Seattle Rallies Behind Financially Troubled Gay Pride
(Seattle, Washington) Within hours of Tuesday’s announcement that Seattle’s Out and Proud – the volunteer group that puts on the city’s annual gay pride parade and festival – was filing for bankruptcy and canceling this year’s event, the organization’s phones began ringing.
The city’s gay community was rallying to the cause. By the end of the night enough money had come in to pay off the group’s $102,000 debt from last year’s parade and save the organization from bankruptcy.
“Due to overwhelming support …, we will move forward with our plans to produce the parade down 4th Avenue on Sunday, June 24, 2007″, the group said in a press release Wednesday, following another emergency meeting of Out and Proud’s board.
But, the organization said it would not be putting a festival to go with the parade this year.
“Based upon our experience and acting on the advice of a professional event company, the festival is not financially feasible,” the statement said.
The theme for this year’s event is “Come Together” – something that had been decided for the financial problems threatened to bring down the event.
Tuesday Out and Proud said that it had been unable to raise the $102,000 and would declare bankruptcy.
For 32 years the festival was held on Capitol Hill, the center of Seattle’s gay community. But with crowds exceeding 200,000 the decision was made last year to move to Seattle Center. That change raised the group’s expenses putting it in peril.
In addition many in the community were upset that the event had been moved out of the neighborhood.
The LGBT Community Center held a counter event called Queerfest that featured music and other events.
When it looked like this year’s parade would be canceled, the center made its own plans to celebrate pride this year. The center has not said if in light of the Out and Proud event being saved it will continue with its own plans.
Source: 365gay.com