FROM A NEWS RELEASE
CHICAGO -- The excitement and joy of the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago are captured in a new 208-page 4-color glossy photo soft-cover book available online from the Web site www.lulu.com/content/1179609. The book features more than 1,000 images of the sports, culture and ceremonies of Gay Games VII, which were held July 15-22, 2006.
Several dozen professional photographers donated their services to cover the Gay Games, contributing more than 60,000 images to the Gay Games photo archives. These images were then culled to 11,000 and were made available in 2006 as downloads on the Gay Games Web site.
Now, the best of those images are included in the book "Gay Games VII: Where the World Meets." The book is written by Gay Games VII Co Vice-Chair Tracy Baim, publisher of Windy City Media Group in Chicago. WCMG and its weekly newspaper, Windy City Times, coordinated the Gay Games photo project, and WCMG Art Director Kirk Williamson designed the book.
"We are very excited to support the Federation of Gay Games ( FGG ) and its ongoing mission," said Baim. "All proceeds from the sale will go to the important work of the FGG. We wanted a book to show off the amazing contributions of thousands of athletes, cultural participants, volunteers, board, staff, sponsors, donors and more. It is an added bonus that it can benefit the FGG."
The featured photographers in "Gay Games VII: Where the World Meets" are Steve Becker, Kat Fitzgerald, Amy Moseley and Patsy Lynch, who took the majority of the images. There are dozens of other professional and amateur photographers included, with images from all 31 sports and dozens of cultural events and ceremonies of Gay Games VII.
"Gay Games VII" is a perfect gift for anyone who has ever attended a Gay Games, or for those who want to see more about events that have impacted hundreds of thousands of people. The book has an overview of the past seven Gay Games, including images of the first event in 1982 with co-founder Dr. Tom Waddell.
There are also special photos taken by internationally renowned photographer Victor Skrebneski of amateur and professional Gay Games athletes. These include Esera Tuaolo, Leigh-Ann Naidoo and Matthew Cusick. Some photos were taken in conjunction with the April 2006 100 Champions weekend, which honored well-known LGBT sports figures and allies. Steve Becker also took special photos during the 100 Champions weekend, including of sports legend Greg Louganis.
Especially memorable are images from the Opening and Closing ceremonies at Soldier Field and Wrigley Field. There are photos of the featured performers and speakers, including mayor Richard M. Daley, Cyndi Lauper, Megan Mullally, Margaret Cho, Andy Bell, Heather Small, Jody Watley, ANT, The L Word cast members, Ari Gold, and many more.
The Gay Games decided to go with an online publishing format to allow for more creativity and flexibility. In using lulu.com, the process is similar to ordering any book online, and takes just a few days. The book is available for $49 plus shipping, or as a PDF download for $19.
ORDERING INFO: See www.lulu.com/content/1179609 or go to www.lulu.com and search for "Gay Games" under books.
About Gay Games VIIGay Games VII Sports and Cultural Festival took place 15-22 July 2006. With 11,750 athletes competing in 31 sports, the weeklong event included band, cheerleading and color guard performances, chorus, an ancillary arts festival, and a series of community-organized social events and parties. The opening ceremony was held 15 July at Soldier Field, the lakefront home stadium of American-style football's Chicago Bears. Closing ceremony was 22 July at Wrigley Field, the home of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs.
Global sponsors of Gay Games VII included Lexiva; Logo; PlanetOut/ Gay.com; Sirius Satellite Radio; Walgreens; Centaur Entertainment; Fleishman Hillard International Communications; Orbitz; McKnight Kurland Baccelli; The New York Times; Olivia Cruises & Resorts; Pride Nation Network; Windy City Media Group; Absolut Vodka; American Airlines; Apogee Strategies; Athletico; Chicago Free Press; Chicago Sun-Times; Ernst & Young; GLAAD; Genre; Human Rights Campaign; Lambda Legal Defense; QTG-Quaker/Tropicana/Gatorade; Sydney New Mardi Gras; Mate Magazine; Pink Magazine; RCN; and Roosevelt University. Gay Games VII had almost 400 total sponsors.
About The Gay Games: The Gay Games was conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, an Olympic decathlete, and was first held in San Francisco in 1982 with 1,350 participants. Subsequent Gay Games have been held in San Francisco ( 1986; 3,500 participants ) , Vancouver ( 1990; 7,300 participants ) , New York ( 1994; 12,500 participants ) , Amsterdam ( 1998; 13,000 participants ) , and Sydney ( 2002; 11,000 participants ) .
The Federation of Gay Games is the international governing body that perpetuates the quadrennial Gay Games and promotes the event's founding principles of Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best ( tm ) For more information, visit GayGames.org . "Gay Games", "Federation of Gay Games", the interlocking circles device, and the phrase "Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best" are trademarks of the Federation of Gay Games, Inc. Trademarks are registered in the USA, Canada, Benelux, the UK, and Australia.
Chicago Games, Inc - 1055 W. Bryn Mawr Chicago, IL 60640, USA GayGamesChicago.org - info@GayGamesChicago.org