Cortland Community Pride Festival Workshops @ The Library

The Cortland LGBTQ Center is holding Cortland Community Pride Festival in Courthouse Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Join us at the library for the following Pride Festival Workshops!

Periodicals Room

10:30-11:20 a.m.: Erin Vallely & Aster Parrott Self Care While Disabled and Queer: Erin and Aster will facilitate a conversation about ways to advocate for yourself, build community, and be a better ally for your disabled queer friends. There are countless ways to be queer –it’s an umbrella that covers anyone who’s not both cisgender and straight. Likewise, there are countless ways to be disabled. Research from multiple sources tells us that disabilities are more common for queer people than for cis-het people, and that queer disabled folks face unique challenges because of their intersecting identities.

Meeting Room

11-11:50am – Garry Haraveth, The Science of Happiness: During this fun and engaging workshop, you will learn what we think makes us happy but ultimately may not; what science-backed research says may make us a happier person; concrete practices to live a happier life! Gary is an educator and life coach/owner of Gay Life Journey.

1-1:50pm – Ashley Dickson: Peer Services for Queer Youth and Young Adults (ASAP approved, 1 hour continuing ed credit for CRPA). This presentation aims to explore how to engage with people in an LGBTQIA+ affirming way and how to correct non-affirming actions if/when they happen. You will learn how to interact and engage with LGBTQIA+ identifying youth and young adults in their substance use and/or mental health recovery journey; an overview of vocabulary used within the LGBTQIA+ community; the prevalence of LGBTQIA+ identifying people with substance use disorders and/or mental illness; supports that the LGBTQ+ community have within treatment settings; what providers can do to provide and improve affirming care.

Periodicals Room

2-2:50pm – Isabel Sterling: The Path to Publication. Isabel Sterling, author of These Witches Don’t Burn, This Coven Won’t Break, and The Coldest Touch, breaks down her path to publication–from small town reading enthusiast to traditionally published author with queer YA novels available in 4 languages worldwide! Presentation includes an author Q&A and book signing. Isabel Sterling is a master certified life coach, foster mom, and host of The Author Burnout Cure Podcast. An alumna of Purchase College and Syracuse University, Isabel spent several years working in higher education and LGBTQ non-profits before leaving to write and coach full-time. Isabel lives with her family in Central New York.