Philly Gay Pride 2006 weekend recap
Drove into the city Saturday afternoon and attended the Pennsylvania LeatherSir and Leatherboy 2006 Contest which was held at the main floor of the Bike Stop. The contest, which started around 5pm, drew a good sized crowd. One man was up for the title of LeatherSir (but he still had to get a 75% score from the judges to win the title) and three vied for the title of Leatherboy. In the end Ryan Tittel won the LeatherSir title and Just Costellos won the Leatherboy title. They both go off to Baltimore, MD to compete at Mid-Atlantic LeatherSir and Mid-Atlantic Leatherboy 2006 on July 8.
I went out to grab a burger and came back to the Bike Stop where the Philadelphians held their pre-Pride Social in the main bar from 8pm to midnight. Much of the crowd (which included some titleholders) that was there for the LeatherSir/boy contest remained for the social. It turned out to be a big success. I helped out with selling tickets for the 50/50 raffle. There was also a door prize of the Hollywood Royality Edition of the Mommie Dearest DVD. Near the end the drawing for the 50/50 cash prize of $114 was held but each time a number was drawn and called out no one was there to claim it. After the third time it was decided that there would be no more numbers drawn and that prize money would go into the travel fund for the PA LeatherSir and Leatherboy. After that I decided to go home around midnight so I could get a few hours sleep for the Gay Pride parade the following morning.
On Sunday the Philadelphians and the people that were to be on the Bike Stop float gathered at the bar at ten o'clock-ish. We got the stuff for the float and went to 13th Street between Walnut and Locust where the float, which featured a firemen's theme, was assembled. The Philly Gay Pride Parade kicked off at the corner of 13th and Locust at noon. The Philadelphians marched in front of the Bike Stop float. It was a rush being cheered by the crowd as we march through the street. There were the usual Christain supremicsts holding their God-is-gonna-git-you-sodomites signs, mostly at 11th and Market, but we mostly ignored them. We saw a lot of gay people sitting at the outdoor cafes in Old City as we marched down Market Street.
We finally around arrived at Penns Landing around 1:30pm, where the Gay Pride Festival was held. It was good to have the festival back at the Great Plaza section; the last time it was there was back in 1999. It certainly was a better location than it was last year (which was at some hot vacant lot on Washington and Broad Streets), with the breeze coming from the Delaware River and taking the edge off the 80F degree and very sunny weather. People were still filing in and the onstage entertainment didn't begin until 2:15, which I didn't really pay too much attention. Walked around and checked out the various booths for the next two hours. Found out that the Bike Stop had won the Best Bar Float Award, as well as the Fruit Bowl Grand Prize, for the parade; Congrats! By 4pm I was starting to get tired and decided walk back with a club brother and a friend of his back to the gayborhood, where I cooled off with a soda at the BS before I drove home.
I took some photos at the parade and festival, which are being developed right now. They should be up in a day or two.
I went out to grab a burger and came back to the Bike Stop where the Philadelphians held their pre-Pride Social in the main bar from 8pm to midnight. Much of the crowd (which included some titleholders) that was there for the LeatherSir/boy contest remained for the social. It turned out to be a big success. I helped out with selling tickets for the 50/50 raffle. There was also a door prize of the Hollywood Royality Edition of the Mommie Dearest DVD. Near the end the drawing for the 50/50 cash prize of $114 was held but each time a number was drawn and called out no one was there to claim it. After the third time it was decided that there would be no more numbers drawn and that prize money would go into the travel fund for the PA LeatherSir and Leatherboy. After that I decided to go home around midnight so I could get a few hours sleep for the Gay Pride parade the following morning.
On Sunday the Philadelphians and the people that were to be on the Bike Stop float gathered at the bar at ten o'clock-ish. We got the stuff for the float and went to 13th Street between Walnut and Locust where the float, which featured a firemen's theme, was assembled. The Philly Gay Pride Parade kicked off at the corner of 13th and Locust at noon. The Philadelphians marched in front of the Bike Stop float. It was a rush being cheered by the crowd as we march through the street. There were the usual Christain supremicsts holding their God-is-gonna-git-you-sodomites signs, mostly at 11th and Market, but we mostly ignored them. We saw a lot of gay people sitting at the outdoor cafes in Old City as we marched down Market Street.
We finally around arrived at Penns Landing around 1:30pm, where the Gay Pride Festival was held. It was good to have the festival back at the Great Plaza section; the last time it was there was back in 1999. It certainly was a better location than it was last year (which was at some hot vacant lot on Washington and Broad Streets), with the breeze coming from the Delaware River and taking the edge off the 80F degree and very sunny weather. People were still filing in and the onstage entertainment didn't begin until 2:15, which I didn't really pay too much attention. Walked around and checked out the various booths for the next two hours. Found out that the Bike Stop had won the Best Bar Float Award, as well as the Fruit Bowl Grand Prize, for the parade; Congrats! By 4pm I was starting to get tired and decided walk back with a club brother and a friend of his back to the gayborhood, where I cooled off with a soda at the BS before I drove home.
I took some photos at the parade and festival, which are being developed right now. They should be up in a day or two.
posted by Chris Krakora at 10:25 PM
2 Comments:
happy belated Pride!!
Happy Pride, Chris!!
I had a fab day despite the god people. In the words of the Dead Kennedys: god must be dead if you're alive!
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