photo courtesy of Pam Spaulding

"This is the sixth consecutive year that North Carolina Gay Pride Parade has taken place in Durham -- largely a reflection on the welcoming attitude of Duke University, the City of Durham and the dozens of merchants along the Ninth, Broad and Markham Street parade route."

Gratitude theme at gay parade: Many cite progress from years past
(N&O, 25 Sept 2005)

Not even a train roaring past Main Street could mute the cheering crowd of nearly 5,000 people on Saturday celebrating the annual statewide Gay Pride Parade. Their bursts of applause reminded Thomas Farmer, a 42-year-old banker, of the importance of his work.

"It's invigorating," said Farmer, who leads the Winston-Salem chapter of the national group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

The organization was one of 150 groups to march in the parade, the signature event of PrideFest, a gay pride weekend that has brought state residents to Durham for the past six years."It's invigorating," said Farmer, who leads the Winston-Salem chapter of the national group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

photo courtesy of Pam Spaulding

In Saturday's parade, participants marched from Duke University's East Campus to the Ninth Street retail strip and back, forming a rainbow-colored stream of floats, church groups, high school students, drag queens and local leaders including Stormy Ellis, an assistant district attorney in Durham, and Carrboro city councilman Mark Kleinschmidt, who gave a speech earlier in the day. Buzzing kazoos and barking dogs wearing rainbow flower leis added to the din of hooting and clapping.

To some it was just enthusiasm. For Farmer, who marched behind a PFLAG banner, it was heartfelt gratitude pouring from people whose pains have been eased by groups like PFLAG.

photo courtesy of Pam Spaulding

"It makes us feel so good about what we do," he said. Farmer himself has benefited from groups like the one he now runs. It was in the 1980s that Farmer was coming out as a gay man in Wilson, a small town in the eastern part of the state. "We're in a much better place today than we were 15 years ago," he said.

Many of the people around him shared similar stories. Events such as PrideFest give gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans-gendered people a place where they aren't seen as so different from everyone else, many festival-goers said.

"Most of us are the only gay person at work, or the only gay person in the family," said Keith Hayes, spokesman for the NC Pride Committee that organized the event. "It's an unusual and uplifting experience to be in a place where you're not the only one."

The crowd was a mix of singletons and parents pushing their children in strollers. They clustered around vendors peddling gay pride symbols and entertainment, as well as information about gay-friendly churches and gay marriage.

The Durham community has been welcoming of PrideFest, Hayes said. Though anti-gay groups have visited Durham in the past, there haven't been any protests to PrideFest that Hayes can recall. In most larger cities, anti-gay protesters frequently appear at such events, he said.

Several local organizations wanted to make sure participants in the parade knew they were welcome in the Bull City, including the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association, a group whose residents live in areas bordering Duke's East Campus.

"What this parade is about is what our neighborhood is about," said Phillip Barron, an Old West Durham resident. "It's about being inclusive and neighborly."

photo courtesy of Pam Spaulding

Click here to see photos from Pride 2002.