Slog

I know you guys and gals like to march, but how about a Capitol Hill block party? It seems like you might not run into union labor issues that way. Traffic will be a mess for a day or weekend, but the businesses would probably welcome the trade.

Pretty shitty timing to fold but oh well.

So who takes over now?

Hmm. I've been going to Vancouver Pride for the last couple years and sort of avoiding Seattle Pride, just because it's always been so utterly disappointing to me.

A sad little march through town plastered with advertisements, saggy tits, hairy backs, too many bikes... not enough celebration. I've never felt like part of a community at the Seattle Pride events, but in Vancouver the community really comes together celebrating their victories and supporting each other in defeats.

Plus everyone seems sexier in Canada.

All I hope is that the next group to step up to bat in Seattle will be able to bring forth that sense of community and celebration that I've felt lacking from Pride here.

Now the SGN and Community Center will move it right back to the Hill with no chance of that event ever happening downtown again... And I can say that knowing that I volunteered last year for the Pride Event. I think I was one of twelve.

So, stupid question, why bother with downtown at all? Why not just use the old route on Capitol Hill and end up at Volunteer Park?

@5 That is what will happen now. The LGBT Community Center has been salivating to get it back on the Hill and back to what is always was before, and apparently, always will be.

the gays need to get it together. PRIDE is a huge event. it can also, under the right leadership, be financially profitable to all involved, including the community.

a smart plan would move it back to homebase (the hill), utilize the support already in place and steadily expand that network, spend the next three years growing the brand, and then reach for the sky with an improved product.

it is going to take corporate sponsorship to grow PRIDE to the level necessary for a financially successful event at the seattle center. it's not that hard -- the gays spend a lot of money and there are plenty of companies chomping at the bit to expand their visibility in that demographic.

I don't know if it's a paying job, but maybe the organizers should recruit a "leader" outside the city from someplace like San Francisco where they seem to have successful marches.

@7 Ahh… but there is the rub. Words like “financially profitable,” “financially successful” and “corporate sponsorship” are verboten in the socialist/feminist/green-peace circuit that constantly gets their grips on this event.

It's easy for everyone to sit around talking about 'financial responsibility and corporate sponsorships', etc.. The problem is that when people create 'controversy' around events, such as the one last year about it moving off of the Hill and being bad for Broadway business, then sponsors are less likely to want to be involved. Liquor distributors, which for better or worse, are some of the largest donors to events like Pride wouldn't even touch them last year because the Bars on the Hill were making threats to pull their brands if they supported Pride downtown. That is just a small example, but when things like that happen, an event will never reach it's full sponsorship potential. They also put out donation boxes for the public to donate and got like $25. NO JOKE...

So everyone has all these perfect scenarios and ideas for how it should work, but whne you have a bickering, bitter, drama-stirring community working against you instead of together (fueled by George Bakan at the SGN and Shannon Thomas at the LGBT Community Center) then it becomes difficult to have a successful money-making event. This whole thing is about the egos of a handful of people.

@7: seriously, you'd think so, but Dan can tell you a sad sad story about what happened the last time a bunch of young idealists tried to make that very pitch. It was effing tragic - first community volunteer thing I'd ever done, and I was excoriated as a blood traitor and a corporate shill.

Oh, what? Do I sound bitter? go figure.

I no longer live in Seattle but do live in the area. I could never understand why it was moved off of the hill in the first place! Everyone I knew, when the parade was over, hightailed it back to what others on this blog are referring to as "home base". Broadway, "the Hill", CCs, Wildrose, The Cuff...everyone knows where they are going and most aren't going to celebrate some kind of homogenized version of Gay Pride at the Seattle Center...cleaned up, sorted out and sanitized.

L.A. has "West Hollywood", San Francisco has "the Castro", New York City "the Village" and Seattle has "the hill". For better or for worse, whatever your opinion...our community needs to support itself.

I no longer live in Seattle but do live in the area. I could never understand why it was moved off of the hill in the first place! Everyone I knew, when the parade was over, hightailed it back to what others on this blog are referring to as "home base". Broadway, "the Hill", CCs, Wildrose, The Cuff...everyone knows where they are going and most aren't going to celebrate some kind of homogenized version of Gay Pride at the Seattle Center...cleaned up, sorted out and sanitized.

L.A. has "West Hollywood", San Francisco has "the Castro", New York City "the Village" and Seattle has "the hill". For better or for worse, whatever your opinion...our community needs to support itself.

I no longer live in Seattle but do live in the area. I could never understand why it was moved off of the hill in the first place! Everyone I knew, when the parade was over, hightailed it back to what others on this blog are referring to as "home base". Broadway, "the Hill", CCs, Wildrose, The Cuff...everyone knows where they are going and most aren't going to celebrate some kind of homogenized version of Gay Pride at the Seattle Center...cleaned up, sorted out and sanitized.

L.A. has "West Hollywood", San Francisco has "the Castro", New York City "the Village" and Seattle has "the hill". For better or for worse, whatever your opinion...our community needs to support itself.

