Pride week Charleston Style: Charting a Course for Change

By Sabrina Samone, TMP

 Finally, it’s that time again peeps, to don your rainbow apparel for Charleston Pride week 2013.  In 2010, Charleston Pride held its first Pride weekend in North Charleston as an alternative to the event in Columbia, for South Carolina’s largest LGBT community which lies in the Charleston Metro area. Last year, organizers created a terrific event with nearly Ten thousand in attendance. Every year it has grown and with the main focus, the parade, now being accepted by Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, the crowd is expected to be the largest Pride Event in South Carolina for a parade down king street in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.

This year, the weeklong event is packed with activities for everyone regardless of age. Charleston Pride week starts Monday July 29^th, with a family picnic, short film festival, a party in the Park and culminating in the highly anticipated downtown parade on Saturday August ^3rd, then a blow out party at the nationally known Music Farm, nestled between Dudleys On Anne, which is like an LGBT version of Cheers and Pantheon ,  the best diva show in the state and shirtless muscled guys galore. Finally, for those few souls able to make it out of bed the next morning, it all ends with a nice relaxing Sunday Brunch on the 4th.

In my time I’ve enjoyed many Pride Events, from NYC, Atlanta and Miami, but I’m really excited about the weeklong events that are planned here. The largest crowd ever for a South Carolina Pride event is expected and the weekend blowout. My guest rooms are all booked up already with my girlfriends from out of town, whom I can’t wait to party like it was still 1999 with again lol. Some of the things I’m most looking forward too is meeting many other transgender women and men from around the state when I join them in the march with Palmetto Transgender Association and the newly formed SC Equality Trans Action, a new extension program of SC Equality, that fights for LGBT rights in this state. Trans Action focuses its work on the transgender and gender variant community. Also, I will be attending a night of LGBT Short Films July 30^th, with several films all lasting 90 min and on August 3^rd, the talk is that the must see show will be the play I Lost Everything and Now I Am Hungry, starring my Trans-brother Ron’Rico Jay. Finally, the girls are demanding I get drunk and party Saturday night, but I will not be wearing heels and extensions like I did last year and sat there melting. I will be the girl with the slightly see through easy breezy sun dress, I am not planning on breaking much of a sweat this year, maybe lol. One thing of note that I'm overwhelmed with joy about, organizers,  the bars and all the LGBT community has gone beyond the norm for our state, to make sure this Pride event is a Pride Event for all demographics of the TBGL Community. I've heard of several weekend BBQ's and gatherings planned among TBGL members in the Arican-American-Jewish and a Latino Trans pool pageant and with events planned at Club Dejavu in North Charleston, it surely will be a Pride week for the record books.

The excitement is really building around town so I had to ask a few friends around the area what they are most looking forward to enjoying this week at Charleston Pride 2013.

Jessica Anderson will be looking forward to her second Pride Event  ever and says, "Every time I've been downtown I always have a strong fear of getting "found out." Though I like being able to at least get people to question gender, the fear of physical assault prevents me from being excited about being in large groups of people and enjoying myself."

Dale Brown is on the Board of Directors of Charleston Pride and has been a long term volunteer for the event. He says, "Saturday is going to be a blast...we have our biggest parade yet, then the rally and really looking forward to our after party with Detox (from the Rupaul Drag Race), and Spikey Van Dikey."  

Fey Prevesk  says," I'm looking forward to just seeing my friends and other people in the LGBT community."

Ava Clear is one of the headliners of the popular and the most packed LGBT bar in the state, Pantheon and says. "She's looking forward to riding and representing Pantheon on the float."

Noah Arjani will be expierencing his first ever Pride Event and says, "I'm looking forward to everything lol. I'm excited to exerience something new yet so familiar and expand my knowledge about the community    

Shane Bryant says, "Well I've attended the parades before and loved them, but I'm not a morning person, so I'm most looking forward to the Compass Party at the Music Farm, mainly because detox from Rupaul Drag Race will be performing."










So get ready folks it looks like it's going to be one hell of a bumpy ride of FUN, LGBTQ style and you already know that we know how to throw a fabulous party, so see you soon. Now you know the whose who of the southeast LGBT* will be there, here is the itinerary, what event will we see you at?

Charleston Pride 2013

CLICK LINK TO SEE RECENT INTERVIEW WITH PRIDE ORGANIZERS ON COUNT ON 2

Plan now to join us for Charleston Pride 2013
in historic downtown Charleston!

Schedule of Events

Monday, July 29th

5:30-8:00pm
We Are Family / PFLAG Pride Family Cookout
Stono Shelter, James Island County Park
$1 Admission to the Park

Tuesday, July 30th

7:00pm
Special Event - A Night of LGBT Short Films
North Charleston Picture House
4820 Jenkins Ave, North Charleston

Click here for more information about our featured short films

Wednesday, July 31st

5:45pm
Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) Symposium
Charleston Marriott on Lockwood Blvd.

Thursday, August 1st

6:00-9:00pm
Takeover Charleston
DIG in the Park, North Charleston

Friday, August 2nd

6:00-9:00pm
Pride Festival Meet & Greet
Aqua Terrace Bar at Host Hotel - Marriott on Lockwood

Saturday, August 3rd

9:00 AM
Pride Parade
Downtown Charleston
The parade will start on Ann Street and continue down
King Street to Broad Street and end at Colonial Lake.
Viewing is recommended on King Street.

11:00 AM
Pride Rally
Brittlebank Park - Downtown Charleston (ending at 4:00 PM)
Beer garden, food trucks, performers, speakers, and vendors.

Compass - The Official Pride After Party
9:00pm-2:00am
Featuring Detox from RuPaul's Drag Race,
Spikey Van Dykey and DJ Kelly DeFazio
Music Farm - 32 Ann St
Purchase Tickets Online

Sunday, August 4th

11:00am-3:00pm
Brunch is a Drag
Joe Pasta - 428 King Street

HERE IS YOUR DETAILED LIST OF LINKS ASSOCIATED WITH CHARLESTON PRIDE 2013 AND OTHER TBGL RESOURCES
All you need to know at Charleston Pride Festival.org

Charleston Pride Festival Facebook Page

Club Pantheon 

Club Dejavu

Dudleys On Anne

The Music Farm Pride After Party 

Pride Family Pic Nic 

A Night of LGBT Short Films 

The Play: I lost Everything and Now I'm Hungry

SC Equality

SC Equality Trans Action

Palmetto Transgender Association

Charleston Area Transgender Support Group

Alliance for Full Acceptance

We Are Family

The Campus Pride

College Of Charleston's Safe Zone

College Of Charleston's TBGL Resource


RELATED TOPICS ON TRANSMUSEPLANET
South Carolina Equality announced the introduction of H.4025: “The Workplace Fairness Act” at a press conference at the State House

Roll Call: South Carolina LGBTQ…Please stand 

Charleston SC is actually shocked they were named snobbiest city?

The Colllege of Charleston to install gender neutral bathrooms for trans students  


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