Fresno Pride Recap

Against the ironic backdrop of a radio message from the President of the United States which re-ignited debate of a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage, the Fresno Pride Parade & Festival stepped out into the warm, sunny Fresno day to become a great success. Over 50 floats and groups marched in the parade with thousands of people lining the streets and attending the festival afterwards. After setting up our booth, Gay Fresno marched down both sides of Olive Avenue and distributed hundreds of Pride flags to those in attendance. They were eagerly taken by the crowd and provided a backdrop of Pride from every angle as they were waved in support as the parade marched down the street.

There are pictures from Comcast here . Local news channels also covered the event with pieces on the Saturday evening broadcasts. You can see the coverage by Channel 30 here . You can view a slideshow from Janeen Sanders here. Watch the Political Pride Video by the Fresno Bee, including our own Jason Scott here . Continue reading for more about the day, more photos and a video of the parade from Gay Fresno.

The festival was equally successful, with a record number of booths and vendors. Entertainment was provided by Lipstick Conspiracy, a band from the Bay Area, along with local performers including Vanessa James, Miss Millie, Ariel, Grace Schaeffer, and other local acts.

The float drawing the most attention, along with some surprise, was the Red Lantern / North Tower Circle entry, designed by Don Passmore. It was the first announcement for many in the community that the North Tower Circle will indeed be rebuilt and will re-open later this year. More than once the float for the Circle stopped for an extended period of time to accept the crowd’s cheers and applause. Shouts came from up and down the parade route in support of the re-opening of the Circle, which was forced to close late last year due to an arsonist attack.