June is LGBT Pride Month- How will you celebrate?

[Former Member]

The haters show up at San Francisco’s Pride Parade too. They have their own cordoned off designated section next to the parade route. Most people ignore them.

 

I think they like attending Pride Parades. They get to feel like they’re a perverted part of our community. They’ll be petitioning for their own letter in our Initialism soon.  ;–)

[MacGreg]

PrideFest in Denver is mid-month. Always a lot going on around town then. I don't go out and party at the clubs much anymore, though. Instead, I'll be hosting a party at my house that Saturday night. The following morning is the parade downtown, so whoever's left at my house can carpool over there.

[Former Member]

San Francisco’s KQED is notorious for not following PBS’s recommended schedule, but they will be showing two LGBTQ programs during primetime in June. Independent Lens is showing The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin. Frontline is showing Growing Up Trans.

 

KQED World will show Local USA: The Guys Next Door. World will also run the Frontline and the Independent Lens programs. PBS Newshour might also have features on LGBTQ issues this month.

 

There are almost certainly other LGBTQ programs that are being shown on KQED during non-primetime hours. Your local PBS station might preempt these programs if you live in a particularly LGBTQ-unfriendly area. Check your local station’s listings, you might be surprised at what they show this month!

 

You might not need to leave the house to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month!  ;–)

[Former Member]

I’ve started my third annual thoughts about the Programs I see at Frameline. I’ve posted a list of the Premieres and plan to add the list of expected guests soon. There’s no free WiFi in the theater, otherwise I’d update my thoughts between Programs. (I asked Frameline’s Executive Director why Festival Sponsor AT&T doesn’t offer free WiFi and she thought it was a good idea. During the CRT iMac era, they did offer a pavilion with free internet one year.)

 

Note: I don’t call them reviews because they’re usually just a line or two per movie. If you’re interested in more complete reviews, I refer you to my friend’s blog on Film Queen Reviews or on Twitter. I’m surprised he hasn’t reviewed any screener previews yet. But you can see what he said about last year’s movies.

[Brayon]

Tampa's PRIDE Parade and Festival were back in March. St. Pete will be June 22, so I'll most likely attend that one, during PRIDE Month.

[TetRefine]

7 hours ago, BHopper2 said:

Tampa's PRIDE Parade and Festival were back in March. St. Pete will be June 22, so I'll most likely attend that one, during PRIDE Month.

 

I always wondered why some cities would hold it outside of June, the traditional Pride month. Maybe so they don't have to compete with all the really big cities, who always have theirs in June? Or because the weather is so damn hot there during the summer? 😛

[Former Member]

2 hours ago, TetRefine said:

I always wondered why some cities would hold it outside of June, the traditional Pride month. Maybe so they don't have to compete with all the really big cities, who always have theirs in June? Or because the weather is so damn hot there during the summer? 😛

California’s biggest cities spread it out through the month of June. But LA and Sacramento held theirs on the same day. Oakland cannot compete with San Francisco or San José, so they have it later in the year so they can shine with a family-friendly event on their own. California Junes are not usually as hot as our Augusts and Septembers since there’s almost always fog along the coast this time of year.

[Brayon]

2 hours ago, TetRefine said:

 

I always wondered why some cities would hold it outside of June, the traditional Pride month. Maybe so they don't have to compete with all the really big cities, who always have theirs in June? Or because the weather is so damn hot there during the summer? 😛

Weather is one thing, but Tampa has some other events at that time, like Gasparilla Pirate Fest, the GLBT Indie Movie Fest, and a few other things that happen between January and March.

[Ashi]

On 6/2/2018 at 4:01 PM, Tiger said:

Not really. It'll ruin my chances of becoming the first openly gay POTUS.

