Pride Parade!

Onto the second half of my weekend! Sunday was the Seattle Pride Parade. This was my first year attending, and I regret not going before! Talk about a good time! I cannot wait to be a part of it next year!

The people are a blast to be around, and the energy is incredible! 

 

 To preface this next part, I feel I must tell you that my God Mother is the Assistant Director for the ENTIRE parade! She works on this event all year long, non-stop. I cannot commend her enough for this! Well, we met up with her yesterday - yes, we actually managed to find her! - and she pulled me aside and said "Come with me! You have a camera, you can pretend to be media!" At first I thought that maybe I shouldn't, but HELL! Why not?! So I followed her, and got to basically be "behind the scenes"! I got to hang in front of the announcers booth, which is right where all the floats and performs stop to show off and do their thang! It was simply put - AMAZING! I got some free "swag" from her, and got some incredible shots! So I feel like I must share SOME with you! I literally had over 1.400 photos on my camera! Did I mention this parade goes on for about 3 hours?! 

Again, like the night before, I was surrounded by, and overcome with, Inspiration:

After seeing so many people embracing who they are, and what they believe in, it would be downright silly for me not to do the same for myself! Or you, for yourself! So please, whatever it is that you may be passionate about, no matter WHAT it is, be PROUD of it! Embrace it. Embrace yourself. And be accepting of others. Because at the end of the day, that's all we have. TODAY!

Concert for Equality!

Wow. What a weekend! It was Ah-mazing, and oh-s0 humbling. 

So amazing in fact, that I am writing two separate posts, for both days! 

To start it out, two of my favorite people in the world {my mom and my aunt} joined me for the Concert for Equality. It was held at Seattle Center's Mural Amphitheater. 

And I did!

  

There were 4 acts total, but the best performance was by the humbled, beautiful, crazy-talented Crystal Bowersox. Chances are, you probably have no idea who she is, unless you watch American Idol - She came in second place last year {season 9}, to Lee DeWyze. Those two contestants are actually my favorite from the entirety of the show!

Anyhow, she was SO GOOD! Just her and her guitar. Perfection!

The other 3 acts were good too, don't get me wrong! The first one was a local gal, about my age, doing something with techy-synchronizing machines. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I appreciate her art. The second was a Lesbian band called Betty. You should check them out, they are so much FUN!! And the third was Thelma Houston, who brought the funk! She sang a lot of Motown - it was a BLAST! 

Then when Crystal came on stage, she chatted it up with the audience, and held and impromptu Meet & Greet! 

Surprisingly, there could not have been more than 100 people total in attendance...CRAZY! I mean, you could go sit on the stage with her if you wanted! It was like our own private backyard concert! We LOVED it, and had a blast! I got a picture of my mom and aunt with her, and she signed my camera strap! YAY!!! 

But between acts, I would look around and see nothing but Inspiration. Here is a lawn full of individuals who do not have the same basic right as myself. And it is simply NOT FAIR. You cannot convince me otherwise. I was able to get some great candids of the people around me, and our surroundings. But for privacy purposes, I am not going to post them. However, I will post a few of the surroundings from that night!

Space Needle at sunset

 

Overall, Saturday night could not have been better!

Yay for New York!

I feel the need to write a post about this, because it's all about the LOVE!

Last night, New York became the sixth, and largest state, to legalize gay marriage! And above that, same-sex couples can marry as early as the end of this July!

When I heard this news last night, I actually teared up a little bit, and felt...relieved. Same-sex partnerships are FINALLY getting the recognition and equality that they deserve! Woohoo!

Read about it HERE

 In fact, this weekend I will be attending my first Seattle Pride Parade! And tonight, I will be attending a concert in Seattle that contributes all proceeds to the cause! I am pretty excited about this...in fact, I can't wait go! 

There are so many organizations out there that advocate equality. Which is sad, if you think about it. Why does there HAVE to be organizations for such things? That is why I was relieved last night...I feel as if we are headed down the right track.  

Two of the many organizations that I have joined, include:

It Gets Better Project, 

 And Seattle Out & Proud

Attached to SO&P, is esurance who is sponsoring the Parade this year. And if you simply LIKE esurance on Facebook, they will donate $10.00 to The Trevor Project! Does it get any easier than that?!

Now I am not ignorant, and I know that there will be people reading this who strongly disagree with this subject as a whole. Not to mention this huge step in American history. So I ask you graciously, if you are one of those people, could you please not comment at all? This is not to be confused with the notion that I do not want to hear your opinion, because I actually do. But please, just this once keep this in mind...

So to sum it all up, I am so proud of New York, and the six other states that have broken down the barrier! I just HOPE that Washington is soon to follow!