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On Saturday, July 18 – 19, 2009 the San Diego Pride celebration was held in downtown San Diego, CA.
Pride celebrations consist of Parade and Festival. The Parade is 10 yards route starting at 11 am on Saturday, July 18 on Normal Street & University. The Festival was held at Marston Point, Balboa Park on July 18 from 12 noon to 10 pm and continues on July 19, 2009 at 11 am to 8 pm.
Frank Sabatini, San Diego Pride Media Coordinator told Jeff McDonald of the Union-Tribune “The Pride parade is always about visibility.” He concluded “Visibility is key to securing a voice.”
The Parade features about 160 floats focusing in Activism For Equality. Some of the entertainment lines up were Terri Nunn & Berlin, The Bird and the Bee, The Shiny Toy Guns, The Lady Chablis and popular DJs.
The Parade Grand Marshals were Cleve Jones; Grand Marshal, The Lady Chablis; Celebrity Grand Marshal, San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality and San Diego Equality Campaign; Community Grand Marshals.
The San Diego Pride Annual Awards, popularly known as the Spirit of Stonewall Awards, were presented by the San Diego LGBT Pride Board of Directors to recognize the following individuals and organizations who contribute to the LGBT community through their leadership, activism and fundraising efforts.
These honorees for this year PRIDE were Midge Costanza; Friend of the Year, Hewlett-Packard Company (HP); Stonewall Service Award, Robert H. Gleason; Spirit of Stonewall Champion of Pride and Sally M. Hall; Spirit of Stonewall Community Service Award and a female couple and a male couple, who became legally married last year during the short period of time when same-sex marriage was permitted in the state of California.
Two ‘Inspirational Couples’ received recognition and honored by the San Diego Pride: Linda Smith and Niki Morehead and Vern Miller and Ray Wooding. Parade Grand Marshals also received recognition at San Diego Pride 2009.
Pride feature: Pride, 21 +, Lavender, Nuestro Orgullo, Ebony, Country stages & Hinrg dance & Pride dance tents.
The next San Diego Pride Celebration will be held on July 17 to 18, 2010. Parade, Saturday, July 17, at 11:00 a.m. Festival, Saturday 12 noon to 10 pm & Sunday, July 18 at 11 am to 8 pm.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO PRIDE
Their Mission is to Fostering pride in and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, locally and globally. Their Vision A world free of prejudice and bias and Their Values
Diversity- being inclusive, accepting and respectful of the differences of people who share our values.
Respect- valuing others by accepting individuality and demonstrating courtesy and mutual regard.
Honesty and Integrity- communicating factual information and being true to our values.
Accountability- to be responsible for the effects and consequences of our words and action.
For more information visit web sites at: http://www.sandiegopride.org & http://sdpride.blogspot.com
SOURCES
UNION-TRIBUNE @ uniontribune.com & SAN DIEGO PRIDE @ sandiegopride.org
