SCOTT BROCATO:
The annual OUTober kicks off October 3rd. How many years now has this been an event?
LORE FALLS:
This is the 8th annual OUTober event, and certainly one of the biggest ever; like, six events throughout the month with collaborations like we haven't had before.
SCOTT BROCATO:
And how long did it take to put this together?
LORE FALLS:
So we kind of start at the end of the last year's OUTober figuring out, you know, performers for the drag show, starting to plot out what kind of events (like) if we want Movie Nights, guest lectures; to start then researching, and the final schedule. Once we got that movie night that is kicking off the program this year, all those details were just before the semester started, and then the schedule coming out, you know, in the last few weeks.
SCOTT BROCATO:
Well, it kicks off as you mentioned, with movie nights with Cassandro at the Milton Hall Theatre. Tell us about that.
LORE FALLS:
Cassandro is a new film, a dramatization of the life of Cassandro El Exotico, who is a gay lucha libre from El Paso. We were very excited when Dr. Lopez and Chicano programs reached out to talk about that film. You know, not only is it a local legend, but also we're being able to get into those intersections of, you know, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. And it's a story that's close to home for some people, like some students I've talked to have met him at events.
SCOTT BROCATO:
And one of the big events, of course, Pride on the Plaza, which KRWG will be a part of, October 7th, downtown Las Cruces. What can we look forward to then?
LORE FALLS:
So LGBT+ Programs will also have a table at the big Pride on the Plaza event. We're also taking a group of students, and it's also open to faculty and staff to march in the first-ever Las Cruces Pride Parade that was put together in a collaboration between PFLAG of Las Cruces, La Vida Project, and Southern New Mexico Pride. So we're very excited to be part of a landmark event. Before, it has only been marches, so to be able to take part in the first-ever parade is very exciting. And then of course, they sent out a call for drag performers. We'll have many, many of our student performers who you'll see at the drag show later in October also performing there at the Plaza. There will be vendors and local organizations, food trucks, all kinds of performances, not just drag. And of course, we'll be out there as well, sharing information and resources, too.
SCOTT BROCATO:
And there's also Coming Out Day. This is a rock climbing event that's happening October 11th. It'll be at the rock wall inside the NMSU Activity Center.
LORE FALLS:
Yeah. So in the last few years, the Activity Center did a remodel to include gender-neutral changing and showering spaces to, you know, open up doors and help LGBT+ folks feel comfortable using that space. And one of the things they wanted to do after implementing that was, hey, can we open up an event just for your groups to let students see this space, that kind of ended up coinciding with Coming Out Day last year, and has now become a tradition working with them.
SCOTT BROCATO:
And finally, tell us about the annual Halloween Drag Show October 25th.
LORE FALLS:
Yes! The Halloween Drag Show is our biggest event of the academic year. So we've got an incredible lineup of four professional performers, three from Albuquerque. So the House of Attack, Violet Stratton, and Asthma Attack hosting; a returning drag King, Tracy Michaels, who has been at many of our shows and is absolutely incredible; and the return of Ryan Rox, who used to perform in our shows (but) hasn't for a while, but we were able to get back in contact with her, and we're very excited to have her on the stage again.
We also have a record number of student performers yet again for the third show in a row. So there are 12 students performing this year, and that's folks who are returning to take the stage again. And actually, the majority of them are performing for the first time, which is, you know, incredibly exciting, and it's very cool to watch those journeys because some of those folks who started off on our stage are now getting booked at shows here in town at clubs and bars in El Paso. So it's been very exciting to see how that initial performance on the OUTober stage then goes beyond and gets people integrated into that community.
Of course, we'll have lots of student organizations, campus departments, and outside organizations sharing information; some fabulous T-shirts to give away--this one will be kind of in collaboration with the Gay Anime Club because it will be taking place on the night of one of their meetings. So we're hoping for kind of an anime-themed pre show and games throughout all those giveaways. We're really looking forward to it.
SCOTT BROCATO:
Lore Falls, NMSU student program coordinator for LGBT+ Programs, thank you for joining us and telling us about OUTober.
LORE FALLS:
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.
