Some Not So Random Shots At Pride Fest

We didn't get there until after 3pm.  It was a gray day with some light drizzle, but that had ended by the time we got there.




We found ourselves standing next to the No on Prop 1 booth which was right next to the BP Booth.  That got me thinking about who else had booths.  Here are a few.







The Yes on 1 folks had a booth too, but by the time I got around to getting their picture it was almost 5pm and a lot of booths were already being dismantled.






US House candidate Forrest Dunbar was talking with the operations manager for the Alaska Workers Association, Barbara Sarantitis at the AWA booth.

AWA works with low-paid workers and their newsletter says

"AWA members cooperate year-round in organizing a self-help free-of charge Benefit Program that includes emergency food, cloting, preventive medical care, legal advice, non-emergency dental care . . ."

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America was there letting people know that LGBT folks were welcome at their church.  I didn't see Jim Minnery and his Love Your Gay Neighbor campaign.

Darrel Hess was staffing the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission and Ombudsman table.

The Anchorage International Film Festival had a booth to promoting the GayLa part of the festival.  Three AIFF heavy weights were at the booth when I got there:  Laura Moscatello, the general manager,  and board members Rich Curtner, and Dean Franklin,  who is also their web manager. 

The National Park Service was there as well. 

Alaska Pridefest Photos and Music

By the time we got to the parkstrip, the Alaska PrideFest Festival was almost over, but there were still folks around and the music was great.   Blogging about this raises a couple of challenges for me.

First, I don't want to ignore the unfortunate accident at the beginning of the parade, but I figure that will suck up most of the media attention on this day, which many people saw as a special celebration coming on the heels of New York's decision to allow gay marriage.  My condolences go to the family and friends of James Crump. 

Second, is the question of how to handle photographs.  In November 2008 while covering an Anchorage demonstration in favor of gay marriage, I'd gone up the stairs in the parking garage across the street to get some pictures.  There was a man in the stairwell who told me he was there with his partner, but was a school teacher and didn't want to be seen at a gay protest.  So he was watching from across the street. 

Are there people who are at the festival who wouldn't want their pictures on a blog?  I've discussed at length the ethics of posting pictures of children, but what about adults who are still fearful of discrimination?  The conventional journalist response, I think that would be this is a public event.  And a lot of people at the event are openly gay and a lot of others aren't GLBT anyway.  Nevertheless, I've blurred the most obvious faces except for those who gave me permission (no one I asked said no) or were people clearly involved in the festival.  (For the dog close-up, I asked its leash holder.) This also affected how I took pictures - much more timidly than normal. 

Ms. Gay Alaska - Amber Do All Lá Chores Sawyer - explained to me the difference between Ms. and Miss Gay Alaska.  Ms is the category for lesbians and Miss for drag queens.  










I'd encountered Miss Gay Alaska - Micah Sauvageau "Vanity Affair" - at performances of  Midnight Soapscum where, as Mama Rose Mary, she narrated the show and kept the audience in line. 

Mister and Mr. Gay Alaska had left already, so no pictures. 

I've added a video - mostly with still shots - because a huge part of being there was the music.  Pictures by themselves don't capture the mood of the event. The music by Pandamonica was great and my Power Canonshot gives you a sense of it, but doesn't do it justice. 

Anchorage 2008 Pride Fest Film Festival - Eleven Minutes

There were about eight other people for Eleven Minutes, the feature documentary about Project Runway winner Jay McCarroll's first fashion show. There wasn't time to get bored as the film rushed through the year of preparation for the 11 minute show.



[June 27: I got an email from Rob Tate, one of the directors of Eleven Minutes in which he said that he didn't have the rights to post anything on the Video and directing me to take down the clips I had up. Since I've been in murky waters on this I took it down immediately. He redirected me to a YouTube trailer of this movie. I must say his email was very polite and decent. This does raise some issues of free speech. Book reviewers regularly put short passages of the book into their reviews. TV reviewers also put clips of the movies they review. Without the clips it is difficult to give the reader a sense of the movie. Some film makers from the Anchorage International Film Festival have linked to my comments (and short video clips) on their own websites. So some people do appreciate the coverage and overlook the video issue. I've assumed all along that what I did was pretty low on the priorities of the big film companies and for small film makers it would generally bring more attention to their films. But I will think about what Rob has emailed carefully as we try to work out how technology affects things.]
So why were so few people there? Some guesses.

1. It was too nice a day to go to the movies.
   We stayed for the second show - a series of shorts, some of which I didn't need to see and others (like "Tryout" the Israeli film about a father who has his kid for the weekend and his lover wants to meet the kid; or "Fabulousity", about parents who are about to have a special baby and the advice they get) were outstanding. Since we were the only ones who did stay, we offered to go home and let the projectionist go home early, but he said no. So we had the whole place to ourselves. By the time we got out from it was starting to rain for our bike ride home.
2. It was a Tuesday night.
   You get the theater to yourself.
3. So much else to do.
   So you won't get it all done anyway. Go see some mind stretching movies instead.
4. Tired.
   It's dark. You can sleep there.
5. Don't want to see gay movies.
   Well, none of these were 'gay' movies. They were movies that had a gay theme - some only barely. Gay marriage is a big issue these days still. Here's a chance for people on all sides of the issue to get to know what gay folks are saying, what their lives are like. There was nothing icky in any of these films - well there were some same sex kisses for the very squeamish.
6. Someone might think I'm gay if I go to these movies.
   Come on now. This is 2008. There are gay people who go to these films. But so do lots of straight folks. If this is a worry for you, then you really need to go. Get out of your comfort zone, live dangerously. And so what if they do? Keep 'em guessing.
7. It's too expensive.
   Online it is $6.50 a show, it's $7 at the door. Less than a regular movie discount price.

5pm Wednesday - Out Late - about gays coming out in their 50's, 60's, and 70s.

7pm Wednesday - Ask Not - Asks why the military lowers its standards to meet recruiting goals and takes in convicted felons, but not gays.

9pm Wednesday - Women Shorts - five short films.

For the whole list of films - the festival goes through Friday - go to OutNorth.