Sorry folks, but Seattle's annual Pride parade on Capitol Hill is mediocre at best. To the disappointment of Seattle's GLBT community, and folks who come from around Puget Sound to Seattle--home to one of the biggest gay populations on the West Coast (rivaled only by San Francisco)--Seattle's festival hardly fills a Sunday afternoon.
While the Sunday parade is fun (for a few hours, dykes on bikes, PFLAG reps handing out stickers, and floats for every major gay-friendly group in town march along Broadway toward a Volunteer Park celebration and rally), it's the only offering for the 100,000 people who hit the streets to celebrate gay pride.
But the 2002 Pride weekend could be different, co-chairs Jim Coburn and Johan Lysne say, if they got what they wanted. In the years they've each worked on the event, both have heard the message loud and clear--Seattle Pride sucks.
"So many people fly in from out of town every year and are just shocked that we don't have a two-day festival," Coburn says. "They ask, 'What's going on on Saturday?'"
"The community has asked for a two-day event and a beer garden numerous times in the years before," Lysne says.
This year, pairing up for the first time as event co-chairs, the two want to throw the biggest party Seattle's gay community has ever seen, one on par with other large cities' Pride events, such as San Francisco (two days and ten venue stages) or New York (a whole week of Pride).
"We're very determined to make Pride 2002 one of the best Prides ever," Coburn says matter-of-factly. They drafted plans for an expanded weekend, with events at Volunteer Park on Saturday and Sunday, a beer garden, a Saturday-night outdoor film, and the traditional Sunday parade. Throw in a few unofficial events at area bars and restaurants, and Seattle Pride 2002 seemed destined to be a grand event--sure to draw in more people, and more money; well, until Seattle Parks and Recreation got involved.
As with most large events, the Pride parade's organizers have to apply for a permit, which they've done annually for the one-day festival. This year, when they went before the Special Events Committee--the city panel that reviews and approves about 200 permits each year, for events from Seafair to Hempfest--their application was beefier, with ideas for an expanded event.
Though Coburn and Lysne knew they were testing the permit waters by requesting permission to expand the event, they weren't too worried--few permits have been denied since 1991, when the Special Events Committee was formed.
But this year, Coburn and Lysne's three extra requests--two days at the park, a beer garden, and a movie night--were quickly denied.
"They said no, no, and no," Lysne says. Though the decision isn't final until the committee's April 16 meeting, committee chair Virginia Swanson already told Pride organizers the plans aren't feasible.
"Essentially, we're not approving a two-day event that's going to use the vast majority of the park," Swanson says. As for the alcohol, "It's not going to be approved."
In a small victory, Parks Superintendent Ken Bounds gave a different recommendation last week--there can be a Saturday-night movie, as long as the park is cleared by 11:30 p.m. The committee may approve scaled-down Saturday events, like speakers.
"I guess we were shooting for the stars, and so far we've gotten about 100 feet," Coburn says. But the Pride organizers are up against about 30 people--anonymous people, according to a summary report--who called the Washington State Liquor Control Board logging negative comments against a beer garden. Other neighbors have called the Special Events Committee, registering their concerns: noise, unbearable traffic, rowdy beer-garden crowds, and a park full of revelers for two days.
The Special Events Committee's decision doesn't make a lot of sense. Volunteer Park is a large space that can easily accommodate Pride 2002 for two days--that's what parks are for. And this park is in the heart of Capitol Hill, Seattle's gay center.
"None of the festivities would actually be visible or audible from the residences," Coburn says. Volunteer Park is large, and the events would be in the middle of it--hundreds of yards away from the nearest homes. Plus, Pride security would be on hand all weekend to watch over the crowds, keeping attendees and the neighborhood safe.
The Special Events Committee should let Pride monopolize the park all weekend: It's the largest official event held at that park, one of the best-attended events in the city, and over 100,000 people show up for the parade already.
As far as a beer garden goes, other Seattle parks--like Pier 62/63 for Summer Nights at the Pier, and South Lake Union Park for the Wooden Boat Festival--allow drinking with permission from the parks department. Allowing alcohol at Volunteer Park would be new, but the impact would be small--Coburn and Lysne say their proposed beer area would hold less than 100 people, a tiny fraction of the people expected to attend the event. Moreover, Capitol Hill's Block Party hosts a beer garden each summer, less than a mile away, as does annual Capitol Hill street fair Cirque du Broadway, and bars are a regular part of the Pride celebration. The small, secure beer garden would be a controlled drinking atmosphere, like the Block Party's.
Dozens of letters have poured into the Parks and Recreation office, demanding a two-day event, a beer garden, and an evening film. Their supporters have struck all the right chords--public parks are meant for events like Pride, and a two-day event is something Seattle's GLBT community has wanted for years.
"As long-term residents of Capitol Hill, we look forward to this festival each year," says one Seattle art gallery owner. "This is one of the most important yearly events for families who live in Seattle, businesses located on Capitol Hill, and for gay people all over Western Washington."
Here's hoping the parks department listens. The decision won't be made until April 16, and Pride organizers can ask for a review if they disagree with the decision.
