Two weeks ago, when Come Out With Pride senior executive producer Dr. David Baker-Hargrove opened his mailbox and saw a letter from the White House, he was clueless. “What’s this about?” he asked himself as he opened the thick, lined envelope. Inside was a short, typed note. But the well-chosen words took Baker-Hargrove’s breath away.
“Our nation’s story of progress is one of courageous and passionate men and women refusing to accept anything less than full and equal citizenship,” the note said in part. “LGBT Pride celebrations bring us together to honor the diversity of our people. Together we will build an America where all are free to choose the ones we love. I wish you all the best for your Pride celebration.”
The note was signed by President Barack Obama.
“I think it’s unprecedented for a sitting president to do that,” says a still-effusive Baker-Hargrove. “I mean… I’m still just blown away by this.”
And if he and the rest of COWP’s all-volunteer board need a spiritual center to get them through the last demanding days before their big event on Sunday, October 10, they now have it. Rescheduled, repurposed and reinvented by the Metropolitan Business Association in 2005, Come Out With Pride has grown into one of the largest LGBT Pride events in Florida.
More than 50,000 are expected to converge on beautiful Lake Eola Park for a parade and vendor fair, capped by a stage production featuring iconic singer Martha Wash (“It’s Raining Men”). Addressing the crowd will be parade Grand Marshal and LGBT hero Greg Louganis, personifying the theme for COWP 2010: “A Pride of Olympian Proportions.”
Parade plotting
For most attendees, COWP planning begins with last-minute decisions about apparel and parking. For some it starts weeks earlier, with creation of a float and costumes. But for the 22-member COWP board it commences just weeks after the previous year’s event, while memories remain fresh, with an all-important recap meeting.
“We talk about the vendor fair, food, drinks, the parade, the stage production… all of it,” says Mikael Audebert, COWP’s executive producer for event development and Baker-Hargrove’s indispensable aide de camp. “And that discussion informs our decisions for the next 11 months. We want this event to keep getting better and better.”
Some topics are inevitable, and sometimes there are no easy solutions. For example, the parade has to incorporate small units and large, mainstream businesses and bars, elected officials and leather men. It can create problems.
“We always hear about the parade, especially the pacing,” says Baker-Hargrove. “But I walked the entire route one year, and I learned that when a parade unit is holding things up it’s because they’re interacting with the crowd. They’re having fun! Who wants to stop that?”
Another issue, common to all Pride events, is the inclusion of the most colorful contingencies in the LGBT community—and the media attention they inevitably draw.
“We decided that one a long time ago, and it was easy,” says Baker-Hargrove. “Everyone from extreme drag to whip-cracking leather is welcome at the table. To me that kind of colorful diversity is what Pride is all about.”
For many units, the parade is also about positioning: near the front, near the back, next to music, away from competitors. COWP organizers treat these requests as if seating people at a state dinner party.
“We try to accommodate everyone,” says Baker-Hargrove. “It can be a challenge.”
The parade route around Lake Eola Park is relatively short, so COWP has capped the number of units at 85. “We’ve learned from trial-and-error that otherwise the snake will eat its tale, so to speak,” Baker-Hargrove says. “Our parade director, Allison Asbury, is totally on top of things.”
But due to park rezoning, COWP was able to increase the number of vendor booths by 15 to 110. This year they’ll extend all the way from the Walt Disney World KidZone at the southwest corner of the park all the way to the pagoda at the opposite corner.
Let’s put on a show
Another consideration is use of the Walt Disney Amphitheater throughout the day; a non-stop production that extends from afternoon into evening. Both rally and concert, the show has to fill time, embrace numerous goals and meet high expectations.
“One of the biggest conundrums is the bandshell,” Baker-Hargrove says. “What do people want? What can we afford? I don’t think people have any idea how expensive it is to put on even a modest show.”
This year’s package is anything but, running from 2:30 p.m. into the night and featuring Louganis, Wash, dance singer-songwriter Brian Kent, and a full line-up of local speakers, musicians, deejays and dancers. The production budget is $30,000.
In an election year, COWP must also deal with requests from numerous candidates to address the huge crowd. They’re solution? “Only people currently in office will appear on the stage,” says Baker-Hargrove. “And no campaigning.”
But any candidate can participate in the parade. And many have signed on as paid sponsors of COWP, including U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, State Rep. Scott Randolph and his Republican challenger, Greg Reynolds.
COWP also sought to involve local bars that may have declined participation in the past, often for reasons that predate current organizers according to Baker-Hargrove.
“We have tried to use Come Out With Pride as a vehicle to unify the community,” he says.
This year Pulse is a sponsor, Savoy and Paradise have helped with fundraising and Rain will open its doors to those who have purchased COWP Rock Star passes.
Big budget item
Since 2005, COWP’s budget has grown to $125,000 (see sidebar), and the staff of more than 100 logs more than 10,000 volunteer hours each year. Last year COWP became a separate non-profit corporation, under the auspices of MBA but with its own board and organizational structure.
“MBA was really suffering because all our time and energy was going into Pride,” explains Baker-Hargrove. “Now we have two separate governing boards and two distinct sets of volunteers with defined responsibilities.”
In fact, Baker-Hargrove tapped into his military training and created a 38-page manual for producing the event each year. It worked. Except for a late tent delivery—and near-record heat—everything last year went off without a hitch.
“I was worried that our headsets weren’t working because I didn’t hear anyone talking with each other,” says Baker-Hargrove. “But it was just because everyone knew exactly what to do.”
He would like to see COWP hire a paid executive director, possibly next year. And there are plans to create another organization under the MBA umbrella that will bring LGBT-related conventions and events to Central Florida.
But for now, the COWP board is focused on what lies directly ahead.
“It’s time-consuming and a lot of work, but it’s also incredibly rewarding,” said Audebert. “We’ve all made wonderful connections and friendships, and you get the satisfaction of knowing that you’re doing something for the community.”
