Cork's 1st ever Pride Parade a triumph!!

cork | rights, freedoms and repression | feature

Thursday June 08, 2006 13:57

by Anarkitty - Cork Pride 2006

Cork Pride 2006

The weather was gorgeous, the floats were fabulous, the tunes were pumpin, and the people came out in their hundreds :)

"...these days Gay Pride is not just about commemorating the Stonewall riots. It's also about celebrating and communicating queer life. Pride creates presence, generates awareness and stimulates discussion. The Pride Parade is an opportunity for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people as well as their supporters to take to the streets and parade with pride. It is as much a political event as it is a cathartic display. It's a time for the diversity of our community to be seen and heard in a fun and colourful context. Some go along as a first venture out of the closet while others participate with the aim of maximum provocation. Others still just take this annual opportunity to parade freely down main streets hand-in-hand with their partner. For many, however, it is simply a chance to be part of the biggest event of the year in the community and to share the experience of Gay Pride with others. "

Here are some images of Cork's first ever Pride Parade which took place this past weekend, on Sunday at 3pm. The parade started from the end of the Grand Parade, proceeded down the South Mall, up Parnell Place, along Merchant's Quay and then back down Patrick Street and the Grand Parade. The parade was headed by some of Cork's fabulous drag queens and featured the winner of this year's Alternative Ms. Cork, Ms. Lucy Fur in a convertible car, there was also a float from the Other Place, three beautiful floats donated for the day by Tir na gCasta, a rainbow serpant created by the women of L.I.N.C., a small float for Pink Parade, UCC radio's LGBT show, a stilt-walker, a marriage float featuring a well known lesbian couple, a vintage rolls royce as the Loafers float and an open top double decker bus as Instinct's float, as well as an incredible 300 foot long rainbow flag donated for the day by Dublin Pride and many many colourfully costumed supporters. There was great support on the streets and the bulk of the participants ended up in the Peace Park afterwards where the Tir na gCasta sound system continued to provide pumpin choons for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening. Roll on Cork Pride 2007!!

hooray for Tir na gCasta!