LI Pride Parade Recap

A few weeks ago I was shopping in Manhattan, when I stopped into The Factory Cafe on Christopher Street, my favorite coffee bar in the Village. I spotted an old friend of mine who I hadn't seen in years. I offered him a ride back to Long Island, and on the way home we talked about the upcoming local Gay Pride events. When I asked him if he was going to be at the Long Island Pride Parade on June 10th (2001), he chuckled-- as if I asked him if he was a member of The Dr. Laura Schlessinger fan club or something equally ludicrous. In other words, no... he wouldn't be there. My friend proceeded to tell me that he believes that the Long Island Pride Parade (and many other events that are held on a regular basis) are primarily for the benefit of lesbians and gay men who just come out or who are new to the community due to other circumstances-- for example, a gay gal or guy who just moved to Long Island and wants to get to know "the scene." In other words, my friend believes that events like the Parade may "serve us well" in the beginning of our journey of self-discovery, but he questions the importance of such events later on in our lives.

If this friend of mine was a dim, shallow, apathetic "party boy" (You know the type, the guys that never two-for-one drink specials on weekends but don't know what SONDA is, for example.), then I could have dismissed what he said. But this man is intelligent, was very involved in the GLBT community, and had been a frequent presence at many of our organizations' events in the past. He also had done a lot of volunteer work with the HIV- and AIDS-affected population. Therefore, I thought that of all people, he would know the importance of attending events benefiting and/or spotlighting our community. I told my friend that although I respected and understood his viewpoints, I absolutely DISAGREED with his opinion about the importance of the Parade. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one I spoke with who underestimated the importance of the Parade as well as other events like Dock of the Bay. How many times have we heard "Oh, I was at _____ last year and there was not that many people, so I'm not going this year." Or "Been there, done that." How many gay and lesbian couples do we know that have settled down into domestic bliss with their partner and have isolated themselves from the gay community, opting to go shopping at IKEA rather than attend a fundraiser or benefit? Of course, we can't and shouldn't define ourselves solely by being a part of the gay community. And even the most dedicated local gay or lesbian activist couldn't attend EVERY fundraiser/benefit/rally on the Island.

Let's think about the excuses we make for ourselves. If we were at an annual event and attendance was low; or the event wasn't as good as expected; or (I HATE THIS!) we didn't go but "heard" (usually from a dubious source) that it wasn't that good, aren't we just contributing to the problem by not going the next year? It's the same mentality as saying "Well, I don't vote anymore, because I voted in the last election and my favorite candidate didn't win!"

Then there's the lame excuse "Been there, done that." Well, even if someone had attended the Long Island Pride Parade for the past 10 years, this year was fabulously unique. True, there were sunny skies (Mother Nature must be a drag queen!), loads of people, and lots of noise... the same as years before. But this year we had representation from new L.I. gay organizations, many new faces of out and proud young boys and girls, and many treats that definitely were NOT at previous parades. For one, there was the fabulous virgin Long Island performance of a very pregnant Judy Gold, my new favorite comedienne! Miss Gold writes for and has performed on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," but chances are you'll NEVER hear her Pride Festival comedy routine on "Rosie"! This was "Judy Gold, uncensored!" Yet as raunchy as she got sometimes, Miss Gold was always classy-- and her rapport with the audience couldn't have been more natural.

For those who are into gender illusionism (and who's not?), Randy Roberts showed us how to elevate drag to an art form. A pioneer of the New Millennium of Drag, this was Randy's own voice. No lip-synching allowed! Randy didn't just mimic Cher-- Randy WAS the perpetually youthful gay icon, from the oh-so-sexy skintight outfit to the small talk with the audience between songs. And for those of you who were wondering what happenned to Spanish sexpot Charo, her influence is alive and well with Consuela, Randy's Latina alter ego. Most memorable was Consuela's playful musical ode to the penis, "Como Te Gusta Mi Pinga?," which you may remember from the movie "Trick." Finally, Randy was reincarnated as a Bette Midler-like cabaret singer, which drove all the theater queens in the audience wild. (And who doesn't have a little bit of theater queen in them?) Remember, all the events that day were free-- and with Napster on the verge of extinction, there ain't too much you can get for free nowadays! But for under $20.00, you could take Parade Host Ian Crawford home with you! OK, not Ian himself, but his CD "Secrets of Elation and Heartache" and photo/poetry book "Cation" were on sale. Award-winning group Pandora's Vox also performed.

