The drag queens have put on their waterproof mascara for the occasion, so show up at McSpadden Park today until 6pm so that they're not just lip-synching to puddles. Fuck the rain! You ain't made of sugar.

Vancouver Pride Society and TD present our signature grassroots event, East Side Pride. This is the first Pride festival of our season which celebrates Pride in our community, specifically, that of East Vancouver. Located in McSpadden Park, just minutes away from the Commercial/Broadway skytrain station, East Side Pride draws over 2500 people to our Pride Market, a showcase of 30 local artisans, small businesses and community organizations. This year we feature an eclectic mix of live music on our festival stage. 

A few days ago I blogged the complete transcript of my interview with Sharon Needles backstage at TFD Presents, with a section also being featured in the current print issue of Xtra. And because Vancouver doesn't bring in talent like this nearly enough, I'm shoving it down your throat like your daddy's cock!

Check out the video version. Sharon is flawless:

Today is the 43rd anniversary of the Stonewall riots. We started fighting for our right to be ourselves, by taking pride in ourselves. The Pride parades of the '70s were about protesting our freedom by celebrating it. 

This video captures the spirit of post-Stonewall America perfectly.

My favourite point is the 1:50 mark where a woman says with awe and euphoria, "This is wonderful! This is the best thing ever."

It made me think how people are pretty cool. Fucked up, but cool. Especially when they get swept up in a movement about LOVE.

Anyone who has ever been to a Pride parade knows that there is so much love on those floats, and in the crowds of people cheering on the sidelines, that for a few blissful hours, it's like we're living in a parallel universe where hate doesn't exist. Where people are free. And where it's impossible for your outfit to be too much (or too little). 

The fact that a church of "god" sees that love as something evil, sordid and wrong is shameful enough, but to have that church promote violent acts against that love is simply disgraceful. Jesus is bowing his head, and not just because his crown of thorns is heavy!

The Pride parade in Sofia, Bulgaria, is happening this Saturday, and similar to previous parades in the country, there are threats of violence. Last year, paradegoers were beaten, and in 2008, a group of skinheads threw Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs) into the street. This year, Father Evgenii Yankiev is encouraging members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to throw stones at parade participants.

When outraged activists demanded a retraction, the church released a defiant statement saying, "Homosexuality is an unnatural passion that undoubtedly harms the personality, the family and the society."

During Vancouver Pride, all you have to worry about is being hit with beads, water guns and glitter. Not rocks and bombs. Come out for our Pride parade, Aug 5, if only because it's essential we celebrate not only WHO WE ARE, DAMN IT, but our right to be who we are, damn it. 

If you don't want to be there for yourself -- be there for our brothers and sisters across the sea who don't have the luxury of celebrating their lives without risking them.

Usually I find overprotective and panicky parents annoying, but there's something to admire in Deborah Berlingeri, who went all out when she lost contact of her 22-year-old son in San Francisco. After Evan met someone using a hookup/dating phone app and never came home, his mom went into overdrive trying to find out what happened, even starting a website, helpfindevan.com, where she posted a photo and wrote:

This is my son, Evan Flanary, 22, 6ft 1, 160 lbs, blonde hair/blue eyes, wearing blue jeans and gray hoody. Last seen on foot in the Mission district in San Francisco on June 19, 2012, meeting a stranger from a social phone app contact.
 
This is not like him to disappear. He has no money and his phone has died.
 
Anyone with information should contact the San Francisco Police Missing Persons Department 415-734-3268 or J.D. Berlingeri 541-680-2616 or their local Police Dept. Share this website on Facebook or retweet on Twitter if you can assist.
 
Your assistance is very much appreciated. Thank you.

It was never confirmed that Evan is gay or was using a gay app, but since San Francisco Pride is in full swing, the cute 22-year-old caught the attention of the gay blogosphere. Luckily, a few days after "disappearing," Even saw his face on TV and contacted his mother, who wrote her relief on Facebook:

He was SO SO SO apologetic that he worried about us. He had met a person, they hit it off fabulously, they were down town enjoying all the week’s festivities. The battery in his cell phone died and although he had a charger, it just wouldn’t take the charge. He never noticed the flyers but today he saw his image on a television screen and could NOT believe it. He called me just minutes before the KNTV interview was scheduled to begin, so instead of crying I was grinning like the village idiot!! I love that boy. My dear friend Torsten Hirche is with him as we speak. Love you man! Yay, now I can breathe!