community center still stands at 2250 B Street, as a proud marker of one of San Diego’s LGBT firsts. Pride festivals and parades became a symbol for
growing discontent and our unwillingness to be marginalized. First known as the “Gay Liberation March,” in New York, the “Gay Liberation Day” in Los Angeles and as the “Gay Freedom March” in San Francisco, they quickly became annual protest rallys. The seminal year for each was 1970 with parades and other events organized across the country, all landing within days of each other during the month of June. A new out and proud movement was born. San Diego’s first Pride took place in June of 1974
next to the recently-opened gay center. The event included a yard sale and potluck dinner, with an informal parade to Balboa Park and
back...though marchers had to walk on the sidewalk, because they didn’t have a city parade permit. Since that date, one has been held every year without ex- ception, though the route changed in 1991 to its current one along University and 6th Avenue and now culminates at the park’s Marston Point. Across the land, much has changed since then
and we have many reasons to celebrate as a com- munity, though the recent shootings in Orlando, are a stark and painful reminder of how tenuous those civil rights can be. Events this year will be unique because they will be tinged with the memory of Florida’s tragic events, as they should be, but we have suffered losses before and it has never stopped us from gathering together. As a community, we can never take for granted
what we’ve gained, or on whose shoulders we stand who fought before us. Pride celebrations are a vital exercise, necessary to welcome those who are still suffering and need to be embraced. Orlando may have made us all cringe and ques- tion our progress, but Pride’s across the country and world are a reminder that we are still here, standing together and marching strong. San Diego’s theme this year is a perfect repre-
sentation of that connected
history...Pride Unites The World. It is what we do. We gather together, in order to celebrate the beauty of our diverse lives and the unity of our movement. It’s been a long haul, but we are still here and as strong as ever!
HAPPY PRIDE!
The Rage Monthly took a moment to chat with San Diego Pride’s Executive Director, Stephen Whitburn about the many challenges and exciting new prospects for San Diego Pride 2016.
About what he looks forward to most about San Diego Pride: “My favorite part of Pride Weekend has to be watching thousands of people have fun together at the festival stages. This year, Kesha will perform at the Main Stage on Saturday and that huge crowd will be a joy to watch.” He continued, “Last year, we had capacity crowds at our Latin and Hip Hop stages, so we’ve expanded them this year.”
About the biggest challenges around producing Pride events: “The biggest challenge – and our most important goal is to create a weekend that has something meaningful and enjoyable for everyone. Pride is for the entire community and we want everyone to feel included. We do a lot of different things to try to accomplish that and we’re always looking for ways to connect with more people.”
Regarding what to expect for 2016: “We’re excited about Kesha performing as our Main Stage head- liner. We also have terrific entertainment lined up for our Latin and Hip Hop stages. This year for the first time, we’ll have sports activities inside the festival.
People can check out the Art of Pride gallery and the Leather Realm. There will of course be great festival food, beverage gardens and exhibitor booths. There’s a sobriety village for people in recovery. An accessibility headquarters offers wheelchairs, sign language services and a Braille map of the grounds. The festival also includes a family picnic area, a youth zone and senior rest areas. We want everyone to feel included and have a great time.”
On why they decided to rebrand the Music Festival: “When I started in this role in 2013, I spoke with community members to get their impressions of the Pride events. Several people told me they didn’t go to the festival because it was ‘the same every year.’ I realized we needed to highlight the big element that is new every year – the music. So we started referring to it as Pride Music Festival in 2014. Since then, I haven’t heard people say it’s the same every year.”
stephen whitburn
How the controversy around the LA Pride Music Festival affected the production of San Diego’s Music Festival: “The Pride festival has always been a music festival in the sense that it’s an outdoor festival with multiple stages of music. We didn’t change the event at all; we just started including the word “music” to call attention to the new entertainment every year. Pride Music Festival is just a more current name for the Pride Festival; though this year it has a free area
JULY 2016 |JULY 2016 | RAGE monthly RAGE monthly
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