PrideFest Meshes Music, Food, Comedy, and More

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When Beverly McClellan was 15-years-old, her father gave her away, one of the many conflicts she's had with her sexual identity through the years.

In the face of adversity, she persevered, eventually becoming a star. But to her, performing at this year's PrideFest will be more than just another show.

"It's not easy, but you have to believe in yourself," she said. "So it's important to have this PrideFest - It's like our Christmas," she says.

The festival, which spans the weekend of March 10 at the Holiday Park and War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, is put on by Pride South Florida. And this year, along with taking on a relatively new board of directors, the festival itself has taken on numerous changes.

"It's not your normal PrideFest," said Marc Hansen, president of Pride South Florida and a co-chair of the festival. "We try to make it about the entire community - we want everybody to know it's about everybody."

The theme this year is 'Beyond the rainbow,' in preparation for next year's theme: 'The future is ours.'

Citing social and political progress in the arenas of adoption, marriage and the rights within the military, Hansen says that, "we have reached a point in our community where we're getting past what had held us back."

He adds that "we need everyone to work together - let there not be a label at all," adding that in the Declaration of Independence "it doesn't say pursuit of happiness only for straight people - that's what this is about."

In charge of the fun at the event as its entertainment chair, Marc Scharphorn said that this year, Pride South Florida is stepping its efforts up "with performers who are a little more timely."

"We're getting out of that 80s-diva feel that's been done in the past," he says. "We tried to do find a headline each night that makes people want to come out and sit in the park."

Among the celebrities entertaining this year will be Beverly McClellan, who made it to the final round of the The Voice last year, in an appearance that Scharphorn calls "homecoming" of sorts. McLellan grew up in South Florida and has worked the Fort Lauderdale music scene for years. After a short move to Los Angeles, McClellan said she came back here because she loves the area, calling it home.

"PrideFest is a celebration so I get to go out and do my gift and sing for people of all denominations," she said. "It's not a gay event, it's a gay celebration."

Indeed, she's celebrating her success in the music industry, with her new album Fear Nothing, released last year. She said fellow musicians often congratulate her, calling her success a "big deal" in the heterosexual world. Two weeks after Pride Fest, McClellan will find out if she's won a Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Award, for which she was nominated.

"It doesn't matter what age you start dreaming - I'm still that little girl who sang into my hairbrush," she says of herself. "God does not make mistakes - he made me. And he made everybody to sleep under the same moon."

Also appearing at PrideFest will be Taylor Dayne who reached the peak of her fame in the 80s and 90s. She's had 18 songs hit the Billboard's top ten, with her most recent hit being "Floor on Fire." Recently she appeared on a Food Network cooking challenge, making it to the second-to-last episode. For her last dish, she made a South Florida favorite: matzo ball soup.

"It's a tremendous honor to be part of the growing awareness of the community itself," she says. "It's always a lot of fun, too, when I do these concerts and everyone comes out."

Asked what songs she plans on playing from her 24 years of making music, she assures fans that they'll get to "hear some hits - that's for sure."

For more info on PrideFest, go to www.pridesouthflorida.org

Taste the Rainbow, and Beyond

When: Saturday and Sunday, March 10 and 11; noon to 7 p.m.

Where: Holiday Park and War Memorial Auditorium

800 NE 8th St., Fort Lauderdale

How much:

$10 a day at the door

$15 for the whole weekend if you buy online at www.pridesouthflorida.org