Raise Your Flag with Invisible Narratives, GLAAD Pride Eve Streaming Celebration
Inviz.tv, an Invisible Narratives company, is partnering with GLAAD and over 100 creators, influencers, and artists to launch a nationwide campaign and celebration on May 31 to support the LGBTQ community.
Because everyone cannot be in the same place at the same time, the organization is bringing the community and its allies together by debuting a decentralized broadcast that will be streamed across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Essentially a digital telethon, it will kick off Pride Month with the first-ever Pride Eve celebration.
“We really want to try and plant a flagpole on this day and make Pride Eve a holiday that can be celebrated for years and years to come,” Invisible Narratives Co-President Catherine McEvoy explains. “It’s more of a long-term vision, and we really see it as a recurring digital streaming celebration that can bring all the diverse groups under the LGBTQ community together to promote unity, diversity, awareness, and acceptance. Like New Year’s Eve, we want to create a unifying, fun moment where we are all counting down the clock to midnight of June 1, but instead of the ball dropping, we will raise a flag to officially kick off Pride and the entire month of festivities, parades, and marches that’s going to be taking place across the country.”
Over 20 different Pride flags representing a broad array of LGTBQ identity groups are available for purchase at Inviz.tv, and all donations and proceeds will benefit GLAAD, The Trevor Project, and Project Contrast.
GLAAD’s Vice President of Communications and Talent, Anthony Allen Ramos, says he is thrilled to take part in this event.
“I think it’s such a new, great idea, and Pride Eve is really going to set the tone for the rest of the month in June,” he exclaims. “We talk about queer joy, and we really need that right now. There’s so much heavy stuff and unfortunate things happening all over the country for LGBTQ people, so I think Pride Eve is really going to be a great kickoff to remind people that we, as the LGBTQ community, need to support and uplift each other now more than ever.”
Founded in 2018 by former DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures Executive Adam Goodman, Invisible Narratives was designed as an opportunity to eliminate the gatekeeping, red tape, and slow pace of traditional media giants.
“At Invisible Narratives, many of our friends, family, and talent we work with are members of the LGBTQ community,” McEvoy says. “When one of our concerned creative directors expressed the urgent need for a unifying Pride celebration, it became clear we needed to rally collectively to cement this moment in history. We have a platform and thus the responsibility to take action against hate by spreading love. Pride Eve is an opportunity to illustrate that it is possible to mobilize quickly and drive authentic advocacy by empowering influencers to speak out and motivate their audiences. There is no better time and no better purpose.”
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In under 60 days, the organization connected with close to 150 creators, influencers, actors, and musicians including Raven Symone, Big Freedia, Nyle DiMarco, Adelaine Morin, Brooklynne Webb, Nikita Dragun, and others to help spread the word about Pride Eve.
There will also be an in-person VIP event at Poppy Nightclub in West Hollywood to celebrate Pride Eve with the creators, influencers, and artists who are championing the cause.
“The great thing about this event is that it will be available to everyone via social media and streaming,” Ramos says. “Hopefully, we will see a lot of people that we haven’t seen in years in person, and this is a great way to come together and get in the spirit of Pride. Pride is about celebrating who you are and recognizing the great things that we’ve accomplished, but it’s also about being fired up and realizing the many challenges we are still facing. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
According to McEvoy, the other component of Pride Eve focuses on today’s political landscape. Nearly 40 states are considering legislation targeting the LGBTQ community, and hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have already been filed in 2022.
“I may only be an ally to the community, but this experience has been life-changing,” McEvoy says. “We are all humans, and we all want the same things. We want to be able to feel safe and confident, and we want to be able to dream and aspire without anyone else trying to get in our way or pull us down. To me, Pride means freedom, and it breaks my heart to see and feel like we are going backwards and regressing. I think it partly comes out of fear, so we want to promote a message of love and acceptance.”
“We also need to be mindful and supportive of others and realize that there are a lot of people out there that probably aren’t there yet when it comes to their own self-acceptance,” Ramos adds. “I think it’s important during Pride to be a support to those people that maybe need a little extra help. With the pandemic, so many LGBTQ people have been isolated and away from their chosen family members, and there are a lot of mental health struggles happening within the LGBTQ community.”
To learn more about Pride Eve and to #RaiseYourFlag, visit Inviz.tv. The initial broadcast will go live on May 31, while additional content will be added throughout the month of June and beyond.
For more information about Invisible Narratives, visit invisiblenarratives.com. Stay up-to-date and connect with GLAAD by visiting glaad.org, or follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @glaad.
Photos courtesy of Invisible Narratives, GLAAD, and Unsplash
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