The folks over at the Oklahoma City Pride this year have done something I think is crazy they have moved the pride from a Sunday to a Friday. What on earth are these people thinking? The reasoning was so people who had to work on Monday could come on a Friday? But wait… Friday is also a work day. And last time I checked its a horrible day to get around in rush hour traffic.

I am in disbelief that the OKC Pride board would do such a thing and put the entire parade in jeopardy. I can understand them wanting to sell alcohol to make some extra money from the parade but why not on Sunday? This is during the summer time which helps out on it being Monday the next day for some. Am I just being too closed minded to change?

I thought these comments from Sarah Evans (I assume not the Country singer?) were a nice read on Hard News Online:

My apologies to Kelly Ogle, but lesbians have money too…..In my humble opinion, with input from several of my friends, here is what the board should look at doing……

Friday night, a nice fun Street Party down on 39th Street, local performers, not just drag queens, but musicians like IRIS, Peggy Johnson, Heath Fitzgerald, etc. We have so much real talent in this state, let’s show it off.. Block off 39th by the Bars and let’s have a great dance in the streets…… Have your vendors, have some charity type games for local organizations…. kissing booth, dunk the drag queen…. etc…..

Saturday, have the party in the park…. vendors, music… beer if you must… then kick off the parade that evening winding down on 39th Street for a Saturday night of fun, maybe another street party or just have all the bars have special promotions..Drag Shows, Drag King Shows, Live Music..Real Entertainment, how about bringing in a top notch performer or a DJ..

As for the parade, please let’s not have the new car/truck showcase again.. Parades are for floats with paper flowers and decorations, not a poster board announcing who is riding in the new car provided by the local car dealer…Plus, do we have any marching bands or cheerleaders??? I know there were gay and lesbian members of college bands and high school bands in Oklahoma..How about a marching band??? A kazoo band…. anything that would liven up the parade.

Sunday, let the Churches and other groups have their outreach. Local clubs can have a recovery dance and such. Trim it down to one day in the park, one night on the strip with the parade on Saturday……

I thought Sarah had some interesting comments that should generate some ideas about what to do with some pride festivities that they should use. I do not agree with what she is saying on doing away with the entire parade though. That is kind of like giving up on one of the backbones of pride itself. It tooks years of hard work to get where we are today and we should have a celebration in the streets and be proud of who we are. I just think doing it on Friday at 7pm is a horrible time. Also take into account that the highly popular Angles T-Dance will not be able to happen without the help of the Parade going on and that is sooo much fun.

The debate may cause quite some drama in Oklahoma City where many are against this time change. A poll on HNOKC.com recently showed more were against the change last week. The sites contributing writer Floyd Martin (myspace.com/itzfloyd) chimed in with some interesting points to take in to account …

I also think that Pride for many is the one chance all year that they get to be themselves, especially in repressed Oklahoma. If that means donning a wig, leather chaps, holding hands with your spouse, or dancing to The Pet Shop Boys, go for it. It’s Gay Pride, we’re Gay, why not celebrate who we are? We could go be boring straight people anytime. Some even live their life like that.

I, of course, think serving alcohol is fine at the park. It’s a celebration. Many people, the world over, imbibe when they celebrate. Ever heard of New Years Eve, or Mardi Gras? AA has conventions all year long, if you have that big of a problem with it.

It just amazes me the people that, rightfully so, feel that the government has no business on what they do with their bodies or whom they marry, are so judgmental of other people that believe in the same thing, basic human rights. It is not us against us, it is us against the world. Sometimes that’s easy to lose sight of when dealing with Gays and Lesbians, many of whom have strong personalities and opinions. Accomodating everyone shouldn’t be hard. When you go to a buffet, if you don’t eat meat, you skip it, and go to what you like. Why should pride be anything but a buffet of happiness, for all GLBT people and their supporters. Take what you like, avoid what you don’t. Of course, life should be that way as well.