For the first time the annual fundraiser will support solely local causes

After all the angst and mishugas, yes, Vita and Virginia, there will be a 12th Annual Buffalo Brunch, to be held on Sunday, May 4, at noon in the Buffalo Convention Center. Formerly associated with the Empire State Pride Agenda, the Buffalo Brunch has broken out on its own. The bond between the New York City-centered civil rights organization and Western New York’s gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender activists has been…reconfigured.

The relationship between the Buffalo brunch group and the Pride Agenda has been awkward, if cordial, for years. The downstate crew never seemed to understand Buffalo or to trust our volunteers. The relationship became, actually, strained, when word came back that ESPA found our annual contribution of about $15,000 to be paltry. Several of the Buffalo organizers noted that any Buffalo-based organization would be ecstatic, and might possibly be transformed, by the donation of just $1,000.

And so it came to pass, just as the members of Buffalo’s brunch committee were fretting about what to do, that a letter came from Alan Van Capelle, executive director of ESPA, to Jeff Platt, chair of the Buffalo Brunch, informing the group that ESPA had elected to go a “different” way and that Buffalo was likely to be relegated to a “low budget mixer.”

It was like agonizing over how to let your boyfriend down easy, only to have him dump you by surprise. Some questioned whether the New York City crew understood the meaning of “low budget,” having watched as they added to the costs of the Buffalo Brunch, year after year. Quickly, however, the prevalent sentiment was relief.

Bottom line? All the money raised by the brunch will, for the first time, stay in Western New York.

Invigorated by a new mission, “the Buffalo Brunch will leverage its proceeds to support projects, organizations, causes and people that positively impact the LGBT community in Buffalo and Western New York.”

Over the years, the Buffalo Brunch has raised more than $100,000 in donations. The organizers hope that they will now be able to build on what was best about the brunch. Again this year, for instance, the brunch will serve as an occasion to celebrate community service. This year’s honorees are the Honorable Sam Hoyt; Pilgrim-St. Luke’s United Church of Christ; and the Imperial Court of Buffalo.

Sam Hoyt has represented the City of Buffalo and Grand Island in the New York State Assembly since 1992. A progressive Democrat, he is one of the legislature’s most outspoken and steadfast supporters of rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people and has sponsored numerous bills of importance to this community.

The Imperial Court of Buffalo was founded in 1990 and raises funds for the Buffalo community and AIDS/Gay related charities, while providing fun and entertainment. Its membership sponsors a variety of fundraising events, including shows, theme parties, pageants, dinners, basket raffles, raffle tickets, and red ribbon sales. The hallmark of the Imperial Court is over-the-top drag performing, and a tongue-in-cheek recreation of a royal court and civically oriented men’s clubs of the 1950s.

Pilgrim-St. Luke’s United Church of Christ (PSL-UCC), by establishing a powerful pro-active Christian ministry, seeks to rise above the homophobia and resistance to social change found in many Christian religious settings. Efforts include the recovery and nurture of Christian faith after abuse in other church settings; the opportunity to openly express a deeply personal witness of the gay Christian journey in worship; and the encouragement and development of leadership skills in community action to “further God’s reign in the world.”

The honorary chair of this year’s brunch is Matt Foreman, the new director of Gay & Lesbian Programs at the Haas, Jr. Fund, one of the largest funders of the LGBT movement. He recently stepped down as executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, after five years of service. Foreman came to the Task Force from the Empire State Pride Agenda, where he served as executive director for six years, and forged strong alliances with activists in the Western New York region. During his tenure, the Pride Agenda was the driving force behind SONDA, the hate crimes law, the repeal of the consensual sodomy statute, and many other initiatives.

As the new mission statement of the Buffalo Brunch states, “Our strength is that we know our area best. The dynamics within New York State change drastically depending on where one lives. Western New York has specific characteristics that are known best by those of us who live and work here. The Buffalo Brunch organization is uniquely qualified to help build on the greatness that is possible right here in our own back yard. It is the right time to establish our own purpose and identity.”

For further information see buffalobrunch.org.

—anthony chase