When we first announced the dates of Come Out Vegas Weekend’s NCOD (National Coming Out Day) celebration back in April via our several Facebook event pages, we didn’t expect all the different events that would happen, at the same time, that appealed to our local LGBTQIA community.

In May, when we discovered that Cyndi Lauper would be having a concert next door to NCOD, we decided to add her show to Come Out Vegas Weekend’s roster of events and all of our NCOD marketing material. Cyndi has always been a truly dedicated ally to our LGBT community and, on a more personal note, to her own lesbian sister. We would later confirm that Gay Vegas would be conducting an exclusive interview with Cyndi Lauper for our September issue.

In August, The Center announced that they would be holding their Honorarium on that same Saturday, Oct. 8 at The Cosmopolitan. In response, we quickly added their event to our Come Out Vegas Weekend list of events on our website.  We were convinced this weekend couldn’t get any more fabulous, but we were wrong.

In September, The Center announced that Margaret Cho would be performing immediately following the Honorarium and many free tickets were given away for her performance that night.  

Later, we would learn that the incredible artist Sia would be performing on Friday, Oct. 7 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. At that moment, we knew this had to be one of the gayest weekends in the history of Las Vegas. In the end, it truly was! 

We want to personally thank you all for making Come Out Vegas Weekend’s NCOD celebration and festival what many are proclaiming as “one of the best NCOD celebrations” they have seen in years.

Another big thanks goes to Zappos.com for sponsoring Gay Vegas’ entire NCOD weekend and The Grove for sponsoring our Saturday night festival. We could not have had such an amazing event without your support.

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We were also able to raise $1,500 for the First Friday Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit that made our Friday night event possible. Additionally, we raised $1,000 for the True Colors Fund, which works to end LGBT youth homelessness (too often the result of coming out). 

We also want to thank Kaya Jones (formerly of the Pussycat Dolls) and Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees for putting on an amazing performance. A very special shout-

out also goes to Dan Reynolds, the lead vocalist of Imagine Dragons, and family for attending the event and showing their support.

Yet another “thank you” goes to the Mama Dragons (Mormon mothers who fiercely protect their LGBT children) for opening up publicly with their own personal stories and for making my own mother an honorary “Mama Dragon” after hearing our story.

Finally, we would like to give a special thanks to some of our participants: Zappos.com, The Grove, OpenVape, Lyft, Hillary for America, Red Bull, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Miller Lite, SNHD, Get Booked, Bully Wear, AHF, AFAN, The Center, NGRA, Rise LGBT Radio, The Eagle Las Vegas, New Horizons, The Phoenix, The Las Vegas Gaymers, Badlands, Bears Las Vegas, Goettl Air Conditioning and the Sunny Plumber. 

We were so moved by how many different organizations, religious groups and people came out to show their support for Vegas’ LGBT community. We all had an amazing time!

P.S. See you all next year Friday, Oct. 6 and Saturday, Oct. 7!

Thank You.

John Lawrence