Dayton Pride Parade and Rally, June 5, 2004: Pride Dinner 06-19-04 CMC Dayton concert 12-04-04 DGMC PFLAG concert 12-14-04 DGMC Christmas concert 12-19-04

These pictures are from Dayton's third annual gay pride parade and rally. Dayton's no San Francisco or New York or even Columbus or Cincinnati, but our pride rally was still pretty fun. For a smaller city, Dayton has a good share of cute boiz and hot men (same for the women but somehow I didn't pay them as much attention). My personal favorite was this one Flaggot (though all the Flaggots were hot and talented).

This was the first year that the Dayton Gay Men's Chorus, of which I'm a part, performed. We were to go on at 6:30 (yes, 3 1/2 hours after the parade kicked off! As I mentioned, Dayton's no Columbus) after the world famous Andrew Hyde spoke. Due to some glitch in queer time (which usually runs late), Andrew spoke around 5:00, causing some logistical problems since some chorus members had gone off to nap or to eat or whatever. Luckily there were tons of drag queens lined up to perform so they went on first. We finally did get on stage to sing to what was by that time a more intimate crowd. Sorry, no photos of our performance because Max, who had my camera during, had some difficulties. Yeah, yeah, I know many people don't like politics but remember Pride isn't just about marching and singing and shirtless men but also about our rights. That said, Dayton Pride this year was fun, and did I mention that the Dayton Gay Men's Chorus received the parade's Grand Marshall's Prize? Yay for us!

I do want to make one political comment. Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin attended the rally and declared June to be Pride Month in Dayton. That's great, and I'm glad she came, but she also spend time talking about how Dayton is against discrimination based on sexual orientation. I'm sorry, but that's not true. The city commission back in 1999 did pass an informal resolution saying such discrimination is wrong, but at the very same meeting they also voted against making such discrimination illegal. Which do you believe, the resolution or the law? If you think the resolution (which predates the mayor's term) doesn't mean much, take the time to write her a letter (Mayor Rhine McLin, 101 W. Third Street, Dayton, OH 45402) thanking her for attending the rally but urging her to put some weight behind her words.