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Maybe it was a push to make it more "family friendly" by what the pride committee sprang out of their heads this year or maybe it was to make the pride parade less stressful. I am not sure what they were thinking because the parade seemed far less people this year than ever before in the five years I have attended the Oklahoma City parade thanks to the decision they made to move it to Friday night.

Let me tell you a few things that I noticed over the weekend. The festival held over at the park on Classen blvd. was so boring we had to leave after five minutes. There was no art to browse over. There were hardly any booths manned after 6pm when it was open until 10pm. Talk about a watered-down event. They should have spent more time recruiting more of an artsy setting than trying to change traditional dates.

Instead of enjoying the festival we ended up just eating a nice dinner over at Iron Star that used to be Leslie’s Painted Dessert. Amazing Urban BBQ and cavatappi mac and cheese with 4 cheeses by the way! So maybe it was meant to be.

The traditional Angles T-Dance that everyone enjoys was not on Sunday because the Parade had been moved. Although some poured into Angles on Friday night to have a drink there was only a few bartenders and single lines at each bar. No one was hardly on the dancefloor because everyone was waiting for a drink.

Then we go down to the Copa later on in the night and there was a line inside the Habana Inn. The music was so low we could barely hear it. We asked the DJ to turn up the music louder he came out there and agreed with us. He seemed to be an amateur DJ so he probably was not aware that it still was not loud enough to get people on the dance floor like you normally see.

OKC Pride is so much better when they have it on Sundays. There were more parties to attend, better club nights, and the festival is funner when more people are there at once. If there is no one manning a booth at the festival there is just no reason to go. If you want to stretch it out to all hours of the day and night then you need to book a major act like Deborah Cox or Kristine W to appear that way the local bands will get more of an audience.

If pride is moved to Saturdays it will take away from the clubs revenue on the other nights. I think its always good to have parades on Sunday to make it one extra day the clubs will be busy that way we have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to drink, dance, and be happy.

OKC Pride needs to take notes from Tulsa pride. OKC really had no major sponsors or exciting floats missing the creative ones from the past it seemed bare and more like a bicycle/motorcycle/charity walk instead of a parade. Tulsa really had it going on this year from what everyone is telling me and I would go but its the same weekend as Gay Days and I aint’ missing that! I heard some of the companies that wanted to take part in the parade could not do so because the date was moved up to Friday. Starting at 7pm is just a few hours from rush hour on Friday so people from smaller towns may have had a problem getting into the city in time. The streets were not lined up as far back as years past it was much easier to park this year than in 2007.

The legendary Habana Inn was booked up months in advance for the Friday night which was a positive thing for 2008. In 2007, there were rooms available on the Sunday night of the Parade. But most people probably just left town after the parade on Sundays instead of spending the night. The Habana pool parties were fun on Saturday and Sunday which make a great alternative to the festival.

I will say the drag queens that performed outside the Park bar (Miss Wreck Room) did a great job before and after the pride parade on Friday night. That was absolutely the best part of the Parade. Let’s hope this is moved for 2009 back to Sunday and the 22nd year is flawless.

Splash nightclub in NYC is going high tech for this Thursday night. They plan to offer a big screen with a live text messaging system similar to the pick-a-trick type numbers you see at some clubs I suppose. Thursdays are the BoiParty.com college nights (18 and up) with Remixer Mikey Rave (Rave is the perfect last name for a DJ). The lower level features a hip hop DJ Steve Sidewalk.

What do you think about text message boards at clubs to meet someone? I just do not feel right about putting all my business up on a plasma screen when I am being hit on or hitting on someone at a club. Then again maybe it will take off and it could be an easier way of meeting people if the people on the other end play the same texting game.

Maybe after the $3 long island teas you will be ready to start texting some people on the big plasma above. I could use one of those long islands right now and some NYC boys to go with it!

Splash is located at 50 W 17th street between 5th and 6th avenue in NYC. If you are on the Chris Ryan mailing list (ChrisRyan at ChrisRyanNYC.com) they send you a free invite most the time so make sure you sign up.

Most of us do not have huge parades to look forward to for Pride, unfortunately. No leathermen and dykes on bikes for us as we settle for the local Pride with a mediocre band and informational tables. Pride is typically in mid-June, commemorating the March on Stonewall in New York City in 1969.  The ubiquitous rainbow flag first appeared at San Francisco’s Pride celebration in 1978. Pride parades and celebrations today range from good clean fun to festive, loud and a bit raunchy. The environment of Pride celebrations depends upon the city, the organizers and the overall climate.

If you are looking for dates and locations for Pride events this year, take a look below at some of our suggestions. You’ll find that many cities of any size plan a parade or celebration for Pride. If your city isn’t listed, check with your local gay and lesbian support organization to see if anything is planned. Perhaps next year you could offer to assist in planning if your area isn’t having a Pride celebration this year.

Where are the biggest and best Pride events? Not surprisingly, some of the biggest and best are also the oldest. New York City is home to a major Pride parade each year, as is San Francisco. Baltimore, Boston and L.A. all host large and boisterous Pride celebrations.  Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Diego are also home to major Pride parades and festivities. Some cities offer concurrent Dyke Marches, so if this is of interest, you may want to keep it in mind if you plan to travel to take in one of the big Pride celebrations. Family themed activities are an option at some celebrations, and childcare may even be available in some cases. Do keep in mind that some of these Pride events, especially San Francisco, may fill local hotels so book well in advance if you plan to travel for Pride.

