Netherlands is the first country to take a secondary school to the Pride Parade.

Students aged 14-17, their teachers and some school directors will join the Canal Parade.

In Amsterdam, the Parade happens down the city historic canals. Last year Tens of thousands of people watched 80 colorful boats parade through the city. Four days of festivities include street parties and the best club circuit parties, besides de main Parade.

Scholenboot is a positive effect of of a city wide project the Municipality of Amsterdam initiated two years ago, to promote safety towards LGBT people and sexual citizenship for all in Amsterdam secondary schools. Other boats will join Scholenboot at the head of the Parade, one of them hosted by Minister Plasterk of Education.

Amsterdam Gay Pride weekend this years will be organised from 31 July to 2 August, with the main Parade happening on Aug 1, Saturday.

For further information on the event, click here. Scholenboot has also made a website. If you’re fluent in Dutch and would like to see it, click here.

Lezzie is half-closeted Brazilian Philosophy High School teacher writing on everything she has the opportunity to read, listen to and see (as a good Gemini).You can find out more about here by checking her profile at http://lezgetreal.ning.com/profile/Boudecca.

]]> http://lezgetreal.com/?feed=rss2&p=16571 0 http://lezgetreal.com/?p=15108 http://lezgetreal.com/?p=15108#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:00:55 +0000 Mary Catherine Benge http://lezgetreal.com/?p=15108

As a newly out lesbian, this year was my first to attend the Pride Parade.

You all must remember what it was like to be surrounded by fellow gays for the first time in bulk because it is a memorable feeling. At least, this was for me. Please, don’t get me wrong. People are people regardless of their sexual preference; yet, being around a large group of people who understand you, even in the most mundane way, is reassuring – comforting in the least. I am a native Austinite, used to the “weirdness” of life, and as I walked through crowds of gays, transsexuals, bisexuals, femmes, butches, and straight supporters, I felt nervously at home.
You know the feeling when you first bring home a new (or old) love interest.

You have no idea how the family or desired will react to the other. Your nerves make you nauseated, but being back in the kitchen and cooking or sitting on the old sofa your parents have owned since you were five makes you content with the present, if nothing else.
This is how L.A. Pride 2009 made me feel.

The outcast of society – in some places, not my mind ☺ – gave me the feeling that I was home. Now, I am not a stereotypical lesbian, and I have been told by many that I am going through a phase because I “act and look too straight to be gay”. My point is that I do not get stared down when I eat out in small and conservative Texas towns, as some of my more masculine friends do, where there are no (yeah, right!) lesbians. I cannot say I have ever been victim of discrimination due to my sexuality based off of my looks.

Physically, I can blend in where I go. This feeling I experienced at Pride came not from past exclusion or lesbian insecurity, but I believe, from the joyful energy of the people at the parade.
I love how, as people, we can not only feed off of others unspoken emotions, but that they have the ability to ease our own at the same time. I saw no one upset about money, complaining about recent political events (although I may have joined in if I had), or fighting with one another about anything! All it took was a handful to create a joyous day, which had the potential to be a day of sadness, and envelop their energy on everyone else. The positive attitudes made me not only comfortable being myself, but proud.
I encourage everyone to spend their days with a positive attitude always because it may bring up another person during their day as well. Be happy and, as always, be proud.

Mary Catherine Benge is a writing student from Austin, Texas. You can find out more about her by finding her on facebook.

The 39th Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender pride parade is featured in this episode of “L.A. Happens” #103 hosted by John McQuilkin.

The 26th Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Celebration was held this past weekend and my wife and I were there when a 4.7 earthquake hit.

We had entered the festival and met up with friends at the various tents that were set up for music and dancing. We walked around and saw lots of familiar faces while we explored our shopping ops, food finds, and drink deals. The mojitos were rockin and we scoped some cute clothing at the Tung Gear clothing booth. We made some donations and signed up for some mailing lists, and listened to people talk about equality, substance abuse, legal aid, and other issues affecting LGBTs. The food booths offered a good variety and there was plenty of pride gear for sale all around.

Around 8pm we made our way over to the main stage to watch Jazmine Sullivan perform, who has an amazing voice and recently released the hit song “Bust Your Windows”, which is a must for your iPod.

She did an awesome job performing her songs and keeping the crowd pumped. She was very gay friendly and told the crowd not to let the haters get to us and kill our dreams. Closer to the end of her performance she fell on stage, and after standing up and removing her shoes she said she was happy that she had her first official stage fall in Long Beach because we are so supportive.

Just after her performance, we were waiting for Sara Bareilles to come on stage when we felt the bleachers start to sway from side to side.

Everyone who was sitting on the bleachers froze and held on until it stopped a few second later. The woman who was speaking on stage didn’t skip a beat, and the crowd below seemed not to notice anything. We walked down the bleachers to the ground and some of the people below were asking each other “Did you feel that?” “Was that an earthquake?” We could see that the street lights were still swaying and instantly knew that it was in fact an earthquake.

Most of the people went back to what they were doing un-phased and continued to walk around and shop, eat, etc.

My wife and I started to leave immediately, trying to get a hold of our babysitter at the same time. The cell phone lines were all tied up and we could only reach people who had land line numbers, and everyone in the family networked messages that everyone was okay.

On the drive home we listened to radio which told us that the earthquake was located southeast of Los Angeles and was felt as far away as San Diego.

The quake measured a 4.7 on the Richter scale and lasted about ten seconds. It was followed by a 3.1 magnitude aftershock and originated from the Newport-Inglewood Fault which is about 10 miles from our home in Carson. When we got home we had some broken dishes and and excited pets, but luckily no broken windows like some had been reporting in the area. The kids were a little scared and so we did our emergency preparedness talk and drill, and made sure everyone knew the plan if we had an aftershock. At the end of the day, we were all safe, and grateful that it all worked out.

If you live in California and are looking for information on what you can do to prepare for an earthquake, you can visit www.earthquakecountry.info.

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

That darn economy is to blame for the cancellation of the 2009 Winter Pride Tampa Bay Festival.

Zeke Fread, spokesperson for Winter Pride, noted this year’s lack of vendor participation lead to axing the event.

Only half of the $25,000 needed to hold the event was raised. The announcement sparked many to contact WP and offer their assistance but the decision will stand.

The celebration was to be held at Lopez Park on February 28.

In 2006, Hillsborough County decided to not recognize gay pride events. The area’s gay community responded with the first Winter Pride Festival in 2006.

Though WP might be a bust for this year the event remains on the calendar for 2010.

Damn that economy.