According the sponsoring organization's press release, 2012's OKC Gay Pride events kick off on Thursday, May 17, and last for ten days until May 27.
A rather lengthy discussion and review of LGBT issues and the history of the Gay Rights Movement was done last year in On Being Excited About OKC's LGBT Citizens 2011, and I'll not be redundant here. Click the link if you want to read an article which is more historical and delves into some of the legal issues faced by the LGBT community in Oklahoma and elsewhere.
This piece focuses on the 2012 activities and events of the LGBT community, as well as mentioning a couple of newsworthy items which occurred after the 2011 article was written.
Newsworthy Items Since 2011. I'll mention a couple of such events — (1) last week's remarks by our President and (2) our City Council's actions in the latter part of 2011.
1. The President's Remarks.Aside from a remote but nonetheless interesting possibility of an attack on the new and fabulous Devon Tower by a group of Lesbian Zombies (just kidding), nothing could probably have been better timed than the remarks by the President of the United States last week on May 9 concerning gay marriage. Listen to the President and judge for yourself:
President Obama's Remarks On May 9
2. Oklahoma City Council Votes To Protect Sexual Orientation in its Personnel Policies. On Tuesday November 15, 2011, the Oklahoma City Council voted 7-2 to approve a resolution which protected gays and lesbians in the hiring, firing, promotion, demotion of employees in one of the city's largest employers, the City of Oklahoma City.
A complete discussion of the November 15 council proceedings is here. The discussion began on October 18 when council member Ed Shadid wondered out loud why Oklahoma City didn't have such approbations in place concerning its city employees and suggested that he would be bringing the matter up soon ... the next day, on his Facebook page, he said, "Next Tuesday I will introduce resolution prohibiting discrimination among 4300 city employees based on sexual orientation." On October 25, he did just that, even though the matter was deferred until November 15 for decision. During the October 25 discussion, council member Patrick Ryan indicated that he wanted the continued hearing date to be at a time he would be present because he supported Shadid's resolution — his support caught me by surprise. As to some in the Christian conservative persuasion, Shadid said, "I would propose that we let the city be the employer and let God be the judge." His complete remarks at the November 15 meeting are shown below.
Ed Shadid's Remarks On November 15, 2011
Only two, council members Larry McAtee and Skip Kelly, voted against the proposal. The strongest support came from council members Pete White, Patrick Ryan, and Gary Marrs, who voiced their support for the proposal. Although voting for the resolution, Mayor Mick Cornett and council members Meg Sayer and David Greenwell chose to remain silent during the discussion and said nothing at all. Read into that silence combined with affirmative votes whatever you will. Opponents Larry McAtee and Skip Kelly did offer explanations for their negative votes.
Pre-parties On May 17. At least, that's what we called such things back in the day that I was a student at Oklahoma State. Two events are scheduled for Thursday, May 17, even though the official opening event is scheduled for May 18.
S&B Burger Joints — 10 am - 11:30 pm. On May 17 between 10 am 11:30 pm, eat at either S&B Burger Joint, a business that supports OKC Pride, and Pride will receive 10% of all sales. The two locations are 5929 North May and the newest at 20 NW 9th in Automobile Alley.
Oklahoma City Museum of Art — 7:30 pm. Co-presented by deadCENTER Film Festival and OKC Pride, the movie "Wish Me Away," a 2011 documentary on the life of Chely Wright. The museum is located at 415 Couch Drive immediately north of the City Hall Building. The two-hour film presents the story of Chely Wright, the first country music star to come out as gay. Over three years, the filmmakers were given extraordinary access to Chely’s struggle and her unfolding plan to come out publicly.
OKC Pride will officially kick off Pride Week 2012 with a FREE outdoor movie on Film Row! Bring out your chairs & blankets for a dramatic, laughter-filled cinema experience al fresco in the parking lot at 616-624 W. Sheridan Ave! Producer/director Tim Wolff will be presenting his documentary "The Sons of Tennessee Williams" which covers 50 years of New Orleans' gay civil rights revolution. Special guest will also be Albert Carey, one of the original activists from the early days of the gay movement in New Orleans.
