1985
Local Theme: “Share Your Pride in ‘85”
International Theme: “Alive With Pride in ’85”
Out of the chaos of the events leading up to the previous year’s event, an almost completely new board took the reins and tried to move Lambda Pride in a new direction. It was a year of growth and change. Pride again adopted both the international and local themes.
The parade continued to grow, and the festival changed to a new location by the harbor at the parking lot of the County Administration Building. It was also the year that the police issued a parade permit without having to be threatened with legal action. For the second year in a row, most of this information was published in the ’85 Pride Guide, which was again a small 8½- by-5½-inch booklet.
Parade
The parade followed the by-now-familiar route from the staging area near Juniper and Sixth north to Thorn, then over to Fifth, to Robinson, and then back down Sixth to the park. By this time, elaborate floats became more common as more contingents put in the effort to attract attention to their organization or place of business. Police estimated the crowd at about 7,000 people, and parade organizers said that the 70 contingents consisted of 2,000 individuals.
For the parade’s Grand Marshals, Lambda Pride chose four San Diego organizations: PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), the Gay Youth Alliance, the Couples Club, and Gay Fathers. They also named Blood Sisters, an organization of lesbian women in the ‘80s who organized blood drives in support of the gay men who couldn’t donate blood because of the AIDS crisis, as Honorary Grand Marshals.
Perhaps the most remarkable fact about the parade took place behind the scenes. 1985 marked the first year that the city didn’t initially deny Pride’s parade permit. In previous years, the police department would deny the permit until one of the local attorneys would go to court to force the city to issue a permit. This was a major milestone in our relations with the San Diego Police Department.
Fundies
The fundies were present again at the parade in huge numbers. Hundreds of fundies, led by Rev. Dorman Owens of Santee, lined Fifth Ave between Upas Street and Ivy Lane. Once again, Pride volunteers formed a human buffer zone between the fundies and the parade participants. Signs throughout the park said, “Don’t Feed the Fundies.” This was an attempt to encourage people not to give the fundies the attention they were desperately seeking.
Rally
The Rally took place immediately following the Parade at the intersection of Juniper and Balboa Park Drive. The featured speakers were Nicole Murray, then President of the AIDS Assistance Fund, and Susan Jester, who was Chairperson of the Police Liaison Committee. Entertainment after the speeches was provided by the Ladies Against Women, a political-satire comedy troupe.
Festival
The 1985 festival moved from the WCPC parking lot, where it had been for years, to the parking lot of the San Diego County Administration Building on Pacific Coast Highway right next to the harbor. The event took place on Sunday and was a one-day event.
Entertainment was provided by comedienne Amy Boyd, musician Kathy Curtis and local favorite, the Bugle Boys. Dunking booths, carnival games, food vendors, and a dancing stage provided people with things to do. Beer and wine and non-alcoholic drinks were sold.