Portland Pride

I'm a couple days late on this one. Just now getting to going through some pics I took at the parade on Sunday.
It was a good time, we were down on Naito at the end of the route. Portland's pride festivities just seem a lot different than the ones I've been to in other cities. The fence and "suggested donation" kept me out of the main area last year. This year I probably wouldn't have gone in if Jill Sobule hadn't been playing. I'd always wanted to see her live and couldn't miss her while she was within walking distance.
I like my gay festivals un-fenced. I don't know why the fence is such a big deal to me, but someting about it just pisses me off. Once inside, it just felt like any other festival I've been to on the waterfront, brew fest, bite of Oregon, blues fest, etc. Everything seemed so...not gay. I only saw one dude in assless chaps without jeans, and he had a scarf covering his bum. "I like my beer cold, my TV loud, and my homosexuals flaming!" (Simpson, Homer) Well, not usually, but its pride. Can't we gay it up a little more?
Portland pride is just a little more family friendly than I'm used to, and I don't think that's a bad thing. I think its a good reflection of our culture in the city. Even Stark st (vaseline alley by the way is my favorite name for a gay district ever!) seems to be getting quieter as the queers feel comfortable going almost anywhere, we can branch out from thumping bass and waify boy cock on a video screen, into other parts of the city and do whatever the hell we want with whoever we want because we're not in "beffert inda-ana" or whatever backwater you're from. We're in a city where people have better things to do than care about strangers.










Gay rugby and square dancing? Check it out.