Archives for posts with tag: guide to Gay Pride

Fairy Princesses are PRIDEful part 3 (the tips)

June 26, 2012 //
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PRIDE TIPS

  1. Wear shoes you can walk in all day – try and stay away from flip flops,

comfy can also be “hot”
be “hot” and comfy at PRIDE

(a)   they are not sanitary, Fairy Princesses should not have dirty heels.

(b)  they have no arch support, which you need for a long day on your feet

(c)    Leather Daddies can break your toes if they accidentally stand on your foot with their boots, those boots   are made for toe stompin’

(d)  flip flops do not go that easily from street fair to dance club or bar.

   MORE TIPS

  1. Charge your phone, and make sure your Best Gays are wearing some sort of pants where they can button their phone into the pocket. There is a lot of celebrating at Pride, people can get sloppy, so make sure the keys and the cell phone are buttoned in there, so they don’t fall out.
  2. Put an ‘emergency’ $20 in your bra. Because things happen. Say it: “ER $20!”
  3. If you have a huge ring of keys, pare it down for PRIDE, carying around that big ring all day is annoying. Just have your car key, and your front door key.
  4. If you are going to drive there together, make sure if you are going to cut out early that there is public transport or that you have a number for a cab company with you. I prefer to drive myself, because then I can always leave when I’m ready. Nothing worse than wanting to end the night, only to turn around and find your Best Gay in mid-flirt and unwilling to leave. Yes, he knows it’s 4a.m.: he doesn’t care. He could get laid.
  5. Do not bring your dog unless you are reasonably able to hydrate the dog, and you can take the dog home after an hour or two. Big crowds and dogs are not a great idea. Some open areas now don’t allow them because of the whole ‘pooping’ aspect, so it’s best to call the dog walker, and not stress out your pet.
  6. In wallet: cash, ID, Health Insurance card, ATM and 1 Credit Card
  7. Put your address on a small piece of paper that you can hand to a cab driver in case you do the elementary Fairy Princess move and wind up ‘overserved’ and unable to figure out where you live. This is a rookie move, but I know most of my friends have done it at least once. No – I have not, but I did come back so late to a parking garage that they had locked it and I had to cab it home, and then back there the next day. Grrrr. This is where ER $20 comes in.
  8. Check the weather. This sounds so easy but not many people do it.
  9. Bring a purse you can wear easily – if you need it a bit larger so you can put purchases in it, fine, but remember, you are going to carry it around ALL DAY, possibly into the night, so keep that in mind.

Be safe. Have fun. Live, live, live!

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Categories Gay Community ettiuette, gay pride, Pride Tips

Fairy Princesses are PRIDEful part 2

June 26, 2012 //
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A Fairy Princess should wave a wand of kindness as much as she can – yes, occasionally you must smack someone with the pointy end, but that is rare, so for the most part; be kind. Kind goes a long way and is reciprocated.

Be conscious that many of the Drag Queens there may be working, in that they are going to Host something, so if you ask for a photo and they say no, likely it’s because they are running late – or they’re a bitch, either way…keep it in mind.

Pride is many times, a Family Affair – so you will see plenty of straight people there, supporting their children, parents, uncles, aunties; so keep in mind that there may be some kids around, watch the potty mouth. Fairy Princesses don’t have to curse like a truck driver; that’s what Jackie Beat is for. As there are so many straight people mingling at Pride, it is perfectly ok to ask your Best Gay to keep a look out for your next Boyfriend, on the off-chance you are single. Kinda “Festivus for the Rest of Us” thing.

At PRIDE you will find speeches, rallies, and show stopping performances, many of which run adjacent to the street fair. There, depending on who is running the entertainment, will be a cavalcade of entertainers – singers, dance acts. Poetry, Drag Queens, Authors, and of course some celebrity that has a big Gay following. Yes, like Cher, or Deborah Gibson, or Tiffany, or RuPaul, or the cast of GLEE – you never know who needed their fix of unqualified love and support the day they were invited to sing.

People wander in and out of that part all day. I’ve done it, it’s fun – but not every act is going to be your taste, so it’s ok to cop a squat when you have some food, listen to the show, and then decide to wander again if you feel like it.

PRIDE generally spills into the local restaurants, and the whole area gets a festive feel – it’s one of my favorite things, oh look at that, I’m Maria Von Trapp…just when you think you have it under control…I digress. Sorry. Where was I? Liasons? No, oh yes, restaurants.

