Pride Guide, June 3, 2005

Cincinnati events celebrate both Pride and election win

by Anthony Glassman

Cincinnati--While the rest of the country was reeling after the thrashing in the last election, Cincinnati Pride came back from the dissolution of its organizing committee to show that, in Cincinnati, they know how to keep Pride Alive.

As much a celebration of the long-overdue repeal of Article 12 as a traditional Pride festival, Pride Alive kicked off June 1 with a rally on Fountain Square featuring speakers from Citizens to Restore Fairness and the Northern Kentucky Fairness Alliance. Both groups successfully motivated people in their respective communities to pass pro-gay legislation in 2003 and, in the case of CRF, repeal Article 12 last fall. This was the lone LGBT victory at the ballot box in a year of anti-gay state constitutional amendments.

The rally kicked off a month of events centered around the Pride parade and the traditional two-day festival in Hoffner Park.

The parade will step off at 1 pm on Sunday, June 12, the second day of the Pride Alive festival, from Burnet Woods and make its way to Hoffner Park where the festival will already be in its second day. The parade�s grand marshal, attorney Scott Knox, was honored by Lawyer�s Weekly not only for his dedication to the community but also for his ability to successfully litigate for his LGBT clients.

The Saturday and Sunday festival will feature a full slate of entertainers, including Disappear Fear, Robin Stone, the Cincinnati Men�s Chorus, Island Idol�s Shawn Adkins and Melanie Starr, What the Kids Want, Katie Reider, Tracy Walker, Ryan Adcock, DJ Flex and more. The first day will be emceed by Lucas Lander, the second by Andrew Hyde.

The festival will be the culmination of months of fundraisers and pre-Pride events, and will be surrounded throughout the month by a slew of other occasions.

Among those will be the Glitter Ball Tournament, the inaugural drag Wiffle Ball tournament in Burnet Woods on June 11.

For more information on Cincinnati Pride, go to www.prideisalive.com.

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