I wasn't able to make it to the 10th Anniversary UrbanOhio meetup this past weekend, but I did make it to the 26th annual Cleveland Pride Festival. It was a toasty day but thanks to a constant Lake breeze, it wasn't too bad and I got to see Debbie Gibson perform a great set including a personal favorite (and I don't care if it's pop/cheesy) - 'Only in My Dreams'. Heads up for those viewing from work - there's nothing you wouldn't see at a beach, but do keep in mind there are photos of semi-dressed people. Enjoy:

 

Over the bridge and past the skyline to Cleveland Pride we go:

 

The first of several well-built and attractive gentlemen we saw:

 

Burke airport was busy - not sure if the copters and planes we saw were giving aerial tours that day:

 

Making our way there:

 

Another well-built gentleman:

 

Wait, what?!? Yes folks - just because it's LGBT Pride doesn't mean it's exclusionary:

 

Not sure *what* is going on with the glass at the Rock Hall but I kind of like the Tetris/8-bit graphic thing going on:

 

Not sure *what* is going on with this ensemble but hey - who am I to judge?

 

Closer to the gate:

 

A few people using the new transient marina:

 

A few shots of the crowd as we make our way in:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure what would inspire people to do a cheerleading pyramid stunt... maybe practicing for the upcoming Gay Games?

 

Whatever the case - this is Cleveland, we like things down to earth ;-)

 

I'll shut up and let you enjoy the pics of the crowd:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, let's not get crazy - it's me, I have to have architectural shots!

 

 

But sure enough - the DJ turned on the the "to the left, to the left, to the left" line dancing song and there was pop-up line dancing all around:

 

 

 

 

 

The person wearing these shoes made the sensible choice to *not* participate in the line dancing. As I've always said, Cleveland's Pride is very diverse, for better and for worse - and I'm a poet and didn't know it  :roll:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, not here to judge but some people embrace the diversity more than others ;-)

 

With that, Debbie Gibson rocked it out and put on a great show - I sometimes get decent shots of performers but I'm kind of happy how these turned out:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, all good Prides must come to an end - hope you enjoyed!

 

 

 

 

As always, the pictures are fantastic. Thanks for sharing Mayday. I was sorry I missed it. I wanted to take my little one this year but had other obligations.

Nice.  My grand parents went, you'd never know they were close a thousand years old.  Anyway, while at the event, this woman waved at my Grandmother.  She didn't know who the woman was, but causally waved back.  While waiting for the bus to go home. This woman and her friends were at the bus stop and struck up a general and said my grand mother looks familiar to her.  On the bus they went to the back and my grandparents were in the front.  My grandparents deboard and the woman and her friends deboard.  Come to find out this couple live around the corner from my parents.  She recognized my grandmother as shes seen her jogging/walking.  This couple moved from Stow or Streetsboro as they grew tired of the daily drive.  They recently completed a reno.  My grandfather is hoping that more lesbian couples move to East Blvd section of Glenville as their are plenty of houses to be renovated.  Pride is all about the mixing and accepting of diversity.

 

MayDay thank you for the UO billboard!  Did you notice the Debbie wants to know be know as "Debra"?

Great pics. Fascinating human photographic study. :)

Took me a while to find it this time, but I found the UO Billboard :)