Pride in review

TRANS MARCH
Approximately 1,000 people came out for the Trans Pride March on the Friday night of Pride weekend. The march, which included chanting, placards and banners, was refreshingly political. Kudos to organizers Diane Grant and Karah Mathiason for making it happen and here’s to hoping it becomes a staple of the weekend.

NO SHOWS
Although it’s unclear at this point exactly which acts skipped out on their Pride stage spots the Village Stage at Church and Wellesley stood empty for at least part of Saturday night. Such a shame when there are tons of talented local performers who would’ve given their left tits for the chance to bask in the limelight.

FINDING THE SILVER LINING
The weather wasn’t entirely cooperative on Sunday, though it did mostly let up for the Parade itself. Here’s to the irrepressible folks who didn’t let a little rain stop them from getting their Pride on.

GETTING BEHIND A CAUSE
Whether it was calling for rights for queers around the globe, defending/deploring Israel’s human rights record or calling for access to medical marijuana, participants proved that there is a place at Pride for political statements.

SATELLITE PRIDE SITES
It was a great idea but after a second year of underattended events in some of the smaller parkettes at the northwest edge of the gaybourhood it’s time to reassess — ’cause when you’re using a microphone to announce the next act to a crowd of six people, that’s just sad.

GOING WITH THE FLOW
The crowds on the main arteries were moving well by all accounts, with none of the major bottlenecks that have plagued years past.

TWO-TIER SYSTEM
Charging big bucks for the Pride Gala is one thing, but creating a VIP line-bypass system for Pride stages is quite another. The $99 pass allowed preferred access to the Wellesley Stage, the South Stage in addition to three gaybourhood bars. Not exactly inclusive.