An excellent 4:50 minute video preview of this film is shown below.
May 19 — The Downtown Festival On Film Row.
Perhaps the most dramatic development in/of the 2012 Gay Pride events is that its geographic focus shifts to downtown Oklahoma City. The 1st official event was just described and the unofficial Oklahoma City Museum of Art's movie event on May 17 follows suit.
On Saturday, May 19, Sheridan, spanning two blocks between Shartel and Dewey, will be closed between 11 am and 10 pm for the 2012 OKC Pride Festival.
Bands will be playing on stage at the east end and lots of other booths, food, and other stuff will be going on. See this link for the full schedule of activities and events.
It may be of some note, historically, that this weekend a community that city leaders kept at a distance have the unanimous backing of City Hall as it prepares to host its annual festival in an area of town that also was ignored just a decade ago. ¶ Such is the case as the city's gay and lesbian community is set to celebrate its annual OKC Pride festival Saturday along downtown's Film Row. A decade ago, the Oklahoma City Council voted 6-3 for an ordinance that attempted to stop just the promotion of the festival via light pole banners that have for decades been used to promote just about every other major festivity. That ordinance was overturned in courts, and festivities have continued annually at Memorial Park at NW 36 and Classen. Now, far from trying to block organizers of the festival from displaying banners, the Oklahoma City Council recently voted unanimously, without debate, to allow the event to shut down Sheridan Avenue to make Film Row the event's new home. It was also a decade ago that the 700 block of W Sheridan Avenue was similarly the subject of scorn at City Hall. It was an area derided as "skid row." But as with the Pride festivities, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this neighborhood also has enjoyed increased community support as it has re-emerged as Film Row. Matt Harney, a board member of the organizing committee, is hoping relocation of the daylong festival will not just increase exposure for the event, but also promote the ongoing revival of Film Row. ¶ The parade, he said, will stay at Memorial Park. But the festival, which will feature more than 60 exhibitors, will be set up along Sheridan Avenue where its new identity is being forged with an influx of creative firms, Joey's Pizzeria and the IAO Gallery. The festival will get an early kickoff with an outdoor screening of the movie “The Sons of Tennessee Williams” at 8:30 p.m. Friday. The festival itself will run 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and will include booths hosted by interfaith religious organizations and a children's zone with face-painting, music and inflated jumping bubbles. Harney notes that while the festival is hosted by the city's gay, lesbian and bisexual community, it's an overall celebration of diversity, and he sees Film Row's growing creative class as a natural partner in moving forward. ¶ "It's an up and coming cool part of town," Harney said. "There's so much going on — so much development there with the restaurants, the IAO gallery. We want to play our part. ¶ "We appreciate the creative community. There's a good overlap between art, film and the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender)."
NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs does not believe there is any such thing as coincidence. If he is right about that, it was perhaps some sort of cool karma that my doorbell rang this afternoon around 6:30 pm. I thought about ignoring the ring and just go upstairs, but I instead answered the door.
This pleasant young man introduced himself — "I am Matt Harney, a progressive Democrat, running for House District 88," he said. House District 88 is the district formerly represented by Al McAffrey until he was elected to the State Senate in February 2012. My wife and I had a good long visit with Matt on our front porch, during which time I decided who I'd be voting for — him.
I hadn't closely read Steve Lackmeyer's above column before our front porch conversation with this 30-year old Oklahoma House candidate and only when updating this article did I put Matt and OKC Gay Pride 2012 together, and there you are — not a coincidence, only good karma!
May 20 — Parade.
The event's Facebook page says,
The 25th annual OKC Pride Parade will take place on Sunday, May 20th on the same route as last year. The parade will lineup at 4:00pm. Judging will start at 5 and the Parade will step off at 6:00 pm. More than 60,000 citizens came to enjoy the parade in 2011. The OKC Pride parade is the second largest parade in Oklahoma each year! This year — to commemorate the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – we're inviting current LGBT service members to march in our Parade and be recognized, collectively, as our Grand Marshal.
