North Texas Pagan Pride Day

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

_{Disclaimer: Our use of Theodore Roosevelt's quote here is not an indication he was Pagan. He was Dutch Reformed Christian. But it's a great quote by a great president and certainly applies to our efforts!}

From the National website.

Statement of Purpose:

The Pagan Pride Project is a non-profit organization. The primary purposes of this corporation shall be the advancement of religion and elimination of prejudice and discrimination based on religious beliefs.

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Pagan Pride Project is to foster pride in Pagan identity through education, activism, charity and community.

Defining the Mission Statement:

We try to keep our purpose balanced through the inspirations of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth:

Air: Education We're never going to be able to practice our spiritual paths openly if we don't give the public accurate information about what we do and do not do.
Fire: Activism People aren't necessarily going to go out of their way to find out what Pagans really do. We have to have the courage to act on our convictions and do what we need to do.
Water: Charity We know that what we do returns to us. We need to demonstrate this by offering compassion to our communities where it is needed. When we share our own abundance, we show that we trust the Gods to share abundance with us in return.
Earth: Community We're never going to be able to practice openly if we don't know anyone else in our local Pagan communities. We need to weave networking webs in our cities, in our towns, in our rural areas. We need these webs to support one another. That support will also show those who would restrict our practice that we are not just a few isolated wackos, but are a growing congregation of people who adhere to a faith that, while different, is as valid as their own.

Compiled Statistics for 2009 - from collected sanctioned Pagan Pride Project events -

Total Number of Attendees Reported: 35,939
Total Number of Events: 86
Total Pounds of Food Donations (human) Reported: 24,825.38
Total Monetary Donations Reported: $3141.00
Total Other Donations Reported: Over 900 lb. of animal food, animal care products, goods for Pagan prisoners, maternity and baby care items, personal hygiene items, books, gently used clothing, and over 70 pints of blood donated

About our Local Organizers.

This year Raven Mae stepped down as our Local organizer due to her move to Houston. She is still very involved as a board member of the Texas Earthen Tribal Alliance (TxETA). Autumn, another board member of the TxETA has stepped up and is now our local coordinator. Some of you may remember all of Autumn's hard work as the Vendor Coordinator during the 2008 Pagan Pride Day. Joining them is Heidi, who has stepped in as our entertainment coordinator and MelMel, who has taken over the vendor coordination.