Time to Celebrate: 2008 California Pride Guide - capride.org
By PJ Maytag

Goin’ to the chapel and we’re, gonna get married—and we’re not just whistling Dixie Cup lyrics at the moment. Finally, the California Supreme Court has overturned the gay marriage ban, citing it as fundamentally unconstitutional. Woo Hoo!! It’s a great time to be gay in California; we should all be proud to get the recognition we deserve as equal citizens by the state Supreme Court. You can bet all the Pride celebrations this summer throughout the state of California are going to be more upbeat and have a lot more resonance for all of us LGBTs—especially the approximate 94,000 LGBT couples in our state that are now afforded the opportunity to marry. Granted, we still have a fight on our hands with the possibility of an anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendment on the November ballot.
Hopefully, the California Supreme Court decision is recognized by our state’s populace as a matter of equality for all Californians. Yes, we still have a ways to go towards full equality in our society, but the court’s decision is a huge step in realizing that goal and carries nationwide significance. Pride has never meant so much to Californians in the 39 years since Stonewall. And it’s time to celebrate this fact. So come on, join the party and attend one of the numerous Pride celebrations in our great state this summer. It’s a great reason to flee the desert during our hottest months, in case you needed one besides the 120-degree temps!

California’s Pride season officially kicked off on May 17-18 in Long Beach (one of the nation’s largest) and regional celebrations continue until November 1-2, when our very own Greater Palm Springs Pride wraps it up until the following year.

L.A. Pride 2008 - lapride.org
Next up on the Pride schedule is L.A. Pride, presented by Christopher Street West (a non-profit organization), June 6-8. This year is the culmination of L.A.’s simple yet powerful theme slogan, “Our Agenda: Love. Equality. Pride.”, which rings so much sweeter this year. L.A. Pride has a long and checkered history. Dating back to 1970 in its earliest incarnation, it has been part of the Los Angeles yearly event landscape—except for 1973 when it was cancelled following backlash from unsavory elements in the 1972 parade, namely the infamous Cockapillar, a Chinese dragon-esque creation in the shape of a penis that actually ejaculated a white fluid, offending city officials. Sure, it’s funny now because it was so cheeky, but it wasn’t a big hit with city officials and more importantly, businesses. Financial backing disappeared and there wasn’t a parade in 1973. But L.A. Pride persevered, and every year since 1974 there’s been a parade and festival; it’s been held in West Hollywood since 1979.
The traditional Dyke March, Rally and after party on Friday, June 6 opens L.A. Pride. This year’s L.A. Pride festival takes place in West Hollywood Park near Santa Monica Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd. from noon until midnight on Saturday and 11 am until 10 pm on Sunday. The festival features more than 200 exhibitors, food and drink, and numerous entertainment pavilions with music and dance venues replete with some of the hottest DJs in the biz, as well as activities for all ages and interests. Fabulous entertainment is slated this year, including Joss Stone, Olivia Newton-John, Frenchie Davis, Kimberley Locke, Supreme Beings Of Leisure and many, many more—see the website (lapride.org) for the full entertainment lineup schedule. Daily admission is $15 in advance, $20 at the gate.
The 2008 parade takes place on Sunday, June 8, starting at 11 am, running west along Santa Monica Blvd. from Crescent Heights Blvd. to Robertson Blvd. Close to 400,000 people this year are expected to watch the parade that has over 125 parade entries including floats, bands, performances, marching community advocacy groups, smiling seniors, proud parents, out teachers and convertibles with honored guests.
You’ll want to grab a Pocket Pride Guide, courtesy of Christopher Street West, filled with PRIDE essentials. It gives you the full 411 on the Pride celebration—including the who, what, where, when and how of the event. Be sure to visit the fabulous L.A. Pride website,  which offers expanded coverage, links to L.A. Pride’s MySpace page, films on YouTube, Podcasts subscriptions, live videos from L.A. Pride 2007 at LiveVideo.com and you can signup to receive their newsletter.

