Jun 20, 2008  |  By: CHRIS JOHNSON  | COMMENTS     

Despite a storm that literally rained on the parade for last weekend’s Capital Pride, organizers are calling the celebration a success.

Dave Mallory, Capital Pride director for Whitman-Walker Clinic, said all the events that took place during the week of Pride were well organized and attended.

“Even with the rain at the parade, the crowds were still huge and the contingents hung in there and were having a good time with it,” he said.

Mallory acknowledged that the rain “probably did deter some people” from viewing the parade, but said he was “still pleased with the numbers that turned out.” The director said earlier that he expected about 40,000 people to attend the parade.

The storm “probably brought people closer together,” Mallory said, because parade-watchers had to huddle near each other under umbrellas to keep from getting wet.

A number of local politicians participated in the parade. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty tossed beads at parade onlookers from a car.

David Catania (I-At-Large), one of two openly gay D.C. Council members, was also in the parade.
But Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), the other openly gay council member, did not participate. His staffers were in the event instead. Graham was in Turkey as an official delegate at an international conference on light rail and streetcars.

The Council member said this year’s parade was the first one he missed since he first started participating in the D.C. Pride parades in 1980. He noted that he helped organize Pride events when he was executive director of Whitman-Walker Clinic.

Other Council members who participated included Carol Schwartz (R-At-Large), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward-4), Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Kwame Brown (D-At-Large).

D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray (D-At Large) spoke at the festival in addition to participating in the parade.

Gray said the popularity of Capital Pride “is evidence that many D.C. residents believe that diversity, tolerance and respect for all citizens help to create conditions where all can live … without fear of hate and discrimination.”

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the delegate for D.C. in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Paul Strauss (D), the shadow U.S. senator for D.C., were also in the parade.

Parade participants vying for public office included Adam Clampitt (I), Dee Hunter (D) and Patrick Mara (R), who are running for Council.

A number of local and private groups had contingencies in the parade. Judges awarded the Tina Turner award for best parade float to Freddie’s Beach Bar, a popular bar in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Va.

Mallory said the Pride festival was also successful, noting that the performances at the various stages were crowded with onlookers. He said he believed the festival “definitely hit” the 200,000 attendees that he expected.

Organizers asked festival attendees to donate $1 at various donation bins throughout the grounds to help fund future Capital Prides. Mallory said he did not yet have a precise number for how much money was donated.

One aspect of the parade that sparked controversy was the placement of brightly colored signs on lampposts throughout the parade route criticizing D.C. Council Member Schwartz.

The signs read, “Ask Carol Schwartz why she opposes marriage equality.”

The font and color of the lettering on the signs was the same as the lettering that Schwartz uses for promotional materials. The postings were not signed or attributed to anyone or any group.

Karyn LeBlanc, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, said it is illegal in D.C. to post notices on public property such as lampposts. The fine for a first offense in posting signs on public property is $150 per sign, she said.

In a Blade op-ed last month, Schwartz stated that she does not oppose same-sex marriage and favors taking a strategic approach that involves expanding the city’s domestic partnership laws to include all the benefits of marriage until a more gay-friendly Congress is elected.

“Do I oppose same-sex marriage? No. Do I have any personal, moral or religious issues with same-sex marriage? Absolutely not,” Schwartz wrote.

Schwartz called the signs a “cowardly” effort.

“It’s unfortunate that such a fun and festive occasion would be used anonymously and thus cowardly in an effort to smear,” she said. “Shame on whomever.”

The campaigns for Mara, who is running against Schwartz in the Republican primary, and Clampitt, who is ...