Patrick’s Day everyone inclined to express connection to what that day represents by wearing green on March 17th - whether they are Irish or not. The organization is aligning with national, regional, and local non-profits who provide valuable resources to fight bullying, teen homelessness, HIV services, and legal/business/housing services to the LGBT+ community. The KindRED Pride Foundation’s mission is to honor the kindred spirit, bravery, and courage of the original attendees back in 1991 by expanding the “grass roots” desire to bring the community together to celebrate and to support endeavors by like-minded charities within the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, and Ally (LGBTQIA) community by producing sporting, music, and other special events. The event quickly grew to one of the largest LGBT+ annual gatherings in the world. The growth was in part a result of the national media exposure brought on by the protests by far-right groups threatening to boycott. The original attendees unwittingly pioneered one of the first gay travel “destination” weekends. Who could have known the tremendous impact of the original gathering would have on the social fabric of our community as hundreds of thousands of guests from around the world experienced the magic of RED Shirt Pride Day each year and took the stories and images back to their communities. They would all wear RED t-shirts to identify each other since most had only met on a computer bulletin board service and never all in person.
The event started with just a handful of people who decided they would meet socially on the first Saturday in June in front of the castle. The KindRED Pride Foundation was inspired by the desire to expand the magic created by the 28-year tradition of the original “Gay Day at Magic Kingdom” in Orlando. Mason Regional Park drew 500 people organizers expected about 100.īy 2012, when the event returned to Santa Ana, attendance had grown to more than 10,000.Īnd the crowds have only grown since, said Hara Alarcon, a longtime volunteer who will be honored as a community leader in this year’s parade for her work in promoting the Orange County Imperial Court, a nonprofit that raises money to help the LGBTQ community.ORLANDO, Fla., Ma(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Today, The KindRED Pride Foundation announced a new global vision building on the tradition of “gay day” at Magic Kingdom®, which is always held on the first Saturday of June to Kick Off Pride Month. What Nowick called “more of a picnic” in Irvine’s William R. “When something really bad happens, you can’t just do nothing.” “It was in part doing something, and in part community building,” said James Nowick, a UC Irvine professor who co-organized the festival’s return in 2009. Then in 2008, California voters passed Proposition 8 the ban on same-sex marriages sparked new interest among the LGBTQ community in again holding a public event. Attendance had dropped by half by 2000, compared to six years previous. The festival stopped after 2001 no one interviewed for this article could identify exactly why, but the Register in 2000 noted light crowds, with vendors grumbling about slow business. “It made it real, more acceptable, not trying to hide,” Syre said.īut the momentum slowed. In 1994, organizers moved the parade from university property and onto city streets. “I never felt like I was doing anything wrong.” “It was two people committing their love to one another,” she said. Rosalind Russell officiated an unofficial wedding between a lesbian couple one woman wore a gown belonging to her grandmother, Russell recalled. “The guys would not let anyone suppress them,” community leader Porfi Alanis said.Īt the 1993 festival, The Rev. There were protesters, but the crowds attending grew year after year. The festival moved to UCI’s Aldrich Park in 1990 when the school’s Gay and Lesbian Student Union became a co-sponsor. The festival was allowed to continue, but all the entrances were closed. We were sitting quietly just waiting for what the city was going to do.” Six were arrested and Santa Ana police considered shutting things down, he said. Link Schrader recalled a melee between a few dozen festival-goers and protesters, who threw objects at the crowd – including dirty baby diapers.
“Their determination was only fueled by the controversy and negativity which surrounded the planning of the event,” the committee’s president, Janet Avery, once said.