mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-06-29 11:25 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-06-29 11:25 pm
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Denver Pride yesterday
Yesterday I was able to take a weekend day off of work in order for us to go to Denver Pride. (Wish it could have been the whole weekend, but alas.)
It was a nice time!
We got a slightly later start than intended, but we made it down there by about 11:00. We took the train, as usual, because no one wants to deal with parking down there. The 16th Street Mall is still torn up in spots, so the mall ride bus does some weird zigzags, and no longer goes all the way to Civic Center Park, but it still gets close.
We actually did not see any counter-protestors (often there's at least a small group screaming things at the entry lines. They may have been there earlier, but by the time we were there they were gone if so.)
It was a bit less crowded than previous years, both in terms of attendees and in terms of booths. (There were a couple stretches that were just empty, which was weird to see.) A lot fewer big corporate tents in general; still some, but fewer than previous years. More mid-sized corporate presence, "big" but local companies and organizations, rather than national ones. A few exceptions. I know that was a big thing this year, in terms of a lot of companies pulling out from doing Pride sponsorships. I'm not like, corporate pride's number one fan or anything, but it's definitely a bellwether for general social and cultural support, so... Not Great. Also not great because this is the main fundraiser for our biggest LGBTQ+ organization, and having big donors pull out from supporting it is a blow to them and their services.
However, Denver Pride had previously gotten some (kind of deserved) criticism of how corporate a lot of it had become a few years back. It may not be the case now, but a couple years ago it certainly was, and there was some reasonable complaint about how so many actually queer-owned and -operated businesses had been priced out of participating.
For the last couple years they've had a specific section set up for smaller creators, with a lower booth rental cost. It's kind of just a gay craft fair, ha. (We didn't get to that section last year, so this year we started there.)
I bought an ace pride crochet snail for Alex. It was deemed the emotional support snail.
And we got Bella a bandana.
I spent way too much on cute enamel pins (my weakness), plus stickers, and some other random stuff, like my art friends' tarot deck (which has been sold out every time I finally try to buy it), and a couple rings. I'm happy with the stuff we got, and that a lot of it was from smaller creators. Still spendier than we should have been, but oh well.
We did make a whole circuit of the park, but it's quite possible we missed some booths that were there. (It's easy to miss, when there's stuff to both sides, and fairly heavy foot traffic. It was also really hot, and we were wilting.) I know we were dehydrated, because between the two of us we finished off four large bottles of generic-brand gatorade, and neither of us needed to pee, ha.
We stayed for several hours, and headed back around 5:00 or so. The train we wanted to get home had been cancelled "due to lack of operator availability", but we only had to wait 20 minutes or so for another.
It was a nice day, we had some good conversations, and I'm glad we got to go. <3
It was a nice time!
We got a slightly later start than intended, but we made it down there by about 11:00. We took the train, as usual, because no one wants to deal with parking down there. The 16th Street Mall is still torn up in spots, so the mall ride bus does some weird zigzags, and no longer goes all the way to Civic Center Park, but it still gets close.
We actually did not see any counter-protestors (often there's at least a small group screaming things at the entry lines. They may have been there earlier, but by the time we were there they were gone if so.)
It was a bit less crowded than previous years, both in terms of attendees and in terms of booths. (There were a couple stretches that were just empty, which was weird to see.) A lot fewer big corporate tents in general; still some, but fewer than previous years. More mid-sized corporate presence, "big" but local companies and organizations, rather than national ones. A few exceptions. I know that was a big thing this year, in terms of a lot of companies pulling out from doing Pride sponsorships. I'm not like, corporate pride's number one fan or anything, but it's definitely a bellwether for general social and cultural support, so... Not Great. Also not great because this is the main fundraiser for our biggest LGBTQ+ organization, and having big donors pull out from supporting it is a blow to them and their services.
However, Denver Pride had previously gotten some (kind of deserved) criticism of how corporate a lot of it had become a few years back. It may not be the case now, but a couple years ago it certainly was, and there was some reasonable complaint about how so many actually queer-owned and -operated businesses had been priced out of participating.
For the last couple years they've had a specific section set up for smaller creators, with a lower booth rental cost. It's kind of just a gay craft fair, ha. (We didn't get to that section last year, so this year we started there.)
I bought an ace pride crochet snail for Alex. It was deemed the emotional support snail.
And we got Bella a bandana.
I spent way too much on cute enamel pins (my weakness), plus stickers, and some other random stuff, like my art friends' tarot deck (which has been sold out every time I finally try to buy it), and a couple rings. I'm happy with the stuff we got, and that a lot of it was from smaller creators. Still spendier than we should have been, but oh well.
We did make a whole circuit of the park, but it's quite possible we missed some booths that were there. (It's easy to miss, when there's stuff to both sides, and fairly heavy foot traffic. It was also really hot, and we were wilting.) I know we were dehydrated, because between the two of us we finished off four large bottles of generic-brand gatorade, and neither of us needed to pee, ha.
We stayed for several hours, and headed back around 5:00 or so. The train we wanted to get home had been cancelled "due to lack of operator availability", but we only had to wait 20 minutes or so for another.
It was a nice day, we had some good conversations, and I'm glad we got to go. <3
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Love Bella's scarf!
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Bella's fancy scarf is a wonderful accessory!
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I was very pleased that the bandana fit so perfectly. :)
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Taylor's Pride was on Saturday and I could've gone because it started two hours after I got off work. But it was so hot, and I had a pretty rough week sleep-wise, and my sister would've definitely wanted to go - partly because she really would've wanted to be there and support but also I think she thinks that if some Christian fascist tries to shoot me, she'll somehow be my bulletproof shield or something. I don't know. Plus finding parking and her being worn out quick because of the heat, her arthritis, and what we're pretty sure now is CFS thanks to maybe a mild case of Covid and all the shit work she did for Linda and Joe. So we opted out this year, but they had a good Pride anyway, despite the fascist mayor refusing to read the Pride Proclamation this year. Apparently, there was someone with a bullhorn that followed all the shitty protesters whenever they'd leave their designated protest area to come into the celebration grounds - the bullhorn hero was following them and announcing their presence with "Bigots are here! Bigots on parade! Here come the bigots!" I wish I could've seen that.
Hell, I wish I could've DONE that. I didn't know that there was a anti-bigot herald role to be played! I'd have volunteered, no matter how hot or tired I was from the work week!
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The snail is adorable. I am a big fan of Bella's new bandana. :)
I'm sorry you weren't able to go to Taylor's pride. It was really hot here, too, mid-90s. We tried to bring *more* than we thought we'd need to drink, and it still wasn't enough. I'm glad it was a good event anyway, even though you guys weren't able to go. I do appreciate that they had someone drowning out the assholes!
It's possible that if it's an organization they could be looking for volunteers. Several years we've had the Parasol Patrol come to block the entrance line from any of the counter-protesters. (Didn't see them this year, but if there were assholes screaming at the lines before we got there, they were probably there, too.) I know that organization is based in Colorado, and their biggest focus is protecting kids from asshole bigots. I'm not sure if they have any groups elsewhere, or if there are similar groups in other states.
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The artist area was nice! Some stuff was kind of generic craft fair sort of stuff, but I suppose it's perfectly fine not to expect that everything by queer creators has to be queer themed, even at pride, ha.
And thank you! I was quite pleased with the bandana. I should get a picture of her wearing it while chewing on ice cubes... :)
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...Otherwise, just jumping in to echo my love of Bella's bandana as well haha and wish a belated, Happy Pride!
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I am quite fond of the bandana, for sure. And thank you!