Atlanta Pride 2003

The place was Piedmont Park in the southern gay haven of Midtown Atlanta. The theme was "Freedom to Be." There were two stages, what seemed like miles of booths, and plenty of people. Over three-hundred thousand of them. All having a good time and filling themselves with pride. It helped that earlier in the week the supreme court had struck down anti-gay laws. The summer heat, the evening rain and even the two or three protestors at the gate of the park would not detour us from our mission. To find the freedom to be happy... The freedom to be molested by every corporate entity imaginable. The freedom to be gouged by vendors selling six dollar margaritas and five dollar hot dogs. All in all, I had an awesome time. Isn't America great?

Delta Air Lines, my employer at the time, made quite a showing. As a platinum sponsor, they gave away free trips at their booth and had a fun and stunning float, which was highlighted by an appearance by American Idol finalist Vanessa Olivarez. The float won first place.

Parents supporting their children. Drag queens with a message. A handsome rodeo man. These are the faces of pride, and they're just as diverse as the gay community is itself. Look closely. You just might see someone you know.

Gays sure do know the value of color. Our flag is simply all the colors of the spectrum. And these colors come out in full force during one of our parades, even the rainbow colored poodles. Never during the rest of the year is Atlanta more colorful.

Gays love a theme. And the theme for most of the floats this year, as in the past, was half-naked men. Sure, the Wilderness Network and the Gay Yellow Pages had impressive floats. But I'm sure the streamers or banners weren't the only things being noticed.

Dykes on Bikes kicked off the parade. Soon to follow were the Atlanta Pride Committee, the Gay and Lesbian Marching Band, the Human Rights Campaign (and their more shirtless members,) the SLDN and the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus, among others.

Tent city and the booths were endless. The Indigo Girls made a surprise appearance. Esera Tauolo gave a riveting speech. There were great new acts such as Vonnie and Fat Chance. At the final show, the Starlight Cabaret, there were 100,000 on hand. Wow.