Jalwa!!!

OYE! It's high time for another Jalwa, KhushDC's LGBTQ Bollywood Dance Party!!! Get ready for two floors of desi fun including a night of great dance music by our very own DJ Geeta on the main floor and VJ Jeff Eletto downstairs to start off the night!

Date & Time: Friday, December 7, 2012, 9:30pm
Where: Green Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW
(b/w 14th & 15th Street and L & M Street NW)

Cost: $10 before 11pm, $12 after
RSVP: Facebook link

API LGBTQ Orgs Make History - 10/24 & 10/25

AQUA, APIQS and KhushDC have partnered with the Human Rights Campaign and the DC Center to co-host two events:

Phone Banking for Marriage Equality in Maryland

6pm on 10/24/12 [free pizza + refreshments]
Human Rights Campaign
1640 Rhode Island Avenue NW

We will all take part in making history in the fight for equality in Maryland by helping with phone banking at the Human Rights Campaign. Please arrive by 6p for a brief orientation conducted by HRC staff. Latecomers will still be able to take part, but 6p is preferable.

RSVP on Facebook here: http://on.fb.me/TpTBNI

Marsha Izumi of PFLAG Book Reading

7pm on 10/25/12 (free refreshments)
DC Center
1318 U Street NW
Free to attend!

AQUA, APIQS and KhushDC have sponsored Marsha Izumi's book reading event at the DC Center. Aizumi shares her compelling story of parenting a young woman who came out as a lesbian, then transitioned to male. This inspiring memoir chronicles Marsha's personal journey from fear, uncertainty, and sadness to eventual unconditional love, acceptance, and support of her child who struggled to reconcile his gender identity. Told with honesty and warmth, this book is a must-read for parents and loved ones of LGBT individuals everywhere.

More information on DC Center's website: http://bit.ly/Scsnp4

DeQH: South Asian LGBTQ Helpline

On National Coming Out Day, Thursday, October 11th, 2012, a coalition of South Asian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) organizations and individuals in the U.S. will launch DeQH, the first South Asian LGBTQ national helpline. DeQH offers free, confidential, culturally sensitive peer support, information and resources by telephone for LGBTQ South Asian individuals, families and friends around the globe. The intent is to provide a safe and supportive ear for callers to share their concerns, questions, struggles or hopes through conversations with trained LGBTQ South Asian Peer Support Volunteers.

Callers can reach the helpline at (908) FOR-DEQH (908-367-3374)  8pm-10pm on Thursdays and Sundays, Eastern Standard Time [5-7pm PST].  Days and times will expand over time.

For general information, check out www.deqh.org and contact deqh.info@gmail.com. 

DeQH is a collaboration of South Asian LGBTQ groups and individuals around the nation including AQUA North Carolina, Hotpot! in Philadelphia, SALGA NYC, Satrang in LA, and Trikone San Francisco. Please contact us if your group is interested in joining our effort, and/or if you are interested in becoming a general volunteer or would like to be trained as a peer support volunteer.

DeQH operates with support from NQAPIA. Trikone is a fiscal sponsor of DeQH.

Please spread the word about this initiative to any South Asian LGBTQ individuals that you know are struggling with coming out or just need to talk about issues they're going through.

Also, KhushDC encourages our members to become trained in offering support over the phone to help expand the hours of availability.  If you'd like to become trained, please email board@khushdc.org and we'll put you in touch with the right people.

Happy National Coming Out Day!

Eidwali Potluck and Dakshina Event - Nov. 3

Join KhushDC to celebrate two important holidays: Eid and Diwali.

Date: Saturday, November 3, 2012
Time: 6pm - 12am
Location: Mount Pleasant area

Sapna and Sahar have been kind enough to open their home for this joint celebration. Out of consideration for their privacy, we’ll refrain from posting their address here, but will send it after you RSVP. The space is capped at 30 people, so please be sure to RSVP soon! You can RSVP to board@khushdc.org with your name and the dish you will bring (don’t worry, you can change it later). Though it’ll likely be a little nippy outside, we will fire up the grill if you’d prefer to use that.

While there will be music playing in the background, we also plan to open the party for some after-dinner singing. For those of you who can play a musical instrument, feel more than free to bring it along. Also, to add to the festivities, traditional clothing is encouraged.

This event is limited to KhushDC members and their partners and families.

Please email board@khushdc.org if you have any questions or special requests.

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/417719588286690/

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An alternative, yet equally exciting event, is going on the same night: Dakshina, Daniel Phoenix Singh's dance company, welcomes back the acclaimed danseuse Alarmel Valli to Washington D.C.!  As many of you already know, Daniel is an active KhushDC member who is the Artistic Director and President of Dakshina.

Learn more about the event here: http://www.dakshina.org/2012/09/15/dance-alarmel-valli/.

Let us know if you decide to stop by the potluck afterwards or would like to meet-up after the Dakshina event elsewhere by emailing board@khushdc.org.