Pride organizers in St. Pete can be, well, proud, that their efforts have yielded not just one event, but several weeks' worth of festivities, complete with a city proclamation (not signed by Mayor Baker) that declared June as St. Pete Pride Month. But everything in June leads up to The Parade, when anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 revelers are expected to stroll, strut and shop all day and into the night with a street festival, promenade and after-party. Susan nee Steve Stanton is the Grand Marshall, celebrating her newfound celebrity as a standard-bearer for sexual minorities everywhere, and parade planners promise that last year's annoying claque of Bible-distorting loudmouths will be confined to a specific area, preventing them from raining too much hatred on the parade. Sat., June 30: Promenade, leaves Georgie's Alibi at 10 a.m. continues through Historic Kenwood and down Central Avenue to 21st Street; Festival, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Central Avenue between 21st and 28th streets; and Grand Central Station After-Party, 8 p.m.-2 a.m., 2612 Central Ave., St. Petersburg.
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 3, 2007.