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BISBEE — Since 1981, HIV has infected more than 1.1 million people in the United States.
Half of them developed AIDS and died.
To begin a new campaign to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS, Bisbee Pride plans to display several panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt for two weeks in June at various locations in Bisbee that will coincide with the 4th Annual Bisbee Pride Festival.
Adam Lamb, an organizer of Bisbee Pride and manager of the Copper Queen Hotel, worked hard to get the panels to the historic town. The 10 panels will go on display next Sunday.
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The panels are part of a 277-piece display that list more than 45,000 names of those who have died around the world from the disease. It’s considered the world’s largest community project.
“HIV is not going away,” Lamb said. “It’s on the rise again especially in 15- to 23-year-olds, and that’s frightening to me. People may think that you can take a few pills and you’ll be fine. That’s not the case. The virus stays with you all your life and you can still spread it to others.”
Visions of the mid-1980s and 1990s haunt him. That’s when the disease was at nearly epidemic proportions and people were dying within weeks of being diagnosed.
Lamb feels a personal responsibility to try to reach those who may be at risk or just do not take the disease seriously.
The Center for Disease Control says there are still nearly 40,000 HIV/AIDS cases reported annually in the U.S. In Arizona, nearly 5,000 people a year are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.
With each 12-foot-by-12-foot panel, a card will be displayed that provides up-to-date information about the disease. Taking that educational process one step further, Lamb has asked speakers from Arizona Heath Services, University of Arizona, El Rio Community Health Center, Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation and Chiricahua Health Services to bring the message home in a positive light.
The panels will be displayed at the Copper Queen Plaza, Belezza Fine Art Gallery, Copper Queen Library, St. John’s Episcopal Church, 55 Main Street, Copper Queen Hotel, Finders Keepers Antiques and city hall. The Bisbee Visitors Center will have a map and the list of locations for a self-guided walking tour beginning next Sunday.
“People must be made aware that this disease will not go away. There is no cure,” he added.
Bisbee Pride is staging the quilts display during Bisbee Pride Festival that will be held June 13-15.
This year’s festival also will feature a luminary ceremony to honor those who have died of AIDS. More than 200 luminaries have been purchased, and they will be lit at City Park at 7:30 p.m. on June 14.
There will be music all day at City Park with some Bisbee favorites performing such as Nowhere Man and Whiskey Girl and Terry Wolfe. Desert Voices, Pat Gahan and Richie Rhinehardt also will be performing.
Last year, Lamb said the festival brought in around 1,200 people. This year he expects more than 2,000 during the entire two weeks the quilt panels go on display.
“The Copper Queen Hotel is already booked up, but other hotels still have some rooms available,” he added.
The weekend, Lamb said, “is an attempt to educate, celebrate and highlight the Southeastern Arizona gay, lesbian, sexual, transgender, transsexual and allied community and its customs and culture through the auspices of an annual regional destination festival named Bisbee Pride.”
The Pride festival has earned the No. 3 slot in rural Pride organizations in the country, he added.
Bisbee Pride also supports various charitable and educational programs found within the region that are dedicated to the education and support of the Bisbee community, he added. The membership takes the community service commitment seriously and has shown that commitment through a number of community service projects, which include the cleanup of the Bisbee “B;” the cleaning, painting and maintaining of Grassy Park on Main Street; helping with the Fourth of July Coaster Race; and donating money to support the Bisbee High School arts program.
“The openness of the Bisbee community allows the men, women and families who attend to walk freely around town, enjoying all Bisbee has to offer,” Lamb said. “The thing is, this event is for everybody. It’s family-oriented, and people from every walk of life are welcome to come and enjoy the fun.”
The festival also provides a boon to the city during a normally slow time of year. Last year, Bisbee merchants and hoteliers brought in an estimated $350,000. This year, Lamb pointed out, looks even better.
REPORTER Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or by e-mail at shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
AIDS Memorial Quilt
The 10 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display from Sunday through June 22 in Old Bisbee. The Bisbee Visitors Center will have maps to the locations for self-guided tours.
HIV/AIDS information
• For information on HIV/AIDS, visit the Center for Disease Control Web site at www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/basic/index.htm.
• Arizona information on HIV/AIDS can be seen at www.saaf.org/ and at www.azdhs.gov/phs/hiv/.
Festival information
• WHAT: Bisbee Pride Festival
• WHEN: June 13-15
For information, visit the Bisbee Pride Festival Web site at www.bisbeepride.com/events, or e-mail questions to info@bisbeepride.com.
Sherry Beebe Wright wrote on May 19, 2009 9:18 PM:
Nicely done Adam!
A old friend from Nasumpta St. "