Orlando There was a time in Orlando when we had a short Pride parade. The procession would start by Firestone, trundle for a few blocks, then sort of end on Robinson alongside Lake Eola. In fact, the most fascinating part of the day was wondering if anyone had actually thought through how the parade would end. The most challenging part of our day: to figure out what to do with the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of left in it.
Thanks to Come Out With Pride, those lackluster parades are becoming a foggy memory or, for the young, the tall tale of the 40-something on the next barstool. Eighteen years ago, the Metropolitan Business Association (MBA)”originally in collaboration with the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Student Union up to 2009″began producing the event. Through organization, constant reevaluation, and more than a little political savvy, they have seen the event grow to one of the largest of its kind in the country.
Striving to make COWP bigger and better each year is a constant process of questioning, surveying and tweaking, leading to changes each year”some more obvious to attendees than others.
Saturday in the Park
One of the primary reasons those parades of yore languished had to do with a determination to hold the event in the traditional Pride Month of June in honor of the Stonewall Uprising. Some pointed to June's heat as a factor for low participation, but the success of this year's St. Pete Pride (attracting 85 thousand), pretty much squelches that theory. Moving Orlando's Pride to October more than likely proved successful because it put distance between itself and the activities surrounding the first weekend in June, Gay Days.
It might surprise some then that the biggest change for the 2011 COWP”moving it from Sunday to Saturday”was suggested by Chris Manley, one of the founders of GayDayS.com and a driving force in making it what is considered the largest convention of the year. Manley's suggestion was a bit of an epiphany for COWP organizers and the benefits began to add up as they considered the idea.
“By doing it on Saturday we're bringing people from all over Florida because now they don't have to be worried about being at work the next day,” says Mikael F. Audebert, COWP Executive Director and Senior Executive Producer.
History turns out to be the reason Sunday has traditionally been the event day. City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, one of COWP's founders, said the day was selected because Saturday wasn't available the first year. After a survey of VIP attendees proved positive, as did a survey of the general public on Facebook, and after consulting organizers of St. Pete Pride and Miami Beach Pride (both hold their events on Saturdays), the change was made. COWP anticipates the move will attract more 100,000 people, increase bar sales at the event, and make the event more profitable for area nightclubs.
Less is More
“We listened to what the community wanted this year, which has never been done before. The pride committee always did whatever it wanted to do,” states Audebert. “This year we decided to put a few questions out there and see what people wanted to do, what they wanted to see.”
In terms of entertainment, survey results showed people cared less about having a “name” act than they did about enjoying a fun show.
Bringing acts such as Martha Wash or Kristine W for a 30 minute set costs in the neighborhood of $30,000 when all is said and done. Meanwhile bar sales averaged around $25,000. Bypassing such acts provides COWP with the opportunity to make the show more community based, look for performances by Orlando Gay Chorus, and more local comedians and singers, as well as an encore performance Break Through: Bringing Down the Barriers, a show created by UCF students about LGBT life in America, recently presented at The Abbey.
As hunky as he may be, many may view having Jonathan D. Lovitz, host of Logo's Setup Squad, as a step down from having Olympian Greg Louganis, 2010 grand marshal. The cost connected with securing a grand marshal”the fact that the celebrity charges a fee at all”is surprising.
“We approached Tim Gunn,” relates Audebart. “He came back with a five figure number, that five figure close to the six figure.”
Early on, Lovitz contacted COWP and it felt like a good fit, particular since he is from Florida. His participation led to help from Logo in getting the word out about COWP, their sponsorship lending a welcome prestige.
Shaving the entertainment budget has also allowed COWP to add a bang to the proceedings with fireworks. Striving to offer things all audiences would enjoy, organizers decided to explore the possibility of having a fireworks display, discovering to their surprise that he cost was significantly lower than they anticipated. The event now offers Orlandoans one of only two times in the year to see fireworks at Lake Eola, the other being July 4.
One reason bar sales are not higher, according to the surveys, is the length of the lines, so COWP organizers are adding additional beer tents to the expo. (Moving to Saturday should also boost these sales.) The surveys also revealed that people prefer the parade to start a little later in the day, and the schedule has been adapted.
Balancing Politics
In addition to the wrong time of the year, earlier parades were no doubt plagued by the same political waters the MBA navigates today. Pleasing all the people all the time is the unenviable task of the COWP as it tries to offer an event that entertains all ages and types of people. Politics, Audebart says, usually come into play when an individual or entity tries to assert some control over planning of the event, only to be reminded that it belongs to the community as a whole. Such conflicts have led to the loss of sponsorship money.
Interestingly, adapting to that fiduciary loss brought about another change for this year's event. In June, COWP held a fundraiser at Mister Sister's during Gay Days upsetting rival nightclubs, causing Audebart to get creative to maintain the support of Parliament House, Revolution, and Pulse. Nicknamed “the big 3,” the clubs will be “United in Pride” and will share the recognition as the official after party for COWP.
Looking Back, Moving Forward
In many ways, it's unfair to compare this Pride event to those of yesteryear. Come Out With Pride is now a year-round operation with 15-20 man hours dedicated to it during the year, many more hours as the event nears, and Audebart on board as a full-time staff member.
“It needs structure,” states Audebart, considering the growth of the event. “Dr. Dave [former MBA president, David Baker-Hargrove], before leaving, put into place an instruction manual. It has all the details when certain things need to be done, directions on what each position of the production team does. It is better organized and this is why it's able to grow and get bigger. It does require discipline and a lot of work.”