I no longer live in Seattle but do live in the area. I could never understand why it was moved off of the hill in the first place! Everyone I knew, when the parade was over, hightailed it back to what others on this blog are referring to as "home base". Broadway, "the Hill", CCs, Wildrose, The Cuff...everyone knows where they are going and most aren't going to celebrate some kind of homogenized version of Gay Pride at the Seattle Center...cleaned up, sorted out and sanitized.

L.A. has "West Hollywood", San Francisco has "the Castro", New York City "the Village" and Seattle has "the hill". For better or for worse, whatever your opinion...our community needs to support itself.

I think Kerri Harrop is right--Pride needs to temporarily move back to the Hill to regroup, rebuild and rebrand. Sigh...

But Pride should never pay full price for Seattle Center. Practically speaking, Pride can't raise hundreds of thousands of dollars just to pay for a rally site. And as a matter of principle, it shouldn't have to: The Pride rally is a constitutionally-protected assembly and accordingly should be accommodated by the city in the only viable public space, Seattle Center, at a reasonable rate. But changing the rules at Seattle Center is sure to bunch some panties, so the city will need support and pressure.

Pride should team up with allies, hire constitutional law attorneys, negotiate a viable permitting process for Seattle Center, and lobby the Council to pass a bill to get Pride into the Center by 2008-9.

dominic, you just made me re-think the city's role in this event. and, while i still don't agree that the debt should be forgiven, i think you raise very valid points regarding the cost of mounting an event that, at the heart, is constitutionally-protected.

good suggestion regarding permitting process changes. that is why i still like slog -- good ideas come from community discussion. thanks.

It is a sad state of affairs when all the little gay children of our god in the skies can't play together nicely.
It is another testiment of our city hall's inability to grow community and while bringing (or in this case) turning away gay dollars. As pointed out, how sad that in its own attempt to survive, the Seattle Center, a park for all the citizens of Seattle charges so much that even a community based festival, celebration, whatever you wish to call it can not be held in such a central focal point.
The other point is why is there no active investigation into the '06 Executive Director, Tammy Z. and Marketing/Sponsorship Coordinator, Dale K. While I was on the board we were pushing for a more paced, researched plan to move the event. Not to just force it down the throat and up the community's ass!
The best thing we can hope for now is that the LGBT Community Center can actually pull together and put on a good event that Seattle/King County can be proud of.

I did forget to mention that I along with several other friends think that the move to downtown was a nice change! The march/parade route was great and the center grounds offered a much roomier space (although the usage could have better planned out.)

I agree with Frank; why isn't there an investigation into the mismanagement of finances of Tanny Z. and Dale K. (?) If someone from the media/community just took a few minutes and searched the King County Court Records they would fine a number of law suites filed against Dale K.; all of which are about money that people paid for services or services ordered by D that were never delivered. (What happened to last years Gay Yellow Pages? Did anyone ever see the finished product?)
I will never give money to an organization as corrupt as SOAP.

Frank, I don't understand why your passing blame on a board you yourself were on or are you implying that only Tammy Z. and Dale "I skipped town" K. are in on separate dealings?
If you were a board member along with the "Tammy and Dale" team in 2005 - then you either contributed to the "sad state of affairs" or irresponsibly looked the other way.
I would vote the latter and I would then encourage you to properly report to authorities other than on this posting board.

As far as financial management- I believe it was Weston Spriggs who had the title of Treasurer in 2005-2006 isn't he now President? Correct me if I'm wrong because you guys seem to play musical chairs with the board positions and resign/skip town and disappear when questions get tough. Surely Weston would know where funds went as he was writing the checks?

Perhaps also you can enlighten us on how many Pride Committee "Thank You" parties you attended that were announced at the board meetings or other gay events such as in Vancouver the Seattle Pride March funds were spent on?
Don't you think you should let consumers know
what their funds were spent on?
While your at it, how much money was raked in by giving Marcus P. and Dale K., both board member the advertising contract for the 2005 "official guide"?
Seems to me they would have raked in thousands and could bail out SOAP if they hadn't bailed out first!

I don't live in Seattle, or the state for that matter, but I have been following the drama surrounding your pride event. I'm sorry to say it is a sad scenario that such a great city like Seattle could be in such a predicament. This would be a great time to move the event to a non-competing weekend. Yes, historically most of the events fall in June, and most major cities host their events on the last weekend, but give the vendors, sponsors and patrons the opportunity to attend yours and others, ie. Vancouver (as mentioned above). There is NO need to get fancy - just keep it real; grass roots. I travel to several prides each year (for work). Yes, San francisco is great in numbers and enthusiasm, as are San Diego and Long Beach. However, the best event I attended last year was little ol' Bakersfield Pride in CA. It had absolutely the best feel and support. The event gave the sense that you were home and welcome. It was a true grass roots event (yes, small, very small) but it was the very essence of PRIDE. Seattle, by its very nature of the people should be able to do this on a much larger scale, of course...we are counting on you to bounce back in Seattle Style - you can do it!