What’s Happening at BABES?
By Event Coordinator Nicole Price

It has been a busy spring and summer for all of us here at BABES! We hope that you have been able to join us for some or all of our events, but if not here is a quick recap of what’s been going on …

In May we had our annual Cinco de Mayo Salsa Night, which was a lot of fun! We ate Mexican food at Taco’s Guaymas and then headed over to Century Ballroom for Salsa dance lessons followed by dancing until 11pm! Check out your June-July newsletter for some great photos.

In June we performed our theater project Positive Dreams ~Weaving Stories of our Sisterhood,which ran for5 amazing shows at Seattle’s Central Cinema. We were thrilled that so many BABES made it to the performances, but for those of you who weren’t able to see the show—and those of you who just want to watch it again—you’re in luck! The Seattle Channel put together a DVD of Positive Dreams for us, and we will be having a Movie Night-style screening of the show at the BABES office on Wednesday, August 22nd at 6pm. RSVP to Nicole at 206.720.5566 x5 or nicole@babesnetwork.org. Also, if you would like your very own copy, we will have DVDs available for purchase soon!

Later on in June was the BABES Annual Retreat, where 40 HIV positive women, BABES staff and volunteers stayed in beautiful beach-side cabins on the Olympic peninsula for four days. We made dream catchers, decorated jewelry boxes and, of course, did beading! We had some very informative educational speakers, as well as theater-based workshops and “Morning Wake-Up” sessions with Caroline Brown. We also went kayaking, walked the beach, ate yummy food and boogied down to great music—a favorite friend of BABES, Tracy Alan Moore as “Elvis,” put on one heck of a show! The Retreat was an overwhelming success, and we hope that next year we will be able to accommodate even more women, so that as many people as possible can share this wonderful experience with us. Although we love Marrowstone, we are currently exploring other possible retreat sites.

In July, 20 HIV positive women and their families joined BABES for a trip to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners play the Orioles. It was a great time, especially because the Mariners won! We also had a great turn-out for our Non-Profit Comedy Night at the Comedy Underground on July 24th. We hope to make that an annual event/fundraiser, so if you missed it be sure to sign up next year!

In addition to the Positive Dreams Movie Night on August 22nd, we also have the BABES Annual Family Picnic at Woodland Park coming up in August. Last year more than a hundred BABES and their families attended, and we had a blast! This year we will have a large dinosaur bouncer, prizes for the kids, a piñata, a yummy BBQ and, as always, great company. We will be giving away free zoo tickets, so you can enjoy our picnic and then head over to the zoo or just save the tickets for a later date. Please join us at Woodland Park Shelter #1 from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, August 11th.

To sign-up for the picnic, contact Nicole at 206.720.5566 x5 or nicole@babesnetwork.orgSee you soon!

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