A Weekend with a View!
Lisa Jackson
This past week-end was the La Crosse PRIDE festival, a celebration of diversity. It afforded me a unique opportunity to see things through not only my own eyes, but through the eyes of some people gathered there.
Friday night kicked off with a pizza cruise on the steam paddle boat Julia Belle Swain. Good music, good food and good company were the order of the evening. The weather was a bit on the gloomy side, but that was more than offset by the jovial mood of those aboard. I saw people that I have not seen for quite some time. I also met some people that I had not crossed paths with before. Scotty kept the good times rolling with a non-stop stream of music.
We were treated to a couple of impromptu performances, one by Miss Jada Kline and the other by Alexandra Green. Jada heated up the atmosphere with her presence and style. Alexandra created smiles in musical form to share with us as she sang and played her guitar. Indeed, to see her walk across the floor literally lit up the room. She was wearing Cinderella-like "glass" slippers that flashed rainbow colored lights as she walked!
I had invited two dear friends from out of town to our celebration. They came for the weekend, so some of the "views" I will share with you are things I saw through their eyes as well as my own. Now here I must tell you that they are recently "out" and have only lately come together as a couple. This was their first PRIDE celebration.
After the boat cruise, many of those aboard continued their celebration downtown. I was in the mood for dancing after all the good music I heard through the evening. My two friends and several others who had been on the cruise met at Player's. The atmosphere was festive and as the evening progressed, the dance floor filled. When midnight rolled around, I finally called it an evening, mindful of the fact I had to be up early the next morning. Saturday was to be a very full day!
Saturday dawned somewhat overcast but not raining. After my required intake of coffee, I headed toward Onalaska, to the Omni Center. As I walked in, my gaze moved from place to place, envisioning and hoping that the somewhat empty hall would later be filled. What would PRIDE be without people to celebrate? I kept my fingers crossed.
The next few hours were busy. I staffed the table for the LGBT Resource Center of the 7 Rivers Region for awhile. People started to drift in and my spirits lifted with each person who passed through the doorway. "Want to take a chance on our chest?" became a commonly heard phrase at our booth. It definitely caught the attention of some. After all, you do have to have an "ice breaker" when you are selling raffle tickets for a beautiful hand crafted and tooled leather blanket trunk!
Entertainment was great. Once again DJ Scotty kept the tunes filling the air. We had a speaker from Fair Wisconsin giving us information and letting us know why we should vote no in the up coming election on November 7 on the amendment to ban civil unions and marriage.
Ellis took the stage at 1:30 and rocked the house with her magnificent voice and style. Having heard her before, it was most definitely not a part of the show I wanted to miss! Yes, I admit. I'm a fan. She was kind enough to autograph a CD for me and pose for a couple pictures. It was wonderful of her to appear at our PRIDE celebration, as she had another engagement that same evening, with a lot of travel in between.
There was a Euchre tournament, hosted by My Place Bar, going on outside at the picnic tables. More and more people started to come in, wander around, talk to our vendors, look at the wares available for purchase and just generally enjoy the celebration. No, the Omni Center was not packed, but we had a fairly steady flow of people.
As the afternoon progressed, we were treated to the vocal stylings of Tommy Orrico and later Alexandra Green. Both sang and played guitar, presenting us with original compositions and tunes. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these performances.
In the late afternoon the Show Choir razzle dazzled us all with their style and panache'. You could not help but want to move and tap your feet. I felt like I was at a Broadway performance!
As the afternoon waned into the evening, the Omni Center became rather empty and my spirits drooped a bit. "Where is everyone?" I thought to myself. I hoped that maybe everyone had just gone to eat and that closer to the time for the evening's variety show, we would have a larger turn out.
After another stint at the LGBT Resource Center booth and eating a bite, I wandered around, just watching and looking. Some people were looking at the Love Makes a Family display. It was interesting to watch their faces as they looked at the pictures and read the information with each one. Love does, indeed, make a family. The old saying goes something like "You can't choose your blood relations but you can choose your family". I know that my "family" is made up of both those related to me by blood as well as a few people very dear to my heart. Families come in many shapes, colors, sizes and genders, and any combination of these. Love is the glue that binds them.
The Omni Center filled with people and an air of anticipation filled the room as time grew closer for the Variety Show. Drag Kings and Queens strolled, strutted, sauntered and sashayed through the hall, lending to it their style and flair. Once again, DJ Scotty stepped up and kept the show going smoothly. Our MC for the evening, Regan, aka Tammy WhyNot, made the announcement of the show, seats filled, the room darkened and the show began. There was something for everyone. Each performer gave their all and then some. Whistling and woo wooing ensued as long lines for tipping the performers formed. Applause thundered through the audience and cheers rang out.
Seated directly in front of me were my two friends. While they were thoroughly wrapped up in one another, they were also wrapped up in the evening, the entertainment and the events of the day. They didn't say a whole lot during the day. They were drinking in the events of the day, watching people and in general just having a good time.
After the show, I joined some friends at Rainbow's End for a post-show celebratory cocktail. Home and sweet slumber called my name, so home I went after a discussion of the day's events.
Getting up and motivated on Sunday was a bit of a chore. I was feeling a bit sluggish, but after my requisite coffee and a shower, I motivated and went to the Red Ribbon Family Fund Picnic to meet my out of town friends. After partaking of some really good food, we played Bingo.
During the Bingo game, my friends were talking about the show and the events of the weekend. They said that this celebration had helped them to realize that we, as a community, are very diverse and from all walks of life. They had been feeling a bit isolated and somewhat alone in being gay. They said this PRIDE gathering "opened their eyes". They were most impressed with the Love Makes a Family display.
The weekend's Celebration of Diversity was a success, at least from my viewpoint. Not a huge rip roaring success, but a quiet and satisfying one. It is one that can and needs to be improved on though. Next year will be bigger and better, but not without people. It takes people to come, people to volunteer, people to entertain, people to enjoy and people to care. Without people, there is no PRIDE celebration. Let's make next year more crowded, noisier and more joyful. We have already started planning for next year. NOW is the time to begin making it better. You are needed.