San Francisco Pride 2008 - sfpride.org
The poster child for California Pride (and nationwide Prides for that matter) celebrations is hands down, the 38th Annual San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration, June 28-29. In fact, San Francisco Pride has been described as “one of the last remaining Pride events that can truly be called a rite of passage.” The apt motto, “United by Pride, Bound for Equality” is the theme for this year’s festivities. The amazing celebration at the Civic Center features 300 exhibitors, 19 stages and venues and as always, is free! The Civic Center is open for Pride from noon until 6 pm Saturday, Sunday from noon to 7 pm, and the huge Market Street San Francisco Pride Parade, with more than 200 parade contingents, begins Sunday at 10:30 pm. Every LGBTer owes it to themselves to experience the San Francisco Pride Parade at least once in their life.
This year’s celebrity Grand Marshal is going to put a little “Cuchi, Cuchi” into the celebration. Singer, songwriter, actor, musician and the all-around Latin diva Charo is sure to shake things up. You can catch the return of Charo and her Las Vegas Show at the Herbst Theatre on Sunday, June 29 at 8 pm.
Other Grand Marshals at the “United by Pride, Bound for Equality” Pride event are 2008 Lifetime Achievement Grand Marshal Theresa Sparks and Community Grand Marshals Erick Argüello, Joan Benoît, Marvin Burrows, Joey Cain, Evan Low, and Julius Turman. You can read all about the honorees and their achievements at San Francisco Pride website (sfpride.org).
The entertainment lineup this year features the best of local entertainment from the Bay Area and great cutting-edge acts—and all of the information about the acts (including thorough bios) can be found on the much improved site.
 Also, you won’t want to miss the biggest party of the year in Castro, the Pink Saturday Party, that starts right after the morning’s Dyke March, which steps off from Dolores Park.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, this year’s Pink Brick recipient is none other than fear-mongering right wing ass, Bill O’Reilly. According to the S.F. Pride press release, “The Pink Brick is given to a person or institution which has done significant harm to the interests of LGBT people and is selected by public vote for the Pink Brick, a satiric ‘award’ representing the first brick hurled at the Stonewall Rebellion on June 27, 1969. His award cannot be attributed to any one stance or event, but rather his consistent efforts to mislead his viewers and listeners about issues regarding the LGBT community and LGBT people does more than just leave a misleading impression—it reinforces ignorance about and hatred of our community. While there are many instances to which we might refer, his lesbian gang segment on The O’Reilly Factor on June 21, 2007 epitomizes the way in which O’Reilly has discarded truth in favor of baseless slander and fear-mongering.” In case you missed it, you can find the segment online at YouTube (along with many other clips of O’Reilly doing what he does best—spewing misinformation, hatred and anger).
Don’t forget to check out Leather Alley on Sunday for all you big kids who like to walk on the wildside. It’s open to experienced BDSM/Fetish players, novices and the downright curious in order to create friendships and family in a safe and supportive environment. Visit leatheralley.org for all the juicy details.

San Diego Pride 2008 - sandiegopride.org
San Diego Pride Weekend is July 19 - 20. Saturday’s parade and the two-day Pride Festival in Balboa Park is quickly becoming one of the premier Pride events in our fair state. The 34th Annual Pride Parade at 11 am Saturday usually draws more than 150,000 spectators spread along the mile-long route. In fact, the San Diego Pride Parade is the city’s largest civic event.
The Grand Marshals for 2008’s San Diego LGBT Pride Parade are: Gilbert Baker–Celebrity Grand Marshal; Ruth Henricks–Community Grand Marshal; and Peter Thatchell–International Grand Marshal. If you’re not familiar with the name Gilbert Baker, you should be—you probably see his legacy on a daily basis. Baker is the creator of the Rainbow Flag who created this LGBT symbol, recognized around the world, in 1978. This gifted vexillographer (the fancy term for flag maker), is also responsible for creating the mile-long rainbow flag that was carried by 5,000 people in New York City for the 25th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. It’s quite the honor to have him as the celebrity Grand Marshal for this year’s Pride Parade, which features the Rainbow 25 Flag that stretches more than 300 feet and weighs an amazing three tons! It’s going to be all about rainbows at this year’s parade, so show your pride and flaunt your colors.
Pride festival highlights for San Diego include the 40-foot Ferris Wheel, the Wine Steals Grotto—a brand new area devoted exclusively to wine tasting, seven live entertainment stages, 300 vendor booths, Leather Realm, Beer Gardens, Art of Pride, Children’s Garden and the Interfaith Commitment Ceremony sponsored by the Pride Interfaith Committee, San Diego Pride, Hewlett-Packard and the San Diego LGBT Center Marriage Equality Project. Representatives from the Center’s Marriage Equality Project are scheduled to be there to help people sign up for domestic partnership free of charge, but the court’s decision may change the paperwork focus. A source at The Center has acknowledged there are already discussions about possible changes to their Pride Program due to the new marriage laws—hopefully, domestic partnerships are going to be defunct in a few months. Check the news section in upcoming issues of The BottomLine for information if any changes to the program do occur.
There’s also some impressive big name entertainers in town as part of San Diego’s Pride celebrations. Both Margaret Cho and Boy George are having Official Pre-Pride events! See San Diego Pride’s website (sandiegopride.org) for concert, parade, festival and ticket information—plus the festival entertainment lineup.

Palm Springs Pride 2008 - pspride.org
Although it doesn’t take place during the summer Pride season (thank God!) our Pride guide would be incomplete without mentioning our own hometown Pride happening November 1-2 this year. Last year’s event was a big success and this year promises to be even better, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Greater Palm Springs Pride volunteers and board members. The festival will be held again at Palm Springs Stadium, with hours from 10 am until 8 pm. The parade will follow its time-honored route, beginning at 10 am, from Alejo down Palm Canyon Dr. and proceeding down to Ramon Rd. Since our Pride is still five months away, the entertainment lineup hasn’t been firmed up just yet, nor have the Grand Marshal, Celebrity Grand Marshal, Man and Woman of the Year or the Volunteer of the Year been picked. So you’ll want to visit their revamped website (pspride.org) regularly for details as they become available. But word on the street is that President Jack Schloeder promises this year is going to be the best Pride ever. The BottomLine will have more coverage on Palm Springs Pride as the November date approaches—we can’t wait!
So get the party started this summer. Let the wedding bells ring and the rainbow flags fly—we’ve more reasons to celebrate in 2008 than ever before!

If You Go — california gay pride events This article identified just a few highlights of the bigger Pride events in California. For a complete list of events in other cities, including links, scope out capride.org first.