As you can see, above, the parade route begins at NW 36th & Classen, proceeds north to NW 39th, then left on NW 39th to Pennsylvania, crossing Pennsylvania to Barnes.
May 22 — Grease.
At or near 4010 N. Youngs at 8:30 pm, an outdoor sing-along showing of "Grease" will be presented. The group's website describes the event this way:
Come sing along to GREASE with Expressions Church and Pastor Neil and be a part of Pride week! This outdoor movie will start at 8:30 and is between Expressions Church the 1-800-2-SELL-HOMES property.
A map is shown below.
May 24 — Turning Drag On Its Wig.
This adult (21+years) event occurs at Angles, 2117 NW 39th Street. The event's website describes the event as follows:
Join us during pride week, Thursday, May 24th, at 8 p.m., for a night of the most unlikely drag queens you never thought you'd see. This is a fundraiser for Cimarron Alliance, and will be held at Angles, located at 2117 NW 39th Street in Oklahoma City. There will be a $5 cover charge, and all proceeds will benefit "Stop Hate in the Hallways," Cimarron's anti-bullying program. Our host and M.C. for the evening will be Mr. Gay Oklahoma U.S.of.A., Kelly "Keliente" Forbes. DJ Chris Glitter will be playing some great dance music before and after the event. Our star-studded cast includes: Scott "Cimma Ronette" Hamilton(Cimarron Alliance Executive Director), Floyd "Wanda Wheeler" Martin (OKC "Gay Mayor"), Josh "Hazel Lies" Sauer (OKC Pride V.P.), Dr. David Macey (UCO Professor / SAFE Advisor), Wayne "Miss Thang" Johnson, Jon Trushenski (Member, Mayflower Congregational Church), Ben Corbett (OCU Professor / SPECTRUM Advisor), Calvin "Cali Forña" Rowe.
May 26-27 — Rodeo.
Huh? An LGBT rodeo? Yep, at the State Fairgrounds, Barns 6 & 7, May 26 at 8:00 am until May 27 at 8:00pm, the broncs will be busted and the steers will be tamed at the O.G.R.A. sponsored event (Oklahoma Gay Rodeo Association).
As I said already, other events than the above are on the calendar — see the event's website for the complete schedule.
Who Says OKC History Geeks Don't Know How To Have Fun?
Retro Metro OKC Halloween Stars Shown Below In Order of Appearance: Carolyn Cuskey, Dean Schirf, Justin Tyler Moore, Rachel Mosman, A.J. Kirkpatrick
Retro Metro OKC Halloween Stars Shown Below In Order of appearance Steve Lackmeyer, Marc Weinmeister, Norman Thompson, Catherine Montgomery, Doug Loudenback
THE DIRECTOR'S CUT Retro Metro OKC Halloween Stars Shown Below In Order of appearance Rachel Mosman, Dean Schirf, Steve Lackmeyer, Carolyn Cuskey, Justin Tyler Moore
Of course, the above and all of this post is just for fun, as is Halloween. The more serious work of the dancing stars in the above movies can be seen at Retro Metro OKC's website and a more serious treatment of Halloween history in Oklahoma City is here. This post, as I said, is just for fun.
The Oklahoma City Council established Saturday, October 30, as the preferred day for kids to "trick-or-treat," but, of course, that means that we'll need to have goodies on hand for two days and not just one. Like, duh, the Oklahoma City Council is so very important and has the status to change the time-honored date (and name) of All Hallows Eve, right? Right. So, those inclined to welcome small trolls and goblins with gifts to ward off the "trick" part of the quid pro quo will need to be prepared on both Saturday AND Sunday ... just a word to the wise.
Aside from the annual parade of kids who unhesitatingly open their arms wide open to the dark side, this post describes a few events that Doug Dawg recommends and shows some neighborhood photos which place great value on cobwebs, tombstones, skeletons, and the Bates Motel. So, let's get started.
