Join Autostraddle and REI for an #OptOutside Gathering in NYC on Black Friday

For the past five years on Black Friday, REI has been hosting #OptOutside, an initiative that gives the co-op’s employees the day off to get outside, instead of working the busiest and longest shopping day of the year — while also encouraging everyone else to spend the day enjoying our beautiful planet in some way too. This year, REI is taking #OptOutside a step further, by adding nationwide cleanup events to its roster of activities people can participate in. We’re joining REI by hosting a NYC-based Autostraddle meet-up in Central Park — on the Great Hill on the West Side near 106th St — on November 29th from 12pm to 3pm.

Come join us for some hot chocolate and cider, REI swag, and a chance to hang out with other queer and trans folks on a weekend when a lot of us aren’t able to go home to our birth family for the holidays. Maybe bring a blanket and some snacks to share!

Ours isn’t the only queer event you can attend! The Venture Out Project is hosting seven queer day hikes/cleanups. Minority Veterans of America is leading restoration projects in Seattle, Richmond and Atlanta. TranSending is running a clothing drive to get lightly used outdoor clothing to LGBTQ+ friendly shelters in the Denver area. And Unlikely Hikers’ is hosting an accessible hike in Portland.

Check out our event on Facebook to RSVP and connect with other Autostraddle readers who’ll be joining us. You could meet up with some other cyclists and kick off from our event, organize a kickball game, or just figure out who to share blankets with!

REI’s full event portal has even more than 100+ opportunities across the country for us to get out, clean up, and leave the world a little better than we found it.

RSVP to the NYC Autostraddle Event here.

Find a meetup in your area here.

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Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1718 articles for us.

3 Comments

  1. I found 3 in my area, one of them being in Malibu. Because it is black friday I would have to be at work; so, I can’t be able to do it. Thank you for this though.

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