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When Alain Miguelez was told by Ottawa Police that over 55,000 people had attended the first ever Pride street party, tears welled up in his eyes. Miguelez, first vice chair of the Pride Committee of Ottawa-Gatineau stared at the record crowds in disbelief; all of the hard work and big changes paid off… the people came! And they were happy, too. The positive mood and energy on the street was palpable, the sun was smiling and the three stages were hopping with entertainment both musical and comical all night long. With fabulous weather, beautiful bodies and a crowd that was large but not too large to move around in, how could they not be? Grand marshals and longstanding PFLAG members Diana and Dennis Stimpson were thrilled to take part in the parade this year. “We saw both our sons and their partners in the crowd cheering us on,” says Diana, “and we met up with them for dinner that evening. We feel very lucky. “We got hugs and kisses from so many people,” Diana continues. “It was great to see all these friends. They are still in our hearts, and apparently, we’re still in theirs.” Ric Watson, organizer of the street party, is still hearing raves from the community. “The responses we’ve been getting just haven’t stopped. We’re even getting responses from straight couples and families saying they’d definitely be back and that they couldn’t believe the gay community was so strong.” “I found it long,” jokes John Lanoue of the Pride parade he orchestrated this year. “It really made it more interesting and it opened up possibilities about what we can do along the parade route. I think the route will stay as is next year, but we will elaborate more and hopefully have it more decorated so people will realize this is the way the parade is going.” Margo Dewan was thrilled to see the Kid’s Camp triple in size this year, from 22 participants to almost 60 this year. “The storytellers were awesome and a real attraction,” she says. “Big Bud’s helped so much by donating craft supplies, and others donated bottled water, cheese and fruit. Everything just fell into place.” Lanoue and Watson say they couldn’t have done it without the volunteers, many of whom stayed to help clean up until 3:45AM the next morning. “We worked them right to the end of their fingernails,” says Lanoue. “They deserve a standing ovation for what they did out there. We may have had less than 100 volunteers this year, but next year we’ll need 600 because the festival is just going to grow bigger.” Miguelez says that working on the committee was a “humbling” experience and hopes to see the festival grow to 125-150,000 over the next few years. “We want to grow the festival, but still keep it small enough so that people can still enjoy it without feeling suffocated. We’ve learned some lessons for future years. There’s no turning back to what it used to be. “We want to maintain a pride in our city,” continues Miguelez. “Also, we want to thank all the 55,000 people who made Pride what it was. We asked people to believe in what we were doing, and they did.” “We pulled a magic rabbit out of the hat,” says Lanoue. “We bounced around and just made everything happen.” INTERESTING
PRIDE FACTS: - printed in Capital Xtra, Issue #108, Aug 2, 2002. Cover photo by Colin Seaman. |
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