Erie Gay News celebrates its 30th anniversary

Michael Mahler
·2 min read
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Erie Gay News (originally known as Erie Gay Community Newsletter) is celebrating its 30th anniversary in December 2022!

Originally known as Erie Gay Community Newsletter, it was a project from Bridges, an LGBTQ coalition in the early 1990s. After a dance and fundraiser held at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Erie earlier in the year, the organization saw the need for a local LGBTQIA+-focused publication to inform the community about local events and resources, as well as the upcoming 1993 March on Washington. There had been an explosion of local groups in the early 1990s.

Michael Mahler
Michael Mahler

Our primary mission remains the same — to inform and serve the regional LGBTQIA+ community. We are proud to cover not only Erie County, but also northeastern Ohio, Chautauqua County, New York, and northwestern Pennsylvania.

We publish in print monthly, and update our website, https://www.eriegaynews.com, regularly. In addition, we also have a Facebook page, a Facebook group, an Instagram account, as well as an account on Mastodon.

In addition to providing current news, we also maintain a history of the region's community. Erie Gay News has copies of our print edition at nine different LGBTQ archives, including in Amsterdam and Toronto.

The only other LGBTQ-focused print publication in Pennsylvania is Philadelphia Gay News. There is also the online QBurgh in Pittsburgh. Cleveland, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh do not currently have an LGBTQ print publication.

More:Pioneering activist reflects on 30 years of Pride in Erie

People who want to help us with our mission of informing the community have several different options: We host monthly folding/distribution work parties at Lake Erie Counseling, 1932 W. 8th St. This is a great way to meet new people. Additionally, we deeply appreciate hearing about new distribution points that want to carry the print publication, so if you know of some place that wants to support the LGBTQ community and will carry copies, just email us at info@eriegaynews.com. There is no charge to be a distributor.

The Erie Pride Parade and Festival, hosted by the NWPA Pride Alliance, moves north in the 1400 block of State Street in Erie on June 25, 2022. Roughly 2,000 people marched to Perry Square for the festival.
The Erie Pride Parade and Festival, hosted by the NWPA Pride Alliance, moves north in the 1400 block of State Street in Erie on June 25, 2022. Roughly 2,000 people marched to Perry Square for the festival.

We also have an editorial board that meets monthly to plan articles and strategize how best to engage. If this is a way that you would like to be involved, just email us.

This file photo shows Michael Mahler, then 57, in his home office in Erie, on Oct. 2, 2020. He produces the monthly Erie Gay News newsletter and website, of which he is the editor. Mahler founded the EGN in December 1992.
This file photo shows Michael Mahler, then 57, in his home office in Erie, on Oct. 2, 2020. He produces the monthly Erie Gay News newsletter and website, of which he is the editor. Mahler founded the EGN in December 1992.

We are also excited about our plans for our new monthly Community Spotlight series, which will highlight a group or organization that serves the community.

Thanks to everyone who has made the past three decades so rewarding! We deeply appreciate our advertisers, volunteers, and contributors!

Michael Mahler is the editor of Erie Gay News (www.eriegaynews.com). He also serves as treasurer of NW PA Pride Alliance, and was a founding member. In addition, he also serves on the Erie Mayor’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council and on the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, since they were founded in 2018. 

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Gay News celebrates 30th anniversary, its history recalled