Source: KTLA-TV, Los Angeles Times, Salt Lake Tribune, Winnipeg Free Press, New America Media
The mood was celebratory throughout North America this weekend as several LGBT Pride parades marched on the streets from Winnipeg, to Salt Lake City, to the biggest festival of all this weekend in West Hollywood.

The celebration in Los Angeles was given added meaning since the state Supreme Court struck down a ban on same-sex marriage last month.

Estimates of the crowds lining Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood were as high as 175,000 people. They gathered to watch and cheer more than 125 entries in  the 38th annual LA Pride Parade.

Seth Hutton and his fiance, Alvin Black, reflected on the landmark decision as high school students waved flags and loudspeakers from a nearby float boomed out Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World."

"It's really overwhelming," Black, 20, told Los Angeles Times. "It's fun to come here and see the high energy."

The couple said they had flown from Portland, Ore., to attend the parade for the first time, drawn by the historic events that paved the way for same-sex marriage ceremonies to begin in California on June 17.

"For us, it's like peering into the future -- coming down here and seeing what the rest of the country is going to look like," said Hutton, 31.

Among those honored at the parade were Robin Tyler and the Rev. Troy Perry, two plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to last month's Supreme Court ruling. Rodney Scott, president of the Christopher Street West Assn., which organized the event, said the decision to honor them had been made before the ruling.

"This is an incredible opportunity for our community to celebrate," Scott said.
He said that he and other activists are mindful of a November ballot initiative to amend the state Constitution to limit marriage to unions between a man and a woman.

Radio talk show host Stephanie Miller served as grand marshal.

In Utah's capital city, the annual parade has grown to 65 entries and attracted larger crowds than ever.

Utah Pride is billed as the state's second largest parade and festival behind only the Days of 47 celebration in July.

The parade included an impressive number of corporations not seen in many other parades, including banking giant Wells Fargo and financial services conglomerate American Express. The festival, put on by the Utah Pride Center, attracted about 150 exhibitors.

"We've grown tremendously in just the last couple of years," said Yana Walton of the Utah Pride Center, which organized both the parade and festival.

The crowds too, have grown both in terms of size and diversity compared with earlier years. In fact, many in the large crowds of people lining 200 East from South Temple to 4th South said while they aren't gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, they decided to come to the parade and festival to show their enthusiasm for diversity and to enjoy a very atypical Utah celebration. Many brought their children, Salt Lake Tribune reports.

"I'm not gay or anything but I wanted to come to support everybody here," said Lupe Perez of Orem, who attended the parade with friends and family.

Unlike some other pride parades held worldwide each year, Salt Lake City's event, like its big brother in Los Angeles, is more celebration than demonstration. Aside from a few floats, such as one questioning the U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq, most parade entries were out to have a good time or raise awareness of their group or organization, not to make a statement.

"It's just a huge party," said Walton of the Utah Pride Center, which provides resources to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, or GLBT for short. "We're here to educate and celebrate the GLBT community."

Grand marshals were Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and the Salt Lake City Council, who were chosen in recognition of their support of a citywide domestic-partnership registry.

North of the border in Winnipeg, Manitoba a week of LGBT Pride events culminated Sunday, as it has every year since 1987, with a raucous and exuberant parade through Winnipeg's downtown.

As an event, Winnipeg's Pride festival, like those held in other major cities in North America is a testament to the institutional strength and commercial vitality of LGBT communities. Yet, the celebration in Winnipeg, Salt Lake, LA, and elsewhere is part of a longer tradition of protest and activism which has challenged discrimination, demanded equality and sought sexual liberation.

The first Pride celebrations were relatively small affairs and decidedly political events focused on activist visibility and defiance.

Mounting a pride event is an enormous task that takes not only months of hard work, it also takes money. That has meant an increased commercialization of pride in most North American cities.

But the commercialization of Pride events -- a trend that's been led by the Los Angeles event -- traditionally rises protests from some activists in every city.

In a commentary for Winnipeg Free Press, David Churchill, an associate professor of history and a director at the University of Manitoba Institute of the Humanities, reminds readers of the protests from which the events grew.

He writes:

Pride is a chance not only to commemorate victories won but to highlight those causes that are vitally important to fight for. Greater transgender awareness and the fights against racism and sexism are ongoing struggles even within LGBT communities themselves. Access to health care, support for an aging lesbian and gay population, the persistence of poverty and the continued threats of violence and discrimination are realities that demand political solutions, advocacy and community based organizing.

So let's all celebrate and enjoy Pride while refusing to be complacent. Only then can we make the communities of the future... even if we can't find a corporate sponsor.

While the hundreds of thousands in West Hollywood celebrated the city's big parade this weekend, a quieter event last weekend in East LA came closer to the historical roots of the month's events, New America Media reports.

The park at the East Los Angeles Civic Center was the site for a festive gathering attended by dozens of gay men and women and their families. They celebrated last month's California Supreme Court decision making way for same-sex marriages in the Golden State, but also paid tribute to the spirit of protest.

Gay rights activist Christine Chavez, said that it is important to gather in family and celebrate, adding that, although it is seldom mentioned, her grandfather labor leader Cesar Chavez was a major supporter of the gay and lesbian community.

"For years, the gay and lesbian community supported the boycotts and marches organized in favor of farm workers," stated Chavez. "I know that if Cesar Chavez were alive, he would be an important promoter of marriage equality."

The Latino Family Pride Day, organized by the Latino Coalition for Justice and sponsored by L.A, County Supervisor Gloria Molina, is the first event of its kind in the East Los Angeles area, according to organizers, where fathers, mothers, uncles, grandparents and siblings gather to support their gay loved-ones, New America Media reports.

The event's organizers emphasized the importance of the Court’s decision, calling it a matter of equality and civil rights.

"The California Supreme Court made a decision that we had been waiting for for a long time," said Richard Zaldivar, director and president of The Wall-Las Memorias project. "We must carry the justice and civil rights flag for all those in the community," he said.

Zaldivar emphasized the important role families play in the Latino community, describing the community as full of emotion, passion, pride, and God’s love. "The only way to fight against discrimination is doing it from the bosom of the family, from the bosom of the community," Zaldivar said.

As a group, Latinos have often suffered discrimination, according to the event’s organizers. And it is that experience people must remember as they become aware of the needs and rights gay Latinos in East Los Angeles are fighting for, they added.

Full article: West Hollywood Celebrates Gay Pride | KTLA-TV
Gay pride parade draws thousands in West Hollywood | Los Angeles Times
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community shows pride in ... | Salt Lake Tribune
Families Celebrate Latino Gay Pride | New America Media
Much has been won, but much to be done | Winnipeg Free Press