Photos by Kristin Fankhauser
Phoenix Pride hosted its 15th Annual Phoenix Pride Parade Saturday, starting at Thomas Road and traveling along Third Street to Indian School, ending at Steele Indian School Park where Phoenix Pride Festival was hosted.
The two-day festival, in its 31st year, had over 250 exhibitors, including Fort McDowell Pride Casino, Phoenix Pride and ProEm Events Wedding Expo.
The parade and festival were both part of the “10 Days of Pride” series of events starting April 1 and ending Sunday. Events ranged from Phoenix Film Festival LGBT Weekend to a Pride Pub Crawl and a 5K walk/run on Sunday.
“I loved (the festivities) so much,” said Mario Ramirez, a spectator at the parade. “It’s so much fun.”
When Ramirez heard Lynda Carter, the actress who played Wonder Woman, would be at the parade, he decided to make his own costume and attend dressed as Wonder Woman.
“I just love the character,” he said.
According to the website, the parade had more than 130 entries, both walking and elaborate floats, involving more than 2,500 participants and 10,000 spectators.
The “grand marshals” for the parade were Meg Sneed and Jimmy Gruender, both nominated by the Phoenix LGBTQ community.
Other organizations—including Cox, Wells Fargo, and groups from Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University—showed their support for the community through floats, fliers and plenty of beads, all rainbow colored.
“It’s a lot bigger than last year,” said Deanna Lynn, a member of the Arizona Roller Girls, a roller derby group based in Mesa.
Although only a few members in the league are lesbian, Lynn said being a part of the parade is something important to do.
“There’s a lot of energy, and no one’s being judged,” Lynn said.
Anthony Zarsky, an ASU political science freshman who attended the festival, stressed the importance of the Phoenix Pride Parade.
“It’s important for people to see the supportive community,” he said. “This parade plays a very important role.”
As a gay teen, Zarsky liked to see the all of the different booths at the festival, including a suicide prevention booth, Prime Timers of Phoenix and Parents, Families, Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
However, Zarsky said the festival was very different from a similar festival he attended in his hometown of Houston. While both had a festive atmosphere, there were more vendors and more of a commercial feel to the festival in Phoenix, according to Zarsky.
“I just expected something different,” he said.
Even though Zarsky said he missed the craziness of the Houston festival, he still appreciated how everything was organized and seeing the different communities within the greater gay community represented at the event.
Phoenix Pride’s festivities were intended to celebrate and promote the history, diversity and future prosperity of the metropolitan Phoenix LGBTQ community, according to its mission statement on the website.
Contact the reporter at kristin.fankhauser@asu.edu
