Columbus Pride Holiday is a full weekend this year

by Anthony Glassman

Columbus--Stonewall Columbus? annual Pride Holiday faced some setbacks going into this year?s event: Bicentennial Park is under construction, forcing a move to Goodale Park, which isn?t available on their traditional fourth Saturday of June.

Organizers took the adage about lemons and lemonade to heart, and decided to use those setbacks to make Pride bigger and better than ever.

Perhaps taking a cue from Cincinnati?s ever-successful two-day festival filled with music, Pride Holiday is both Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20. Rockin? in the Streets is now part of Pride, instead of a Pride event outside of the festival.

The Freedom Stage, at Goodale Park, will start up at 5 pm on Friday, with emcee Lustivious de la Virgione.

Performers include Melissa Ferrick, the Trina Hamlin Band with Allison Miller and Gail Ann Dorsey, Coyote Grace and Steph Taylor and the State Of.

Filling out the roster are Martine Locke, Chrissy Foster, Drew Davis, Rain Maxwell, the Columbus Women?s Drum Chorus, Viva?s Red Light Burlesque and Belly Dancers, Highjinks Stiltwalkers and Mary B.

Two hours after Rockin? in the Streets begins during the Friday half of the Pride Holiday festival, a second concert starts at the ?Gayzebo? stage.

Performers there include Greggles, Josh Zuckerman, No Shade, Joshua Klipp, Jeff Altergott and Spin Columbus.

On Saturday, the more traditional festival takes place, beginning with the Pride parade.

The parade reverses its route from past years. Line-up begins at noon at the Ohio Statehouse, then at 1 pm heads north on High Street to Buttles Ave., then west into Goodale Park.

At Goodale, the entertainment continues with both stages going strong.

Performers include some returnees from the previous evening, but also Kat Deluna, Nina West, the Fabulous Johnson Brothers, World Famous Weed Eaters, Unecc with One Eye Theory, Frozen Feet, Team Smile and Nod, DJ Sean and Derek and Romaine on the main stage.

On the ?Gayzebo? Stage, get ready for karaoke, drag kings and queens, the Columbus Stompers, the Flaggots, Capital Pride Band, Columbus Gay Men?s Chorus and the Columbus Women?s Chorus.

If that isn?t enough music, a third stage will provide dance music both nights, featuring DJs Craig Roberts, Tony C and Chris X.

And get ready to really bust loose, since there will be beer, wine and liquor at this year?s festival, a mechanical bull, a rock wall, gladiator joust, a giant slide and a lot more throughout the festival.

And, while the Bible says God rested on the seventh day and the Christian faith interprets that as Sunday, Pride figures you can rest on Monday, after wrapping up the weekend with the Pride Brunch at the Westin.

This year?s brunch is a ?Salute to Judy Garland,? on the 40th anniversary of her death. The brunch begins at 11 am, and tickets are $35.

Music will be provided by the Richard Lopez Trio with singer Carolyn Mapes, and the brunch honors grand marshal Rupert ?Twink? Starr, a longtime LGBT activist and a World War II veteran.

Full information about the Stonewall Columbus Pride Holiday can be found at www.columbuspride.org.