The GaySpeak Virtual Pride Parade!

[CellarDweller]

Hiya GS friends!

As we all know, Pride Celebrations and Marches are being cancelled this year due to Covid-19.   While this is perfectly understandable, I also understand the the desire to still celebrate and commemorate pride!

So, let's use this thread to start the first official GaySpeak Virtual Pride Parade.  This is where we can come and post information, LGBT trivia, pics of ourselves at past pride events, or just pics of from other pride parades.




I'll start with me!  LOL  This was me many moons ago, when the company I work for marched in the NYC pride march for the first time.

[marshlander]

I thought I had some photographs easily accessible, but apparently I haven't. I had to write a whole blog essay to publish some photographs so I can link to put one here. Here's one of me with my darling Princealbertofb a few years ago. I would have happily marched in my civvies, but he came over to stay that summer and spent days sewing our rainbow sashes, t-shirts and bebuttoned rainbow ribbons. The heart-shaped buttons were made by a friend who lives a few miles away under the shadow of a windmill. After all his hard work I couldn't refuse to wear the results of his labour! It was his first Pride and he was so incredibly excited. 

[CellarDweller]

I don't know how other pride parades start, but for NYC Pride, it always seems to be started by Dykes on Bikes.

[CarGuy65]

Dykes on Bikes starts the parade every year at San Francisco Pride as well. I have a great pic of my other half at Pride SF last year but don't know how to post pictures.

[eastofeden]

Great Photos!

I have never actually been to the parade. 

I went to the first Gay Pride in San Jose sometime in the 1970s and it was bizzare. I think I was maybe 19 or 20 and went with a bunch of friends to the park downtown and there were only maybe seven or eight Lesbians and one guy and they were singing folk songs. As we walked over there TV cameras and reporters starting coming toward us and we went back to the car. 

The next year I think it was a building at the fairgrounds I went inside and the only guy there was my high school crush who had become a biker of sorts - I left quickly with the guy I was with. It was just alot of literature about coming out. 

The only other time was an after party maybe 10 years later when I had to work the beer booth for the nightclub I worked for and there were so many people there but I hardly got a break because there was a long line and i knew probably half of the people.

For the San Francisco Parade I always volunteered to work that day on the day shift which was 8 hours so I had an excuse not to go.

For me it is way too many people and not at all a fun thing for me. I got a little freaked out as well back in the early 1980s. There was this uniformity thing going on at the time that kinda creeped me out - like the pod people had gotten ahold of everyone. They even had a name for it - The Castro Clones. Me and my best friend used to joke about not sleeping next to a plant. I think what might have happened was when I went to a gay student union meeting once in college there was this speaker who was talking about how we all should appear straight and "normal" so we showed straight people we were just like them. I was put off by him and his suggestion but when I noticed the blue jeans and t shirt and black boots thing on Castro I think his idea might have become a reality. 

 - and that is my boring and uneventful pride story. 

I heard they were having one in Monterey one year many years ago and if I know that they are doing it again I would go. I love Monterey and it is actually my favorite place on the planet and it would be small enough for my tastes.

My husbands nieces were here in January and we went out one day to take them to dinner and shopping and they live in Costa Rica and they showed us photos of the Pride Parade - lt looked really fun and colorful and I would go to that one probably.

[InbetweenDreams]

I've never been to a pride event either. I would like to go, but I would feel very awkward without going with someone else. I have social anxiety issues, I don't like doing stuff like that alone and I don't like big crowds. That's my biggest problem.

I drove all the way to Knoxville, TN (about a 3 hour drive) to do a color run and for like 2 months I tried to get someone to do it with me because it isn't really a race, most people just walked. I felt really out of place with the loud music and people just being goofy... It's weird, its like I got caught with my pants down or something.

Anyway, not trying to hijack the thread and make it about my social awkwardness. I definitely would like to go sometime, perhaps I might meet someone there who knows lol

[CellarDweller]

[Bookworm]

I've only ever been to one Pride Parade, which was in London, I think '97 or '98. Similar to @InbetweenDreams I'm not a fan of crowds either, but I was persuaded to go by friends.
I don't have any photo's though, I didn't have my camera with me, and this was before the days of camera phones.

Unfortunately we mucked up our travel arrangements and arrived in London later than we expected (and then got lost) so we actually totally missed the Parade! 

The post Parade music concert was just starting when we eventually got there. There was just a sea of balloons and rainbow banners and colorful costumes, it was a great atmosphere.

[CellarDweller]

[Karl Rand]

Is that you in the tiara darling?