William Pride – Manassas, VA – Setup 11:00 am; Event 12:00 – 4:00 pm; Teardown 4:00 pm
The Monthly E=PW Happy Hour
Date: 07/14/2021
Location: 2840 Prince William Pkwy
Woodbridge, VA 22192
Event Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Still thinking of Pride Month and realized Pride is an every day thing! Come out and join your family for food and drink!
Equality Prince William is back at the Bungalow Ale House for this month’s Happy Hour. We are in the back room by the billiard tables. Come on out and relax with great food, drinks and camaraderie.
E=PW looks forward to seeing you on Wednesday.
Manassas Out Of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk
Date: 09/19/2021
Location: Harris Pavilion
9027 Center Street
Manassas, VA 20110
Registration: 10:30 am
Event Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Equality Prince William once again has a team participating in the AFSP Manassas Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk. We would love to have you join us. At this time, it is not clear if it will be a virtual event (like it was in 2020) or if it will be an in-person event with appropriate social distancing.
I, Equality Prince William Vice President David Dooley, am enclosing more information below as well as my own personal stories on why I walk and event details at the end of this message:
Story 1: While serving on Active Duty in the Army in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997, my unit and troops were replacing the personnel who were first on site. My unit was year 2 of the conflict (SFOR I think). Before the Internet was the norm and cell phones everywhere, the only way men and women serving in uniform could talk to their families was via a “morale” phone which we did not pay for. You could easily wait hours to get to a phone and have between 15 and 30 minutes to talk. This was a critical lifeline to home. Soon after arriving, one of the outgoing men went into a morale phone (little more than a phone, chair, and small table in a wooden phone box/booth) and took his life. We were soldiers deployed to a conflict zone with rifles and ammo. We heard he left behind a wife and 10 children. If you have never had a memorial service with the helmet, combat boots, and rifle on display at the loss of one of your own then I can tell you whether you know them or not, it affects you. It doesn’t matter the reason why. We are all here and all affected by mortality. Love and hugs to all your loved ones … always.
Story 2: After 13 years in the Army and 11 years as a Federal Contractor, I was on a great team of 17 folks doing great things protecting our Nation and the World from those who wish us harm. Unfortunately, as is always the possibility in the contracting world, our existing employer was told they were removed from consideration for the new contract. This means all 17 of us either hope to jump on the new contract (which had not been awarded yet), find employment with our existing company elsewhere, or find a new job with a new company altogether. I applied for Federal Service to main government organizations as well as waiting to see who would get the new contract. Several of my colleagues had others to support and found other positions within the company. Ron Harp was one of these. He was a lover of science fiction, could speak geek with me, a great developer who listened, and created detailed technical write-ups. I knew his wife had health issues and could be challenging at times. While he was with the team, I (as the team lead) always felt family comes first and supported whatever he or any other team member needed. After we lost the contract, he went to another contract within the company. A few months later, I was informed through friends in corporate communication he had passed away. When I looked for his obituary and found he had taken his own life, it was another heart break. I will never know if I could have done more.
Because of these two events, I have stood up from 2016 to present to bring awareness to suicide, educate myself on possible prevention strategies, and say it is ok to not be ok. We can be here for each other. I love you, I honor you, I am here for you. If you need me, then please reach out…anytime, any day, anywhere. There is always another choice. We can find it together.
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Event Details
Date: 09/19/2021
Location: Harris Pavilion
Registration: 10:30 am
Event Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
For more information, please contact:
Contact Name: Michael Pappas
Contact Phone: 646-632-5189
Contact Email: Chair.ManassasWalk@gmail.com
Registration is free and open to the public. Donations are accepted until December 31st.
Equality Prince William Pride 2021
Date: 10/03/2021
Location: Harris Pavilion
9027 Center Street
Manassas, VA 20110
Event Time: 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
CHECK-IN, SET-UP: 11 am
BREAK-DOWN/TEAR-DOWN: 4 pm
Equality Prince William welcomes you to come and celebrate Pride in the Greater Prince William County to include the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
We are inviting you: our friends, our families, our neighbors to come out and enjoy music (both DJ and live), vendors, kids activities, and to have a great time.
This is a family-friendly event.
Though we will not be selling food or drink at the event, we are partnering with local restaurants for either Pride specials and/or dishes to enjoy.
Please either indicate you are “Going” or “Interested” in this event to keep up to date on who will be here and any other announcements.
If you are interested in being either a vendor or a sponsor for the event, then please contact Amy Salvato Cannon (amy.epw.pride@gmail.com). The forms have been uploaded to the site (see links below):
Pride 2021 Rules 07072021.pdf
Pride 2021 Vendor App 07072021.pdf
Pride 2021 Sponsorship 07072021.pdf
For any questions, you can contact anyone on the Equality Prince William Board:
President, Jim O’Connor
Vice President, David Dooley Jr.
Treasurer, Cindy Kuhn Jackson
Secretary, Amy Salvato Cannon
Members at Large:
Tom Osina
Hank Odum
Teri Fischer
Deanna Bayer
Brad Staton
Special shout out to Liza Cobbs and her family (though you are no longer here in person – you are here in our hearts)!
What does it mean to be part of Equality Prince William? It means you agree the LGBTQ+ Community in Prince William County and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park need a voice. Help make Prince William County a more welcoming, more diverse, more inclusive place to live and to work.
Contact us with your ideas!
