Thursday, August 20, 2009

Friday, August 14, 2009

Summer and Pride in Rochester




Hi all,


It is the middle of August and it just is starting to feel like summer. The weather has been lousy but perhaps this will mean an late winter. The 70s in December sounds good to me.


So pride has come and gone here in Rochester and it was a huge success. I think it is awesome that our city mayor is very supportive of the community. The first event they have is a pride flag raising at city hall. The flag is huge. Than, all around downtown, the city puts pride flags up on the light poles. Does your city do that?


The pride parade had 12,000 spectators and 1,000 particpants. The "after party" had 3,500 in attendance, all dancing the night away. The next day was the pride picnic which had 2,500 people come to share food and fun. The fun this year was a dog show, country line dancing, games galore, poetry reading and a classic car show. Many of the 60 plus LGBT organizations in our area had informational booths. The gay youth were there as well. Did you know Rochester has over 400 kids in the gay youth group. They are getting great support. Every public school here has a gay/straight alliance.


I am proud to be gay and proud to be living in Rochester, New York.
Hooray!