When Kriston Pumphrey joined the Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf, an educational and social networking organization for the deaf LGBT community, he noticed that most of the members were older; there wasn't much of an outreach to young people, he says.

The experiences and concerns of the older members of the group were different than what Pumphrey and his friends were concerned about.

"Even the way we communicate through computers and social networking tends to be different," he says.

Pumphrey founded Colorfest, an annual weekend of entertainment, art, and educational workshops geared toward people ages 18 to 30 in the LGBT deaf community. Colorfest2010 is the third year for the event, which will be held at RIT from Friday, March 26 to Sunday, March 28. Straight and hearing allies are welcome.

Learning how to communicate and developing healthy relationships take on a special significance in the deaf LGBT community, Pumphrey says.

"The gay deaf community is like a world within another world," he says. "We all have different experiences, and we're dealing with different issues."

Pumphrey, for example, is deaf, black, and gay. He was raised by hearing parents and had hearing siblings. But his family never learned sign language, so his communication with them wasn't easy. Events like Colorfest, Pumphrey says, provide young LGBT deaf people with an opportunity to share these types of experiences, and to learn from others.

Domestic violence, business ownership, and mentoring are some of the topics the workshops will cover.