June 2019

It's that time of the year again! Everyone's dressed in colorful outfits, bringing out their most brilliant dyes, and the bridges of Tyria are quaking in anticipation. It's pride month!
Tyria Pride 2019 is coming!
Tyria Pride is an in-game march through Tyria, aimed at showing support for our LGBTQ+ friends & guildies, and raising funds for Rainbow Railroad, a non-profit organisation that helps LGBTQ individuals escape persecution and violence!
The march will be taking place on two days:
Saturday, June 22 | 16:00 CEST [EU] - 4 PM EDT [NA] Sunday, June 23 | 16:00 CEST [EU] - 4 PM EDT [NA] The events will last about 3 hours each day, and during the event we'll be playing some mini-games in map chat and have a ton of fun making our way from Ebonhawke all the way to Rata Sum!
 
Why We March
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! For the second year in a row, we are teaming up with Gamers Giving Back, who is leading the organisation on the NA side, and together we are raising funds for Rainbow Railroad, a charity focused on providing support to LGBTQ individuals seeking a safe haven from countries where their lives are at risk for simply being who they are.
Click the button bellow to go to the fundraiser:
  Donate   Alternatively, if you wish to donate in-game prizes to support the event, please contact Lelling.6795 via in-game mail!

 
General Event Information
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: OpenCommunity, no password, NA: solts.org, password: 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 address: OpenCommunity (if the short address does not work, use "ts.theopencommunity.org")
NA address: 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 and / or just want to lurk!
 
How do we get on the same instance of the map?
We can, and will, do this through squads and LFG! 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).
Make sure to keep an eye on LFG, and join the legitimate LFGs.
 
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 the event?
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!
 

Pre-Events
This year, we'll be organising a whole host of pre-events, with an event happening on every Saturday & Sunday in June before the main Tyria Pride event! For the first time ever, we'll be hitting the cities of each race with a fun Fashion Wars event, the overall winner of which will be announced on Day 1 of the Tyria Pride festivities upon reaching Lion's Arch!
Mini-Marches
The mini pride marches are a more low-key, relaxed travelling rainbow through the areas of the Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire expansions, to spread the good word about the main event! You can join us, the more the merrier!
Heart of Thorns - Saturday, June 1 | 16:00 CEST [EU] - 4 PM EDT [NA] Path of Fire - Saturday, June 8 | 16:00 CEST [EU] - 4 PM EDT [NA]  
Fashion Wars
The Fashion Wars event is a Tyria-wide fashion extravaganza! Each Saturday & Sunday, we'll be visiting a new city, and members of that city's race can participate and compete in a fashion show, showing off their best outfits that fit the theme! This year's theme? Rainbow! Whether it's just a simple accented element, or you've transformed your entire self into an amazing rainbow, show off your fashion skills and fight for the crown!
Each contest will have an individual winner, and from all 5 events, an overall winner will also be chosen! The overall winner will win an in-game prize in addition to custom-made character artwork done by Malchemist!
Rata Sum - Sunday, June 2 Black Citadel - Saturday, June 8 Divinity's Reach - Sunday, June 9 Hoelbrak - Saturday, June 15 The Grove - Sunday, June 16 Each Fashion Wars event will take place at 20:00 CEST on EU servers, and at 3 PM EDT on NA servers.
 
#TyriaPrideReady Character Screenshot Contest
Another way you can win some prizes or a character portrait by artist Six is by participating in the Tyria Pride Ready screenshot contest! Submit a photo of your character ready for Tyria Pride, either via Twitter by tweeting @GamerGivingBack with the hashtag #TyriaPrideReady, or via the Gamers Giving Back discord, by submitting a screenshot in the #screenshot-contest channel.
The screenshot should be of your character, dressed up in a special way that to you represents that your character is ready for Tyria Pride! This can be using any pride flag motif or any other special design that is significant to you!
Entries for the contest can be submitted until June 22, 21:00 EDT, approximately 1 hour after the Day 1 march concludes on NA. The winner will be announced on Day 2 of Tyria Pride!
 
Prize Information
We'll be giving away various in-game prizes for various mini-events, such as the Fashion Wars pre-event and the Trivia game we'll be playing during the main event. In addition, you're also eligible to win prizes by donating to the fundraiser!
Physical Prizes
If you donate 10€ or more, you can receive a Tyria Pride 2019 pin or magnet (your choice!).

 
In addition, you'll receive a random pin or magnet "Bibi Icon" designed by @Atila of one of the following three characters: Kasmeer Meade, Marjory Delaqua, or Aid Worker Sya. For each additional 10€ donated, you can get another one (guaranteed no duplicates until you have all three).

To receive physical prizes, a mailing address is required. To redeem these physical prizes, you can either use our google form, or, if you're registered at OpenCommunity, you can use the OC prize redeem form.
 
Digital Prizes
In addition, every 10€ you donate counts as a raffle ticket, giving you the potential to win lots of prizes! This year, we have a number of GW2 and steam codes, some cool in-game prizes, and for the first time, a number of amazing artists have decided to contribute their artwork to the fundraiser, so you could win a character artwork of a character of your choice!
To participate in the raffle, when donating, make sure you include some kind of contact information, such as your GW2 in-game name (name.1234), or, if you don't play GW2 and would still like a chance to win a prize, an email address. We won't store or share this contact info for any other purpose, other than contacting winners of the raffle.
You don't have to submit anything else or fill any form to participate in the raffle - everyone is eligible!
 
OpenCommunity Supporter Progress
As always, anyone who supports the fundraiser can also redeem their rewards with OpenCommunity to add to their reward progress - this means any donations you make to the Rainbow Railroad fundraiser will also count as if you donated to OpenCommunity when it comes to getting extra OC rewards!
In addition, you will get a Tyria Pride 2019 Teamspeak and Website badge at OpenCommunity.
To redeem your rewards, make sure to include your OpenCommunity username on the badge redeem form, or go through the OC redeem form on the website!

Event details