Articles tagged with: PrideFest
Dance in the Streets and Increase the Beat: New Steps Forward for Pridefest 2013
[Written by Heather Aronno – Originally published at the Alaska Commons on June 7, 2013]
On the eve of the beginning of Alaska Pridefest, Anne Marie Moylan is one proud mama. Her daughter, Kate Lanier-Moylan, was just awarded a scholarship from the Pride Foundation, along with Christopher Dietrich. Pride Foundation is a philanthropic organization that lends support to LGBT causes in the northwestern part of the Lower 48 and Alaska. Moylan is also proud of the work she’s put in to this year’s Pridefest, along with her three co-chairs, or as they call themselves: quad-chairs.
Pridefest is an annual event comprising a week of activities for families, youth, elders, and everyone in between. Festivities begin this year with the Town Square Kick-Off, a family-friendly celebration featuring live music by Agents of Karma.
Representatives from every Pridefest event have been invited to speak briefly about what will be happening over the next week in order to give attendees a preview and a chance to find out more details.
And what a week!
This year’s Pridefest features events ranging from a luau at The Raven to hiking to a film festival to Drag Queen Bingo. One of the biggest events (and probably the most familiar to the casual celebrant) is a parade that wraps around downtown Anchorage and ends at the Delaney Parkstrip, where participants celebrate with food, music,and sampling the wares from the various vendor booths.
But this year, things are going to be a little different: instead of a parade with floats, vehicles and banners, this year will have a “Celebrating Diversity March.” And, Moylan says, a little bit of a dance party.
“Specifically, we’re going to have a dance party that takes us from a perspective of when the gay movement was quiet, and I’m talking ‘disco quiet.’ When people were going to clubs in big cities and they were dancing in lieu of being found out, to the point of now, where actually, we’re the one’s who have the hippest, trendiest music. You got to a gay club because it’s the place to go.
And now we’re going to actually turn this corner to increase the beat. We’re going to move to electronica, to rap, to a perspective of youth and their involvement. That has changed musically, as well as the perspective of the whole movement. So we put it together and, culturally, there is a shift. And we’re going to present all of it on that Saturday.”
Drew Phoenix, also a co-chair of Identity, Inc. and one of the other Pridefest quad-chairs, points out that a march is also more accessible than a parade.
“This is for everybody, no matter who you are. And also, I think, much more inclusive of allies…Part of it was sort of going back to our roots as a political movement. A march is more of a movement than a parade, which is more spectator participant.”
Moylan describes the scene from last year’s parade, where at first she says she did see many spectators. However, as the parade wrapped around the parkstrip, she realized that the parade seemed longer than usual. And then she realized that the “pockets of emptiness” she was seeing on the sidewalk was because people were getting up and joining the parade.
“I said, ‘this is remarkable! Well, no wonder there’s nobody watching. People are in the parade!’ So why not really transform this and make it much more emotional and more hip?”
In a way, by bucking the tradition of the parade, this year’s Pridefest is returning to its roots and embracing an older tradition of activism and inclusion.
According to Phoenix, this year’s Pridefest also marks a positive step forward in terms of local business participation as sponsors or vendors.
“We have over 60 vendors for the Pridefest [on Saturday, June 15], which is phenomenal. I think businesses see our economic power, and are taking note and getting involved. Which is big. Brand new.”
While both organizers acknowledge that Pride festivities may not mean the same thing to every participant, Moylan says that she hopes people will give themselves the chance to take part in the festivities.
“It’s not for me to define another human being or their sexuality. It’s not for me to define what kind of a good time they’re going to have at this event. I couldn’t say ‘for you it’s political’ or ‘for you it’s emotional,’ I could only say that ‘it will affect you deeply. It will move you in a way that you will forever be changed, and will mark that point as a turning ground, for what you felt was a positive shift in Anchorage, Alaska.’”
Pridefest events start on Saturday, June 8 and run through Sunday, June 16. For a full schedule and list of sponsors, go to the event website: alaskapride.org.
Identity: Stepping up & stepping out
Everybody knows what Identity is and does — but do they? Shannon Sanderson wrote this profile of the organization for a class at UAA this past June — and we thought everyone should get a chance to know Identity better.
Alaska Pride Week 2011 events
Pride Week 2011 begins on Friday June 17, and there’s something for everyone! Here is the full schedule of June Pride events in Anchorage. (Check Alaska Pride for updates and new events added after this post.)
Step Up, Step Out for Alaska Pride
The NorthView‘s spring issue is online, full of updates on the activities at Identity, including a review of the Community Center fundraiser, their new visibility campaign “I am Identity,” and this Alaska Pride article by incoming co-chair Felix Rivera (reposted with author’s permission.)
Alaska Pride asks each and every one of us to Step Up, Step Out
By Felix Rivera, Incoming Co-ChairThis year, the steering committee behind Alaska Pride is looking to step up the 9-day celebration in June, the annual Alaska Pride Fest. The dates this year are June 18 – 26.
The theme the group has selected is reminiscent of happenings throughout the country: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed, the Defense of Marriage Act is being scrutinized by White House administration, and states around the country are passing pro-equality laws.
But still, the work is not done. Anchorage still does not have an equal-rights ordinance protecting GLBT folks from undue discrimination. Even more, our GLBT brothers and sisters in Africa face threats to their lives on a daily basis. Some have even lost their lives fighting for justice.
This summer, we ask each and every Alaskan to Step Up, Step Out. So what does that mean exactly? Haven’t attended Pride Fest in a few years? We ask you to Step Up and support your local community. Want to put on an event for Pride or volunteer, but haven’t found the motivations to do so? We ask you to Step Out of your comfort zone and become involved.
Each and every one of us should follow this motto. This year, Alaska Pride asks that you run with it! After all, that is what Pride is all about: Alaska Pride promotes state-wide gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality through education and celebration.
This year, to help us better follow our motto, the steering committee has decided to put the two umbrella events of Alaska Pride Fest and Pride Conference under one label: Alaska Pride. Both of these serve to help educate ourselves on what it means to be GLBT in Alaska, but also to celebrate our Pride.
In essence, Alaska Pride Fest serves as the heart of Alaska Pride. Alaska Pride Conference serves as the
head. Head and heart. One cannot exist without the other.One heart, one mind, Alaska Pride.
Please check out our website at AlaskaPride.org, and email us at info@identityinc.org if you are interested in being a sponsor, individual donor, vendor, or volunteer.
Thanks to Felix Rivera and Emily Kloc for stepping up as the incoming Alaska Pride co-chairs, and to current co-chairs Johnathan Jones and Gail Palmer for the great work they’ve done and are doing for Alaska Pride.
What are you going to do for Alaska Pride?