If you have never been to Pride, you may wonder what to expect. While each city’s community has its own personality and thus a unique Pride experience, there are some generalities. Las Vegas hosts a nighttime Pride Parade, while San Francisco is home to a multi day Pride celebration. Most cities of size, from St. Louis to Austin offer great and fun Pride Parades and festivities. Pride isn’t just for people looking to hook up, although that’s apt to be an option if you’re single, but is also a great way to participate in your community, celebrate LGBT history, and enjoy simply being one of the crowd for a while.

Here is a preview of the Summer Pride Parades coming your way:

• June 20 - Oklahoma City, OK
• June 21 - Providence, RI
• June 22 - Pittsburg, PA
• June 28 - Seattle, WA
• July 4-6 - Atlanta, GA
• July 5 - London, England
• July 6 -Madrid, Spain
• July 27 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Aug 3- Europride
• Aug 15 -Manchester Pride (cool website)
• Aug 23- Jersey City, NJ
• Sept 1 - New Orleans (Southern Decadence)
• Sept 13 - Rehoboth Beach, DE
• Sept 21 - Dallas, TX
• Oct 12 - Orlando, FL
• Nov 1-2 -Palm Springs, CA

If there is a real gay spring break then this is it even though it’s a few days away from the start of Hurricane season and the beginning of summer.

There is no overhype in how crazy and fun the annual Pensacola Beach party is every year.  I was opposed to going thinking it was just another circuit event so close to GayDays not knowing what was really on the beaches.  I found out that this event is still too close to the big GayDays event but it’s definitely worth it.  For those of us that do not live in Florida its lots of traveling and I don’t regret any minute of it.

We showed up into town and checked into our hotel early or tried to.  Ended up with a sunburn from being at the beach waiting on our room at the Hilton Pensacola Beach.  We had a few drinks at some crab bar next to the building next to the Hampton.  I think they were having a girl’s party there with oil wrestling.  The coolest staff and bartenders for a str8 bar.

Then it was on the Emerald City for Friday night to hear the local dj and DJ Roland Belmares.  The Wave party was originally scheduled for Friday night but got moved to Saturday since it was storming outside a bit.  The weather was perfect the entire time in the daytime by the way.

Emerald City which has been remodeled was awesome.  Fun stages to dance on, cages that was crazy with people doing flips and doing all kinds of grinding.  You get tired of dancing then just go out on the patio.  You have to watch out for the anti-gay people outside picketing the event but they were shut down by the gay-love people protesting them which worked out rather well.  Did they not see the church on the beach?

Some friends we knew out told us about this gay beach with thousands of people camping out and that was down the beach from our hotel.  We didn’t really believe them because they were talking about a Betty Ford Clinic and a Cross tent and all this crazy stuff.  I was like yeah right…

We drove the next day from the Hilton to the gay beach just past the Portofino resort.  We were just in amazement at how many people were out there camped out in tents and walking around on the beach.  Thousands of gays and lesbians from North Carolina, Atlanta, Mobile, New Orleans, Nashville, and Dallas.

There really was a Betty Ford Tent and a tent with a huge light up cross.  It almost reminded me of this camp we go to called Willowswish but on the beach.  It was heaven and I want to go back now.

MemorialWeekendPensacola.com lists some DJs and some hotels but not really mentioning the true spirit of the events.  It lists some hotels but this year there was no official host hotel.  The Hampton Inn played the role of busing people from the main beach to the Wave circuit event.  That event was $70 and many complained about the price but it was every penny worth it.  Amazing music from David Knapp and lighting was just incredible.  

The guys that did the lighting at the Wave event put people in amazement several times.  DJ David Knapp played the new Rihanna song “Take A Bow” which fit in perfect after some of her other tunes such as Umbrella.  I heard the Madonna song 4 minutes but none of the other great Madonna songs.  Music was great though.  He played some remix of Mariah Carey that was the best I have ever heard.  Gymnasts were doing flips and dancing in the sand not as part of the show but just there to party. 

Their was an Alien performance by AnnaRexia with hung looking aliens dancing around with a few female dancers. Also, the second performance with Bianca Del Rio from Oz in New Orleans. She had one of the hottest back up dancers.

Sunday night was also packed and lively at Emerald City.  There was a party after Emerald City that Sunday at a club called MySpace (yes, MySpace) and it was not real crowded and the music was so deep it put me to sleep.  Maybe I was just tired from the extreme fun I had all weekend and I was sad that the weekend was ending so fast.

There are only a few negatives to the party.  It being so close to gaydays, so many things going on Memorial Day weekend, and the jellyfish.  I have been to beaches forever and never been stung by so many jellyfish.  But who cares we are drinking and don’t really feel them too much anyway.  You also have to watch out for the speed traps in this town.  Pensacola and Pensacola Beach areas were giving tickets left and right and speed zone is 30 mph most of the way over the long bridge and up to 35 in some areas.

If you plan on going next year make sure you stay close the gay beach at the Portofino at the end of Via De Luna (portofinoisland.com).  The Crown Plaza is next door to the big gay club in town called Emerald City which is a club you do not want to miss. 

The Hampton Inn also seemed like lots of boys were staying there.  Their may have been a discount from the Johnny Chisholm group for that hotel but I was not aware of it.

A website to help plan the weekend I found helpful is this site pensacolabeach08.com.  Lots of good pics and a DVD of the party on the beach.