The 2001 Long Island Pride Parade truly had something for everyone-- no matter how long you've been out, your level of involvement in the community, age, ethnicity, political orientation, marital status, or gender. Handsome Bill Borman, Grand Marshall of the Parade, joined two of our most dedicated supporters, Suffolk County Legislators Jonathan Cooper and Maxine Postal, on the podium at the pre-Parade Rally for some warming up and inspiration. And indeed, it must have been inspiring for our younger people to see (or at least hear about the next day) the large group from Pride for Youth marching down Main Street, or the very enthusiastic crowd from LIGALY, composed of LIGALY's young members, alumni, and supporters. For me, watching the Roslyn High School Gay-Straight Alliance march by was a revelation. For a small (about eight people) group, they had more pride-- and COURAGE -- than a pack of lions. It also warmed my heart to catch up with my good friends Pat and Dawn. These two ladies have been happily together for a long time, and could have very easily isolated themselves into their own little suburban utopia. But instead, they were as busy as ever, marching with Marriage Equality Long Island (MELI), one of the newest groups on Long Island. MELI is the Long Island division of Marriage Equality New York (MENI), a group that's currently working very hard for our right to legally marry. Their mission is to secure the freedom and the right of same-sex couples to enter into legally-recognized civil marriage, having all the federal and state benefits and responsibilities which that entails. MELI meets every last Wednesday of the month at the Thatched Cottage. Log on to marriageequalityny.com, a very cool website, for more info. Say "I Do!" in 2002! Congratulations and good luck, Pat and Dawn! Speaking of family matters, there were many children at the parade. My friend Phil and I met a male couple who had recently adopted two babies. Since the subject of gay adoptions is a touchy one, I was worried about approaching them and asking questions about their children. But to my pleasant surprise, they were very open about their adoption experience, and offered their names and phone number if I or any other dad wannabes needed help or advice.

The Park was like a big "Who's Who" of Long Island GLBT organizations. The bottom line is, this was a great opportunity to network! And anybody in our community, no matter how jaded, must have felt great to feel the breeze of that giant rainbow flag being carried down Main Street; or see Auntie M's "Wizard of Oz" theme float with Mirkala Crystal as Glenda the Good WItch; or hear the VERY cool music that the guys and girls from Thunders were playing on their float.

There was a rare chance to see some of the most gorgeous and well-kept cars on Long Island, thanks to the Lambda Car Club. OK, you may already have your own car, but it can't hurt to admire other people's. (Warning: this only applies to cars, not boyfriends or girlfriends!)

Jimmy Pizzo, the Executive Director of Long Island Pride Parade Inc., announce each of the groups as they marched passed. His pride and enthusiasm were positively infectious! If everyone in our community picked a cause or an event which they felt as passionate about as Jim does about the Parade, our community's power would be intense! Jim estimated that 4,000 people were at this year's event (the biggest yet), with 750 of those actually marching. Buy Jim a "thank you" drink when you see him out! Jim didn't alter his cheeky dialogue despite the occasional gawking straights who passed by, or the curious local store owners who watched from their doors-- like when he freely expressed his admiration for hairy men! Luckily, the the Long Island Bears were there, showing their pride. The Long Island Ravens M.C. proved that leather is indeed an all-season material! OUT IN L.I., who shared the responsibility of serving as Grand Marshall with Bill Borman, had a large presence, and proved that you CAN be involved in important political/social causes and still have fun doing it!

If you need further evidence that you should have been there, consider this: the event impressed Newsday enough that they entitled their June 11th article about the event "Pride Parade Marks Gays' Strides," with mentions of LIGALY's landmark gay prom (Pride Gala), a good outlook on the passage of SONDA, and mention that "Police reported no major incidents." It makes you wonder if Newsday was hard-pressed to even find anything controversial about the Parade to write about. However, we didn't get to this point by accident or by (ha!) the overflowing acceptance of the straight people on Long Island! It took hard work by the Long Island Pride Parade Committee and countless others in our community. In addition, it took ALL the groups, volunteers, and supporters who attended the Parade over the past 11 years, to show our strength in numbers. Your appearance at the Parade or any other political or cultural event is like your vote in an election: it DOES make a difference!

After the Parade, people started infiltrating Thunders until the parking lot was packed and the outdoor deck became standing room only, as sunburnt, sweaty boyz and girls mingled, danced and enjoyed burgers and hot dogs off the barbecue. Although it was thrilling to see so many new faces, I wondered what happened to all the people who used to show up RELIGIOUSLY at Thunders after every Parade. If you're one of those people who missed this year's Parade and Festival because of the reasons I mentioned, remember... I know who you are! And I have all year to torture you about making sure you don't miss it in 2002!