City to see two versions of gay-pride festivities

The Seattle Pride festival has long been known as a big, colorful, outrageous weekend-long party on Capitol Hill.

Now, two different organizations are planning separate, simultaneous Pride festivities for the same weekend of June 23-25 — with events split among Capitol Hill, Seattle Center and downtown.

Some believe the outcome has also split the gay community during a time traditionally marked by celebration — and at a time when many feel the need for unity has never been more critical.

For 31 years, Seattle Out and Proud, which recently changed its name from the Seattle Pride Committee, had produced the popular Broadway parade and accompanying festivities in Volunteer Park. Last year the group announced it would move this year's parade to Fourth Avenue downtown and the accompanying festivities to the much bigger Seattle Center.

In announcing the change, organizers said the festival had outgrown Capitol Hill — that the parade was too long for Broadway and festival-goers crammed uncomfortably into Volunteer Park. What's more, garbage and parking were big problems.

But the venue change outraged many longtime festival supporters, particularly Capitol Hill businesses that depended on a weekend-long surge in business. Some compared the neighborly atmosphere of Capitol Hill, the heart of the area's gay community, to the sterile, touristy nature of Seattle Center.

To accommodate those who want festivities to stay on Capitol Hill, the Capitol Hill-based Seattle LGBT Community Center has planned a series of events, including a march along the traditional route on Broadway.

That group also picked up two major longtime sponsors of the original festivities — Microsoft and Anheuser-Busch wholesaler K&L.

Last month Seattle Out told the community center and Seattle Gay News to stop using the term "Seattle Pride" in connection with its events, saying the Capitol Hill group was interfering with its ability to operate.

The divisiveness comes as many local gays and their allies prepare for a possible fight on a referendum to repeal an anti-discrimination law the Legislature passed this year. They are also awaiting a decision from the state Supreme Court on whether same-sex couples in Washington should be allowed to legally marry.

"This thing is dividing the community; it really is," said Nick Lovelace, the reigning Mr. Gay Seattle and a volunteer coordinator for a gay-rights activist group called ActionNW.

Longtime gay-rights activist Bill Dubay said he supports and will participate in both the downtown and Capitol Hill festivals: "The last thing we need to do when we're circling the wagons is to point the guns inward."

Officials from both organizations downplay any dissension between them, saying more Pride activities throughout the city are a good thing.

"Throughout this we really have maintained a position of wanting people to participate as much as possible," said Shannon Thomas, executive director of the LGBT Community Center. "We just want people out there, downtown, up the Hill, back downtown."

Among the events that will remain on Capitol Hill, Queerfest, a music festival, is planned for Volunteer Park on Saturday. On Saturday evening, organizers plan a march from Seattle Central Community College to Volunteer Park, which will include the traditional Dyke March.

"There are multiple communities within the gay community," Thomas said. "That leaves a lot of room for enjoyment, celebration and activism."

Lauri Hennessey, a spokeswoman for Seattle Out, said it, too, sees the benefits of multiple venues. The move to Seattle Center allows for a broader line-up of events, she said, adding that her group changed its name from the Pride Committee to avoid longstanding confusion with the Pride Foundation, which is not an organizer of Pride festivities.

Hennessey said HIV-AIDS workshops will be offered at Seattle Center and that members of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays will be available to talk to those struggling with issues of homosexuality.

Hennessey acknowledged that her group lost Budweiser and Microsoft as sponsors but said it signed deals with 12 others.

Dan Turner, director of marketing with K&L, a distributor for Anheuser-Busch, said he had asked Seattle Out to address the concerns of Capitol Hill business owners. When that didn't happen, he said, he pulled his sponsorship.

"We had to weigh our support of a one-day parade downtown versus 360 days of business. ... "

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com