DAY OF THE DEAD. Blending in with the unconnected Anglo tradition of All Hallows Eve is the Latino tradition of the Day of the Dead. And, right here in Oklahoma City, that tradition will be celebrated, also.
MAYA TRADING COMPANY & ISTVAN GALLERY
Both at 1218 N. Western, these classy galleries are joining efforts to host a Day of the Dead celebration on Saturday, October 30, 6-10 p.m.
I wrote about Maya Trading Company on May 15, 2010 -- but click here for its website and here for its Facebook page. Read about Istvan Gallery at its website. If you've not been to these exceptional art venues in Oklahoma City, you've been missing out -- this event is a great time to fix that.
This event promises to be extraordinary, even if you'll need to figure out how to handle the simultaneous Saturday home-parade of trick-or-treaters thanks to our City Council's wisdom. Get a home-sitter to handle the walking gremlins and YOU go to this event, you should.
I dropped by the Maya Trading Company venue for a few minutes this afternoon -- unfortunately, I didn't have my "good" camera with me but my cell phone's camera did reasonably well. The photos here don't really show the breadth of native Mexican art for you to see (and/or purchase), but they'll do for now. The top photo, above, shows some of the huge table of goodies that are waiting, but there are many more than are shown here.
As you can see, you get fed and entertained for free, too. What a deal.
By the way, Day of the Dead and All Saints' Eve are not the same. The Latino holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 2 in connection with the Christian Church holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). The Day of the Dead is, in fact, a time of celebration.
According to the Gazette, the mission of the parade is "to celebrate artistry, creativity and diversity in Oklahoma City." The same source says, "It has grown by leaps and bounds, increasing the number of participants, spectators and sponsors each year. Crowd estimates for the 2009 parade were around 55,000 attendees! There were 84 parade entries, including dancers, bands, classic cars, arts groups and local businesses."
This year's list of sponsors is indeed pretty impressive, the largest donor-supporters being St. Anthony's and the Automobile Alley association. Perhaps the wide range of corporate and individual sponsors will be of sufficient importance to the Oklahoman to give the event more press coverage than it has deigned to do in the past. We shall see.
This year's Grand Marshal is the legendary Count Gregore and, of course, the Flaming Lips will again host its March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons. If you want to be one of them, go to the this instruction page and follow directions.
Here's the route of the mile-long parade ...
The Gazette sometimes puts together a downright sexy poster describing the event. Click on the thumbnail at the right for a better view of 2008 Gazette's poster girl and Grand Marshal, San Deigo's April Wahlin, a contestant in and perhaps the winner of Fox television's reality show, The Search for the Next Elvira.
As you can see below, a sexy poster is upon us this year, too. Be still, my troubled old-man's heart. Oh, for the days of youth to be revisited yet again ... but I can probably pass on the python. Just sayin' ...
HOME PHOTOS, ETC. Below are 2010 photos taken by fellow Retro Metro Okc'er Justin Tyler Moore of Abandoned Oklahoma fame of his home in Quail Creek.
Halloween, All Hallows Eve in the Christian church calendar (at least in some of its major components), has a venerable history and tradition in Oklahoma City. In Halloween's contemporary manifestations, perhaps no local person has a closer public identification with the holiday than our own local rocker Wayne Coyne, leader of the the fabulous Grammy award winning Flaming Lips.
This article looks at Halloween through the eyes of history — brief looks at its history in Oklahoma City, the challenges it could yet face in the current day, and a longer look at what it gloriously has become, Ghouls Gone Wild, including lots of photos of the 2008 parade. TIMES GONE BY. A search of the Oklahoman's archives reflects the popularity of the festival prior to statehood. In an October 29, 1905, article, tips were given in article named, "Fate-Finding Fun For Halloween":
All Halloween, that intensely interesting and quaint festival, is almost upon us. "What shall we do by way of testing fate that we haven't done shoals of times before?" is qthe question asked by lots of girls at the present moment — girls who feel that to let this portentious eve pass unnoticed would indeed be like tempting Providence.
