Two parades – Solstice and Pride 2010

The Fremont Solstice parade was on Saturday June 19. I had worked with this guy named Dave who is a physicist and in a band called the Shamaniacs. I enjoyed talking to him because he was good at explaining popular science.

The parade was great as usual and everyone brought their dogs and I petted all the dogs. In the commercial section there was a silk shop called “Kashi” and it had a rickshaw in front of it.

I thought people who knew Kashi, my Varanasi, might be interested in seeing this picture of a Kashi booth in Fremont.

Seattle Gay Pride parade was on Sunday June 27, but the day before was the smaller pride celebration in Capitol Hill, Seattle’s traditional gay district. I was at both with the HVTU promoting the vaccination studies. I got to meet the current part-time recruitment staff and see how they work.

To get attention they had the usual swag but this time also we had fun pins that said “I (heart) trans”, “I (heart) anal”, “I (heart) (cock)”, “cut”, “uncut”, and “(cock)”.

The cut and uncut ones were supposed to initiate talks about circumcision and raise awareness of how current scientific research consensus is that circumcised males who penetrate their partner anally or vaginally have a significantly lowered risk of contracting HIV. The first two pins were the crowd favorites. I like that these promos were things that people would conceivably wear and use in daily life. Buttons are fun, people put them on backpacks and they get seen in public, and they are great for starting conversations.

The downtown pride was cool and I had my own fun but the actual parade and fairground exhibition seemed the same as other prides and other events. I know that commercial booths are money makers and that it is expensive to arrange stage shows or music but still I wish that the end of the event was not dropping everyone in a park where the rule is that everyone gets solicited to buy fair merchandise. I was on the front page of the Seattle Times in their gay pride article because I was standing behind my friend Keith when his picture was taken. Keith is not gay, but he loves costumes and attention and handles both well.