Pride Guide 2001 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

B-15

Columbus Pride Holiday celebrates two decades

Parade kickoff returns to Goodale Park, but at the western side, on Dennison Avenue

by Anthony Glassman

Columbus-"Twenty Years of Pride: Fairness, Safety, Equality" will be the theme of this year's Columbus Pride Holiday celebration.

Celebrated continuously since 1981, this is Ohio's longest-running Pride event. Stonewall Columbus, the event's organizer, is determined to make this year's festivities the best, connecting the past, present and future of LGBT Pride in one dynamic whole.

The events of Pride weekend will span the centuries, starting with "20 Years of Pride, 2,000 Years of Faith," and ecumenical Pride worship service at the Broad St. United Methodist Church, located at the corner of Broad St. and Washington, at 10 am Saturday June

23.

The parade kickoff will return to Goodale Park this year, but this time on the west side of the park along Dennison Ave. The ComFest fair is on the east side of the park.

The parade will line up starting at 11 am June 23. At noon, marchers will step off, head north to Buttles Ave., east to High St., then follow High to the festival, once again held at Bicentennial Park on the Scioto River downtown.

In addition to changing the location of the step-off, there will be another alteration to

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and Gloria McCauley, the heart and soul ofBRAVO, the Buckeye region AntiViolence Organization; Brad Koogler, founder of Kaleidoscope Youth Center; Dwight Moody, Martha Boadt and Josette Bodonyi, founders of Columbus P-FLAG, and Gloria Smith, former executive director of Columbus AIDS Task Force. This is, of course, a small sampling of the people who have shaped the last twenty years of gay life in Columbus; the complete list is at left.

Pride will bring back the ever-popular dog tags to indicate that you have already made your donation when you enter the festival. This year, they will be orange. The tags will be $7, which includes the $5 donation for the

KEHR BAILEY

Pride-goers watch stage performers from the shade of trees at last year's festival.

festival. A limited number of Pride 2000 dog tags are also available through Stonewall Columbus. This year's tags will also be avail-

The Human Rights Campaign made a strong showing in the 2000 Columbus Pride parade.

the parade from last year. Last year for the first time, the Columbus Pride Parade had grand marshals. This year, there will be over 20 of them.

A poll was taken for people who have made the most difference in Columbus' LGBT community, and the top 20 people, or groups of people, will ride in cars in places of honor in the parade if they are able.

Among the honorees are Todd Anglin and Ed Tomsic, held in high regard for their longtime activism and involvement with a number of local organizations; Chris Cozad

able with Freedom Rings. The dog tag/Freedom Ring combination is $15. Dog tags must be purchased in advance.

Pride will also introduce a new fundraising effort, Pledge a Protester. Much like pledging for a charity walk, you simply pledge to donate a certain amount of money for each protester that shows up to spew bile at the parade. As the organizers note, either the protesters will stay away to keep from supporting Pride, or they will ensure that Pride continues to raise funds for the LGBT community.

Among the events at

fes-

tival itself, one of the most popular is the commitment ceremony. Last year, 55 couples were joined at Pride, the largest group in Columbus Pride's history.

This year, the ceremony, officiated by Rev. Rickie Marecek, will be at 5 pm on the main stage after the last performance. Marecek will be available next to the entrance to the Family Area to sign couples up for the ceremony, or couples can call her at 740-345-4952 to preregister, so she will have a certificate ready on the day of the event. The suggested donation for each certificate is $10.

Of course, Pride wouldn't be complete without entertainment. This year, the performances will be emceed by the Cap City Divas, with Verna Dette, Vinnie Viagra, 2 Sides of Susan, 2001 Outie Award-winning Female Illusionist Mary Ann Brandt, the

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Columbus Gay Men's Chorus, Legacy, HIS Kings and the Columbus Stompers are all scheduled to perform.

The festival will end at 6 pm this year, due to the large numbers of people leaving well before last year's 7 pm closing time.

The end of the festival, however, does not mark the end of the festivities. In addition to numerous bar parties on Saturday night, Sunday morning brings Pride Brunch 2001, hosted by Suzanne Westenhoefer, at Lindey's, 169 E. Beck St. Tickets for the 11:30 am event are $50. They had been $75, but support from Lindey's enabled the price to be dropped.

Perhaps the most famous, or infamous, Pride event in Columbus will take place after the brunch. The Bat 'n' Rouge drag softball

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game will have a Brady Bunch theme this year, featuring a contest for the best Tiger imperson-

ator.

The game has been moved to Mohawk Middle School's ball field, located at 300 E. Livingston Ave.

The event will benefit Stonewall Columbus, Camp Sunrise, Pater Noster House, the Ohio AIDS Coalition and the Columbus Lesbian and Gay Softball Association.

At the end of the month, the final Pride event will end things on a bittersweet note. A candlelight vigil will be held on Thursday, June 28 at 9 pm on the steps of City Hall to remember those who have gone before, a fitting end to "Twenty Years of Pride-Fairness, Safety, Equality."

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