It is estimated that close to 5,000 people lined Olive Avenue or sat in Tower restaurants, coffee and tea houses to watch the largest parade (over 70 contingents) in the annual event’s 20 year history. Flags flew high and proudly in the newly created Rainbow Parkette/Pride Plaza inside the Pride festival area where the crowds measuring close to 2,500 came to together to join in queer culture at its best. This year saw the host organization, Community Link, expand its borders to accommodate so many merchandise vendors, food and information booths - the largest participation to date (over 90 booth spaces).

Activities included the Interpretations’ Dance Pavilion, an entertainment pavilion featuring the Raging Grannies, California Ground Pounders, Ballroom LIVE, and Drag sensations: Diva-Licious, Ariel, Anna Conda, Mizz Monique Moore, and Edison High School teenagers MATA.

April news:

Two decades, 20 years, of celebrating the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender experience in the Central Valley will be happening this June!

These past 20 years have seen the local GLBT community grow and expand the opportunities that queer individuals have to express themselves.

Fresno’s first Pride Parade took over a year of planning, networking, and activism within and without the Gay community. It was also literally over in 10 minutes. The festival was a much longer event stretching from 10:30am - 6pm in 110 degree heat of summer.

This year’s Pride Parade and Festival, “20 in 2010,” will be our grandest yet, we hope!

The sad fact is the economy is taking a huge toll on everyone. The bad news is that it looks like Fresno Rainbow Pride has lost $5,000 in sponsorships so far.

It appears one of our LGBT organizational Pride Partners, will not be able to sponsor this year's event, due to a lack of funds. A loss of $2,000.

One of our major LGBT business Pride Partners is also downsizing their sponsorship. This local business has been a huge part of Fresno Rainbow Pride’s success as well as the success of many other LBGT organizations, events and activities. A loss of $1,000.

The Parade and Festival cost over $25,000 last year. Community Link’s Fresno Rainbow Pride needs to raise $10,000 by June 5, 2010 to ensure that this event will be successful.

A big thank you to our sponsors so far: Pet ER -$3,000, IDC - $1,000, Golden State Bears - $1,000, and Gay Central Valley - $400 & a media sponsor.

Please make plans on attending our fundraising events, such as:

* Dining Out for Pride at Tacos Marquitos on Friday, May 7th from 2pm - 10pm. Make sure to mention Pride and Javier will donate 20% of your check!

* The Ellos Latinos Pride show and party at The Red Lantern on Friday, May 14th at 10pm

* The Fresno GLBT Youth Alliance’s Car Wash, date and location TBA, Presale tickets and day of the event car washes $5

* The Lady Hit Pride Show and Fundraiser. Look for flyers and website postings for more information.

Get updates and all the 411 on Pride happenings and many other happenings and information regarding everything else Community Link at http://www.facebook.com/CommunityLink

Come help us plan our 20th anniversary of the Central Valley’s only Pride parade and Festival. We need your help to make it all happen. Planning/working meetings happen every Wednesday at 6:30pm at 1055 N. Van Ness, in the large conference room. Contact us at 559-486-3464

March news: "20 in 2010": Is Pride Still Relevant?

Nearing its 20th anniversary, we at Community Link's Fresno Rainbow Pride believe that Fresno and the Central Valley's Gay Pride Parade and Festival continues to be relevant and needed.

Gay Pride celebrations serve several purposes. They are more than just annual parties. Pride Parades are a celebration of survival. Our survival of another year in a culture where our rights, liberties, and even our very lives are under constant attack.

In May 2008, GLBT Californians had their rights to marriage validated by the Californian Supreme Court, which ruled separate is not equal when comparing marriage with Domestic Partnership. Shortly thereafter, on June 17, 2008, many of the 18,000 GLBT couples began a new chapter of our lives as recognized married individuals in the state of California. However, by November of that year the voters of California had stripped away those rights of being exercised to any other GLBT Californians.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender communities suffered an agonizing defeat at the ballot box and our morale had taken a huge beating.

If you think about it in the above terms, the 2008 Pride Parade should have been a huge success (which it was) and last year's, 2009, should have been smaller without much to celebrate (which it wasn't.) In fact, last year's attendance was the largest in Fresno's Pride history!

Gay Pride celebrations are political statements that keep the Gay Rights Movements front and center in the public's minds. In areas like the Central Valley, public policy makers, elected officials, and political forces may easily ignore the GLBT community. The fact is that we pretty much go about our lives without much fanfare. Our quietness a.k.a. our silence and lack of constant and regular visibility make it possible for these above parties to sweep us under the carpet.

But that's not so on the days where we come out to celebrate our survival, such as Gay Pride Days. These Days are our moment to point out to the general society that we are a force that they need to take seriously, whether we are celebrating a large win or fighting back from a horrible loss.

Gay Pride is as much about visibility and securing our rights as it is a party. Additionally, Gay Pride is about rejuvenating our spirits, recharging our own batteries, empowering ourselves for the next attack on our rights. There is nothing like finding yourself among hundreds or thousands (in Fresno Rainbow Pride's case several thousand) of queer folk and our supportive friends. For a newly out person or a young queer individual there is nothing like finding that you are truly not alone and that there is a strength in numbers.

These celebrations serve other purposes as well, such as promotion, networking, and recruiting. Fresno Rainbow Pride offers the Valley its best opportunities to learn about what is going on in the queer community: what services and social outlets are available, what the community services organizations are providing, and what activism and political work needs to be done.

It's also important to know which businesses are GLBT-owned or are straight allies that support the GLBT community and will welcome you AND your boyfriend / girlfriend without discrimination. The Parade, the Festival and the program book may greatly help you decide where you spend your money.

There simply is no better way or day to make a statement, empower yourself and others, get the word out about your group's work, connect with others and get GLBT individuals involved in making our community a better place to live, than supporting Fresno Rainbow Pride's GLBT Parade and Festival.

It is that time for us all to pull together to make Fresno Rainbow Pride 2010 an event to be proud of!