Posted on 06/27/2009 3:36:18 PM PDT by ThreePuttinDude
Why St. Pete Pride grows
Published : Friday, 26 Jun 2009, 7:22 PM EDT Steve Nichols
ST. PETERSBURG - Saturday's St. Petersburg Pride Parade is expected to attract its highest attendance ever, making it the largest Pride event in the southeastern United States this year.
Last year, an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 people descended on Central Avenue, and organizers expect to top 80,000 this year.
The exponential growth has already made the event the largest Pride celebration in Florida, and has come about because of a number of factors.
Chief among them is that a drought in Georgia that could cause more parade-goers to pour into Saturday's festival. The city of Atlanta refused to issue permits to Atlanta Pride because of dry conditions, so that event will now be in October -- leaving this weekend to St. Pete Pride.
"With Atlanta being on a different weekend we expect to see some people from Atlanta, from that area, the Jacksonville area and so on, now that they're not having to choose between which one to go to," says St. Pete Pride co-chair Jeff Klein.
Another reason for the growth in St. Petersburg is the cancellation of smaller festivals earlier this year.
"Tampa's Winter Pride didn't happen due to the economy, Gulfport's Women's Festival didn't happen due to the economy."
Many pride events are held around the last weekend of June, because the date marks the riots incited by the police raid of the Stonewall Inn in New York, which began on June 28, 1969. The uprising is widely seen as the beginning of the modern gay-rights movement.
This weekend's festival isn't the only Pride function St. Pete will host this year: this fall, the Interpride 2009 conference will bring pride organizers from around the world to the Bay Area.
"This is the people who run the Prides" explain IP '09 co-chair Brian Stipsits. "So everyone from Los Angeles Pride, San Francisco Pride, New York Pride, Madrid Pride, Pride as far as Australia. We'll have representatives from upwards of 20 different countries here."
Parade info : Central Avenue will be closed from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. from 21st Street to 28th Street. Other streets along the parade route will be closed from 10 a.m. to noon. The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. from 3rd Avenue North and 31st Street., proceeding east on Third Ave. to 30th St., then south on 30th St. to Central, then east on Central to 21st St.
Almost worse than Disney I tell ya'
Didn’t our culture used to consider pride a sin?
Then again, so many former sins are acceptable. Nevermind.
Stealthy article. I hope no one takes their kids out thinking it’s about pride in being from St. Pete.
Where has family traditional values gone?
I'd just like to say this is terrible the kids have to be
involved in this type of public display...
I'm not an old curmudgeon, just think he/he she/she is wrong.
>> making it the largest Pride event
“Pride” event?
Group of lions marching in St. Petersburg? Strange.
Before he became PC, Richard Belzer once joked, “Who would have thought doing (blank) 40 times a day would be bad for you?”
No Lions. But plenty of Bears and Cubs. Just make sure not to say “woof” when a fat hairy guy growls at you...
>> make sure not to say “woof” when a fat hairy guy growls at you...
Not a problem. I won’t ever be close enough to hear the fag boy growl. Or lisp or purr or whatever he does.
I think it’s funny the way they drop the “Gay” and just say “Pride”. Like everyone just, y’know, KNOWS that the only pride is Gay Pride.
Either that, or they’re embarrassed to say the “G” word.
Maybe they should call it “What what? In the butt! Pride”. Kinda catchy, don’t you think?
I hate to sound stupid but I was thinking how nice it was for St. Pete to have a parade showing community pride and then I read the article. I hate the fact these people have taken good words to mean something completely different.
Truth in advertising laws would require this to be called the St. Pete shame parade or possibly the shame of St. Pete parade.
I read this wrong at first. I thought they were talking about civic pride, and thought perhaps they were doing urban renewal projects in St. Pete, or seeing new development along the waterfront. Then, I realized they mean homosexual pride. I was slow on the uptake.
What is it about anal sex to make one “proud”? It is really such an achievement?
It was -- bigtime! -- "Love Bug" season, and we caught every little gooey bastard in the state, smack on the windshield. They, too, were proudly 'connected' in full public view.
You mention Lakeland, I wish the tippietoes would try doing
their little Pride deal over there. LOL it wouldn't be pretty.
What are they so proud of?
Proud of everyone knowing they have an unnatural love of unnatural sex?
Proud to be an active AIDS vector?
Proud to be a pervert?
If they were really proud of what they are they wouldn’t feel a need to work so hard to convince others.
“Group of lions marching in St. Petersburg? Strange.”
More like a pride of loins on the prowl.
BAH! Humbuggery!
Everyone of them are sorrowful, depressed, anguished or mad.
The Lesbos are just mad they don't have the equipment we do.
Hell, they are all natures little freak show.
Remember when they said they just wanted to be free to come out of the closet?
Now they force themselves in our faces at every opportunity, try to get the government to force us to like them (or pretend we do), to force us to let them have at our children, to force us to pretend they are normal (normal in their minds - just in a different way).
>> More like a pride of loins on the prowl.
Pride of Loins. That’s a keeper!
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