ASN - Aids Support Network - San Luis Obispo County
ASN News
Cleve Jones & NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in SLO
March 30, 2009The AIDS Support Network has the distinct honor of hosting Cleve Jones in conjunction with a very special display of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. The Quilt has not been seen in San Luis Obispo since 2002 and, in this 25th anniversary year for the AIDS Support Network, we are pleased to bring the Quilt back and with it, it's founder, Cleve Jones. If you have never seen the Quilt, it is an overwhelming reminder of the toll of AIDS in the United States.
The history of the Quilt goes back a long way. While working with San Francisco City Councilman Harvey Milk, Cleve Jones conceived the idea of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1985; he provided the first panel for the Quilt in 1987. Since then, over 47,000 panels have been individually crafted in memory of loved ones and given over to be incorporated into an evocative piece of art and remembrance, the world’s largest community arts project.
Many family members, friends and community members would like to know how to participate in this significant display. We will need quite a large number of volunteers the day of the event and you can contact Karla Quiroga to help in a variety of ways. ASN will also be hosting four panel-making workshops, where you can create a Quilt panel for someone dear to you. Volunteers can also help us create panels for those friends of the agency whose own families may not be able to make one for them.
Our partner in this endeavor is GALA, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast and the Quilt will be shown in conjunction with their yearly event, Pride in the Plaza, on Sunday, July 12th – an open-air display adjacent to Mission Plaza. The Quilt will be available for viewing at 11 a.m through 4:30 p.m. Mr. Jones will speak at approximately 3:00 p.m.
We look forward to seeing the Quilt again and hope that you will be able to join us for the workshops leading up to the display, for an inspiring presentation by Cleve Jones and a stirring and affecting showing of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
