At a time of year where love and togetherness are customary, one Toledo event has proudly worn its heart on its sleeve for nearly 40 years.
On December 4, the 39th annual Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla will take place at the Toledo Club. The event, a yearly celebration and fundraiser for members of the area’s LGBT community, is a true labor of love for everyone who works to organize it.
“The Gayla is a fun mix that represents the LGBT community plus our allies,” said Rick Cornett, Holiday with Heart committee member in charge of publication relations. “It is a good mix of younger, older, black, white, male, female, etc. Everyone is welcome. This isn’t an invite-only event.”
A fast-paced seven hours
The Gayla began back in 1977 as a humble dinner event with a scant 16 attendees. In the intervening decades though, it has blossomed into an annual evening of celebration, featuring live entertainment, a DJ, a silent auction, dancing, a photo booth and more.
“It is a fast-paced evening for the seven hours the event lasts,” Cornett said. “The social aspect is the most fun for me getting to meet up with old friends while meeting new people. It is exciting and fun to get all dressed up and kick off the holiday season in style.”
Cornett himself first attended the Gayla in 1991, and has been to every one since, joining the organizing committee in 2005. His work on Holiday with Heart is just a small part of his involvement with the area’s LGBT community.
“I wanted to do more and give back to a community that I really care about,” Cornett said. “I feel lucky to live in a city that has a vibrant gay community and I’m proud to be a part of it all. I also serve on the Toledo Pride committee and I founded the Toledo LGBT Historical Archives. I enjoy being involved and connected to the Toledo LGBT community.”
A premier social event
All the funds that the group raises through the event stay in the Toledo area to support LGBT individuals and causes. For 2016, the Gayla will benefit the Promise House Project Street Outreach Program, the Toledo School for the Arts Diversity and Inclusion Initiative and the Holiday with Heart Fund at the Toledo Community Foundation, Cornett said. He marvels at how much the event has evolved over the 25 years he has been a part of it.
“It went from being a small dinner and dance to the premier social event for the Toledo LGBT community. We are proud to say that it is now the oldest LGBT fundraiser in the entire state of Ohio. We have grown a lot in the past 10 years with social media, major sponsors, web site and the allies that now attend in support.”
Indeed, the ever-growing number of allies who make the Gayla a part of their holiday season, and the changing attitudes of the community toward the event, may be what gives Cornett and his fellow committee members the most pride in what they have accomplished.
“The attitude towards the event has went from a closeted small group of people to an overflowing event of proud members of the Toledo LGBT community,” Cornett said. “No one is hiding anymore in a back dining area reserved for people in fear. We rent out the entire Toledo Club and walk in with our heads held high.”
The 39th Holiday with Heart Charity Gayla will begin
at 4pm December 4 at the Toledo Club downtown.
Tickets are $80, and reservations close on November 28.
HWHCharitygayla.org
