Attended the DC Pride Parade!

Yesterday, we went to the big 3-Hour long Washington DC Pride Parade. Our friend Chris is visiting from Florida and he had never been to the DC parade before. We met our friend Jeff and enjoyed the colorful parade in the intense heat (it was in the mid-90s with a heat index near 100).  

Ken and Jill stopped during the march

Great band playing

  Our friends Jill and Ken marched in the parade with their sign that said "God blessed us with 2 gay sons" (my nephews), and stopped for a hug a picture. It was a family-friendly event, with lots of things for kids to do along the route, too.

Marching band

church group

LOTS OF CORPORATE SUPPORT OF GAY RIGHTS -  It was awesome to see so many companies like Hilton, Wells Fargo, Starbucks, a dog rescue, dog boarding, Embassy Row hotels, Celebrity Cruises, a bunch of accepting churches, PFLAG, a gay country bar with dancers, and more. 

Nationals Baseball characters

Dancing cowboys

GROUPS FROM OTHER
COUNTRIES -
   There was a Russian contingent marching, and a group of bagpipers from England, and what was really moving to me was a group of people who left countries where being gay is a crime, and emigrated to the U.S. to be safe. That choked me up! 

Marching band

DRAG QUEENS - 

We liked these outfits, too. :)

     Of course there were drag queens for the more flamboyant, entertaining side- dressed as Dolly Parton, Ella Fitzgerald, Cher and others. 

Ella Fitzgerald, drag queen and nice umbrella holder

An outfit we liked

Rob, Tom, Chris

The crowd was overwhelming

 

Tom, Chris and Jeff

Zach Wahls

The Hilton Hotels

There were a lot of celebrities that marched, too. One was marching with the Scouts group who supported including gay leaders and kids. It was led by Zach Wahls. Zach made is mark in Iowa Legislature as a guest speaker. He has two moms, and spoke eloquently (years ago) about how they are his family, and they are no different than a family with a mom and dad. Zacharia "Zach" Wahls is an author, LGBT equality activist, and co-founder of Scouts for Equality.

Bagpipe group from England

The float with the Dolly Parton drag queen !

  Another was Gene Robinson, the  retired gay bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the U.S. 
     The support gave me chills. What a different, more accepting world it is today from when I was a kid in the 1960s-70s and had to hide in fear. (of course, gay people in the south still have to hide to keep jobs and not be beaten up).

A beach-themed float

   It was a great parade and a great show of support, love and acceptance. 
What a difference the younger generation has made by rejecting the ridiculous fears from conservatives our generation. The world is a more accepting, welcoming place. You can see that from this parade.  

The Pride Not Prejudice Bus

Freddies bar in VA had a ship float with people dressed as sailors

Video game float-Mario Bros and some other game