November Newsletter

Upcoming Events - ICONIQUE Awards 2025

The ICONIQUE Awards are a live awards show celebrating Utah’s queer performers, creators, and cultural moments. The event highlights local talent, fosters community, and delivers a fun, theatrical celebration of LGBTQ+ contributions to Utah’s cultural landscape.
Wanna attend? You can **purchase tickets NOW** at iconiqueevents.org and enter code **ICON5ONLY for $5 off** your ticket.

Hunger and Homelessness

Hunger and Homelessness Week falls on November 16th - 22nd this year - timing which aligns with real issues being faced by everyday folks as a result of the government shutdown.

Over the last couple of weeks the reports have been stating that SNAP food benefits are running out on November 1st. Towns across the country have already seen reductions in availability of aid by means of food pantries due to funding cuts made earlier in the year, so we will see further strain on what resources have made it through. Rising costs in grocery stores have certainly been felt by all, making the potential for food scarcity an increasing reality for many people across the States. Folks of all walks of life benefit from food programs like SNAP, including but not limited to: working families, single parents, disabled people, and the elderly.

As of October 29th, twenty-five states are suing over the pause of SNAP benefits, and many others were actively exploring avenues to cover the funding gap come November. On Halloween, a federal judge ordered the release of SNAP benefits from the contingency fund, signaling hope that our friends and families will have access to the nutrition that they need.

Resources and ideas to consider if you are in need of food assistance:

Check to see if your local churches offer free meals or if they have a food pantry

Join a “buy nothing” Facebook group for your local community and see if someone is offering free food, or post your own request for aid
Visit the food pantry at your local Salvation Army - some even have free meals on certain days
Dial “211” and speak with someone about finding more resources in your specific area

Additionally, one of our favorite creators right now is Kiki Rough, who has built a following sharing accessible recipes with the recognition that we are experiencing high economic uncertainty. This is a great resource to check out that not only helps you find creative ways to cook with what you have, but to feel a sense of community as others offer their own insights and create a space to connect with others who are experiencing similar realities.

Are you in a position to help others? Check out this link from Feeding America to quickly learn how you can make a donation to help feed a hungry neighbor.

Sources:

The Perseverance of Native American Culture

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we’re featuring a piece on the importance of culture from Shelby B., a member of the Anishinaabe tribe. Thank you Shelby for sharing your words with us.

“Culture within my perspective is a living entity. I was taught by my Anishinaabe elders that when you breathe life into our culture, it will breathe life back into you and your spirit. Within traditional Anishinaabe societies, culture, land, and community are at the heart and core of who we are as people. Our cultures and ways of life as Indigenous Peoples are informed by the lands we are descended; you cannot separate my people from Mother Earth for our spirits are interconnected with the spirits of our homelands. And it’s no secret that the settler colonial state has long attempted to not only eradicate my people, but also sever our connection to our homelands and one another through forced assimilation. It was illegal within the United States to practice and/or participate in any form of Indigenous culture prior to the enactment of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978. My father was born in 1969. My father is older than our colonial right to sing, dance, pray, gather in ceremony, and live according to our traditional Anishinaabe ways. My beloved culture still exists today because of the bravery and tenacity of those who came before me. Those who were courageous enough to speak in ‘forbidden tongues’, gather in illegal ceremonies to sing outlawed songs, and dance in criminalized ways. And because of their courage, my people and our sacred cultures still exist because amidst it all, we will always breathe life into what breathes life into us. This is how my people have survived the test of time, by breathing life and love within our communities and cultures.”

The LOVELOUD Book Club presented by Openbooks

November Pick: Don’t Want to be Your Monster by Deke Moulton

**About Don’t Want To Be Your Monster**
Two vampire brothers must set aside their differences to solve a series of murders in this humorous and delightfully spooky novel for young readers. For fans of Too Bright to See.
Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it's morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat . . . just drink a little blood. They're vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family.
Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in his life (well, immortal life) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it’s too late?
**About the Author**
DEKE MOULTON (she/her) (rhymes with 'geek') is a writer currently living in the US Pacific Northwest. She is a former US Army drill sergeant and trained as an Arabic linguist during her time in service. Don't Want to Be Your Monster, her debut book, won the Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor Awards and was named one of Kirkus Reviews' Best Middle Grades of 2023. Her follow up, Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf, is a Sydney Taylor Notable Book and a Jewish Book Council middle grade finalist. She is represented by Rena Rossner with the Deborah Harris Literary Agency.

LGBTQ+ History Moment

November 20, 1998 – Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR):

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) was founded on November 20, 1998, to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was murdered in 1998. The day is dedicated to remembering transgender people who have been murdered as a result of anti-transgender violence. TDoR serves to raise awareness about the disproportionate violence faced by transgender individuals, particularly transgender women of color, and continues to be an important annual observance in the fight for transgender rights and justice.