Spokane gets visible! by Bonnie Aspen, OutSpokane board member
Vol. XIV, No. 7
Serving the GLBTQA Community of the Inland Northwest since 1992
July 2005
Rainbows cover Spokane
In the dark days of November 2004, almost six months before The Spokesman Review reported on Mayor Jim West’s alleged encounters with barely legal young men, a group of folks came together to begin the planning for Spokane Pride 2005. They quickly reached alignment in several key areas. If Pride 2005 was to be the best Pride Celebration Spokane had yet experienced, then Spokane’s GLBTQ and Allied community would have to be more visible than ever before. Organizers took a bold step toward this goal by changing their name from Spokane Pride to OutSpokane. They then undertook the all-important outreach work to bring the area’s related but disparate groups – INBA, SAN, PFLAG, EMCC, Odyssey, to name but a few – into the celebratory fold. The end result, “Let’s Get Visible,” can rightly be called a metamorphosis! Ten full days of Pride activities were enjoyed by a large cross-section of the Inland Northwest’s GLBTQ and Allied community. One consistent comment heard at almost every event was, “I can’t believe how many people are here!” When the schedule of events was first publicized, some community members voiced concern that Spokane could not support so many Pride func-
OutSpokane General Board Meeting in July Where: 827 N. Madelia St. When: Monday, July 18 Time: 6:30 p.m.
tions in such a short amount of time, that events would not be well attended because there were too many choices. We now know that our community is large and diverse enough to handle a full schedule of activities. Switching the parade day from Sunday to Saturday and upgrading the parade route downtown created unparalleled excitement—and visibility. The parade was colorful, tasteful, exciting and unambiguous. For the first time, there were motorized and beautifully decorated floats. The Rainbow Festival at Riverfront Park that followed outshone all13 prior such events. Huge crowds enjoyed entertainment from the stage and took advantage of unprecedented access to a variety of information and merchandise booths. New this year were a family-oriented play area, complete with
photo by Pat Devine
Grand Marshall Lucille Ball, a.k.a. Chrisopher Peterson, led the Pride Parade in Spokane on June 11. Organizers said this year’s parade and Pride Festival were the most successful ever. See our Pride Photo Album on pages 10 and 11.
games and large inflatable toys, and for the hardier partiers in our midst, a beer garden. Both additions were well received by the community. OutSpokane did encounter a few bumps along the way. Low ticket sales forced the cancellation of the Kathy Griffin comedy performance, scheduled for June 10 at the Big Easy. Although this could have been viewed as a failure, OutSpokane board member John Brindle said, “There is no reason not to dream big. Small, safe goals produce small, safe results. Dreaming big generates the power to move forward and create what might have seemed impossible before the 2005 Pride Celebration.”
When asked what is next for OutSpokane, co-chair Denise Thomas said, “We will continue to move forward with that positive, motivated, can-do energy that helped us create Pride 2005, ‘Let’s Get Visible.’” Planning for next year’s 15th Pride Celebration will begin this month. OutSpokane will be promoting many special events in the coming year. Community members inspired by this year’s successes are invited to attend a general board meeting Monday, July 18, at 827 N. Madelia St. in Spokane (next to Northern Exposures Photography Studio). The 2006 OutSpokane Pride Committee will be Continued on page 17
INSIDE Arts & Entertainment .......... 12 Business Directory ............. 15 Calendar .............................. 19 Classifieds ........................... 17 Community Page .................. 3 Garden Clippings ................ 16 International News ................ 9 National News ....................... 8 Pride Photo Album ............. 10 Regional News ...................... 7 Resource Directory ............. 18 Reviews & Previews ........... 14 Spokane News ...................... 4 Tell Trinity ............................ 16 Voices ..................................... 2