Marking the 38th annual celebration with community voices

By Anthony King | SDUN Editor

Hillcrest and Balboa Park are host to this weekend’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride Parade and Festival, now in its 38th year. Starting at University Avenue and Normal Street, the Parade takes place Saturday, July 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. along University and Sixth avenues, ending in Balboa Park.

The Festival, on Saturday as well as Sunday, July 22, will be at Marston Point in Balboa Park. The Festival entrance is near the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street.

“With our 2012 San Diego LGBT Pride theme of America’s Pride, we are looking to celebrate the exciting victories the LGBT community has achieved in the past year and push forward on issues of equality,” said San Diego Pride Executive Director Dwayne Crenshaw in a press release.

San Diego Uptown News Assistant Editor Morgan Hurley reached out to several community members for our second yearly Pride Guide insert, and third year of Pride coverage. Called Community Voices, the section features over 20 different – and wonderful – responses to the question, “What does Pride mean to me?”

Also in the insert is a comprehensive listing of events, including the Friday, July 20 raising of the permanent Pride flag on Normal Street and the Hillcrest Business Association’s Block Party, as well as the complete entertainment lineup for the Pride Festival. While not exhaustive, it provides a good place to start.

Rounding out the guide are interviews with Festival headliners Natasha Bedingfield and “Glee” start Alex Newell, as well as a photo spread of past Pride events in San Diego.

Bedingfield, who rose to fame with the single “Unwritten, said she is excited to be in San Diego and anticipates a wide range of attendees at the concert. “The whole community comes out,” she said. “It’s a really great chance to celebrate life and living, which we all need.” Bedingfield performs Sunday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m.