Sat 8/13
When the news came from the head of Cleveland Pride that the annual event was cancelled just over two weeks before it was to take place, the LGBT community sprang into action. Led by the LGBT Community Center with a host of other activists, both long-time and new, and backing from the city of Cleveland, a new event was pulled off in just 13 days, dubbed Pride in the CLE, which took place at Public Square.
It may not have had the huge scale of the long-running Cleveland Pride with national headliners, but it had all the necessary ingredients, especially the mix of happy people of all races, ages, genders and sexual orientations. There was a parade, there was food and drink, and there were booths from some of the hosting organizations. And there was that great Public Square splash pad to cavort in.
The North Coast Men’s Chorus and the Winding Feminist Chorus kicked things off with the National Anthem, and each group entertained the audience with a couple of tunes. Mayor Jackson showed up to address the crowd, along with several city councilmen and state representative Nickie Antonio. Local singer/songwriter/guitarist Diana Chittester performed and DJ Zoe played music for dancing, although this group was going to dance, with or without music.
Even the weather cooperated — to a point. The first half of the event was sunny and nice before the cloudburst. But there were plenty of rainbow umbrellas around to keep people dry.
View the PHOTOSTREAM here.
Cleveland, OH 44114