Participation grows in Gay Pride festival

Monday, May 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

People will be coming out -- literally and figuratively -- from all over to be part of the 14th Annual Gay Pride celebration Saturday at Sunset Park.

What started as a picnic for about 500 members of Southern Nevada's homosexual community in 1983 has grown into a festival of more than 7,000 gays and straight supporters of gays last year, with a projected crowd of about 10,000 this year.

"It is our greatest achievement that we are reaching a lot of people and attaining not only a mixed crowd but mixed sponsorship of gay and straight businesses," said event coordinator Anne Davis Mulford, who writes the "An Audience with Princess Anne" column for the Las Vegas Bugle, a gay newspaper.

"The message from a good portion of the population is that they are accepting that gay people should have the same rights and privileges that straight people enjoy."

The theme for this year's noon-9 p.m. event sponsored by the Southern Nevada Association of Pride Inc., is "Equality Through Visibility."

Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the gate. Tickets can be purchased at Get Booked, the CyberCity Cafe, Aid for AIDS of Nevada, Lock Stock & Leather, Duncan's Framing Gallery and the Metropolitan Community Church.

Corporate sponsors include Bonanza Beverage/Miller Brewing, The Riviera hotel-casino, Out of Bounds Publications, CruiseAholics and The Edge.

In addition to the event, Gay Pride Jam '97 will be held 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Riviera, featuring comedian Lea DeLaria, who has been featured in the movie "First Wives Club" and on the television sitcoms "The Drew Carey Show" and "Friends."

She and the Midnight Cowboys will perform at both events.

Mulford, a lesbian who came out in 1989 while an art student at UNLV, recently became director of development for AFAN. She notes that, like many gay people afraid to let their homosexuality become known, there are a lot of closet supporters who won't go public.

"When I was selling ads for the Bugle, I found that to be true," said the 35-year-old Las Vegas Ms. Gay Pride of 1992. "There were operators of businesses who said they wanted to advertise with our publication but were afraid of what people may think.

"They feared they would lose business in the straight community if they took out an ad in a gay publication."

Yet, Mulford says that since Gay Pride event organizers started encouraging the straight media to publicize its event five years ago, crowds attending the celebration have grown by leaps and bounds. And, more and more area businesses are willing to display Gay Pride promotional posters in their windows.

While many of those attending Saturday's gathering will be straight friends of gay people, many closet gays traditionally use Gay Pride Day as an opportunity to go public with their homosexuality.

"This event is a big party, where gay people can feel good about themselves," Mulford said. "We can join together like at a family reunion -- it is an affirmation of who we are. It is a sign of growth.

"Gay people may have a different culture and we may choose to marry people of the same sex, but we have the same human emotions and fears as anyone else. We bleed red blood just like anyone else."

This year's event comes on the heels of comedian Ellen DeGeneres coming out both in real life and as her character on the "Ellen" TV show, where she develops a relationship with a lesbian portrayed by straight actress Laura Dern.

"I think all of the response over Ellen -- both negative and positive -- is good because it sparks discussion, and that is a healthy thing and good for society in general," Mulford said. "Ellen is an excellent example of a gay person who is a contributing member of society."

But it will take a lot more than just a Hollywood entertainer or two coming out of the closet to halt the bigotry toward -- and longstanding myths about -- gay people.

Mulford says perhaps the most prevalent misconception about the gay community today is that AIDS still is a gay disease.

"We fight that battle every day at AFAN," she said. "The fact is that for the first time in the history of the disease, gay men contracting (the HIV virus) has dropped percentage-wise below that of all heterosexuals.

"The sad part is that the fastest growing segment contracting the disease is straight youths."

She attributes this to strong awareness, education and use of condoms or abstinence in the gay community and lack of awareness and an unwillingness to be educated about AIDS in the straight community.

Saturday's event, which expects to touch on many issues near and dear to the gay community, will be attended by several local and state political figures. Among those to confirm their attendance so far are State Sens. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and Mark James, R-Las Vegas, Mulford said.

Last year, Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones attended the gathering. In 1995, Gov. Bob Miller addressed the group. This year, the County Commission has issued a proclamation supporting the event.

Other entertainers scheduled to appear include ASE (pronounced "ah-shay"), Tory Beatty, disappear fear, Michelle Malone, Men Out Loud, Jeff Krasner, Toni James, Sammy Gonzalez and Cha Cha from the Kenny Kerr Show.

Also scheduled to be in attendance will be the reigning royal court of Ms. Gay Pride (a lesbian), Miss Gay Pride (a female impersonator), Mstr. Gay Pride (a male impersonator) and Mr. Gay Pride (a gay man).