Celebrating Diversity - PRIDE Parade - Rochester, New York - 2009

PRIDE is a time to celebrate diversity and hold your head up high for who you are if you're a member of the LGBT community...an opportunity for everyone to recognize the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered who live among the heterosexuals. It's an annual observation that brings people of every preference together as one...to get along and accept the differences among us.  This year, in Rochester, New York, the difference was one that stood out compared to past celebrations...not in that the LGBT community is all that special. Straight people turned out to show their support of their brothers and sisters, as did many lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders. The difference in the annual celebration here was with the group that organized the event...which fell flat on its face.

In the past, the 'Gay Business Association' handled putting together the PRIDE celebration...with much success.  According to some, that group ran out of money and went belly up, so the torch was passed to another outfit...the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, which many have accused of not giving enough support to events dedicated to the 'alternative' community.  Even though there was a new 'sponsor' to PRIDE, I, and many others, were looking forward to yet another great celebration.  It appears most of us were somewhat disappointed with what took place.

Not just a day or a weekend, PRIDE in Rochester is a week-long observance.  It begins with the raising of the rainbow flag over city hall to fly throughout the event; a ceremony in which ALL members of the public are encouraged to attend.  The various events of PRIDE are scheduled throughout the next week and all open to the public.  Attendance was low as most people didn't even know what was taking place; when and where.  Lack of publicity was the main culprit because no one knew what was going on.  There was little organization on the part of the GAGV and even less participation by its members...especially in getting word out to everyone who lives in the city and the surrounding area.

Despite many not knowing what was going on, some events just capture the interest of the general public and people turn out, en masse, to see what's going on.  The main event is the annual PRIDE parade, followed by the 'Afterglow' party; both of which draw huge crowds with every type of people coming from all over to enjoy the festivities.  Compared to last year, the amount of spectators for the parade, was way up...at least in my neighborhood of Park Avenue, where the parade started.  With all those lining the street here, it appeared attendance increased 1000% from one year ago.  Everyone loves a parade!  Many members of the heterosexual community stepped up to participate; especially city churches and political candidates.  That's where the success ended, though.  Participation in other events was drastically lower than in the past.  I blame that on people not being informed of other festivities in order to turn out and show their support.  Had they known; they would have flocked to them, as they've done in the past.

The location for the 'Afterglow' party was changed about a week before, as the New York State Armory, where it was to be held, closed and the gathering was switched to a small parking lot outside the city's Auditorium Theater.  Some only found out about the change of venue by following the parade along its new route.  Those who went to the Armory, as they've done in the past, found it empty with no activity going on at all...and no signs informing people of the change.  They simply gave up and went home.  An event that drew well over 5,000 people in the past, was lucky to see a couple thousand show up.  Attendance at 'the gay party' that evening at Tilt, a dance nightclub, was sparse.  There were more who went to the city's 'leather' bar, The Bachelor's Forum, to join in comraderie.  The gay picnic the following afternoon didn't have as large of a turnout, either.  It didn't help that the GAGV was charging $15 per person to get into Genesee Valley Park; a free park open to the public located along the Genesee River.  Many questioned what the admission fee was going toward, as the GAGV doesn't really do much for the gay community overall; just for a few 'select' members.

Despite the low turn out, PRIDE will go on in the future.  It's a fact of life...we're gay and we're here to stay.  There were new members of the gay community who came out to experience there are those who support us and our battle for acceptance.  I was one of those 'new' members last year.  It's people like us who will continue to carry on the tradition.  Who knows?  With all the time I have on my hands since the loss of a leg last year, maybe it's time for me to step up to the plate, volunteer some of my free time and take an organizational role in helping PRIDE recapture its glory of the past and truly prove ours is second only in the state to New York City's PRIDE celebration.  No matter what happens in the future, if only one more person benefits from the event and only one more person turns out to accept and support the LGBT community; we have to admit success.  Be proud of who you are...no matter who you are.  It's all about you!