Tyria Pride 2018! June 23rd & 24th!

Lelling · June 2, 2018

―All things have a right to grow

Hi everyone!

As part of Pride Month, I am excited to announce that for the third year in a row, we will be organizing Pride March Tyria, an in-game pride march to show support for our LGBTQ+ friends & guildies on:

Saturday, June 23rd, 16:00 CEST [EU] | 4 PM EDT [NA]
Sunday, June 24th, 16:00 CEST [EU] | 4 PM EDT [NA]

The events will last about 3 hours each day, with some fun pre-events to get everyone warmed up.

Before the main event, we are also doing two promo events, one in Heart of Thorns, and one in Path of Fire

Heart of Thorns - Saturday, June 2nd, 16:00 CEST [EU] | 4 PM EDT [NA]
Path of Fire - Saturday, June 9th, 16:00 CEST [EU] | 4 PM EDT [NA]

We march primarily to show our support for gender and sexual minority players, some of which have found Guild Wars 2 to be one of a few safe places to simply be themselves and get away from the hardships they face in the outside world.

In other words, we march to spread the message of positivity, acceptance and love!

Allies and proponents of equality for all are especially welcome to attend, as are those who are members of LGBTQIA+ communities!

In addition to having fun in-game, we also want to make a positive impact in the world by supporting a fundraiser! This year, we are teaming up with Gamers Giving Back, who is leading the organisation on the NA side, and together we are raising funds for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a non-profit focused on research, advocacy and education, working with LGBTQ+ people of all ages, and addressing issues from social to health concerns!

Donate

Anyone donating to the fundraiser can redeem rewards at OpenCommunity, such as the Tyria Pride 2018 badges on the website & teamspeak, and a physical rainbow GW2 logo badge! For more information on how to redeem your extra shinies, head on over to our donate page.

I am also pleased to announce that this year, for the first time, both EU and NA will be taking the same path on both days!

Note: Paths on the day may vary slightly depending on avoiding in-game events or march distractedness!

General information on both EU & NA events!

When do we meet?

The event begins at 16:00 CEST [EU] / 4 PM EDT [NA] both days, but we do ask people to come a little bit early. You should also already be able to reach the coordinators Lelling.6795 and AngelWriter.3652 at least one hour in advance. You can contact us in-game, on the forums, or join us on TeamSpeak (EU: ts.theopencommunity.org, no password, NA: solts.org, PW: franticzebra). You don't need a mic to join us on teamspeak and can just come hang out!

Where do we meet?

Day 1: Ebonhawke, near the portal from Divinity's Reach! If you don't have explored yet, do not worry! You can reach Ebonhawke through a portal in Divinity's Reach, so we will also have a commander showing people the way through DR if needed. Click here for an image of the Day 1 path.

Day 2: Lion's Arch, at the Field of the Fallen! Lion's Arch is also connected to all major cities via Asuran portals, so you'll be able to reach easily with even a starting character! Click here for an image of the Day 2 path.

Is Teamspeak required?

We do recommend Teamspeak, as we'll be using it to easily coordinate a large amount of people, get everyone into the same instance, and travel through loads of maps, as well as just chat and have fun! You can get the TS3 client for free on the teamspeak website and download it and have it ready to go in less than a minute!

However, Teamspeak is not required to join the event. Simply contact one of the coordinators & join their squad when the event starts, and you'll be able to join us!

EU Teamspeak address: ts.theopencommunity.org (short version: ts.gw2oc.org)

NA: solts.org | PW: franticzebra

A microphone is not required, and you don't need to speak, so feel free to join us, even if you're shy!

How do we get on the same instance of the map?

We can, and will, do this through squads! The commanders will be coordinating via TS and squad chat to make sure we get everybody into the same map (or maps, if there's more people than can fit into one map).

What do I bring?

You don't have to bring anything! But, party boxes, kites, transformations, fireworks, and other fun things of all kinds are of course welcome! If you wish to dye your armor in the traditional pride flag colours, that's also a fun way to express support!

Who can I contact about this?

EU: @Lelling - Lelling.6795
NA: Angel - AngelWriter.3652

If you would like to help organize this event, please let us know by contacting us in-game, on the forums, or by replying to this thread!

Please be aware that we are marching in the name of unity and acceptance. Any attacks on specific minorities, ethnic groups, religions, are not welcome at this event. This is also not a platform for political or religious debate. There are plenty of other places and times that are appropriate to start conversations regarding politics, policies, or religion.

Charity Fundraiser

Human Rights Campaign Foundation

This year, we are fundraising for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and our fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com/tyriapride2018!

Redeeming Rewards

As with every sponsored fundraiser OpenCommunity organises, you can redeem the amount you donated to the fundraiser towards your OpenCommunity rewards!

In addition to your donation counting towards reward progress at OC, you will also get an exclusive Tyria Pride 2018 badge on Teamspeak and the website, and if your donation was $10 or more, you can also receive a physical Tyria Pride 2018 pin with a rainbow GW2 logo!

To redeem your donation, simply take a screenshot of the confirmation email you received, and then go to OpenCommunity's donate page and click on "Redeem Badge", and submit the screenshot there.

Support the Event

There are many ways you can support the event! Simply joining, as well as letting your friends & guildies know about it, will already go a long way!

In-Game Donations

Many people have been asking us how they can contribute if they can't afford to donate money to the fundraiser - and here's how! We want to give away some cool items in-game to people joining the event and donating to the fundraiser, and you can help us make those cool items!

Anything you can spare is appreciated! We're currently working on crafting a Legendary weapon to give away, so Tier 6 crafting materials and Globs of Ectoplasm are always nice!

Send your donation to Lelling.6795 and make sure to note it is for Tyria Pride! Thanks

Social Media

You can help support the event by sharing information about it on social media!