Our History

Following in the tradition established by the first two events to bring the Rainbow Flag from San Francisco to the current Gay Games Host City, AREA has presented since 1998, the International Rainbow Memorial Run (IRMR) to the past six subsequent Gay Games with the ongoing support of the FGG, National AIDS Memorial Quilt, Keith Haring Foundation, International Front Runners and Gay Games Host Organizations. The event has evolved into a series of memorial runs, receptions and Quilt Displays in which the Rainbow Flag and AREA’s Memorial Quilt Squares were brought from San Francisco to the past Gay Games Host cities and finally to each current Gay Games Host. AREA is already working on preparations for the seventh International Rainbow Memorial Run to Gay Games XI in Hong Kong and Guadalajara in autumn of 2023.

In 1990, as AIDS continued to claim tens of thousands of lives, AREA produced The Rainbow Run for the End of AIDS in collaboration with the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), the NAMES Project Foundation and the Keith Haring Foundation. Nicholson Earle carried the Rainbow Flag a thousand miles as a symbolic “torch” and as an AIDS memorial from San Francisco, the “Athens” of the Gay Games, to the Opening Ceremony of Gay Games III in Vancouver, BC. The Rainbow Run was dedicated to Gay Games Founder, Dr. Tom Waddell and artist Keith Haring. In 1994, AREA produced another event called The Rainbow Roll for the End of AIDS, once again in memory of Waddell and Haring and again in collaboration with the organizations from the Rainbow Run, as well as New York in ’94 and local Gay Games teams and AIDS organizations across America. Nicholson Earle led a team of six in-line skaters over 4,300 miles from San Francisco to New York for the Opening of Gay Games IV and the Stonewall 25 March.

Following in the tradition established by the first two events to bring the Rainbow Flag from San Francisco to the current Gay Games Host City, AREA has presented since 1998The International Rainbow Memorial Run (IRMR) to the past five subsequent Gay Games with the ongoing support of the FGG, NAMES Project, Keith Haring Foundation, International Front Runners and Gay Games Host Organizations. The event has evolved into a series of memorial runs, receptions and Quilt Displays in which the Rainbow Flag and AREA’s Memorial Quilt Squares were brought from San Francisco to the past Gay Games Host cities and finally to each current Gay Games Host. AREA is already working on preparations for the sixth International Rainbow Memorial Run to Gay Games X in Paris in the Summer of 2018.

Since 1992, AREA has produced thirty-one Out of the Darkness Gatherings and Candlelight Marches on the 1st of December in observance of World AIDS Day and in collaboration with many different groups over the years. These events have provided opportunities for the public to gather together to remember loved ones lost to AIDS, to support those who are living with or are at risk for HIV/AIDS, to raise levels of awareness about AIDS and HIV prevention, and to gain strength and solidarity in the fight against AIDS.

On December 1, 1995, AREA began an effort to have an AIDS awareness postal stamp reissued. After letters to government officials and the United States Postal Service failed to bring about this request, AREA embarked on a campaign of lobbying, letter writing, and petitioning. AREA’s goal is to not only have an AIDS awareness stamp reissued but to also ensure its availability until the AIDS pandemic is over. Over the years petitions with a combined total of more than 100,000 signatures have been sent to the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service. Although the campaign has yet to achieve its goal of reviving this effective means of maintaining AIDS awareness in America, AREA’s efforts will continue because the need for comprehensive AIDS education and prevention in this country is still so great

Some of the churches and organizations with whom AREA has worked over the years include the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP-New York); Advent Lutheran Church; AXIOS (Eastern Orthodox LGBT Christians); Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; Broadway United Church of Christ; the Federation of Gay Games; Friends in Deed; Front Runners New York; Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC); God’s Love We Deliver; Heritage of Pride; Housing Works; International AIDS Prevention Initiative (IAPI); International Front Runners; Judson Memorial Church; the Keith Haring Foundation; Latinos/as Unidos de New York; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center; Lifebeat; LIFE DANCE; Metropolitan Community Church of New York; the Muse Foundation; the NAMES Project Foundation; National AIDS Memorial Quilt; New York City Faith In Action; Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders (SAGE); Silent Voices United, Inc.; Trinity Lutheran Church; Trinity Place Shelter; 24 Hours For Life and Visual AIDS; as well as numerous other local churches; organizations; LGBTQ+ running clubs and sports teams in communities around the world where AREA events have taken place.

Ever since its founding event almost 40 years ago, AREA’s mission has been to work together with various groups to help educate people about HIV transmission, to challenge communities to show support and compassion for people living with HIV/AIDS, to actively participate in the education and prevention process and to inspire volunteerism.