Of course one is obliged to create novelty merely by ringing the changes on the old love potions and conjurings that have worked "for weal or for woo" for many generations. But, like old wine, old books and old friends, they are the best after all. It is rather in the decorations of the room where the spirits of divination will hold high carnival that one's ingenuity can display itself to most advantage. Every one knows that these decorations should be as freakish and ghoulish as possible and savor richly of mystery and harvest home.
This November 4, 1906, article shows that the fun occurred even a religious institutions such as the recently formed Epworth University, the Methodist Church's college. "Jack o' lanterns by the dozen blinked from corners. A witch told fortunes from a tented corner, and a skeleton room presented dread mysteries. The guests were met on the campus by white robed, floating figures, and welcomed at the hall by similar apparitions."
It thus seems that the religious warnings about Halloween that some give today were not heeded in our distant past, even at events sponsored by religious institutions.
The following little cutie appeared in the October 24, 1937, Oklahoman:
It may also surprise many to know that the Ghouls Gone Wild parade was not the first Halloween parade to march the streets of downtown Oklahoma City. As shown by this November 1, 1939, article the 3rd annual parade and associated events which were sponsored by the city's parks department, drew 25,000 spectators. The 9-block parade was somewhere along Broadway and Main and had 35 floats.
An October 25, 1939, article reported that Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, in the city to deliver a speech on "Peace," had been invited to lead the parade but did not due to a time conflict with her own presentation that night.
1940's parade drew an estimated 20,000 persons from NW 12th & Broadway to Main and from Main to Walker, ending with the crowning of a festival queen, Jean Swidensky, according to a November 1, 1940, article. A similar parade was set for 1941 but was canceled due to bad weather.
MODERN MARVELS (read that "CONTROVERSY"). In some U.S. cities, Halloween has become associated with controversy spawned by conservative Christians which maintain the event to be "satanic" and a "work of the devil." Some have gone ahead with public events just the same, as did the Halloween parade in Georgetown, Delaware, as reported in the October 28, 1985, Oklahoman article below:
The October 14, 1995, Oklahoman article below reflects a different result in San Francisco (of all places) that year:
Thus far, Halloween's life seems to have been spared in Oklahoma City, which, given the religious and proactive conservatism of many residents here, is somewhat an amazing thing. It is not forgotten that some local religious leaders have been outspoken in their complaints about the Harry Potter movies and books, for example, nor is the fact that even Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet was banned from the library of Northwest Classen High School in 1966 on conservative Christian objections, and equally as bad if not worse, neither is the international ridicule the city rightly received for attempting to make it a criminal act for showing (or having in the city's libraries) the Tin Drum movie back in 1997. How long Oklahoma City will survive similar objections as to Halloween is a question that is, as yet, not answered.
It may well prove to be true that the celebration of Halloween in Oklahoma City represents an instance that the ghouly fun which Halloween presents is so ingrained in the local population that the holiday's celebration rises above and mutes the religious-conservative views of those who reside in the vicinity. As for today, all is good . . . here's a pic of a fabulously decorated home on NW 18th from my Mesta Park series ...
The same house in the October 31, 2008, Oklahoman's front page
GHOULS GONE WILD. In 2007, the Oklahoma Gazette joined forces with local rocker Wayne Coyne, leader of The Flaming Lips. The Gazette was the principal sponsor of the planned Ghouls Gone Wild parade, but the Flaming Lips was the engine which made the parade a smashing success. If you want to jump ahead to the 2008 photos, click here.
Shortly before the 2007 parade, Wayne Coyne and band members had just been presented with an oversized street sign of the "Flaming Lips Alley" by Mayor Mick Cornett.
