The 2010 Stonewalll Street Festival and Parade is sure to be the biggest one yet. Get ready
It doesn’t seem like it could have been 11 years since a group of local individuals met on the patio at Georgie’s Alibi in Wilton Manors to consider the possibility of organizing a Pride event that would be a free event open to the entire community. A few weeks later, paperwork was filed with the state for the creation of Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale, a 501 (c) 3, nonprofit organization, and thus the Stonewall Street Festival and Parade was born. That first year the Board of Directors was hoping for 5,000 attendees, but an amazing 7,500 actually turned out. Throughout the years, the Stonewall Street Festival and Parade has gone through changes as Wilton Manors became the South Florida equivalent to West Hollywood, California. Wilton Manors occasionally had a majority of its’ city council members of the LGBT community, including three individuals being elected as Mayor. Wilton Manors today has the largest per capita LGBT population in the eastern United States. Fort Lauderdale has become a major LGBT tourist destination ranking fourth in the world for LGBT travel.
Throughout those previous 10 years, PGFL has made a point to give back to the community following the Stonewall Street Festival and Parade via grants that local organizations may apply for. Over the past few years some of those organizations have included The Poverello Center Food Bank, The Gay and Lesbian Community Center, Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center among others.
Today, the Board of Directors is busy organizing for this years Festival which is scheduled for June 19, on Wilton Drive. Over the first years the event was scheduled for the parade to kick off at 11 a.m. with the festival opening immediately following. Organizers for last years’ event planned the parade for Saturday night with the festival opening on Sunday morning. This years’ committee has consolidated the events with the parade kick off at 11 a.m. and winding through the festival on Wilton Drive with the festival opening immediately upon the parades conclusion. As in years past the nearly ½ mile of Gay Pride Flag will once again end the parade, sponsored by Georgie’s Alibi. In addition to all of the entertainment and displays along the Drive, plans call for the possible inclusion of a “kids” entertainment area as more and more members of the entire community have become educated concerning the LGBT life.
In addition to The Stonewall Street Festival and Parade, last year PGFL became the sponsoring body of the Halloween spectacular known as Wicked Manors. Wicked Manors set new attendance records last year with more than 25,000 attending the event.
This year “Wicked Manors” is scheduled for Saturday, October 30 along the Wilton Drive. There is a multitude of sponsorship opportunities for this year’s Stonewall Street Festival and Parade.
For a complete listing and for additional information concerning getting involved with the committee, please visit their official website at www.PGFL.net.
The 2010 Stonewalll Street Festival and Parade is sure to be the biggest one yet. Get ready. Stonewall Street Festival and Parade Are you involved with a South Florida non-profit organization what might benefit from exposure in The Agenda? Contact me at dalemadison1@aol.com. opinion
