Pride St. Louis

Oh, man. I hate to take another star away from PrideFest. If you read my previous review, you will understand this event was something I truly enjoyed in 2014.
–Parade–
This year’s parade was just as nice as 2014’s. In fact, it was pretty much the same. The parade started at Market & 8^th and ended at Market & 18^th. Once again, it lasted two hours. Participants included the Human Rights Campaign, Enterprise Rent-​A-​Car, Target, MasterCard, Macy’s, Bud Light, Ameren, Whole Foods, Purina, churches, politicians, bars, and many, many more. There were plenty of beads, wristbands, and inspirational messages to be had.
The only thing they might want to work on is spacing. When you have a procession of moving vehicles and people on foot, I realize you need to leave gaps for safety reasons. However, there were at least two occasions when the gap was very large. I was at 18^th Street, and during these times, the next group was several blocks away.
–Festival–
The festival is where things really went awry. They set it up differently this year, and it just did not work out very well. Keep in mind that I attended on Sunday after the parade.
Now, sit back and peep the sce-​nahr-​io.
Oops, my bad. That’s the scenario
Big Pimpin’, anyone? Bun B? Okay, moving on.
The scenario:
The festival was on Chestnut, which runs parallel to Market. Booths were set up along the three blocks of Chestnut between Tucker and 15^th street and also on parts of the cross streets.
Last year most of the food booths were set up along the perimeter of a rectangular, grassy area known as Poelker Park. This year, most were set up along Chestnut Street between 13^th and 14^th. This was right in middle of the festival.
Now, picture this.
You start a parade at noon. That’s when people usually eat lunch. The parade then lasts two hours. What do you think happens at 2? People go to the festival, and they’re ready to eat all kinds of delicious foods.
I wanted to visit the non-​food booths, but as I approached the food booths with my husband, it became clear that doing so would not be an easy task. So many people were in that middle section. Food lines were indiscernible from people who were just visiting with each other. People were weaving through the crowd in every direction. At one point, I became squished between three other people. I turned to my husband and said, «I f@$#ing hate this! We have to go. I have to get out of here.»
And so we left. I can’t stand crowds like that. It was just impossible for me to enjoy anything because I couldn’t /​do/​anything.
As others have said, I’m sure it’s hard to organize an event like this. And the recent Supreme Court ruling probably boosted attendance.
If you don’t mind crowds like that, you probably would have had a blast. However, for my sake, I hope they consider a different layout for next year so that they can avoid that ridiculous bottleneck at the food booths.
TIPS:
1. For the parade, take MetroLink and get off at Union Station. Head to Market & 18^th street. You’ll be at the end of the parade line, so you shouldn’t miss anything even if you are running a bit late. Also, people in the parade often have lots of extra stuff (e.g., beads) at the end of the parade. If you’re into that.
2. People have mixed feelings about Union Station, but for the past two years, I’ve used the restroom there. I feel their restrooms are at least better than portable restrooms…
3. I have not eaten at Union Station, but if festival food or eating outside isn’t your thing, Union Station has a food court.
4. Wear sunscreen, and keep yourself hydrated!

A+ for effort for everyone who came together to keep a Pride event alive in our neighborhood.
While the turnout wasn’t as high as I had hoped (plus it rained) and was a little unorganized at first, the overall event was great. The Big Gay Block Party was a success, with bites to eat, drinks and lots of neat and unique crafts.
I’m hoping that next year’s event can add to this year’s momentum and we can really growing an event to replace the one we lost.
Cheers to all of the organizers and participants who worked to make the event happen with such short notice!

Since I just reviewed TGP, I realized I forgot to review Pride Fest.
Okay, so it is what it is. I couldn’t pull off a better Pride in St. Louis. Clearly lots of sweat goes into this event, and it’s clearly a labor of love. That being said, it’s fucking Saint Louis, and the fact of the matter is that there are more gays in my apartment on any given Saturday night than there were at this festival. If you’ve been to Pride in any other major U.S. city, this will be a letdown, but it’s kind of nice and laid back.
Even though they have a schedule online, we thought there wasn’t much to do. We milled around the park, drinking way overpriced and watered down alcoholic beverages. It was pretty boring and hot as Hell.
The parade was okay, but it just seemed so small. Where I’m from, EVERYBODY comes out for the Pride parade. Dude, like my dad brought me to the Pride parade for father-​daughter family outing. Here, it seemed so conservative. Where are all the crazies? Where were all the people in scantily clad outfits screaming and making out with strangers? This Pride Fest more closely resembled a Mormon family picnic than a gay pride festival. But ya know what? I guess that’s kind of cool. I’m still trying to figure out the gay scene in St. Louis.
The best part of the parade, and actually the whole thing, was the Growing American Youth float in the parade. I was literally moved to tears seeing SO MANY young people out celebrating, being positive role models, loving themselves and being proud of who they are. Incredible.

I have to start this off by saying that i was suprised that this wasn’t already one someone had reviewed, but since not here i am! This is one of the biggest celebrations in the midwest for the LGBT community and with good reason, people are fantastic! Held over a weekend in june it features alot of fun with big events both days.
(i went on the sunday, which i usually do)
Two, count them two parades. one for the pets on saturday and then on sunday the big parade (i was told this is the second biggest parade in st. louis, not sure if it’s true but i am willing to bet it is). Not only events they have a multitude of tents with businessess around the city, and midwest. Food courtyard with alot of tasty treats and music. I always have fun and it seems like the great massess do as well when i’m people watching (which is always a fun pasttime of mine)