Latest entries:
|
HAVING A 'GAY OLD TIME' 13 June 2005 The 2005, 10th Annual Davis Gay Pride Picnic is now a memory and a good time was had by all. Last night I loaded up all the bagels into the trunk of the car, so they could defrost overnight. When I got into the car this morning, it smelled like stepping into Noah's...I started craving lox and cream cheese. I wondered how the bagels were going to go when I unloaded by five huge bags and the people at the bagel table kind of groaned, realizing how many more there were--they had been spreading bagels with cream cheese already for quite some time.
My part at this annual event is two-fold. I'm there to work with Pat, another woman whom I only see once a year, at this event, on giving out the massive number of door prizes (198 this year, ranging from a free coffee at a local coffee shop to a case of R.H.Phillips wine or a night at the local Holiday Inn). I am also the "official" event photographer, though there were lots of photographers running around today. Ellen and Shelly always try to have something "new" each year. This year they set up a "drag queen/king" booth where people could dress up in finery and have their picture taken and printed out by the guys who brought the fancy instant printer. One of the very first people to dress up in drag was Davis City Council member, Ted Puntillo, who looked surprisingly fetching in his shocking pink wig.
Ted joined with fellow
councilman Don Saylor (who chose not to go in drag) presented Ellen and Shelly
with a resolution, unanimously passed by the City Council declaring it gay pride day in
Davis. Similar resolutions came from the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, the Davis
Joint Unified School Board, the Woodland City Council, and the West Sacramento City
Council. It was pointed And then there was entertainment. Comedienne/Attorney (is that redundant?) Denise Hoffner-Brodsky started off the festivities. She was very funny, very topical, and her young son, Benjamin, probably changed clothes more times than anybody at the picnic. He really liked those drag clothes. My favorite outfit that he wore consisted of a bustier, which he wore around his waist, and huge patent leather boots. There were bands -- Davis' home-grown "The Essentials", another band called "!Akimbo" and the famous Sacramento Taiko Dan drum corps. But the best of the lot was blues singer Gayiel Von. She was simply magnificent. Must see her again. She ended her set with "Over the Rainbow," and old me, the die-hard Judy Garland fanatic, didn't even mind. (Anybody who'd like to see and hear a sample, can download this 35 MB movie for the next 5 days at this URL.)
The event began to wind down around 4 p.m. and we packed up to leave. I took another bag of bagels back in the car to bring home to put back in the freezer again. (Anybody want a bagel?) Ellen and Shelly treated volunteers who had worked all day to a wonderful dinner. Only 5 of us came along, plus Shelly and Ellen, so we were able to have a nice dinner, and a nice rehash of what we decided was another successful Gay Pride Day in Davis.
Mood |
||
PHOTO OF THE DAY
This is the audience for the Taiko Dan performance. |
|||
|
|||
| <--previous
| next-->
Journal home | bio | cast | archive | links | awards | Flickr | Bev's Home Page
|
Created 6/12/05
out that ten years ago, when this event began, these
were resolutions which were controversial. Now they are on the "confirm"
list, and they pass with virtually no opposition (save for one county councilperson who
voted against it).
