We are creating connections and celebrating queer creativity through the Coming Out Day Art Celebration (CODAC), a community-powered event that honors the fullness of LGBTQ+ identity, expression, and resilience.

Our local celebration in Wichita, Kansas is organized by the Kansas LGBTQ+ Community, in partnership with the CODAC Global Cooperative, Confluence Community, & YOU, ALL OF YOU!

Now more than ever we need visibility, safety, and community. We are entering a time where the results of all of those hard fought battles over the decades, are being removed, reversed, taken away. LGBTQ+ communities are facing continued adversity, pushback, removal of rights, systemic discrimination, and violence. It's yet another call to create and UPLIFT new and existing safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people and communities.

National Coming Out Day is one of many events we have hosted throughout the years as the Kansas LGBTQ+ Community, including rallies and protests, community potlucks, friendsgivings, LGBTQ+ open mics, and so much more. We are thankful for all of the people that helped create so many beautiful experiences with us over the years, and for all of the people we have met along the way, and worked alongside. We are deeply grateful for the connections and memories we have made. Maybe some of us have fallen out of touch, but we value every single second we have shared with our chosen community and families, the people that make us feel seen, understood, and loved for being who we are.

Many of us have faced discrimination, fear, and acts of violence against us, simply for existing. Many of us have had to be cautious, and afraid to be ourselves, having to mask and pretend until we reach a safe space. It's probably safe to say, we have ALL felt this way at one time or another in most places around the world.

Community building and advocacy has its own world of challenges and adversity, generally doing anything in today's modern society, is just exhausting and often overwhelming. So if you're wondering where we have been, we have mostly been trying to survive the latest historical event, and figure out why our bodies don't seem to move and work as well as they used to. We are all trying our best to live life.

We think many community organizers and organizations can relate, that burnout is real. That's why our presence has ebbed and flowed over the years like many others, having to step away for self-care and rest, and let the next generations step in. Our active periods rely solely on the individuals that have the time, energy, and presence to give.

But in all honesty, we can't sit back and watch this madness unfold in front of our eyes, without trying to do something about it. There's just no way. Art, Creativity, and Connection are an essential aspect of healing, and getting through this together.

We launched the concept and initiative in March 2025 (after the IRL Handmaids Tale started to unfold) and, of course April and May were busy in all of our personal and political lives. However, it brought us together to start building something that can connect us with our friends, and support each other from afar.

Our Born'-n-'raised-Kansas-Queers are spread out around the country, and the world now, many having sought out more welcoming or diverse LGBTQ+ environments and opportunities elsewhere. We are pretty much everywhere now, some of us have been gone for a long time, and some are just now returning. Some are happy in more progressive states with greater representation and opportunities, but our Kansas LGBTQ+ roots keep us connected. 

We were able to get a decent framework and foundation created and ready to launch for Pride Season, but we still have a lot to do to bring this together. We hope you will help CODAC Global & the Kansas LGBTQ+ Community continue these efforts.

This is an historic year, one where joy is a form of resistance and creativity is a call to action. The Love is Kind exhibition invites LGBTQ+ artists, storytellers, and creatives from around the world to capture the essence of Pride through their art. In a time when our identities are being challenged, erased, and legislated against, we are holding space to honor what they cannot take from us: our creativity, our stories, our love.

Let this exhibition be a reminder that Pride is not just a month, it’s a movement. A practice. A lifelong act of visibility, vulnerability, and connection. Let’s carry that spirit forward, through every brushstroke, every photo, every spoken word and memory shared. Together, we’re building a global gallery that reflects not just who we are, but what we stand for.

Love is kind. Love is strong. Love is here.

As part of the Global efforts to bring people together, CODAC is hosting a Coming Out For Love Event Poster Art Exhibition. The Exhibition will feature Coming Out Day Celebration Posters, and act as an historic collection of creativity and community from all of the LGBTQ+ people that stood together, and made ourselves visible despite the continued hate, fear, and discrimination. We want to carry the spirit of Pride Month throughout the rest of the year, and keep this momentum going.

The Coming Out for Love Exhibition, also features a Global Celebration Map, to help people find celebrations, and safe spaces near them.

We know this is hard, we know organizing local community events is hard, let alone organizing something with global reach, but Y'ALL, we gotta do something, so we can at least say we tried, and we kept trying, and trying...

For more information about the platform that will be used to create the Virtual Art Exhibition, please feel free to explore the Open Call Gallery by the Confluence Community Creative Collective. (Our gallery will be ready soon)

The Kansas LGBTQ+ Community is based out of Wichita, so that is where we will focus our initial efforts. We hosted our very first Coming Out Day Celebration, on Oct 11th, 2010, with various other events in between, and the most recent one we hosted was October 11th, 2017. We are ready to get back out and mobilize again.

We would love to support organizations that are already doing amazing things in the community. No need to reinvent the wheel, this movement is about bringing our resources, skills, and communities together.

We encourage Entertainment and Music organizers to reach out and help coordinate performances for the celebration.

All art communities, collectives, and artists are invited too! If there are local galleries that would like to host art exhibitions, or other events alongside the celebration, let us know so we can add it to the Global Celebration Map!

Others not listed, we see you, and yes, please please reach out! Anyone and everyone is welcome here, and we want to collaborate as much as possible!!!

How the Global Part Comes In:

The celebration doesn't have to be big, it can be something as simple as a private event at someone's home with close, safe people. It's all about celebrating, finding our voice, and having the courage to accept ourselves and others, for who we are.

