New Hope Gazette By: Dawn Hilty – May 12, 2006
Time to get your ruby slippers out of the closet again.
The 3rd Annual Somewhere Over the Rainbow Celebration in New Hope is slated for May 19th through 21st…that’s practically two heal clicks away.
The borough-wide celebration will commence at Starbucks, on the corner of Bridge and Main Streets, with organizers unfurling a massive rainbow flag from the third-floor balcony at 12 noon. The flag, a section of the infamous 4-mile long Key West Rainbow flag stitched together in 2003, represents sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic, serenity, and spirit.
This year’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow Celebration will feature two prominent events fashioned after popular TV shows.
The first is the New Hope Idol competition, organized by Bob Egan Entertainment. Twelve local finalists, ages 16-22, have already been chosen to compete at New Hope-Solebury High School, located on Bridge Street, on Friday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the elimination concert are $15.
Following Act One, the audience will vote and select six stars to move onto Act Two, where celebrity judges – including host Scott Nevins, star of XL Star – will award two winners, one male, and one female.
Winners will receive a $500 scholarship and perform again as part of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” the Saturday Night Showcase on May 20 also happening at the high school. Tickets are $75 per person for that event.
Project Funway, a collaboration between New Hope Celebrates and Savioni Designer Clothing, will bring the spirit of TV’s America’s Next Top Model to Main Street, with the help of celebrity emcee Kim Stolz and models from Elite and Barbazon agencies in NYC. The event, which includes live entertainment and a street fair in addition to the main runway event, will close Main Street, between Bridge Street and Ferry Street, on Saturday, May 20, from 12 noon to 7 p.m. Inclement weather will move the show to Sunday, May 21.
VIP tickets are available for $20, a small fee for patrons who want to get right up next to the yellow brick road. Proceeds will benefit a number of local causes, the Human Rights Campaign, Fighting AIDS Continuously Together (FACT: Bucks County), and the Rainbow Room, a youth center of Planned Parenthood Association of Bucks County. Tickets are available online at NewHopeCelebrates.com or in person at Savioni Designer Clothing, Metro, and Primadonna’s Closet in New Hope.
New Hope Celebrates is a townwide celebration that runs throughout the weekend. Events range from a Gay History Tour of New Hope (Sunday, May 21, 1 to 2 p.m.) to a Pumpkin Pride Show (Friday, May 19, 9 to 11 p.m. at the Raven). Check out a full schedule at NewHopeCelebrates.com and plot out your trip to Oz.
New Hope Celebrates: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
- Townwide Pride Celebration throughout New Hope
- Kickoff on May 19 at 12 noon, final dance at 11 p.m. on Sunday, May 21
- For a full schedule and to make reservations for specific events, visit NewHopeCelebrates.com.