With the business that has organized the festival’s first two years first leaving Broadway and then leaving the Hill completely, CHS has learned that plans for this summer’s Broadway Pride Festival are already in motion and that organizers are planning a “man, woman, and everybody else in uniform” theme for 2011.
The Broadway Pride street festival has been sponsored and organized by the Seattle Museum of the Mysteries since debuting in 2009. According to their capitolhillpridefestival.net site, the museum is again planning the festival for 2011 for Pride Saturday, June 25th. People who have spoken with organizers say the theme will be related to the repeal of the United States military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Organizers are inviting sign-up for booths at the festival now: $200 a pop for off-Hill businesses, $100 for on-Hill and non-profits that sign up before April 15.
CHS has not spoken with the museum’s Charlette LeFevre about the 2011 festival. LeFevre in the past has referred our inquiries to her web site and said she would prefer not to speak with capitolhillseattle.com on the record.
In summer 2010 as final preparations for last year’s festival were underway, the museum moved to East Union after being unable to renew its lease at its north Broadway home. It has since packed up its collections of mysteries and oddities and left the Hill completely for new digs in the International District.
Seattle Gay Scene recently posted its concerns that the festival might not happen because of the issues with the museum:
These scheduled official Saturday PrideFest events and the lack of any announcement from any group regarding Saturday Capitol Hill Pride events indicate that last year’s Saturday Capitiol Hill Pride Event/Street Fair may not return. Seattle’s Museum of Mysteries, which instigated and organized last year’s Capitol Hill events has gone out of business but last year’s event wasn’t judged much of a success with a notable lack of booths, entertainment, or planned events and activities of interest to the general public. It’s only January so some group could still step forward to announce that there will be events on the Hill, and we’ll keep you posted. But, it does seem likely that the long tradition of the Saturday evening “Dyke March” will continue. The grassroots demonstration of lesbian pride is a high point of Pride weekend for Puget Sound lesbians and their allies and a popular event for the entire community.
While we can’t offer any quantitative support for SGS’s assertions about success of the festival, we can report that the 2010 festival expanded by three blocks. Broadway was closed between John Street and Roy Street for the all-day festival featuring music and dance performances, vendors, street food as well as sex positive education and family fun. We’ll learn more about the plans for 2011 when organizers go through the same Seattle Special Events committee process that we recently reported on for the Capitol Hill Block Party later this year.
A heck of a lot better than last year’s “Over the Rainbow”!
The photo is rather ironic, considering we now have the right to murder brown people in other parts of the world for their oil, but we don’t have the right to get married here at home. God bless the Democrats for putting equal rights behind the needs of the empire!
Never mind that rape is rampant in the military and they don’t seem to be able to do anything about it. Never mind that injured soldiers are STILL not give the treatment they need and are often forced back into combat untreated. Never mind that that fucker Obama could have stopped all investigations and discharges under DADT at any moment from January 20, 2009 to the day DADT was repealed, but instead waited until he could blame the Republicans for being obstructionist. Never mind that the repeal of DADT applies only to a very small number of LGBT people while a REAL victory, like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, was given, yet again, lip service.
Fuck DADT and fuck the Democrat-ass kissing queers who celebrate being USED by the Democrats.
Once again, let’s avoid discussing the actual lives of LGBT people. Who cares as long as we can drink and make some cash off the queers!
Doesn’t sound encouraging when the Museum of Mysteries plays all mysterious with their public that they don’t want to be “on the record” about their commitment.
I didn’t add the disclaimer this time — figure two years is statute of limitations! — but there’s history here. LeFevre served as community council vp when I was president. We didn’t always get along.
It’s possible and likely that another media outlet would have better luck with the Museum if anybody cares to give them a call.
… no mystery at all. The event for this year is in early planning stage. Anyone can call me for more details. (324-4297)
SGN had been two year supporter of the event, from the beginning, and will be involved again this year.
A few facts ….. Biggest free public event on the Hill last year, by far. Great crowd. Police estimates of the crowd over 7 hours are much higher than given credit. No incidents of any kind, and the fusion with the Dyke March which just flowed down the middle of the event was flawless. And, it was a great early evening change of pace, I loved it, cheering on the activist women of our city, proud and militant.
Businesses did very well that day, ask the Chamber, ask Panache, ask Julia’s or the Grill, and so on – and all the music, dancing, drag, comedy and multi smaller stages were a big hit. Even a pet show …
And, themes are still in discussion, not final. Of course, the repeal of DADT will be a big play, don’t we all love a big celebration of historic Victory?
Note, it is just January, many months to organize and finalize. All ideas are welcome, give me a call if you wish, or post, [email protected].
Signed: Known Pride Vampire, George Bakan/ SGN
So true. But, hopefully the festival will go on without a hitch. You should read local author, Jack Remick’s book BLOOD,about a gay mercenary whose job it really is to murder for oil.
Awesome! FYI http://OutMilitary.com – the gay military network – provides a supportive environment for active gay servicemen and women and their supporters.