Help us get to planning!

Many of us are parents now, and we want to plant the tree that other generations that come after us get to enjoy. We can't let some delulu guy destroy our beauty, our safety, our community.

This is a collaborative, co-created event in Wichita, we’re inviting:

• Local LGBTQ+ orgs to co-lead the vendor market coordination

• Entertainment orgs & performance groups to help shape the entertainment lineup

• Community centers, collectives, and mutual aid projects to host info booths

• LGBTQ+ Sustainability Groups to keep our celebration as eco-friendly as possible! 

• Volunteers & community leaders to bring in your energy and ideas.

• As part of the CODAC Global Cooperative, we are working to build a community collective for LGBTQ+ groups and individuals to work together.

  • Let's set the example of what it CAN look like when we listen, understand, and work together to meet the needs of our community, while letting our diversity unite us, and build a deeper understanding for different challenges each of us face.

  • We have the opportunity to come together, pool resources, and make this truly community-powered.

    
    

We are launching a Vendor Waitlist now to:

• Gauge interest and build momentum.

• LGBTQ+ vendors and allies are invited to collaborate and make this possible together.

• Start conversations about how to best serve our local community.

• Handmade art, food, fashion, or creative services, and so much more, this is your invitation to connect and celebrate with us.

• It's free to join the waitlist, but donations are always welcome.

  
  

We'll reach out as soon as we have more event details!

• Submit your art, photography, animation, film, poetry, and other creative media for the Love is Kind: Summer of Community Exhibition.

• Write a short story or quote about what “Coming Out for Love” means to you

• Wear your rainbow gear and tag us

• Host a satellite event or art show in your own town or neighborhood.

• Spread the word and share with your friends, family, and community.

• Register as a Community Ambassador and help us build this celebration from the ground up, bigger than we have ever done before.

Side note: the Community Ambassador form is setup as a FREE "plan", so it looks like you are signing up to purchase something, but it's completely FREE. In the backend system, it's the best way to group and connect you to other relevant information, and resources. We’ll reach out with next steps, tools, and connections once you register.

Whether you have 10 minutes or 10 hours, there's a way for you to make a difference. Here's how you can plug in:

General Volunteer Roles

We are still putting together a full list of roles and details, and other content, we appreciate your patience in the meantime. If you've got the skills and would like to help create essential resources, please, please, please, let us know.

We would love for other organizers to join in, and bring their expertise and experience to the CODAC Cooperative. Represent your organization or community groups, and help us lay the foundation for what CODAC can become.

There will be real safety concerns with all gatherings this year, and concerns with information posted in public spaces. We want to honor everyone's right to privacy and safety, and be as mindful as we can throughout this process, especially when it comes to safety and inclusion. Visibility is essential, especially for those that may not have the option to be visible.

Reach out to us at: codac@confluencecommunity.org

Or message us on Instagram @KansasLGBTQcommunity @CODAC.Global 

A FINAL AND IMPORTANT NOTE:

Bruce McKinney helped the Kansas LGBTQ+ Community host our very FIRST National Coming Out Day Celebration, on October 11th, 2010, at Naftzger Park, in Downtown Wichita. He was the one leading the charge with permits, and logistics, truly bringing that event to life. He helped organize the Unite the Fight Rally, Marriage Equality protests, and so many other activities with us, and numerous other local LGBTQ+ organizations.

He embodied the spirit of early LGBTQ+ activists, dedicating his life to advocating for our rights, and helping organize inclusive LGBTQ+ events in Kansas. He fought alongside us, guiding the next generation of activists. He was a creator and artist that left a beautiful mark on our community, his authenticity and fearlessness to be himself, was refreshing and inspiring. We will never forget his generosity, kindness, initiative, and spirit.

We are so grateful for the many years we got to have him in our lives. It's hard to believe that it has been 15 years since we started this journey, and Bruce made it real, he showed up, and he stood up every chance he could. We could all use some of his relentless tenacity right now. It seems only fitting that we commemorate this 15 year Coming Out anniversary, by dedicating it to a person that changed our lives forever.

For anyone and everyone, that knew Bruce McKinney, please reach out. Let's do something special to honor his memory and his historic presence throughout Kansas LGBTQ+ History. Let's share stories, memories, and more about his deep grassroots involvement. For those that didn't know him, I hope they can learn more about him, and become inspired by his impact and action. Such a beloved person we will never forget, we wish he could be here with us now, helping guide us through this again, and be part of bringing a global LGBTQ+ community together on National Coming Out Day.

(If anyone has photos from the the National Coming Out Day in 2010, or our other events, please send them to us! We would greatly appreciate it. We didn't do the greatest job of archiving our events, especially on social media back in the day. Though seeing the ones we do have, brings so much joy, and lots of smiles.)

Here are some images we found with Bruce and members of the community during the Unite the Fight Rally in December 2010, in Downtown Wichita.

If you're interested in learning more about the Kansas LGBTQ+ Community, you can see the REBRAND Portfolio that Confluence Community did for us as part of their Brand Sponsorship Program.

We have a website you can explore ✌️❤️🏳️‍🌈

(still underconstruction)

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn and connect. We hope we can learn more about you too!

To help fund our efforts we have put together Mix & Match Rainbow Gear and Merch for Pride Season! We also have a Community Affiliate Program setup, to help other communities raise funds by helping us spread the word. Lots of fab stuff in the works!!!

Please stayed tuned for more information, details, and resources.