KEY WEST PANELS OF THE AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT TO BE DISPLAYED AT THE CUSTOM HOUSE ON WORLD AIDS DAY, DECEMBER 1ST

Specific Key West/South Florida sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt – the 54 ½ -ton, handmade tapestry that stands as a memorial to more than 96,000 individuals lost to AIDS — will be presented for display on World AIDS Day, December 1st, in a cooperative between AIDS Help, The Custom House and the Key West AIDS Memorial.

The date coincides with the annual candlelight procession and reading of names at the Key West AIDS Memorial, located at 1100 White Street (the Edward B. Knight Pier), and all participants are encouraged to continue their remembrance at The Custom House, 281 Front Street, which will host the Quilt panels through December 4th.

“I can’t think of a better way to continue the remembrance than on our own 20th anniversary and the Quilt’s 30th anniversary,” says Jeffrey Smead, Treasurer for the Key West AIDS Memorial. “The Memorial was and is the only official municipal AIDS Memorial in the world, built with private funds and donated to the city in 1997 (and included 730 names). The NAMES Project Foundation — the caretaker of The Quilt — has offered a portable contact since 1987 that a fixed marker cannot. To offer one night of them together helps transform loss and heartbreak into hope and healing.”

Sponsoring The Quilt’s appearance, explained Scott Pridgen, Executive Director of AIDS Help, was the idea of the Agency’s Consumer Advisory Committee (comprised of clients and non-clients), always innovating methods to reinforce the Mission, and historical significance, of the Agency.

“The idea arose months ago from several members and since, Michael Seth Young and Chuck Brown have been busily assembling volunteers and docents to explain and answer questions about the Quilt, which began in San Francisco with a single 3 x 6 foot panel. It now includes more than 49,000 panels from every state in the nation,” recounted Pridgen, “hand-crafted by friends, lovers and family members.”

Sections are continuously on display across the country in schools, places of worship, community centers, businesses, corporations and a variety of other institutional settings all in the hope of making the realities of HIV and AIDS real, human and immediate.  To date, more than18 million people have seen The AIDS Memorial Quilt at tens of thousands of display throughout the world.

“It’s still a disease that has no cure,” commented Pridgen. “The Quilt humanizes the statistics. It defines compassion…triumph over taboo…shedding of stigma…and inspiration for individuals to take responsibility for their own wellness.  By incorporating Key West’s permanent tribute with the Quilt panels at the beautiful Custom House, under the watchful eye of Key West Art & Historical Society Curator Cori Convertito, we offer an emotional 2017 outreach to our community on December 1st.”

The evening’s ‘umbrella’ thematic, the Tree of Hope, from 7–9 p.m., will offer appetizers and live entertainment, and notepaper will be provided for attendees to personally inscribe a memory or wish for their chosen placement on a Christmas tree, this year donated by MARC House.

The tree is subsequently relocated for lobby display through the New Year to the main offices of AIDS Help, 1434 Kennedy Drive.

AIDS Help has allocated the suggested entry donation of $25, which includes a first drink and a keepsake ornament, to the Friends of the AIDS Memorial, Inc. for its annual upkeep and refurbishment.

For more information on the Key West AIDS Memorial, access keywestaids.org

For more information on The NAMES Project and The AIDS Memorial Quilt, please visit aidsquilt.org

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