We spent the afternoon wandering around eating fried food, looking at people in cool outfits, and otherwise enjoying the camaraderie of a lot of friendly people having a party together. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, there were some street-corner preachers yelling about sin and whatnot, as there have been at every other pride festival we have attended so far. Usually the crowd just ignores them, but today there was a small marching band that assembled in front of the loudest guy (he had a megaphone) to drown him out with various Lady Gaga songs.
You can't really see the guy with the megaphone, but he is under the blue and white striped umbrella in the background. His friend with the sign walked in front of the band, but then the cymbal player walked in front of him. When we walked by again later, the preacher had moved into the street and was still yelling into his megaphone, but the band had gained members and formed a circle around him so you couldn't hear anything he was saying (although at one point I distinctly heard him shriek something about "licking vaginas," which seemed pretty risque for someone so concerned with Biblical propriety). There were also a ton of people dancing to the band in a circle around them, it was pretty awesome.
The whole thing made me realize how much I miss marching band. I looked up this group's website, and it turns out they practice in the city... maybe after all the wedding craziness is over and I have free time again, I will dig out my trombone and join them. The only thing more fun than marching band is using marching band to drown out assholes!
Now I miss marching band too!! I wish there was a Freedom Band around here - can't think of a better excuse to dust off my own trombone :)
ReplyDelete(see you guys this weekend! w00t!)