Queer Bedtime Stories @ The Dreamery

Calling soft queers, word nerds, & bookish babes... Bring your whole self to the coziest, queerest live-reading event in the East Bay <3 <3

What bedtime stories were you told as a kid? How many of them were queer? Did you grow up wondering if there were others like you? When all the stories you hear are about straight protagonists, it's hard to know where you fit into the world.

Queer Bedtime Stories is your chance to re-seed the fertile ground of the imagination through oral re-tellings of LGBTQ+ poetry, memoirs, fiction, and history from cultural ancestors and contemporary creators. Together, we'll uncover the richness of our shared heritage and catch a glimpse of the blossoming future. We gather at The Dreamery, a cozy artistic live/work space in West Oakland.

Doors open at 7:30pm, and the event starts at 8pm. Please arrive before 8:10, when the doors will be closed.

You can come simply to listen or bring a reading to share! Readings should be 1-8 minutes long, any genre, and be written by an LGBTQ+ author or center on queerness. Original work is more than welcome!

Cafe drinks and snacks are available for all in attendance!✨☕

All queer adults are welcome to attend. Each attendee is asked to donate at least $2, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. As we say, donations keep our candle lit, so persons with bountiful means are encouraged to share generously.

Accessibility:

1. Regrettably, The Dreamery has many stairs and is inaccessible to wheelchairs.♿
2. Mask-wearing is welcome, and optional.😷
3. Wood-free incense is usually burned near open doors -- contact us in advance if you want to know more, or to request that we skip it while you attend.🕯️
4. The Dreamery is home to at least one cat and sometimes a dog.🐈‍⬛

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Queer Bedtime Stories was created in 2020 by Scott Sessions, a local teacher and facilitator of transformative events. The QBS community gathers in the Bay Area each month (check the Linktree for upcoming events). To stay up-to-date with all upcoming events shared by the community, sign up for the Queer Bedtime Newsletter!

Queer Bedtime Stories at The Dreamery is now facilitated by Elaine Ponce, a Mesoamerican artist and teacher who is motivated by the wonder of the outdoors and the opportunity to help others make soul connections to each other and our beautiful world.

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Community Values Statement

We gather at Queer Bedtime Stories to:

⭐ witness one another in our human wholeness.

⭐ feel cozy, connected, refreshed, affirmed, and (somehow) both grounded and elevated at the same exact time.

⭐ reveal the too-often-hidden truths about our queer ancestors, queer contemporaries, and queer selves.

⭐ fertilize our individual and social dreamscapes with new possibilities.

We invite queer readings of all forms, artistry, genre, and at all stages of creation.

We celebrate queer persons of all forms, artistry, genre, and at all stages of creation.

We treat each other with kindness, curiosity, and respect.