June is Pride month with parades and all kinds of colorful events. Our county's Pride Parade took place yesterday and the Geek and I participated in the parade with his company. It was bigger than last year, even though it still dwarfs compared to the big parade in San Francisco that we saw in 2017. Last year there were 65 participating organisations, this year 91 - I assume probably in response to all the anti-LGBTQ+ laws in many states of the country. Whatever the reason, for us it was pretty clear that we would be part of it the moment the information was sent out in Robert's company.
It was a gorgeous, sunny day. The parade was in downtown, so we could walk there (it's a 30 minute walk) and didn't have to deal with finding a parking spot. It didn't take long to find "our" parade truck and hang out with colleagues and their families before the start.
While we waited for the parade to start, we met "Yanita Letgo" - time to take pictures!
Yanita Letgo certainly was one of the more colorful persons, but the whole event was a sea of colors. A rainbow of colors, so to speak.
We were on 11th position and therefore could watch most of the parade after we had arrived at the "finish line".
There even were bagpipes!
Some of our friends were walking with the Junior College.
This was one of my favorite flags, I love all the kitties on it!
Some of the churches participated as well and I was very glad to see that. I don't go to church and I am not religious at all, but if a church is all-inclusive and welcomes people form all kinds of way of life, I do cheer them on. What I don't like is bigotry.
Congressman Mike Thompson was there as well and I appreciate that.
But what I appreciated even more was that our law enforcement participated. The police from all the towns in the county were there as was the sheriff with their boat that is used for emergencies on the ocean. One of the police officers walked hand in hand with his husband and got a big cheer from the crowd. It was annoying that there were two young women who shouted "No cops in Pride" from the sidewalk - not very inclusive if you ask me (inclusive was the theme). Thankfully Santa Rosans didn't share this attitude and cheered the police on.
The biggest cheers, however, were directed to the firefighters. We as a city have not forgotten what they did for us during the
Tubbs Fire in 2017.
Even some of the dogs were colorful.
And so was yours truly by the end of the festivities.
We were quite exhausted when we finally were back home. The rest of the afternoon I spent in the garden, in a shady place, drinking a maitai. That is my drink for this week's
T Tuesday over at
Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog.
Cheers to a colorful community!
How lovely.
ReplyDeleteI am smiling broadly - and cheering.
One can never stay indifferent to such a colorful festivity.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you for taking such an active part, Carola. We should cherish different lifestyles not condemn them, and always join together in friendship. Diversity is what makes life interesting - are you listening DeSantis? Live and let live at minimum, live and celebrate at best.
ReplyDeleteA magnificent pride parade. Very colourful.
ReplyDeleteSe ve un desfile bonito y lleno de color. Saludos.
ReplyDeleteThis was a wonderful parade, you look great! Let's hope that sooner or later each of us will be able to live our lives as we want to, without censure or hate. Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteYour photos are wonderful — we are lucky you shared them with us! The spirit of inclusion is so right, and the attacks on it are so wrong. I despair for many of the parts of our country. But this is really a source of hope.
ReplyDeletebest, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
...toto, we aren't in Floriduh anymore!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you for your humanity!
ReplyDeleteThis is colourful and I can see that everyone participated are happy and cheerful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these photos with us too. Happy T-day!
Sehr schöner post!
ReplyDeleteAbgesehen vom Polizisten-Hass. Hier sprühen irgendwelche Idioten ACAB überall hin aber ich wette, wenn sie Hilfe brauchen...
Einerseits schön, dass es diese Paraden gibt, andererseits schade, dass wir sie brauchen...
Hier habe ich noch nicht erlebt, dass Polizei/Feuerwehr dabei sind. Schade.
The attacks on people lately are really sad and so much for freedom when they happen. This looks like a fun event, and important too. I’m glad you participated and shared with us. We all should be able to be who we are without fear and violence. Hugs Erika happy t day too!
ReplyDeleteIt was certainly colourful, we once saw the paprade in San Francisco from a distance standing on Twin Peaks, love the dog in it's colourful outfit.
ReplyDeletehappy T Day Jan S
I agree, intolerance is evil. Glad to see so many people who showed support. Love the pictures of you and what a great drink after a hot and busy day. Happy T-day and hugz.
ReplyDeleteI was simply thrilled to see your Pride Parade. This is a wonderful and heartfelt post that makes me proud to watch. It makes me feel proud that you chose this venue to share it.
ReplyDeleteAfter gay marriage became legal, I believed the country had come together to accept the LGBTQ+ community. I believe a lot of the problem started with DeSatan and his "Don't Say Gay" crusade. Just yesterday, the President of Uganda imposed a law putting anyone to death who is gay. His original law he tried to pass in 2014 just to imprison them was shut down by the media and the courts. His new law adds 20 yrs in jail just for writing about it in the papers. From what I read, anti gay leaders from the States helped him with his first campaign and are helping him again today.
Thank you beyond belief for sharing your Pride Parade and maitai with us for T this Tuesday, dear Carola.
What a wonderful parade. So colorful. Three cheers for the police man and his husband.
ReplyDeleteHappy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca
Wow it all looks so fantastic! Love your glasses at the end, the rainbow dog and of course, the kitty flag! Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx
ReplyDeleteThis post made me smile. Looks like it was a wonderful event. Happy T Day
ReplyDeleteHappy T day dear Carola! Hugs! deb
ReplyDeleteCertainly looks a great parade, lovely to see your photographs.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I love a parade and they really did a great job with this one! One can only hope it makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteOh, was für eine schöne Parade, liebe Carola, farbenfroh und vielfältig, und ihr beide mittendrin und regenbogen-fesch! 🌈😊.
ReplyDeleteWas du über Kirche und Religion schreibst, unterschreibe ich dir vollständig und finde es toll, dass sich auch so viele offizielle Stellen mit der LGBTQ-Gemeinschaft solidarisch erklären. Es ist so traurig, dass es in manchen Staaten (an mehreren Orten der Welt) zeitgleich solche schlimmen Rückschritte gibt. In Uganda wurde z.B. gerade erst ein absolut brutales Gesetz gegen Homosexuelle verabschiedet. Umso wichtiger ist es, dort wo Freiheit herrscht, diese zu feiern und zu zeigen, dass zu lieben wen man liebt keine Sünde sein kann und dass eine vielfältige Gesellschaft das Leben bunter macht.
Alles Liebe und einen schönen Juni 🌈🌻🐝🦋!
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/06/costa-rica-12-kapitel-nationalpark.html
Schöne Fotos, vielen Dank Carola. Das macht Spaß anzuschauen.
ReplyDeleteIm letzten Jahr war ich auch hier bei uns auf der Parade...
viele viele freudige Menschen.
Eine Umarmung zu dir.
Frohes Wochenende für dich... wir haben himmlisches Wetter und nehmen eine Tour ins Erzgebierge.
Alles Liebe Viola
That was quite a colorful parade, Carola, and lovely to see you and the Geek decked out in rainbow colors. Nashua, NH, will host a Pride parade this weekend and I plan to walk downtown to see it as a spectator only.
ReplyDelete