Tomorrow, Saturday June 26, is the big day: the Alaska PrideFest 2010 Diversity Parade and Festival on the Park Strip! Here is the scoop on the parade route and the festival entertainment, food, and activities for kids and adults, from the NorthView’s June Pride issue by Identity.

——

“Paint your toenails, get out your boas, don your Levis and leathers, and get those dykes on their bikes because Pride is here again!”

Pride Parade – June 26th 11:00 AM

Come to the Pride parade! March, ride in a float, or loudly cheer on those fabulous folks who do! The parade begins at 11:00 at 6th and D Street. We will proceed west on 6th Avenue and turn left on K Street, right on 8th Street, left on L Street, left on 10th Avenue and end at Delaney Park near the flagpole in time for the start of our festival on the park strip. Let’s turn up and show some fabulous, finger snapping, glittery pride!

Co-hosting the main stage activities are two Empresses: Alaska’s current reigning Empress 37, Miss Meme Jenkins, and former Empress 11 of Southern Nevada, Ginger Grant, along with Mad Myrna’s Friday Nite Diva Show host, Miss Paige. We’ll kickoff PrideFest with the National Anthem and State song followed by proclamations and Invocation by an Alaska Native elder. After that, it’ll be one great performance after another! You won’t want to miss a minute! There’ll be something for everyone. The fun starts at noon on the Park Strip at the big main stage!

This year’s performers include a wide array of talent, including some of past year’s favorites and some new faces too! Divas Ashley, Jovy and Delicious will strut their stuff for your pleasure. Underground Dance Company will wow you with dance performances. The Lu Lu Small Band will get you dancing on the grass and more live music from local solo artists and bands will keep you dancing.

It’s in the large middle section of the Park Strip and we will have lots of entertainment and booths open till 6pm this year. That’s one hour longer than in the past.

We’ve got lots of food!!!! We’ve got fried food, barbequed dogs and burgers, we’ve got reindeer sausages and we’ve got trendy quesadillas, gyros and still more…yep…we scored on the food this year!

Activities

Bungee Run – $5 for three runs. Hours and hours of fun, you and your friends can try and make it to the end of the bungee run — but you won’t! Padded harnesses hold you back and will knock you off your feet!

Bucking Salmon – $5 for three tries. Alaskans can sometimes have a difficult time satisfying their appetite for excitement. You can now “Ride the Red” where you can ride our fully functional mechanical bull transformed into a custom made Chinook salmon. Now there’s a fish story that you have to see to believe.

Sumo Wrestling – $5 for 2 people to play 3 bouts. Belly up to this one! The Sumo Wrestling Suits let everyone experience authentic Sumo Wrestling first hand. Adults try to pin their opponent.

Obstacle Course – $1 per run. This is an inflatable course of obstacles for you to navigate. Test your level of butch or show off for your honey.

We have new booths and activities this year that are geared to the children in all of us. No need to look for them–they will be right in the middle of things. Get silly and have fun!

For the little ones we have a very inexpensive Kiddie Carnival. We’ve got a hang-out booth for teens. No older adults and no babysitting of the small fry allowed. Strictly a space for teens to kick back on the bean bags and chill!

This year’s way cool PrideFest t-shirts are short sleeved and black with the 2010 A Pride Odyssey logo on the front. They cost $20 (unless you are a volunteer and get a $5 discount) and come in sizes XS to 4XL. You can purchase your shirt at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center (336 East 5th Avenue), Pride on the ParkStrip, and other Pride events.

Of course, the best logo on the blackest t-shirts will be at the Identity Booth. There will be stickers and t-shirts, and hopefully, some rainbow boas, too, for you to purchase!

Visit the Alaska PrideFest website at www.AlaskaPride.org for more information about the Diversity Parade, the Pride Festival on the Park Strip, and other Pride Week events.