With the launch of Pride Week, the strip has overflowed with things to do.
Events ranged from the Orgy of Drag at the Stonewall Hotel to the Bake-Off at Slide and the White Party at ARQ, all raising money for charities that do amazing work.
Pride Week shines a light on our community and how we celebrate our differences. So many think it’s just about digging deep in your pockets, but this is incorrect. It shows how diverse our community really is and how far we have come and still have to go.
To digress from Pride Week, last week I almost jumped out of my skin to find that Barbara Eden was going to be at a pop culture expo at Olympic Park on Sunday.
A huge fan of I Dream of Jeannie, I wasn’t going to stop until I met her and got her autograph. My friend and I took the train to the Expo. These Expos are a sight to behold. Fighting the masses of comic book and computer game characters, I finally met Jeannie and had her sign her picture.
As we sat and ate our microwaved beer-coaster-like pizza I looked around at who filled the Dome. There was not-quite-right SuperGirl, belly-heavy Captain America, Wolverine, a handful of Jeannies (Vanity Faire turned up as Jeannie and looked better than Jeannie did when she was Jeannie).
The room was really a huge mixed bag of lollies, and I thought, there really is someone out there, even for the strange ones. But the difference between me and them was, they could, if they wanted to, marry each other.
Three gay couples are going to have dinner with the prime minister, beating corporate leaders in a charity auction.
Could we be a step closer? Could I soon have the same right as the large wizard-like lady in the cape at the Expo? Did I hear that Christian groups don’t have to pay to have dinner with the PM, but we have to try and win a charity auction?
I’m not running out and getting married soon, but if I wanted to, I would hope I could.
Gay marriage, charities, diversity — Pride Week tries to cover almost everything that is in or affects our community. Have a look if you can.