 

Erm..., how do you become an openly gay POTUS if you're in the closet?  🤔

 

On 6/3/2018 at 6:38 AM, Ronyx said:

Yesterday, I witnessed one of the coolest things I've ever seen. At our Pride rally, each year a couple of guys assemble at the entrance of the event with a bullhorn and Bible in hand yelling out how sinful we are, and that we need to find God. Usually, they are ignored. This year a large group of our young brothers and sisters (you got to love the youth today! They aren't taking any shit anymore!) confronted them. I wanted to go down and tell them to ignore them, that giving them attention is what they wanted. Suddenly, I looked across the street and about eight 'angels' were approaching. I've seen pictures of this in the past when Fred Phelps and the Westboro Church would protest  funerals and other events. The angels surrounded the two men, blocking them from view. It was absolutely amazing! Later, out of frustration, the men left. Ironically, I met the guy in the forefront the day before and he is deaf. He couldn't hear any of their rant.

 

This is cool.  Though I've been in downtown once, and similar fundamentalists were protesting about who should go to hell (perhaps not them...), so I just took a photo of them....  Then suddenly they gave me this blank stare, like they just woke up, didn't know where they were, and what they had done.  In five minutes they left.

Edited June 13, 2018 by Ashi

[Ashi]

6 hours ago, TetRefine said:

I always wondered why some cities would hold it outside of June, the traditional Pride month. Maybe so they don't have to compete with all the really big cities, who always have theirs in June? Or because the weather is so damn hot there during the summer? 😛

 

SF can be darn cold in June....  It should hold Pride in November.  😛

[Former Member]

23 minutes ago, Ashi said:

 

SF can be darn cold in June....  It should hold Pride in November.  😛

That’s why I’m going to be sitting inside a nice comfortable movie theater for a week and a half! But it does get hot some years. The Castro Theatre is supposed to be air conditioned, but it sometimes gets incredibly hot because you have hundreds of people sitting inside for hours at a time.

[Page Scrawler]

On 6/3/2018 at 9:38 AM, Ronyx said:

Yesterday, I witnessed one of the coolest things I've ever seen. At our Pride rally, each year a couple of guys assemble at the entrance of the event with a bullhorn and Bible in hand yelling out how sinful we are, and that we need to find God. Usually, they are ignored. This year a large group of our young brothers and sisters (you got to love the youth today! They aren't taking any shit anymore!) confronted them. I wanted to go down and tell them to ignore them, that giving them attention is what they wanted. Suddenly, I looked across the street and about eight 'angels' were approaching. I've seen pictures of this in the past when Fred Phelps and the Westboro Church would protest  funerals and other events. The angels surrounded the two men, blocking them from view. It was absolutely amazing! Later, out of frustration, the men left. Ironically, I met the guy in the forefront the day before and he is deaf. He couldn't hear any of their rant.

That's awesome, Ronny.

[Page Scrawler]

Traverse City holds its parade on the 25th, which is usually the culmination of "Pride Week". Morgan and I will be having our first anniversary on the 24th, and I think Mickey might have some sort of pro surfing contest on the 26th? So, busy week for us.  Also, Mickey and Remy will be joining us for the Parade this year.

On a side note, I'm sure this little fellow, Desmond Napoles, aka "Desmond is Amazing", will be out in full glamor somewhere.

Ten years old, and he's already slated to be the next RuPaul!

[Former Member]

3 minutes ago, Page Scrawler said:

Morgan and I will be having our first anniversary on the 24th

Happy Anniversary!  ;–)

[Page Scrawler]

5 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

Happy Anniversary!  ;–)

There's still 11 days to go!  But thanks.

[MJ85]

22 hours ago, TetRefine said:

 

I always wondered why some cities would hold it outside of June, the traditional Pride month. Maybe so they don't have to compete with all the really big cities, who always have theirs in June? Or because the weather is so damn hot there during the summer? 😛

 

I suspect that competition with other Prides or other events in general - as noted above - is a large part of it.

 

Around here in the Tri-Cities, ours has changed dates four times over the course of the decade:

 

It began in later June, and was held on the 4th Saturday in June for its first three years (6/25/11, 6/23/12, 6/22/13).

