A gay get-away in Eureka Springs

by Robin Dorner
Editor in Chief

As the trees lose their leaves and the weather turns a bit cold, November also brings Fall Diversity Weekend to Eureka Springs, the gayest town in Arkansas. The weekend will be held November 1-3 and there will be live music, Halloween costume contests, a Zombie fest, drag shows, packed dance floors and much more.

“Locals love Diversity Weekends because it's as if the party comes to us,” said Michal Walsh, host of www.outineureka.com.  “We've made friends with people from all across the country because of these special weekends and we look forward to seeing them every time they come back. It's as if our own gayborhood suddenly experiences a population explosion three times a year and those of us who live here get to meet and mingle with new and interesting people each time.”

Walsh has lived in the popular Arkansas town for seven years and said Eureka Springs is the perfect gay-friendly getaway. Their three annual Diversity Weekends are like mini gay pride weekends that each year attract thousands of people from Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas and Little Rock.

“Eureka Springs has been a gay vacation destination for decades now and the gay community here has worked hard in recent years to solidify that reputation by making the city the first and only one in the state to enact a Domestic Partnership Registry, officially endorse marriage equality, extend health insurance coverage to the partners of city workers and, most recently, launch a gay business guild,” he added. “This is a place that is both exceptionally gay-welcoming and groundbreaking.”

The schedule of events will begin to fill in during the first few weeks of October as venues finalize their plans. Regular updates will be posted on the one and only LGBT visitor website of Eureka Springs, www.outineureka.com.

October 24, 2013