I'm having a Pride-O-Rama month!

Fort Lauderdale is having a nighttime light Pride parade that I will be marching in (which will be great)!

My partner and I are also going to be in San Fran for Pride there, where we plan on marrying.

Woo-hoo!!

Atlanta Pride has been moved to the 4th of July weekend because the City of Atlanta has banned all major festivals in Piedmont Park because of the drought. They are drilling wells in various areas of the park to bring those festivals back next year.

Pride has moved to the Civic Center, so there will be a lot of things inside, out of the elements. Some people can benefit from that if they cannot take the heat, and rain will not be as big of a factor as it has been in the past. Still, most people want it to return to the Park, including me.

There will be a trans mam as the Grand Marshell for the parade, and this year, it will be reverse from the other years, starting at Peidmont and 10th St., where Outwrite Bookstore resides and ending up at the Civic Center. There will be other trans-related events and entertainers, and a lot of wonderful things to experience. Also, I suggest we all support Atlanta Pride because of their strong stand against HRC's lack of transgender support.

For those who will be attending their Prides at the more traditional times of the year, having the Atlanta Pride a week or two later can give you a chance to attend two Prides in the same year. We ususlly have around 300,000 people attend. Yes, there is expense in that, but some can afford it. You won't be sorry.

I am leading a contingent of at least 4 churches to Seattle Pride this year. This is a project I have been working on for 2 years now, and each year there are more joining us. There are a lot of accepting churches out there, but they have no idea how to reach out and offer their services to people, at the same time there are a lot of LGBT peoples who seek an outlet for their spriituality, were raised in a church environment and either have been shunned or fear being shunned and do not know there are accepting spiritual communities out there, and there are those who in the coming out process or after it find themselves in need of an outlet for a spirituality they never were able to express before.

My goal has been to connect those two sets of people, churches who would eagerly welcome LGBT people participating actively in their congregations, with those seeking a place to experience their own spirituality without feeling they have to give up or closet their very LGBT selves. The churches I bring celebrate the special gifts LGTB peoples bring to their congregation and see that as a better expression of what God wants for their church. I pay for the space at Pride, thus supporting our local Pride committee, and then we open up the offer to churches to come, greet folks at pride at our booth and make new friends.

I have felt for a long time that the major element missing in the fight for LGBT rights was a specific "lobby" if you will to the religious left that has gone quiet in our nation, but still exists. There are a lot of us now getting more connected around the nation through various affirming groups across different faiths, and I have a deeply held belief that this is going to be one of the efforts that turns the corner on rights for everyone, including marriage, in our nation.

My partner and I went to Fort Lauderdale PrideFest in April and will be going to the Stonewall Street Festival (that Waymon wrote about above) later this month. In October we are planning to go to Ocala, Fl PrideFest, which is in its 2nd year. Although we didn't go last year we heard there were over 1000 people that attended. Amongst all the other activities "there will be a commitment ceremony for any and all couples who wish to affirm their love and adoration to each other even though they are not yet able to lawfully wed."
Where else would a couple from civilized South Florida participate in a same-sex commitment ceremony than in a North Florida hillbillyville city????? LOL

No, and...no.

Indy Pride is Saturday, June 14th. I, along with other PFLAG moms, dads, kids, and straight allies, will march under the PFLAG banner! Come join us at our PFLAG booth where you can receive a free PFLAG rainbow lei!!!! Come get lei'd by PFLAG!!!!

I'll hang out with Annette for part of the day at the PFLAG booth here in Indy. Spend some time at the Indiana Fairness Network booth. Walk around handing out fliers for the Bilerico Project. Take pictures of the parade. Blog the experience.

A couple of suggestions for Shannon B: There is a lot of good information in the book, "Omnigender, A Trans-religious Approach," by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott.
You might check out www.dignityusa.org to see if there is a group in your area. We are a welcoming group.
There are churches and faiths that accept and welcome the LGBT community, but it might take a bit of searching for them. They are out there.

No, you're right. This doesn't have anything to do with Pride fests, but the response seemed appropriate to the issue previously raised.
Pride Fest gets bigger every year in Denver, and it now one of the biggest. And everyone has a good time, if it doesn't storm.

I'll be in hiding...

This gives a new meaning to "Come Out! Come Out wherever you are!" doesn't it?