Phoenix Pride celebrates and promotes the history, diversity and future prosperity of the metropolitan Phoenix LGBTQ community. The city has already begun its 10 Days of Pride celebration, but you can jump into the action this weekend.
Start on Friday with the National Day of Silence, then hit the Pride Kick-Off Party. You can also celebrate in the streets on Saturday with the Gay Pride Parade, featuring Lynda Carter—the actress made famous as the face of Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series—among other amazing participants. Add in two festival days and you've got an amazing start to the 2011 Gay Pride season!
Like last year, we want to celebrate with you! Send us your Gay Pride photos! Be sure to include your name, email address, and city in the email. Your photos could be featured in our Gay Pride Gallery.
FRIDAY
National Day of Silence
GLSEN's National Day of Silence encourages hundreds of thousands of students nationwide to take a vow of silence and bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in their schools. In solidarity, Phoenix Pride is making this a part of their weekend. Get more info here.
Pride Kick-Off Party
Radisson Phoenix City Center
3600 N. 2nd Ave. (at Osborn)
2:00-8:00PM
This is the first Pride pool party and happy hour, with the fabulous Jessica and Hunter entertaining the crowd. Attendees will also enjoy sand volleyball, pool games, DJs spinning, free Gun Oil gift bag to the first 100 people, a tequila bar and more.
Afterwards, the Smirnoff Pride Bar Crawl Bus, hosted by SWAY Events, will take lucky contest-winners and ticket-holders across the Valley to celebrate Pride in several bars throughout the evening!
SATURDAY
Gay Pride Parade
3rd Street from Thomas to Indian School
Step off: 11:00AM
For over 30 years Phoenix Pride has been organizing marches, rallies, parades and entertainment and educational events to celebrate the Phoenix LGBT community. For the last 15 years Phoenix Pride has produced the Pride Parade, featuring walking groups, floats and more. This is the kick-off event to the two-day Pride Festival, bringing in over 10,000 spectators.
This year the Community Grand Marshals are human rights activists Jimmy Gruender and Meg Sneed. The LGBTQ Youth Grand Marshal is 15 year old Caleb Laieski of Gays & Lesbians United Against Discrimination. And the Celebrity Grand Marshals are Derek & Romaine from OUTq Channel 109 on Sirius Radio, and Lynda Carter, who is best known for winning our hearts as Wonder Woman. (Though some of us still adore her CBS music specials and the short-lived Partners in Crime TV series co-starring Loni Anderson. But maybe that's just us...)
Check out this amazing video of Lynda with KISS, not from Wonder Woman, but from one of her music specials. It's too good (and insane) for words!
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
LGBT Pride Festival
Steele indian School Park
11:00AM - 9:00PM
This two-day event brings together Phoenix's diverse LGBT and allied communities for a weekend of camaraderie and celebration of the past, present and future, while also raising money for Phoenix Pride and its community programs. Last year saw over 30,000 attendees and is the hotspot for fun.
The 2011 festival features dancing, workshops, and numerous entertainers, including Uh Huh Her, comedian Carlease Burke, Shiny Toy Guns, one of faves Ari Gold, Velvet Nation, Blake Lewis and the amazing Tiffany. Get the full schedule of performers and times here.
Don't forget to send us your Gay Pride photos to be featured in our Gay Pride Gallery.
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