Having come out, and come of age, in the 2000s in California, after the urgency of AIDS but long before marriage equality, I found that
Pride always felt comfortable like this--a celebration with few serious stakes but plenty of Speedo-clad dancers riding waves of sound atop tinseled floats.
Despite their increased popularity, Black
Pride events face the one problem that "mainstream"
prides are all but immune to: attracting sponsorship.
Organisers put on the biggest ever
Pride Cymru this summer in Cardiff for members of the LGBT+ community.
Dance diva Ultra Nate has played so many
pride events globally that she's "lost count!" she notes with a laugh.
An AIDS activist from the early years who sees the Black
Pride roots in that movement, Fowlkes says lesbians are critical to
Pride.
Having a blast: A reveller at a former Gay
Pride event in Birmingham.
BP: We've changed our schedule to a three-day festival and we're going to be booking a lot of local and national talent as we get closer to
Pride. However, I think the most important thing we're going to do is continue to provide a safe and comfortable environment for LGBT and allied people to be who they are in a public environment with their friends and family.
Gian Molinu, chair at
Pride Cymru, said: "We are thrilled to host our first ever dog show and excited to be collaborating with Dog Trust and help raise funds for a great charity.
The event will conclude with the Stonewall
Pride Dance from 8pm-12am.
Baltic
Pride has had a troubled past after Latvian offi-cials banned the march in 2009 and last year the festival was suspended in Lithuania after authorities claimed that they could not guarantee the participants' safety.
July 15-17 * San Diego
Pride: One World, One Heart, One
Pride Festival (sdpride.org)
"Unlike a lot of adult prides--and I'm a huge fan of them--this is not brought to you by liquor and lube," says youth
pride coordinator Mark Taggart, 30.