Pink Saturday...

Saturday afternoon turned out to be a very "pink" one.

After attending Jon's surprise bday party, Richie, Mon, Chris, Ian and I trooped to Hong Lim Park in Clark Quay to join Singaporeans, PRs, and fellow foreigners for Pink Dot 2011.

I've heard about the event last year (or was it two years ago?!) and back then, I thought to myself how great it must be to be able to go.

So I was extremely happy to be among the ten-thousand strong who headed to Hong Lim Park yesterday to celebrate diversity.

The gang and I got to the venue past 4PM. It wasn't difficult to find the venue. As soon as we got out of the MRT station, all we had to do was follow the groups of people in pink.

And when we exited the station, we were greeted with everything pink - pink shirts, pink wigs, pink picnic mats, pink umbrellas, pink drinks, pink everything. Nice, nice.

The afternoon program went smoothly. There were colorful performances from local artists. Then as 6PM approached, the program hosts called on Singaporeans and PRs to the center of the park to form the Pink Dot.

Meanwhile, foreigner supporters and friends stayed on the sidelines to watch. Unfortunately, the park policy indicates that only Singaporeans and PRs could join the formation.

I was just happy to be there and be one with the LGBT community of Singapore and the straight supporter friends.

At that point, it wasn't about one's gender. It was about everyone's belief that everyone has or should have the freedom to love.

The event closed with the community singing of The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

One good takeaway I had from participating in Pink Dot 2011 is becoming aware that there are so many local LGBTQ resources and support groups. Many of these are run by volunteers, which is really quite awesome.

Now that I have an idea about the local LGBTQ community, I'm looking at ways at how to get involved. It would be a good venue to meet people, to keep myself busy, and to just be able to do something.

Ready to go pink...

A couple of years back, some good friends and I worked on this project.

It's called Icon magazine. Yeah, I dunno if people have heard of it. Hehe!

We did it for a good two years or so I think. We came out with about 8 issues, excluding the coffeetable book.

And the short time we did it was one of the best experiences I've had in my life.

I got to meet so many interesting people and learned about the Philippine LGBT history.

Getting to talk to so many LGBTs from all walks of life sort of ignited the "activist" which I know is somewhere inside of me (being a UP alumni. LOL!)

Anyway, prior to the move here to SG, I've already heard about Pink Dot. It made it to the news, and thanks to social media, made its way to so many blogs, Tumblr, Facebook pages, and so on.

I told myself that I'd like to get involved when I get to SG.

Several weeks ago, I emailed the organizers and told them I was interested to help out during the event as a volunteer.

Unfortunately, they said foreigners were not allowed to help during the event ONLY because of the venue rules. It sucks, but rules are rules and we don't want trouble.

This didn't stop me from still saying that I am interested to help out. Because I am. I really am.

I told the guys that I did writing for a living back in Manila, and that, uhm, skill was the one that got me started on getting involved.

I had no idea that the local LGBTQ community here is very active actually, and that there were actually several number of support groups and LGBTQ-friendly groups.

Impressive. Just impressive.

And I'm just happy that I've taken the first step towards getting involved.

Check this and check this.

This Saturday, go out in pink...

A bunch of the guys and I are heading to Hong Lim Park on Saturday afternoon for Pink Dot.

Click here for FAQs about the Pink Dot.

Click here for more FAQs about the Pink Dot.

And to fellow foreigners, a note from the Pink Dot peeps:

Foreigners are welcome to come for a picnic, enjoy the concert and soak in the atmosphere at Pink Dot 2011.

However: During the human Pink Dot formation, we’d like to request for our foreign friends to help us honour local laws, and to watch the formation from an observation area in the park.

Let's paint the town PINK this Saturday.

Happy to support Pink Dot 2011...

On 18 June 2011, Singaporeans will, for the third year running, gather at Hong Lim Park to form a human pink dot in support of the belief that everyone deserves the freedom to love.

Happy to be here to witness the event.

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Pink Dot has an important message to our friends and supporters from around the world. If you're a foreigner planning to attend Pink Dot, please note that only Singapore citizens and Singapore permanent residents are allowed to participate in the formation of Pink Dot.

Pink Dot stresses that this rule is mandated by the authorities governing Hong Lim Park (Speaker's Corner), where the event will be held, and not by the organisers of Pink Dot.

Pink Dot welcomes everybody, regardless whether you are straight or gay. However, Pink Dot also recognises the importance of playing by the rules and seeks the kind cooperation of our non-Singaporean/PR friends and supporters. You are welcome to join in the festivities! During the formation of the dot, a special area will be set aside for non-Singaporeans/PRs to watch and observe. Pink Dot appreciates all the love coming in from around the world - it is something words cannot describe.

Let's all celebrate the spirit of Pink Dot in spreading the message of Supporting the Freedom to Love across the world!
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