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The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
While potluck events at Iowa parks are a summertime staple, pedestrians at Bever Park in Cedar Rapids might find something a little unusual this July.
Proud Families Cedar Rapids is a new venture founded by Kate and Trish Varnum and ReGina and Jan Culbertson. Its goal is to become a social and parenting network for gay and lesbian families in the area.
“Trish and I are foster moms,” explained Kate Varnum. “ReGina and Jan are new moms to an infant boy. As our children grow older, we want them to see that there are other families like theirs, that may have two moms or two dads. After getting to know a few other parents, we realized that other families are looking for that commonality as well. We want kids to feel safe, and know that they’re not so different as they may seem in school.”
The group hopes to attract a wide variety of gay and lesbian families as members.
“Our families are created in so many different ways — adoption, biology, foster, kinship and so forth,” Varnum said.
While parents with children of all ages are encouraged to join and non-gay families will not be excluded, Varnum says she hopes members will understand the goal of Proud Families.
“Our hope is that during each potluck or social event, our children will be able to play and have fun while their parents swap stories and share advice,” she said.
While new to the Cedar Rapids area, gay and lesbian parenting groups are not new to eastern Iowa or the rest of the nation. The Cedar Rapids group is based on the Iowa City Proud Families organization, which was founded by Jen and Dawn BarbouRoske. The women brought the concept to Iowa when they moved back from California. Activities for their group have included pool days, camping and trips to the zoo. They also maintain the goal of allowing children to socialize with others in similar families.
Cedar Rapids organizers took advantage of the recent Pride Fest to connect with families.
“Our booth at Pride Fest in Cedar Rapids was our first ‘outing,’ so to speak,” said Varnum. “Our upcoming event in July is our official kickoff.”
That kickoff will be heldfrom noon to 4 p.m. July 14 in the Red Oak Pavilion at Bever Park. Hot dogs, hamburgers and table service will be provided. Families are asked to bring a side dish to share. There will be time to swim, visit the zoo and, of course, visit with other families.
At this point, organizers aren’t sure how many will attend the event, but they hope for a good turnout. In the future they want to plan more potlucks or social events. The Cedar Rapids group also wants to have a joint event with the Iowa City group.
“We’ll just see what happens and go from there,” Varnum said. “We know that we’re starting small, and that’s fine.”
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