Pride Fireworks at Lake Eola.

Posted on by Thor

On the day of Pride, traffic downtown was predicted to be a major cluster f@!ck. The Orlando Come out with Pride Parade was going on as I taught classes at Elite Animation Academy. That day roads would also be closed for a soccer game at the Amway Center and something at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. I thought that getting to Elite would be a challenge, but streets had not been blocked off yet.

That evening I scheduled the 8th Orlando Urban Sketch Workshop at Lake Eola. With the parade over, I figured some of the crowd would have dispersed. Getting home from work, I skirted downtown by driving around the congested streets. The last few blocks were a challenge but I made it back to the studio fairly easily.

Attendance for the workshop was down. I imagine people weren’t up to the challenge and adventure of trying to park downtown. Pam Schwartz had walked in the parade with members and families involved in the onePULSE Foundation. Since she was downtown, we met and walked around Lake Eola together. I settled on this view of the fountain as my pride sketch for the year. A drone hovered above the lake.

Fireworks were slated to happen at 9 PM which gave me plenty of time to sketch the Orlando skyline. I started to put the tablet away, when the fireworks suddenly erupted with a huge series of blasts. It damn near made me jump out of my skin. The fireworks were large and beautiful and I put a few blasts on my sketch while others shot video and took cell phone photos. I often wonder what becomes of all those shots.

After the show, it was easy to walk back to my place and then slip out of downtown. Although many downtown streets were blocked off for the day, Orlando is still small enough so that I never experienced grid lock.

Gay Pride 2.0

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The Gay Pride Parade had been rained out a month ago, so this was a second attempt to celebrate tolerance, equality, and diversity in the City Beautiful. I went down to Lake Eola to sketch the preparations for the Gay Pride Parade and Terry came down when the sketch was done. I parked on Cathcart Avenue a fair distance from the celebration. Walking down Cathcart I ran across these Wells Fargo horses and knew I had to sketch. The old stage coach was just being lowered out of the 18 wheeler when I arrived. Then the horses were walked out and they happily munched on the grass. Every yellow wooden spoke on the wheels was polished by a cowboy. Music began to pulse behind me and I texted Terry to let her know I was done with the sketch.

A young girl help a half inflated balloon on her chest and she squeezed it saying, “My booby balloon is sad.” Rainbow colors were splashed everywhere. There was a phalanx of scooters with pink ribbons tied to the handle bars. Macy’s had a giant red star in the parade, just like they have in the Thanksgiving parade in NYC. Disney was out in force with voluntEARS helping, and rainbow Mickey Mouse bobs being thrown out to the crowd.

With a series of texts, I found Terry and we found a spot curbside to watch the parade. Churches were out in force in the parade. The First Unitarian pointed out that this is what Jesus had to say about homosexuality, “Zip. Zilch. Nada.” What he did promote was justice, equality and compassion. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence marched by with their colorful makeup and habits billowing in the breeze. People shouted “Hey hey, ho ho, Homophobia has to go!

Candy and bead necklaces were thrown into the crowd. Terry did an amazing job of catching most of the loot. She caught some condoms. I saved all the fliers, sure that they offered hints to future sketching opportunities. Tiny beach balls bounced into the crowd. A Labrador retriever across from us bit a beach ball and ripped it apart. Loud motorcycles roared by. Eliot and Fern rode together in a convertible. They have been together 48 years.

Gay Pride Day

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Sunday October 10th was Gay Pride Day in Orlando. I went down to Lake Eola about two hours before t he parade was to begin. As I walked towards the park, I saw a man struggling to get a horse carriage out of an 18 wheeler. Around the lake tents were set up and vendors were quickly arranging their wares. I walked past all the tents with a personal mission in mind. I wanted to sketch the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. I had sketched several sisters putting on make-up months ago yet never had the chance to sketch them when they were fully made up. I never found them. I finally found a shady tree with a view of the tents set against the skyscrapers in the distance. Activity around the beer tent was constant.

Terry texted me several times to try and find me. I texted back, “I am behind the rainbow.” She responded, “Which rainbow? There are so many. ” Several more texts were needed. When I finished this sketch there was just 5 minutes till the parade began. I thought I might just relax and watch the parade, but the urge to sketch kicked in. As I blocked in the second sketch, a police motorcycle pulled up in front of me. I suddenly had a center of interest, something stable in the changing sea of humanity. Terry pushed her way to the front of the crowd and fought hard for the necklaces, trinkets and candy that was being thrown from the floats. A box of candy landed next to where I was seated. They were called “Nerds” and they were tasty. Scantily clad men and women danced on the floats. Through it all the police officer stood stoically , never changing his steely gaze.

When the parade was over Terry wanted to look at all the tents around the lake. The narrow walkway was jam packed now and I had already seen the tents earlier. I convinced her to leave the crush of humanity and sit on a grassy hill while I ate a slice of pizza. A woman walked by with a sign that read, “I may be straight, but I am not narrow.” That pretty much sums up why I like to come out on Gay Pride Day and document this fun event with my sketches.

Gay Pride – Lake Eola

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Gay Pride Day at Lake Eola is a colorful festive event that I enjoy getting out to sketch. All around the lake, tents and rainbow colored balloons spark color everywhere. As I did this sketch a man next to me kept shouting out information about time share deals. He was offering free water to anyone who would sign up for information. As I tried to stay cool in the shade of a large tree a young slender woman holding a single rose walked up to me and asked for an interview. She was working on a research paper and needed interviews. I gave her the usual information about this blog and how it all started. She thanked me and disappeared into the crowd. She never asked me if I was gay. I was of course gay for the day. Across from me Rangers Doggie Care offered pet sitting and dog training services. The Orlando Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence had a display which had large black and white photos of men who had been killed due to hate crimes against gays. There must have been 40 or so photos and this was just the tip of the iceberg. I wanted to sketch this scene but it was in the direct sun and it was boiling out. I don’t know how the sisters survived in their black robes.
The Gay Pride Parade started on the Northern edge of Lake Eola near Paneras. I focused on this stage coach and tried to capture some of the cross dressers and men in drag that walked by. There was plenty of excitement and men shouting and hooting as they piled onto the floats and waited for the parade to start. I thought I might come across some demonstrators but I didn’t see one person with a sign. All the signs I saw called for pride and unity.