Our friend and my colleague, Olivia, invited us to Pridefest 08 in Lake Worth. Susan was feeling a little better and we already had our tickets, so we headed down to Lake Worth to catch up with Olivia and Nicole. Olivia and Nicole met us at the gate, we headed into the park that runs beside the Intercoastal.
The first thing that impacted me was the "Names Project Quilts" layed out in large display. Susan had seen the Large one in D.C years ago. A little history: In June of 1987, a small group of strangers gathered in a San Francisco storefront to document the lives they feared history would neglect. Their goal was to create a memorial for those who had died of AIDS, and to thereby help people understand the devastating impact of the disease. This meeting of devoted friends and lovers served as the foundation of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Today the Quilt is a powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic. More than 44,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels -- most commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS -- have been sewn together by friends, lovers and family members.
There were four large panel Quilts of individuals recently passed on, that I didn't know; but, seeing the quilt panels with messages from friends, lovers and families really made me feel their loss.
Next was the Bikes from the Bike Brigade -the finale of the parade, colorful people, exhibits, and fair-food.
Suddenly, typical of Southern Florida weather, a cloud came up and it started to rain.
We got separated from Olivia and Nicole as Susan and ducked into at tent. The tent housed the female impersonators who were putting on make-up and getting ready for their curtain call. We apologized for our rude appearance - not blinking an artificial eyelash, they assured us that it was not a problem, and we were welcomed to wait out the storm. That was wild! The rain stopped and the performers hit the stage - it was really fun.
We walked around looking at the exhibits and I came away with a better understanding of the issues some folks have to endure, in the many sub-cultures of our time. Thanks Liv and Nicole - great time!
2 comments:
How fun! When we were in Key West the female impersonators were beautiful. Lauren & Carly were fascinated (they were 16 & 13). The quilt is a lovely memorial.
Cool! Looks like you all had a great time! Ok now my next question... did you pay $20 to get a motorcycle ride? LOL the snowmobile of the south...
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