'MO - June 2008 - (Page 16)

community By Vincent Kovar The Things We Do describes Outgoing Adventures as “a project that’s been in the back of my mind for a couple years now. It started when I began traveling for myself after years of working as a tour leader for our parent company. My partner at the time and I didn’t necessarily want to travel on our own, but we also didn’t want to join a group in which we might not feel comfortable being ourselves. We also didn’t want a gay cruise, or a trip based around a circuit event.” When they looked at the market, they found that many companies selling LGBT tours were just agents selling other people’s product, or expensive tours that lacked a focus on the culture, history and art of the destinations. “This gave us a sense that there was a demand for affordable (3—4-star), destinationoriented, small group touring experiences for gay and lesbian travelers (and their friends), that are designed, marketed, and executed by travel experts. One of the most important things that sets our trips apart is the role of the tour leader. Other companies utilize local guides or agents, or offer “concierge” service in-country [but] … our leaders are very hands-on, managing all aspects of the trip, providing invaluable insight into local life and ensuring a fun, safe, and smooth journey for all. In many ways, these people are truly what ultimately “makes” the tour.” He is clearly an expert on handson touring. Just after graduating from college, Unrau and a friend backpacked through Africa and ever since then he has both worked in travel and traveled extensively himself. This has given Outgoing Adventures both expertise and a strong bond to the community. “As a tour operator, we’re the end supplier,” he says, “the product we sell is our own, and the buck stops here when it comes to the quality of the ﬁnal, overall experience. The LGBT market segment is very discriminating when making consumer choices, and we are very much aware of the fact that community involvement and ‘giving back’ is not only important from the standpoint of just being a good corporate citizen, but also in terms of engendering customer loyalty. Given that our market spans the entire 16 Seattle is a city blessed by a vibrant LGBT community, sky-high rates of literacy and though we love our bars and nightclubs, we also have an amazing range of other recreation and leisure activities to choose from. Now that spring and better weather are here, it’s time to get out and about. One of the best ways to pack in the most activities and meet a lot of people is to join a club like OutVentures. The group is a memberlead organization for both singles and couples that is focused on the outdoors. They also have monthly potlucks during the summer, classes and occasional social events. Each of the group’s events has a trip leader (drawn from the membership) who facilitates a range of outdoor adventures such as overnight backpacking in the mountains, kayaking, rock climbing, bike trips, day-hikes and even skydiving. For those interested in joining, check out their website at www.outventures.org. Some outings have a maximum attendance or speciﬁc guidelines so people should contact group leaders ahead of time. Rick Unrau (left) is founder of Outgoing Adventures in Vancouver, Canada. For adventures even further aﬁeld, check out two new travel groups. They’ve got names similar to OutVentures but each is a little different—just like the queer community—so don’t get them confused. The ﬁrst is Outgoing Adventures (www. outgoingadventures.com). Founder Rick Unrau continent, and that our operations are global in scope, the range of sponsorship opportunities is vast.” Don’t get spooked by the idea of going abroad. There are still plenty of spots left in the world that are friendly to Americans. Unrau says that “most of our trips are designed to be suitable for anyone with a spirit of adventure and an appetite for a busy trip that features a balance of independent time and organized activities. Some trips are more physical in nature, and feature easy-to-moderate walks on most days, while others are also a little more “out there” in terms of the culture-shock factor. I’d say that Costa Rica is a popular choice for the novice—relatively close-by and familiar in many ways, yet exotic enough to give one a sense of being in a foreign place. The other group (also launching their website later this month) is OUT Adventures (out-adventures.com). “In the ﬁrst year we are planning more than 100 departures and more than 25 destinations across the globe.” Says co-founder Robert Sharp, “Steven Larkin and I have been fortunate to travel the world and explore all seven continents. We’ve done it all: resorts, cruises, independent travel, gay vacations and we have often traveled with straight tour groups. But we realized there was room for a better, more comfortable way to adventure travel with LGBT folks like us. We wanted a safe, non-judgmental holiday that would allow us be ourselves while exposing us to parts of the world that not everyone has seen … and we’ve partnered with the world’s leader in adventure experiences—Intrepid Travel.” Some of their ﬁrst itineraries include exploring Thailand, a lodge safari in Kenya and Tanzania, and a three-country tour of South America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile). Many of their trips include cultural education such as learning to cook local cuisine or maybe brushing up on your Tango. Sharp also says OUT Adventures will be a “green” company focusing on sustainable tourism. “We will offset all corporate ﬂights and transportation as well as source 100% green power for ofﬁce use. Also, we will offer a carbon offset tool on the website for our travelers to offset their ﬂights. We will also celebrating seattle’s gay community http://www.outventures.org http://out-adventures.com http://www.outgoingadventures.com http://www.outgoingadventures.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 'MO - June 2008

'MO Seattle - June 2008 Contents Letter From The Editor Voices Instant Activist Pet Project: Do You Dream About Your Pet? ’mo-BIZ: Anne Levison, Co-owner of the Seattle Storm Legally Speaking: Real Estate Buying Basics The Things We Do: Getting “Out”doors this Summer Seattle Pride Events Calendar ’mo Magazine Interview with Sandra Bernhard Anatomy of a Myth Form & Function: Turn Up the Heat on Your Triceps Gay City: National HIV Testing Day San Francisco: If Gay Had a Headquarters Book Review: Chronicle of a Plague, Revisited by Andrew Holleran Augusten Burroughs Coming to Showtime Network Sex and the City Romances the Big Screen SceneOut: People@Places Capitol Hill Guide

'MO - June 2008

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