About that event, Steve Lackmeyer reported in the October 30, 2007, Oklahoman as follows:
Creative ‘son’ making ‘Dad’ nervous? Steve Lackmeyer
“We’re on the way to becoming the freakin’ coolest city in America.” — Wayne Coyne, lead singer for the Flaming Lips at a street dedication honoring the band in Bricktown
Forgive me, Mr. Coyne, but I’ve already violated a basic rule of journalism by purposely misquoting you. Of course, we both know that in this family newspaper, I can’t repeat the four letter word that drew cheers from fans and squirms from the city leaders who were at your side at a ceremony last week dedicating Flaming Lips Alley in Bricktown.
I’m sure you knew what you were doing when you said it. For the past few years, civic leaders like Burns Hargis have taken to riding Segways and saying the word “hip” a lot, hoping that by doing so, they could prove that Oklahoma City is fertile ground for the much discussed “creative class.”
For those of you not up to speed on this discussion, the creative class theory was coined by author Richard Florida, whose 2002 best seller argued the future of economic development rests with young professionals and artists rather than executives looking to open a new factory. Florida began ranking cities, and Oklahoma City leaders were dismayed to find themselves on the bottom of his lists.
Oh where, oh where was Oklahoma City’s creative class?
They are in our midst — but Florida’s slap at Oklahoma City may have served as a notice that the folks who bear tattoos, nose rings or, gasp — curse at a public event — are valued contributors to the city’s economy.
And Coyne definitely fits the bill. His band has an international following; they’ve won multiple Grammy awards and their politics clash with Oklahoma’s conservative politics. And Coyne clearly loves his hometown. * * * Cap this all off with one final event Saturday night — the first ever Ghouls Gone Wild Halloween parade — the brainchild of Hargis and Gazette publisher Bill Bleakley. Once again, the creative class was told it’s OK to come out, celebrate and even be a little weird. And their grand marshal was none other than Wayne Coyne — walking amidst the crowd in an enclosed plastic bubble.
Will someone who once felt unwelcome in this city, now encouraged to strut their stuff in public, create the next big thing? Mayor Cornett and the folks at the chamber, though bewildered by the f-word at last week’s street dedication, are certainly hoping so.
It was, in fact, the "next big thing" and was a smashing success.
The Gazette's splashy 2008 ads pumped up interest in ways that the Oklahoman remains disinclined to do ...
In fact, the Oklahoman barely covered the event at all ... this was it
The 2008 Parade Route
2008 PICS. I didn't attend the parade but two who did have generously made the photos they took available, the images originally being mostly contained in this thread at OkcTalk.com, and I thank them both for their generosity in letting me use them here.
Enjoy the parade, and click on any photo for a larger image.
Photos by Dennis Church
Michael Ivins
That's Wayne Coyne Inside the Walking Ball
Photos by Karried
Thanks again for Dennis & Karrie sharing their work product for use in this article!
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S&B Burger Joints — 10 am - 11:30 pm. On May 17 between 10 am 11:30 pm, eat at either S&B Burger Joint, a business that supports OKC Pride, and Pride will receive 10% of all sales. The two locations are 5929 North May and the newest at 20 NW 9th in Automobile Alley.
Oklahoma City Museum of Art — 7:30 pm. Co-presented by deadCENTER Film Festival and OKC Pride, the movie "Wish Me Away," a 2011 documentary on the life of Chely Wright. The museum is located at 415 Couch Drive immediately north of the City Hall Building. The two-hour film presents the story of Chely Wright, the first country music star to come out as gay. Over three years, the filmmakers were given extraordinary access to Chely’s struggle and her unfolding plan to come out publicly.
NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs does not believe there is any such thing as coincidence. If he is right about that, it was perhaps some sort of cool karma that my doorbell rang this afternoon around 6:30 pm. I thought about ignoring the ring and just go upstairs, but I instead answered the door.
This pleasant young man introduced himself — "I am Matt Harney, a progressive Democrat, running for House District 88," he said. House District 88 is the district formerly represented by Al McAffrey until he was elected to the State Senate in February 2012. My wife and I had a good long visit with Matt on our front porch, during which time I decided who I'd be voting for — him.
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