Tagged: parade

SUNDAY, JUNE 27   The day kicks off with the parade , with the Dykes on Bikes revving their engines and rolling out from Market and Beale at 10:30 a.m., followed quickly by the slightly quieter, more eco-friendly Mikes on Bikes. Celebrity Grand Marshals this year include novelist Alice Walker, who’ll be near the front, the Backstreet Boys, DADT activist Zoe Dunning, and Andy Bell from Erasure. Celebrity guests this year include Rupaul’s Drag Race breakout star Ongina, trans actress/activist Calpernia Adams, and Noah’s Arc star Darryl Stephens. By 1:30 or 2 the parade will wind down, and everyone who isn’t crowd-phobic will wind up in Civic Center , where there’ll be various stages playing a variety of music. The main stage will feature Nancy Pelosi at 2:55, the Backstreet Boys will do a 20-minute set at 4:05, and Andy Bell goes on at 4:45. To satisfy the many tastes of the LGBTQs, there’ll be multiple stages and venues for different communities, including Swing Block hosted by Queer Jitterbugs,  Leather Alley, and the Community Dance Stage hosted by BeatBox Events, featuring DJs Jim Hopkins, David Harness, and a performance by Brazilian electro diva Bella of The Fire and Reason. If the Civic Center scene gets to be too much (and it likely will), you can head up to the Lookout in the Castro where the weekly JOCK party will likely be pretty happening. – from sf ist, edited Hi all, this is such a GREAT event, will have more to tell you when I get back – it’s hectic as always but fun hectic. Thanks, wish you were here!!!

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40 AND FABULOUS

In 1969 in New York City the infamous Stonewall Riots took place, spawning the Gay Liberation Front, Gay Pride, and LGBT movements. A year later, in 1970, a Parade to commemorate the victims and the resultant movements was held in New York City, and like minded people in Los Angeles marched in solidarity with New York. Those parades 40 years ago became more widely known in subsequent years as Gay Pride Parades as they spread to San Francisco, Boston, and every major city in the World…and many smaller ones as well. At the time of the first parade 40 years ago, there was no thought or talk of gay marriage as a possibility, or even domestic partnerships. There was no Hate Crimes law, there were no anti-discrimination for sexual preference laws and few if any vocally ‘out’ public figures or politicians. The Stonewall Inn riots were during the week after gay icon Judy Garland died, and in epic blundering timing, the police chose to ‘raid’ the Stonewall Inn during a tribute to her with full swat gear and armored vehicles. The rest is not just history – it is OUR history. We, the beneficiaries of those who had the courage to stand up when it was extraordinarily tough – and life threatening – to say “ENOUGH!”  That’s how it began, but the story is ongoing…Please enjoy the Gay Pride ’season’ and participate to the extent you can, in your home towns. THANKS TO burtonclash2002 FOR THIS OUTSTANDING VIDEO PIECE

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THE RAID HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD