Rochester Pride: Wear Your Flair Edition

This is the last installment of the Rochester Pride Series and will be an eclectic mix of groups and people that stood out at the parade thanks to their particular flair. Few things scream "PRIDE!!" like a bunch of men carrying a pink dragon. Well done, sirs.

I don't even want to know how long it took to put this balloon carriage together, but it is amazing. I would have to say that the Creativity Flair Award would to go to this float. (That may not seem like a big deal, but this is a Pride Parade, so you know...the creative flair standard is at it's highest.)

We LOVE parents that carry signs (and beliefs) like this gentleman. If every parent of every child were like this, bigotry would go the way of the dodo.

These PFLAG parents make me extremely happy. Kiltman asked this lady on the right which son she loved more and she replied "I love them EQUALLY!" Awesome. 

The GAGV youth group sported a Robin Hood theme which this okapi is all about. It's great that there's a supportive place for the LGBTQ youth to go and be fully accepted.

Even our neighbors from Buffalo showed up with this awesome bison statue. Ah, a bison in drag...all is well in the world.

ROC City Roller Derby came in full bad-ass flair. This okapi thinks roller derby is a kick-ass sport where women show how much tougher they are than guys. By the way: The members of this league do all aspects of the business: it is a member owned and run organization meaning the skaters do everything from marketing to accounting to training and competing. See? Bad-ass.

The Fagbug was at the parade which is damn cool. The lady driving it had her car vandalized due to sporting a pride sticker. She decided to use the negative experience to spread the word about hate crimes and homophobia by traveling the country with her spray painted car. When she returned home, she had it repainted in full rainbow. Way to show 'em Fagbug!!

In closing this okapi would like to let you know that Pride Week is really the only time of year that many of us can let our flair show fully. Members of the LGBTQ community are a minority who spend their lives living by the rules and norms of another group. We learn to blend in so that we can get jobs, housing, and acceptance. We have to be aware of our surroundings and the people around us, so next time you see one of us that doesn't blend in to the bigger society, please don't stare-we're just trying to make it to next Pride Week without losing too much of ourselves.

Rochester Pride: Queen Edition

This is part of a three piece series about the Rochester Pride Parade 2011. I will of course start out with the most important part of any parade: the Queens!!

This year's parade was much bigger than in years past. This is a huge year for New York on the path to equal rights, so we were out celebrating our new right to marry in force this weekend.

There seemed to be some sort of fairy tale theme to some of the Queens this year which is awesome!

We like to go down near where the parade ends and get some nice side street parking a few blocks away. We tend to secure a nice curbside spot and spread out under a tree on Park Ave near Goodman.

I'm happy to say that the furries were represented. This okapi would love to see people dressed in furry outfits at all times. (No I'm not one, but I do know some!)

This is an awesome three wheel vehicle that makes me think of The Undertaker. "Fancy" says that she would totally travel in a motorcycle like this because t isn't likely to flip over and cause a stick to go through her head.

Ah, Alice. Who doesn't love the Mad Hatter? My favorite part about this pic is that the grill of the truck isn't decorated. Wonderland, indeed.

Like the gurls up there, I too will wave goodbye to you my loyal and appreciated readers. Stay tuned for my next installment for some more Rochester Pride!