Alec Mapa, lesbians and hot athletes to headline Philly Pride
It's that time of year!
We brave the summer sun, or ugly weather of all sorts, to walk out of our closets - and into the streets! Look out homophobes, it is our time to shine! This weekend, starting on June 14, gay boys and lesbian girls celebrate Philadelphia's Gay Pride! To ensure that you don't miss any of the glamour, EDGE has studied the schedule in-depth to determine what events are a can't miss!
FRIDAY, JUNE 12
Team Philadelphia kick-off event
Adorable jocks will take over Tavern on Camac (243 S. Camac St) from 7 - 9 p.m. Hobnob with our community's cutest athletes while former Federation Sports Co-Chair Addie Santiago and Tony Bono, Team Philadelphia delegate to the Federation, distribute information and answer your questions about Gay Games VIII next year in Cologne, Germany, For , Visit www.phillysportsweek.info more information on this fun and fit event.
SATURDAY, JUNE 13
11th annual Philadelphia Dyke March
Starting in Kahn Park [11th and Pine Streets] at 3 p.m., join many of the region's leading LGBT activists on an inspirational and enlightening rally! Since 1998, The march has provided an alternative to the mainstream, patriarchal, corporate parties traditional pride parades have become. All are invited, most especially: gay wimmin, lipstick lesbians, womyn who love womyn, fat dykes, power femmes, babydykes, mami chulas, gender outlaws, womyn of color, lesbian feminists, closeted femmes, old butches, baby dykes, separatists, trans dykes, queer grrrls, dyke daddies, butches, lesbian moms, FTMs, boychix, leatherdykes, bi-dykes, femmes, angry dykes, virgin bi-sexuals, girl scouts gone bad, LGBT students, bulldaggers, adrogynous gay babes, crones, anarchist punk chicks, MTFs, girljocks, tomboys, working girls, nuns on the run, women in the life, drag kings, bois and lesbian octogenarians. All allies are welcome along the march route. www.myspace.com/philadelphiadykemarch
SUNDAY, JUNE 14
One-Mile Run/Walk for Pride
Catch them if you can! Our local LGBT running group, the Front Runners, will celebrate Gay Pride and Team Philadelphia's Sports Week with an uber-fabulous one mile run through the streets of Center City. This ain't the Broad Street Run honey, this will be gay-gay-gay! Beginning at 13th and Locust Streets at 11:45 a.m., participants will be timed on the course, with awards given to the top three boi and grrrl finishers. The entry fee is $20 in advance and $25 on race day. Visit www.phillysportsweek.info for more information on this fun and fit event.
Philly Gay Pride Parade
Immediately after the Frontrunners sweat their socks off on the route, Philly Pride Presents will initiate the "official" pride festivities with its annual parade. Beginning at 13th and Locust Streets, the parade heads southeast to 12th and Pine Streets, then north to Market Street. The parade continues east to Penn's Landing from 12th and Market Streets. Did you catch all that? No? Well just listen for all the high-pitched voices and lisping! Watch as dozens of local businesses, organizations, and LGBTQ groups from all over the region sashay down a huge cobblestone runway! Check out www.phillypride.org for more information on the parade route.
Philadelphia Pride Festival at Penn's Landing
As the parade is winding down, the world's most fabulous Pride Festival will be heating up. Alec Mapa from Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and Logo will headline the afternoon's festivities. Mapa is like an adopted son to Philadelphia. This cutie was here for last summer's Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. If you missed him then, don't miss him now! Gates open at noon and close at 6 p.m. with more than 120 community groups and vendors. Always a popular event, the festival is only $10 per person. Tickets will be sold at the entrance. www.phillypride.org.
Triumphant Pride at Mad River
Legendary nightclub and event maestro Bruce Yelk hosts his third annual Triumphant Pride! The shindig is being held this year at Mad River (126 Chestnut St.) - only one block from Penn's Landing. Normally, this joint is super-straightville, but today it will be your rainbow connection. The fun starts at 4 p.m. with host Miss Aeryanha Von Moi, Philly's most powerful DIVA! Ka-Boom! Fresh licks will be provided by the Delaware Valley's greatest disc jockey, Reenie Kane. www.nightlifegay.com/Pride.html