Saturday, August 18, 2012

Reflections on Out in the Park 2012


I haven't seen crowd estimates yet, but my sense is that we exceeded last year's attendance figure of 17,000 people.  Although the weather was threatening at times, the rain held off and today was a truly wonderful event.  One of the things that really struck me was the fact that we had young and old, gay and straight, black, white, Asian etc. in attendance.  Indeed, the crowd was more representative of Hampton Roads' population than many of the other events that take place in Town Point Park.    Out in the Park reflected the acceptance and recognition of our common humanity that ought to be a daily reality and yet is not most of the time.  Our MC Frank Decaro from XM Radio (pictured with me above) was a delight and so much fun.  As a HR Pride board member, I am proud of what we accomplished today. 

The image below shows one of the boats from the Gay Pride Boat Parade (we have the only pride boat parade in the USA).  The energy ands sense of camaraderie was truly amazing.   I was actually choked up a couple of times at the thought that I had played a role in having this wonderful event become a reality.  Especially for the LGBT youth in attendance.   I never, ever want today's youth to experience the misery, unhappiness and self-hate that dominated my life for so many years.   If I can make a difference, then all of my past heartache has had a purpose.


My sincere thanks go out to all who played a part in putting on today's event.  Hopefully, it will serve as a message to Hampton Roads and all of Virginia that it's time to move into the 21st century and throw religious based ignorance and bigotry on the trash heap of history.  I also give special thanks to Kristine W (who is pictured below and who has a gay brother as it turns out) for her amazing performance and embrace of our community.




1 comment:

Theaterdog said...

Mike,
that choked me up a little!
I applaud you for paving the way for the young people ..and YES, there was a purpose.
Bravo
in pride
tim