 

In 2014, amid changes to the group who planned the event, it was delayed until August. (8/16/14)

 

For whatever reason, the new leadership elected to then move it to July. The change was intended to be lasting, but in fact it only lasted the next two years. (7/25/15, 7/23/16)

 

Amid a second round of group changes, it moved back to June last year. The date last year (6/10/17) was intended to coincide with an event that we decided to partner with.

 

That didn't go as well as we hoped, so this year we pushed it back to the end of June (the 30th to be exact), which has the benefit of not competing with any relatively close Pride here in Michigan.

 

 

Which brings me to my next point. In deciding to finalize our date for this year, the biggest sticking point was how to either not compete with other Prides at all, or how to compete as little as possible. Last year's Pride ended up on the same weekend as Motor City Pride in Detroit, which made a number of people up here unhappy - never mind that Motor City is a full weekend, whereas ours is only Saturday. But on that point, here's a rundown of the main Prides that ours have to worry about competing with:

 

Ferndale - was June 2

Motor City (Detroit) - was June 9/10

Lansing (titled Michigan Pride), Grand Rapids - both are this weekend, June 16/17

Flint - June 23 (is not particularly large BUT is the one that is geographically closest to ours - ergo, competing with them is a VERY bad idea)

 

*Traverse City, as noted above, has their main festival on the same weekend as Flint, but as Traverse City is a couple hours' drive north from the Tri-Cities, there's not a heavy level of competition with a Flint or others.

 

Our Pride is also not overly large - but with the appeal that a Ferndale/Motor City/Lansing/Grand Rapids have, it's easy to have ours lose out to theirs. Chicago also has a level of appeal around here even with how far away they are - I just checked their date; for whatever reason, they're having Pride this weekend and their Pride Parade next weekend (June 24). (Why on earth they're splitting the two, I'd like to know. )

 

 

Lastly, it's my suspicion that the appeal of having Pride during Pride Month in June has certainly increased. Last year for sure this was the case, and not just for our area - Lansing had held theirs as late as August in the past, but last year moved it back up to June. Most if not all of the others, however, have consistently stayed in or near June. (Ferndale will sometimes be at the very end of May, but only on years where the calendar aligns just so - like when a weekend falls on May 30/31 or May 31/June 1. Their aim has always been to "kick off" Pride season, essentially, by having it the weekend after Memorial Day.)

[Former Member]

For a while, back in the ‘90s or so, SF and LA would trade off on which city got the last Sunday in June (with the other getting the Sunday before). But at some point, there was an agreement with SF winning the coveted Sunday. They are about 350 miles (560 KM) or a 6 hour drive apart – people do attend both!

 

Many groups plan events around Pride. The SF Gay Men’s Choir has a concert before the weekend. Frameline ends its film festival on Parade Sunday.

 

I avoid the crowds and heat of the parade until I see my last Frameline Program late that afternoon and try to get on a BART train at the Muni/BART Civic Center transfer station! I’m already exhausted and sleep-deprived. There’s always a line to get to the BART turnstiles and a huge crowd on the platform. Since it’s a Sunday, there’s no direct service to my station, so I have to transfer in Oakland. Taking a bus from Oakland is even worse. Everything is crowded until the downtown Berkeley station when the students get off the trains (as is usual in the evenings). When I finally get home, I turn on the TV to watch the tape-delay of the SF Pride Parade on broadcast commercial TV!

 

I had been planning to take Muni the wrong way and loop back to a different BART station, but this year, they’re working on a tunnel and they have a bus bridge. I may still do it, but it will delay me even longer. I’ll have to ask people what the detour is like…

[TetRefine]

Ah okay. It makes sense to not bake in June Florida weather or have to compete with other, bigger cities. 

