2008
“Live…Love…Be” was the Pride theme in 2008, and it invoked a retro ‘60s/‘70s feeling. The parade decorations were reminiscent of the counterculture “flower-power” era. The retro-theme worked well for the parade as many contingents decorated with peace signs, flowers and butterflies. Others went with a play on words for their own themes, such as a float for HIV research which read: “Live healthy, Love life, Be part of the solution.”
Despite the easygoing, laid-back nature of the theme, the community was buzzing about a number of different issues. Politics, economic issues, logistical concerns and community in-fighting all presented challenges for the organization.
Marriage
Two months earlier, the California State Supreme Court overturned the state’s restrictions against same-sex marriage. For the first time, same-sex couples could get married in California. It was a momentous occasion, and many couples celebrated by getting married in the months following the decision, but the decision also fed a developing anti-gay marriage backlash.
Anti-gay activists organized to place Proposition 8 on the November ballot, which if passed, would amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. Prop. 8 supporters enjoyed a massive amount of economic support, a large portion of which was driven by out-of-state organizations such as the Mormon Church. At the parade and festival, representatives from the “No on 8” campaign were on hand to urge people to go to the polls in November and vote against the proposition.
Locally, businessman Doug Manchester donated $125,000 to the passage of the proposition, which resulted in its own backlash among the LGBT community. Prop 8 supporters organized a successful boycott of the Manchester Grand Hyatt. At the Pride parade and festival, LGBT people were urged to “sleep with the right people” by boycotting the Manchester property. As the boycott dragged on, a memo by the hotel’s CFO revealed that the hotel was taking a serious economic hit as a result of the boycott.
Who’s On First?
The Pride parade was kicked off by an Amnesty International contingent referred to as “the march for those who can’t.” It was intended to recognize that while LGBT Californians had achieved equality under the law, LGBT oppression was still commonplace in many parts of the world. Pride placed the contingent at the front of the parade to signify the organization’s support for LGBT equality worldwide.
In recent years, the Women’s motorcycle contingent, known as Womenmoto, had been the first contingent in the parade, and many of them became upset that they weren’t the first in 2008 as well. Some members tried to incite the community by sending out mass emails, passing out flyers and writing letters to the editor.
The furor would last for weeks after the event as it continued to play out in the editorial pages of the Gay & Lesbian Times. The GLT, for its part, investigated claims by the women that their bikes would overheat and the paper quoted motorcycle retailers disproving this assertion. This would lead to a heated exchange of opinions by readers in the letter columns of the newspaper in the following weeks.
Members of the community were divided on the issue. Some felt that tradition was the most important concern and that the Womenmoto should always be the first contingent of the parade, while others felt that nobody “owned” first place and that freedom and equality was an issue that was bigger than any one contingent.
Something New
At the first festival in 1981, Lambda Pride didn’t have a license to sell beer, so it had to be given away for free. Beverage sales can be a significant source of revenue, however, so in the following years, permits were acquired and beverage gardens were set up to allow patrons to relax with a beer or cocktail.
This year, the festival featured a new addition to the traditional beverage gardens to appeal to those who had a “love of the grape.” Pride partnered with local wine bar Wine Steals to create the Wine Steals Grotto, which offered a diverse selection of wines for discriminating tastes. Ticket sales and attendance at the grotto indicated that the new addition was popular with patrons.
Kathy Griffin
Pride 2008 offered a variety of diverse entertainment, but none were as popular as gay icon and famed D-List celebrity, Kathy Griffin. Thousands of people packed the area near the main stage to hear the comedienne. She flew into San Diego for the event accompanied by her assistant, Tom, and “one of her gays,” Patrick. Although the crowd was so large that people near the back had a hard time hearing her, she was by far the biggest hit of the weekend.
Griffin entertained the crowd with stories about her encounters with Oprah and Barbara Walters and took jabs at some of her favorite targets, such as Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. She also entertained the audience with stories from her personal life, including imitations of her mother. It was clear that many in the crowd had heard some of her shtick before as she was occasionally prompted to tell one story or another by members of the audience.
After the show, Griffin was excited about her performance and commented on the energy level of her San Diego fans.