Despite the very, very hot weather, this weekend's Pride events in Hampton Roads seemed to have come off without a hitch. Things got underway yesterday with an always popular pier party at the Ocean View Fishing Pier - the door proceeds went to help finance the Hampton Roads Men's Chorus. I am not sure what the total attendance numbers turned out to be, but during the 4:00 PM til 10:00 PM and later event, I suspect that the total numbers were 750 to 1000. The pier parties are always an interesting study in contrast with the LGBT party goers of every age bracket and description - certainly not our detractors' stereotype image - partying away on the top deck while redneck Bubba types are fishing on the pier. Fortunately, this year two additional bars were operating on the top deck to help cut down the log jam getting drinks.*
Out in the Park today seemed the best organized ever and even included a local auto dealership as one of the exhibitors. Also new were several new churches - including Eastern Shore Chapel, one of the oldest Episcopal Church parishes in Virginia Beach - MetLife, the district management for Farmers Insurance, and several mainstream advertising home improvement/construction companies. While this area's Pride event is nothing compared to many cities, the fact that it's taking place - this was the 22nd annual event - and growing speaks a lot to the change taking place in the region, albeit way to slowly for my satisfaction. Working the HRBOR site at Out in the Park I discovered that LOTS of folks saw yours truly on the Friday evening news discussing HRBOR's meeting with Economic Development personnel from the City of Hampton.
1 comment:
Go Eastern Shore!
Post a Comment