Homo Pride Parade Awards!
posted by on June 25 at 17:11 PM
The Stranger created the Pride Parade Awards because it wasn’t enough to complain about the Pride Parade—although we reserve the right do that—we felt we had to do something to make it better. We wanted to give The Gays an incentive to pull out the stops, to go over the top, and to spend some damn money on floats and costumes in hopes of maybe winning it all back and more.
There was lots of great stuff in the parade this year—an actual, honest-to-God marching band, Amy Kate’s belly dancing squad, the Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps (ROTC), Ed Murray’s bagpipers, the Goth float (!), and, of course, them dykes on their bikes. Consider yourselves the runners-up, all tied for fourth place.
But now… the winners of the First Annual Stranger Pride Parade Awards…
In third place, taking bronze, a $1000 check, and a lovely trophy….
CAMP’S CAMPFIRE. The judges thought CAMP’s ginormous campfire was beautifully constructed and that it promoted CAMP’s mission—organizing camping trips for gay men—while also giving the crowd something fun to look at. The huge marshmallows—toasted then tossed—were a nice, interactive touch.
In second place, taking silver, a check $1500, and a lovely trophy…
BIG PINK POODLE by Tacky Tourist Club of America. Their anatomically correct pink poodle, pulled down the street by hunky men in leather, had the biggest balls in the parade. The poodle was tacky and risque, the men in harnesses were hot and beefy, and the fully retractable penis was, well… full retractable. Nice work!
And in first place, taking gold, a check for $2000 and a lovely trophy…
BEARS, BATH, AND BEYOND!
This two-sided float, created by Northwest Bears, was the crowd favorite. Hell, it made both of Seattle’s daily papers, displacing the usual shots of drag queens and half-naked lesbians on Harleys. Featuring a tub full of hairy daddies covered in suds, “Bears, Bath and Beyond” was funny and sexy, camp and butch, and the unanimous choice of our judges.
I spoke with the guys from Northwest Bears at the pride celebration at Seattle Center after presenting them with their trophy and check. I was thrilled to learn that Northwest Bears decided to go for it—to build their spectacular float—after finding out about our contest. “I was sure we would win if we pulled this together,” said one of the bears, “but some of the guys were nervous about spending the money.” And how much did they spend? “We spent $1500, so we came out ahead!”
Ahead and on top! Congratulations to Northwest Bears!
W00T for the bears! Friendly and furry, but watch out for your basket.
W00T for the bears! Friendly and furry, but watch out for your basket.
W00T for the bears! Friendly and furry, but watch out for your basket.
Yes. Three cheers for the bears! They're everything that society tells you not to be and, with maybe the exception of the super-muscular leatherman, possibly the most feared gay stereotype, but they were ADORABLE!
"the Goth float (!)"
I don't know why a goth float would be all that shocking. There's tons of bisexuality and "sex-positive" attitude in that community.
Hey, how come no mention of the fabulously hot Seattle Black Pride float? They were at least as impressive as the Goth float, but way more sexy. At least they should be in the honorable mentions listed at the beginning of your piece.
The Black Pride contingent was an early favorite. According to my notes, Dominic Holden dubbed them "tops so far," and Jen Graves remarked "such focus!"
Yes, add them to the honorable mention list.
Every time I see all those guys in that oversized tub, I can't help but laugh. They're so snuggly and cute!
NW Bears loved being apart of the parade and contest! If anyone would like to join or know more about us go to http://www.nwbears.com/
Thanks again to The Stranger for creating the Pride Parade Awards and for everyone the made the Pride weekend and Parade happen!
- a NWBear member
Thanks to The Stranger for sponsoring the Pride Parade awards. We had a great time putting the float together, and the response from the crowd was incredible. Club members are already talking about what to do next year. It was great meeting you too, Dan.
Be well,
Jim Fotter
NWB President
All the winning floats were great (and the runners up). The Bears' float produced one of the most magical moments of the whole parade when it reached an intersection and was caught in a strong wind. Suddenly, bubbles and foam swirled everywhere, as if we were all in a giant beautiful snowglobe.
Sorry for the quad post above, I was on the blackberry and kept getting connection errors and foolishly believed that they weren't posting.
And, again, the bears are a great bunch of men and had a great float. Also, the black pride contingent should get huge hot honorable mention props.
Mmmm - nice soapy bears. :)
Mmmm - nice soapy bears. :)
Brilliant float!!
anyone have links to their photos from pride? i didn't bring a camera - this float was AWESOME! thanks stranger for starting a tradition of bigger and better parade floats!
Thanks to Dan and The Stranger for the incentive ($$) of awards for Parade Floats! Q-Squared and CAMP were very surprised and honored to have won the bronze - there were many great entires this year. CAMP is a single four day mens community building event held over Labor Day weekend. Q-Squared has other great programs too. http://qsquared.org
NW Bears: Thanks for allowing this "Bear" from Portland, OR be apart of such a fun loving and welcoming community of "bears." I returned home with my head held up high knowing I was able to march along side a group of amazing and awesome set of people, many of which I hope to see again.
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