 

Here on the East Coast, New York always claims right to the last weekend in June as the biggest and gayest Pride in the country. This past weekend, Philly, Boston, DC, and LA all had their Prides, and New York is the sole city around having theirs the last weekend (and rightfully so IMO). This will be my third year in a row going to New York. Saturday Night-Sunday Morning is MasterBeat, and Sunday Night to Monday Morning is Alegria. I'm lucky that my summer vacation starts at the end of next week so I can make both the Saturday and Sunday night events. It never fails to be a good time during Pride in New York.  My boyfriend is lucky, as he'll be in Pattaya for their Pride this weekend.

 

MasterBeat 2016:

 

 

Edited June 14, 2018 by TetRefine

[Ashi]

4 hours ago, droughtquake said:

For a while, back in the ‘90s or so, SF and LA would trade off on which city got the last Sunday in June (with the other getting the Sunday before). But at some point, there was an agreement with SF winning the coveted Sunday. They are about 350 miles (560 KM) or a 6 hour drive apart – people do attend both!

 

Many groups plan events around Pride. The SF Gay Men’s Choir has a concert before the weekend. Frameline ends its film festival on Parade Sunday.

 

I avoid the crowds and heat of the parade until I see my last Frameline Program late that afternoon and try to get on a BART train at the Muni/BART Civic Center transfer station! I’m already exhausted and sleep-deprived. There’s always a line to get to the BART turnstiles and a huge crowd on the platform. Since it’s a Sunday, there’s no direct service to my station, so I have to transfer in Oakland. Taking a bus from Oakland is even worse. Everything is crowded until the downtown Berkeley station when the students get off the trains (as is usual in the evenings). When I finally get home, I turn on the TV to watch the tape-delay of the SF Pride Parade on broadcast commercial TV!

 

I had been planning to take Muni the wrong way and loop back to a different BART station, but this year, they’re working on a tunnel and they have a bus bridge. I may still do it, but it will delay me even longer. I’ll have to ask people what the detour is like…

 

Why do you have to remind me how horrible BART can be sometimes nowadays?  LOL.  Thanks for the warning in advance though.  Maybe just take CalTrain, and transfer, if you're in the Peninsula.

[Former Member]

1 hour ago, Ashi said:

Why do you have to remind me how horrible BART can be sometimes nowadays?  LOL.  Thanks for the warning in advance though.  Maybe just take CalTrain, and transfer, if you're in the Peninsula.

BART has always been overwhelmed after the Pride Parade!  ;–)

 

CalTrain? I don’t want to visit my (biological) brothers in San José!  ;–)

 

I don’t really have a lot of choices for getting home in the East Bay. It’s Muni to BART to AC Transit (bus) or Muni to AC Transit (a very long bus ride). There are no other real options.  ;–)

[Sam Wyer]

I'll be celebrating subtly - like how I do most things   Maybe I'll change my watch strap for a rainbow one 🌈  I guess i like the idea that being persistently visible is more important that one weekend of partying.  And around here (UK) most people going to Pride events don't seem to have even the tiniest idea why such things happen, or what it is that they are 'celebrating'.

[TetRefine]

1 hour ago, Sam Wyer said:

I'll be celebrating subtly - like how I do most things   Maybe I'll change my watch strap for a rainbow one 🌈  I guess i like the idea that being persistently visible is more important that one weekend of partying.  And around here (UK) most people going to Pride events don't seem to have even the tiniest idea why such things happen, or what it is that they are 'celebrating'.

 

People in my generation (20s and younger) often get accused of this, but it isn’t true. We may show it in different ways then generations past but to say we “don’t seem to have even the tiniest idea” is nonsense. But the way of celebrating Pride has shifted, like everything else, with the times and circumstances. It’s a sign of progress and be happy for that reason. 😏

[Sam Wyer]

14 minutes ago, TetRefine said:

 

People in my generation (20s and younger) often get accused of this, but it isn’t true. We may show it in different ways then generations past but to say we “don’t seem to have even the tiniest idea” is nonsense. But the way of celebrating Pride has shifted, like everything else, with the times and circumstances. It’s a sign of progress and be happy for that reason. 😏

 

I certainly didn’t mean to imply it’s a generational thing - it’s just how I find people around here, no matter how old they are.  There definitely are people who do have a sense of what it’s about, but they seem to be in a minority.  If your experience is different, in that people generally ‘get it’, then that’s a great thing.  I don’t begrudge anyone being able to celebrate, there truly is, for a lot of people, a lot worth celebrating.  And there’s also still huge progress needed in many, many areas, both politically and geographically.

