The Village Trip, Inc.

Our Pride Voices: Songwriting Workshops & Performance for LGBTQ2+ Kids and their Families

THIS PROJECT MUST BE FUNDED BY AUGUST 13th TO CONTINUE. YOUR SUPPORT IS VITAL TO IT'S SUCCESS!

Our Pride Voices: Songwriting Workshops & Performance will help LGBTQ2+ children and their families connect with their communities and better understand themselves.

Upon raising the funds, the workshops will be led by Crys Matthews and Mya Byrne, two prominent queer singer-songwriters. This one-day project is part of The Village Trip, an annual festival celebrating arts and activism across Greenwich Village and the East Village/Lower East Side, which runs this year from September 14 through 28.

Our Pride Voices will take place on Sunday, September 22nd. The workshops will be held at St John’s in the Village on West 11th Street/Waverly Place, and will culminate in a performance of the songs written by the kids at St John’s Lutheran Church on Christopher Street.

Both churches have kindly donated their space. Your money will cover the cost of the musicians who will lead the project, paying for their travel, accommodation, and of course their time. It will also pay for insurance, tech and security staff, and the printing of programs so that everyone may take home a keepsake from this memorable day.

The workshops are being organized by Amy Blake, a retired public-school teacher from New Jersey who successfully organized such workshops at her school, some of which resulted in recordings which gained airplay. The seed for a community event was planted at last year’s Village Trip by David Roth, who led two workshops and a performance under the title “Songwriting to Save the World” (see photo).

This year’s workshops, Our Pride Voices, are crucial in giving LGBTQ2+ kids the space and opportunity to express who they are and what they feel in a safe and nurturing environment. Such events enable us to foster the next generation of activists.

The workshops – which will be divided according to age – will be free to attend for children and their families and booking will open on The Village Trip website as soon as funds have been raised.

The Village Trip was founded in 2018 as a three-day festival and has grown into a 15-day festival featuring some 50 family-friendly, rainbow-colored events at venues across Greenwich Village and the East Village/LES. A mix of hi-jinks and high ideals, as befits this unique neighborhood, it is a 501c3 tax-deductible organization.

For more information, go to www.TheVillageTrip.com – and don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter.