Sparkles 2012 took place on April 14, the morning after Queerbash 9. A few sore heads made their way down to the Stables at 11am for a much needed hangover breakfast. At 12pm, we were all refreshed enough to start the series, which contained some of the most novel workshops we’ve hosted to date.
Sexual Empowerment
Due to the huge success of the sexual empowerment workshop the previous year, we decided to host it again. Billie from the Red Ribbon Project delivered another spectacular workshop which got us all thinking about our sex lives, and how we can get the most out of them.
Pride
Dominique Bouchard and Patrick McElligot of the Limerick Pride committee delivered a unique workshop created just for Sparkles. In it, they talked about the history of Pride and the queer movement, what Pride means and why it is important, and also a history of Limerick Pride to date. It was a truly inspirational presentation, with many members immediately asking for it to be repeated during Rainbow Week and Sparkles 2013.
Marriage Equality
A member of the organisation Marriage Equality delivered a workshop on their continued fight to provide civil marriage to same-sex couples. They outline the progress made so far, and it was a particularly relevant workshop because the fight for marriage seems to be entering the final stages. They told us how we can get involved, and help out with this worthy cause. Visit their site for more details.
Religion and homosexuality
This was a very interesting workshop to listen to. There were 2 sections, one delivered by an Anglican priest, and the other by a lecturer at UL, Dr. Yonit Kosovske, whose father and sister are both Rabbis. They presented some very interesting ideas, and talked about the experiences of LGBTQ people in their respective religions, and how they view homosexuality.
Out in UL 