On Saturday April 17, Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower and 30,000 people came together in celebration for the 2nd Annual Miami Beach Gay Pride. This year’s festivities were be led by actress Sharon Gless and activist/Iraq veteran Lt. Dan Choi, who served as Grand Marshals. SFGN columnist Glenn Douglas Packard and drag diva extradinaire Elaine Lancaster served as Masters of Ceremonies. They recruited the remarkable talents of international superstars Crystal Waters, Danny Tenaglia and Estelle to entertain the fabulous crowd. Cheering onlookers applauded the small group of marchers hosting a sign that read "Straight, but Not Narrow," as rapturously as they did all the gay contingents who made their way along Ocean Drive as part of the parade.www.miamibeachgaypride.com.Now in its second year, it's obvious that this Miami Beach is all about inclusion, not exclusion. As Gay Pride events go, though, Miami Beach's is an infant, when compared to the enormous celebrations in places like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City, which began decades ago, and whose elaborate floats and dazzling marching formations attract up to a million onlookers.Photos Below Are From Our Good Friend, Mark Haines ... who operates the best online website for gay events in South Florida ... JumpOnMarksList.com
Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of Vancouver's West End Sunday afternoon for the 31st annual Gay Pride parade. People travelled from all over the world to view the 160 brightly coloured floats, some with topless men. The parade was the second largest gay pride parade in Canada. Local news agencies reported the crowd of more than 700,000 people was expected to show solidarity with the LBGT community of Vancouver.The parade featured prominent gay activists, such as Cleve Jones, a protege of famous gay activist Harvey Milk, Jeremy Dias, and Janine Fuller. A tribute was paid to late Cindy Kampmeinert, Vancouver's first openly gay firefighter. Vancouver’s Mayor Greg Robertson was seen wearing a rainbow shirt, local papers report. NDP leader Jack Layton was also present.
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The three-year theme launched this year: "Educate, Liberate, Celebrate."The grand marshals were:
--Cleve Jones, a protege of the late gay activist Harvey Milk.
-- Janine Fuller, who challenged Canada border services regulations banning material deemed obscene.
-- Jeremy Dias, who as a 17-year-old fought his school board to start a gay organization and used the money he won in the human rights settlement to start a scholarship program focusing on the gay community.
-- The late Cindy Kampmeinert, as an honourary pride hero. She was Vancouver's first openly lesbian firefighter.The parade marks a sombre moment for firefighters, marching for the first time without the late Kampmeinert, who died in December during a trip to Thailand. She had spearheaded the Vancouver Fire Department's participation in the parade in 2002.
On Saturday April 17, Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower and 30,000 people came together in celebration for the 2nd Annual Miami Beach Gay Pride. This year’s festivities were be led by actress Sharon Gless and activist/Iraq veteran Lt. Dan Choi, who served as Grand Marshals. SFGN columnist Glenn Douglas Packard and drag diva extradinaire Elaine Lancaster served as Masters of Ceremonies. They recruited the remarkable talents of international superstars Crystal Waters, Danny Tenaglia and Estelle to entertain the fabulous crowd. Cheering onlookers applauded the small group of marchers hosting a sign that read "Straight, but Not Narrow," as rapturously as they did all the gay contingents who made their way along Ocean Drive as part of the parade. www.miamibeachgaypride.com.
Now in its second year, it's obvious that this Miami Beach is all about inclusion, not exclusion. As Gay Pride events go, though, Miami Beach's is an infant, when compared to the enormous celebrations in places like Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City, which began decades ago, and whose elaborate floats and dazzling marching formations attract up to a million onlookers.
Photos Below Are From Our Good Friend, Mark Haines ... who operates the best online website for gay events in South Florida ... JumpOnMarksList.com
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