While I don’t believe in going to the Circuit Parties, partying with your Best Gays at their favorite watering hole is something I love doing, and I would cry copious buckets of sparkly tears if someone were to take it away. Do go out and eat and drink and have a mah-veh-lous time, and if you can, say marvelous like Marlene Dietrich. You can stay at some of those places all night and have a simply wonderful time flitting about, spreading glitter and sass in your wake. Sometimes the restaurants have a dance floor, and so it gets way ‘clubby’ at a certain time, and that is super fun.

The Marlene Dietrich says “Mah-vel-lous”

Dance Parties are also an aspect of PRIDE – look, it’s kind of Circuit-y – I generally wave my Best Gays who are off to the evening’s big theme party a ‘buh-bye’, and I continue on with those not going to that. Fairy Princesses can choose their own schedule. If you go to the Dance Party, no one will want to sleep with you, no one will really want to even talk to you – they will be busy getting sweaty and trying to get their groove on, you will be in the way. Even if your Best Gay tells you to come, say no – he’s not asking you sincerely.

Fairy Princesses do not have to poke their tiaras into all their Best Gay’s business.

Gay Dance Clubs during PRIDE, are different – as long as it’s not tied directly to Pride with anything other than a theme cocktail, in the Gay Dance Club it’s going to be business as usual and they’ll be all the fun aspects that you generally enjoy. Go ahead, sweat your ass off, why not?

Now, in other parts of the world, there are parades and are more tied to Pride and one of my favorite of those is, the Sydney Mardi Gras. You can find out more about this event at www.mardigras.org.au

They always have Divas and Drag Queens and lively events that Fairy Princesses are welcome at, and if not – go see the Blue Mountains, or the Opera House, or any of the hundreds of things Sydney and Australia in general, has to offer. You don’t have to feel like a ‘plus one’ in Australia, as there are tons of tourists and you can wend your way together or separately. Going to Australia for the Gay Mardi Gras is something that a Fairy Princess and her Best Gays should certainly do – at least once in their lifetimes.

(to be continued…)

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Categories gay pride

Fairy Princesses are PRIDEfull part 1

June 26, 2012 //
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As strongly as I feel about Fairy Princesses NOT going to Circuit Parties, I feel just as strongly that the Fairy Princesses MUST go to their local Gay Pride Celebration – at least for one full day. Generally Pride Events extend over either a week or a weekend, so while you do not have to go every day – you should go and see what is going on. Look cute, wear shoes you can walk in – it’s a street fair type atmosphere during the day, but your makeup is ON, your hair is DONE, and you look great! It’s PRIDE Dammit, be equally as proud of who YOU are. You can look up your city’s PRIDE on the internet, as many of them piggy back so people can go to one after another and city hop (this site www.gaycityusa.com/pride.htm and Wikipedia has the complete list of all Pride in the US).

There are many aspects to Pride – there’s usually a street fair of some kind where you can stock up on free condoms, well, ok, let’s start at the very beginning. The street fair part is always the same as any other street fair – in that there are booths to wander through and enjoy yourself.  There’s photo booths, health booths, food, temporary tattoos, and…dum da dum…the ‘specialty’ booths that cater to…very special tastes.

Yes, there will be opportunities perhaps to buy some items you would not want your Mother to find under your pillow – but channel your inner Auntie Mame and live a little.

Bring cash, a good attitude, and a recycled bottle full of water so you stay hydrated.

The main point of Pride is to celebrate – celebrate Gay Rights getting ever closer to equality, celebrate the freedom that you have to live and choose your own path – something still not available in many parts of the world, and for you, my Princess – celebrate the Gay Culture with your Best Gays. They love you, and you love them right back!

After Erin’s “No on H8TE” segment of her Cabaret with Ian and Ray

You will see the gamut of the Gay Culture – Twinks, Bears, Leather Daddies, Gay Republicans, Drag Queens, Regular Queens, Celebrities on the Down Low…it’s going to be fun. Try not to stare unless you get that the person on the receiving end likes it. For example, if you are passing a man who is covered in piercings and tattoos, and you sort of lock eyes, it is ok to smile and say, “I love that Dragon tail that’s wrapping around your throat.” More than likely, he’ll smile back, say thank you, and off you go.  I have found that in the Gay Community, the fiercer people look on the outside, the more vulnerable they are on the inside. Think of all that ‘look’ as their armor – remember, just because you are a kindred spirit, perhaps the rest of the world has not always been so.

(to be continued…)

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Categories Gay Community ettiuette, gay pride