Proud in Nashville

This weekend was the Nashville PRIDE festival - a holiday for LGBTQI individuals across the state, and a few from surrounding areas. Our Office of LGBTQI Life had a table at the event, so all the staff at the Women's Center and KCPC headed down to the Riverfront for various shifts.

Working Pride is more wonderful that words can say. Having a shaded booth to sit under? Priceless! Knowing enough people with influence to have a booth right near the stage? Key. Having colleagues come all day long to say hello and borrow your shade? Entertaining to say the least.

I took the above photo of Nashville while walking across the Pedestrian Bridge. If you park at LP Field, you can get downtown for free without paying the ridiculous public parking fees. Except... when someone decides to get married ON the bridge, you will have a long walk in excruciating heat at the end of your long day of working and sweating. Yup, you read that right folks. Some couple decided to get married ON THE BRIDGE. Which then shut it down, leaving a gaggle of gays stranded on the wrong side of river. How rude!!

So what is PRIDE? It's a celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex community. It's a chance for gay-friendly vendors and organizations to showcase their work, for liberal politicians to solicit votes, and for LGBTQI folks to walk hand in hand down the streets of Nashville without fearing criticism or reproach. It's a musical festival with lots of fair-food - ice cream, bbq chicken on a stick, loaded fries, etc. And a chance to pick up more freebies with rainbows than at a Wizard of Oz theme party.

For me, being Proud in Nashville is twofold. I'm proud of the person that I am identity-wise, and I'm proud of this city that I belong to. Nashville is home to me, it is where I found my voice and my strength to always push forward, no matter what life tosses my way. This is the world where I belong. And I am proud to be in Nashville.