Boston Pride Wrapup :: We all had a ball at Boston City Hall

Lesbian librarians, leather queens and all those Unitarians. The Boston Pride parade just wouldn't be as smart, sexy or spiritual without the marchers who have populated the annual extravaganza for ages, and plenty of them took to the streets on June 9. Nonetheless, this year's Boston Pride offered up plenty of the new and different, from a new route that took marchers past the State House, to the first-ever participation of a sitting governor in the parade and a festival on City Hall Plaza.

And there were other eye-catching and unexpected sights, like the nearly-bare breasted gals of Daughters of Eris, who hijacked a spot in the parade and then spent much of the afternoon posing for pictures on the plaza at the request of fellow festival-goers. Said Evangeline White, one the darling Daughters who strategically used duct tape to avoid arrest for indecent exposure "Everybody loves boobies, whether you're gay or not." Never mind that the four women's near-nude torsos bore body-painted slogans like "I (heart) my cunt." The message of their display, said Daughter of Eris Natassia Mullally (Eris being the goddess of chaos, by the way): "We want all women to love themselves and find perfection in their flaws." The Daughters, who hail from Portland, Maine, are in the midst of carrying that message across the country.

But with a legislative showdown on an anti-gay marriage amendment just days away, many Boston Pride participants were more concerned with marriage than mammaries. MassEquality organized a contingent of about 200 supporters, including Somerville state Reps. Carl Sciortino and Denise Provost, the majority of whom carried signs emblazoned with the phrase "Be There" atop the date "6.14.07" the date of the constitutional convention at which legislators are expected to take a second and final vote on the amendment. Bringing up the rear was a billboard truck with alternating electronic messages like "Be There," "Show your pride, call your legislators," and the slogan "It's wrong to vote on rights." The organization also dispatched a smaller group of sign-toting supporters to stand outside of the State House for the duration of the parade. On the festival stage at City Hall Plaza, MassEquality Campaign Director Marc Solomon told the crowd, which topped 100,000 according to Boston Pride organizers, "We need every single one of you to come to the State House Thursday from 7 a.m. on to help us to protect our right to marry in Massachusetts."

The historic presence of Gov. Deval Patrick also served as a reminder of the high political stakes on June 14. Patrick is the first sitting governor to march in the Pride parade, which he did for much of the way alongside Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who later left the parade route on Columbus Avenue due to illness. Behind them a supporter hoisted a sign that read, "Cool guys Tom and Deval Support Marriage." Patrick's appearance at the parade comes in the midst of his aggressive lobbying to swing legislators away from supporting the amendment, which needs only 50 votes in order to be put on the 2008 ballot, and several other appearances at pro-equality events in recent weeks.

Boston Pride Board Chair Linda DeMarco praised Patrick for joining in the festivities. "He wanted to say to his community in Massachusetts that he marches with everybody and anybody. [And] to walk by his office, that was good for him," said DeMarco, referring to the parade's procession past the State House. "I think that really, really set the tone."

According to DeMarco, there were more than 6500 marchers in the parade. The Boston Prime Timers, an organization for gay male seniors, once again took first place for Best Float with "Over the Rainbow, Not Over the Hill" an elaborate Wizard of Oz-themed float. The Prime Timers captured the title back in 2005 and earned an honorable mention in the Best Float category back in 2006.

There were mixed reviews for the new parade route, which was necessitated when Pride organizers were forced to relocate the festival from the Boston Common to City Hall because of construction on the Common. The parade kicked off on Tremont Street in the South End, turned onto Berkeley, Boylston and Charles Streets and processed up Beacon Hill and rejoined Tremont Street near City Hall Plaza. DeMarco said she'd received a "tremendous amount" of positive feedback about the new festival location and the route. "I thought people were going to have a hard time going up that Beacon Hill," said DeMarco. "But I think knowing though what was at the top of that people really rallied to get up there."