[TetRefine]

12 minutes ago, Sam Wyer said:

 

I certainly didn’t mean to imply it’s a generational thing - it’s just how I find people around here, no matter how old they are.  There definitely are people who do have a sense of what it’s about, but they seem to be in a minority.  If your experience is different, in that people generally ‘get it’, then that’s a great thing.  I don’t begrudge anyone being able to celebrate, there truly is, for a lot of people, a lot worth celebrating.  And there’s also still huge progress needed in many, many areas, both politically and geographically.

 

This we can absolutely agree on. 👍🏻

[Former Member]

4 hours ago, Sam Wyer said:

I'll be celebrating subtly - like how I do most things   Maybe I'll change my watch strap for a rainbow one 🌈  I guess i like the idea that being persistently visible is more important that one weekend of partying.  And around here (UK) most people going to Pride events don't seem to have even the tiniest idea why such things happen, or what it is that they are 'celebrating'.

I see quite a few movies produced by BBC and the UK’s Channel 4 that explore the history of the LGBTQ community. There were more than a few the were produced to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the legalization of Gay sex in the UK that I saw last year a Frameline. The information is out there if anyone wants to view it.

 

2 hours ago, TetRefine said:

People in my generation (20s and younger) often get accused of this, but it isn’t true. We may show it in different ways then generations past but to say we “don’t seem to have even the tiniest idea” is nonsense. But the way of celebrating Pride has shifted, like everything else, with the times and circumstances. It’s a sign of progress and be happy for that reason. 😏

I’m sorry, but many who are similar in age to you who are unaware of significant events in LGBTQ history. But I wouldn’t take that too personally if I were you. Jimmy Kimmel Live regularly runs games that pit youngsters against elderly people. It’s amazing how little some people know – and amazing how much others know! JKL’s games are about pop culture with questions about TV shows, movies, and music.

 

 

When reading some stories, it becomes clear that the author is unfamiliar with LGBTQ history (irrespective of the author’s age). I remember reading a story about a Gay diver who made it to the ’68 Mexico City Olympic Games. (This was the one where John Carlos and Tommie Smith, two African-American runners, were banned from the Games and were stripped of their medals for giving the Black Power Salute. The third man on the winner’s platform, an Australian, wore a pin in support – he also was punished for his participation and was not featured at the Sydney Games like most other prominent Aussie athletes.) The protagonist meets the runners who gave the Black Power Salute, but even though the protagonist was supposedly Gay, he never met Dr Tom Waddell!

 

When I asked the author about the discrepancy, he admitted he hadn’t been aware of Tom Waddell until I mentioned him in my email! Certainly in a huge event like the Olympics, it’s very possible for two athletes from different events to never meet, but that wasn’t the reason in this case. A little research into the Mexico City Olympics could have uncovered Tom Waddell and his significance to LGBTQ history. Tom and a few others organized what they called the Gay Olympics, similar to many other groups. But the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) took exception to the use and sued Tom Waddell. Normally something like this is settled out of court with a token fine and an agreement to change the event’s name. The USOC decided to really punish Tom by pursuing the claim in court even while Tom was dying of AIDS. The USOC won the US Supreme Court decision five years after the first Gay Games occurred. Tom died later that year.

 

[sarcasm] All because they ‘own’ the rights to the word ‘Olympic’ (through Congressional mandate) and needed to protect the image of their Games from the disgusting and perverted Gays. [/sarcasm]

 

In all fairness, maybe young people just don’t know California history…  ;–)

Edited June 14, 2018 by Former Member