Pride on parade downtown

Downtown welcomed the Pride Parade on Sunday, with the largest crowds ever to savor Seattle's signature celebration of gay life and culture.

The march traditionally has been held on Capitol Hill, the epicenter of the city's gay community. But this year the parade for the first time marched from Westlake Park to Seattle Center. For many, the walk right through the heart of the city was special.

"There was a sense, marching down the streets today, of having arrived. Of being viewed as equal," said state Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, who strode down the broad, leafy avenues of Fourth Avenue holding hands with his longtime partner, Michael Shiosaki.

"I think the fact that people felt comfortable downtown is new. Michael and I hold hands on the Hill. We don't downtown. But we did today."

Murray, 50, a member of the House since 1995, is running for a seat in the state Senate. He was honored Sunday as a Pride Hero for his work to pass legislation in Olympia this past session protecting the civil rights of all citizens regardless of their sexual identification. It took 29 years for the Legislature to pass the bill.

Efforts to overturn it with an initiative failed earlier this month when organizers did not get the signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot. "There is such a sense of celebration, and such a sense of relief," Murray said.

This was the 32nd year for a gay-pride parade in Seattle, and unofficial estimates by organizers gauged the crowd at some 200,000 people along the parade route and 40,000 at Seattle Center.

A look at the crowd, and the parade with its 180 floats, showed how far Seattle has come. Twenty years ago, corporate sponsors tended to be beer companies, Murray said. Sunday they included not only local businesses, but major national and international corporations, from Starbucks to Wells Fargo. The latter turned out its trademark horse-drawn stagecoach, trailed by dozens of employees in T-shirts reading "Got Diversity?"

Wells Fargo employee Martin Talarico, who is gay, said the company wanted to make a statement at the parade: "Wells Fargo recognizes the power of diversity and the wholeness of the community."

He said he felt good about the new parade venue. "It's very positive that we are downtown, and at the Seattle Center. We are in the living room of Seattle."

The move was controversial. "I totally understand the whole 'broaden your horizons' thing," said Natasha Combs, 26, who said she preferred the event taking place on Capitol Hill. "This is gaytown — it should be here."

While some had wondered if the move downtown would stifle the parade's flair, that didn't happen. "Everybody's here," said Dale Kershner, board president of Seattle Out and Proud. "I got a kiss from a drag queen today in gold glitter lipstick and 7-inch heels."

But amid the soap bubbles and the disco were parents pushing strollers. "It's showing people that we can be families, too," said Jay Howell, a gay man and every bit the Issaquah suburbanite with his 10-month-old son in his arms and 3-year-old daughter skipping ahead in the parade.

"It shows the diversity of the community," Howell said. "Gay people are everywhere."

Out and Proud organized Seattle Pride '06, which included the parade as well as events at Seattle Center, including a film festival, dancing at the International Fountain and educational speakers.

The parade was moved downtown this year because it had outgrown its Capitol Hill venue, Kershner said. But the move also had larger significance.

"When we are marching on Broadway, we are preaching to the choir. When we are marching downtown, we are pretty hard to ignore. This is the beginning of Pride's coming out. For the 32 years this parade has taken place, people could say they didn't even know it was going on.

"That will never happen again."

Seattle Times staff reporter Cara Solomon contributed to this story.

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com