Some, apparently, had to rally a little bit harder than others. "I could have done without the last hill, you know, going up to the State House," confessed Boston City Councilor John Tobin, who marched with a contingent of supporters clad in bright red "VoteJohnTobin.com" T-shirts. And though he also acknowledged a preference for the old, seemingly shorter parade route, Tobin noted the symbolic value of the new one. "Particularly [with] the vote that's coming up next week, to march by the State House like that and to see a few thousand people out in front of the State House, or on the corner, on the steps of the State House was a pretty cool thing."

And when Bay Windows bumped into him atop Beacon Hill, Abe Rybeck, artistic director of the Theater Offensive, seemed to be struggling a little as well. "My dress is riding up," confessed Rybeck, who sported a spangly black mini and a neon pink wig, "but you know, I?'m a fat old queen...that's what happens."

Like Tobin, State Rep. Mike Festa, who marched with the Menino/Patrick contingent, also noted the symbolism of parading past the State House. "I personally think the route was a good one," he added. Festa also put in a plug for putting the much-maligned brick expanse of City Hall Plaza to worthwhile use. "You know, truth be told I think people will be very pleased with the assembly area on the Plaza," said the Melrose lawmaker. "It's one of the few good things they can use it for."

While the concrete setting meant fewer picnickers spreading blankets on the ground, the festival bustled for several hours, particularly once the parade reached City Hall. People jammed into the aisles between booths for political organizations, vendors, churches and the Barack Obama presidential campaign, and spent time either dodging or flirting with canvassers from MassEquality, the Human Rights Campaign and Bank of America. DeMarco said that of the more than 130 vendors who reserved space at the festival, there were only two no-shows.

One new addition to the festival was a set of inflatable play areas for the kiddies to bounce around on and let loose. Debbie Silva of Medford, who attended the festival with her partner Katie Dursco and their two children, said the inflatable playground was a hit with their kids.

"The kids really like the bouncy castles," said Silva. But she also lamented the absence of an open grassy area to spread out and get away from the large crowd, which she said was a bit too intense for their children.

Another unfortunate consequence of holding the festival at City Hall Plaza was that the festival stage, which hosted a lengthy roster of performers throughout the afternoon, was situated across the Plaza from the Pride Parade. As a result, when Gregorio, the winner of the Pride Idol contest, took the stage at around 1 p.m. to perform a strong rendition of the Al Green soul classic "Let's Stay Together," he crooned to an audience of about 15, while the bulk of the festival crowd was on the opposite end of plaza watching the parade.

Once the parade landed on the plaza, however, the crowd around the festival stage swelled, and was treated to a few stellar performances. Singer-songwriter Gregory Douglass wowed the crowd with a performance that was comfortably in the Rufus Wainwright-Tori Amos mold, and trans rocker Lisa Jackson mixed up originals and covers, including a breathtaking version of Blondie's "Maria."

Without question All the King's Men (ATKM), New England's own drag king troupe, stole the show. Though the crowd had thinned prior to their performance, when the emcees introduced the group, people poured in from festival booths to the stage, and ATKM performed before a cheering throng. The biggest crowd-pleaser performances were a version of David Cassidy's "I Think I Love You" starring drag king versions of Batman and Robin, a version of NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" with dance moves that would have done Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass proud, and a performance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller"complete with Jackson's patented dance moves and a phalanx of dancing zombies.

The crowd dwindled after that, leaving acts like Jason and Demarco and Sister Funk with a shrinking but enthusiastic audience.

Festival emcees Derek Hartley and Diana Cage, radio hosts on Sirius Satellite Radio's OutQ channel, kept the crowd entertained with witty banter, free T-shirts, beer can coolers, and other swag that they tossed into the audience. The duo took pains to prevent a repeat of last year's festival, when host Hedda Lettuce let loose with some of her raunchiest nightclub material. This time around the entertainment steered clear of X-rated content. Just before ATKM's performance former Apprentice contestant Carey Sherrell took the stage to promote his new line of men's swimwear, accompanied by two models who stripped down to some very skimpy suits and began prancing around the outer edge of the stage. When Sherrell joked that the models might continue stripping, Hartley nervously pleaded with them to, "Please keep it on."

He added, "The city's a little nervous after last year, so gotta keep it clean.'