When it’s a hot day, upper 90s all the way, the opportunity to score a shady spot along a parade route is a real treat. And on Sunday morning, there was a strangely open line break on Grand and Utah, an inexplicable 10-foot gap of standing space with total tree cover. Needless to say, this was the place to be as the Pride Parade was getting ready to start. Until, of course, our neighbor on the line mentioned the nearby presence of the Westboro Baptist Church. They were assembling just south of St. Pius V Catholic Church, on the side street of McKean, a full block from where online intel stated the protest would take place.
And, at that point, the chance for shade was given up in order to check out what was an assumed confrontational experience, as the virulently anti-LGBT organization set up shop directly alongside the staging area of the Pride Parade. But what was assumed didn’t exactly come to pass, as the WBC protest was a mostly mellow affair, based on a 15-minute visit late in their hour-ish stay.
About a dozen protesters, including a small handful of kids, were standing behind a single line of yellow police tape. They weren’t chanting or singing, as one sees on many of the group’s appearances posted to YouTube. They held their colorful, inflammatory signs and played the group’s signature parody songs on a portable stereo, including cuts by Green Day and Queen, the latter of which drew some catcalls from the crowd, noting the band’s openly gay lead vocalist and songwriter, Freddie Mercury.
A few members of the Pride contingent marched up to them and engaged in brief, verbal clashes, but these were quick outbursts and dissipated almost as soon as they started. The more interesting trend was that many crowd members wound up standing in the WBC group, posing for photos with friends.
Strangely, there was little police presence at that corner. McKean’s just a wisp of a street, running the two blocks between Grand on the west and Gravois on the east. And it was easy enough to stand right inside the WBC ranks simply by walking into their number from the back of McKean. Considering the emotions that can get stirred up at WBC events, it was curious to just mill in with the protest.
After the relatively anti-climactic nature of that scene, there was still plenty of time to watch the Pride Parade itself from three different vantage points along the east side of Grand. Each offered a slightly different twist to the affair, the most amusing of which might have been right at Grand and Connecticut. There, several apartment dwellers spilled out onto their balconies. From one window, a woman shot a strong water cannon. This scene played out every couple minutes: The water shot out of the window onto paraders, they gott wet and looked up with surprise, the assembled mass on the neighboring veranda pointed at the next window. It was a basic sight gag, but it worked. Over and over.
The Pride Parade ran almost exactly two hours, the scheduled time. The first hour of which was dominated with local and state politicians, along with almost every Democratic candidate running for local office. During one short stretch, all three major candidates for city treasurer (Jeffrey Boyd, Tishaura Jones, and Brian Wahby) passed by within a few minutes of each other. Breaking up their numbers were members of church, affinity, and other interest groups, along with the LGBT members of major corporations.
There were a few highlights along the way, sometimes from groups not necessarily tied to direct LGBT causes. The Grove’s Handle Bar, for example, brought in a group of bicyclists, many of whom were popping some interesting tricks atop heavily modified rides. The Arch River Roller Girls and the Gatekeepers roller derby teams skated, as usual, and that brought an enthusiastic response from the crowd, as did the 500-member strong Growing American Youth contingent, who always bring noise and fun to the event. The local arts event-givers, Artica, had the most engaging float, a giant dragonfly, which belched blasts of fire; a tuba player walking alongside also spit out the flames, sometimes coming within a few feet of the oohing and aahing crowd.
And as custom dictates, the local LGBT bars brought out their sound systems and rigged-up trucks, adding a lot of color to the proceedings. Novak’s, as always, gets special props for the 18-wheeler that they use to bring their float down the block, featuring dozens of on-board participants, major musical wattage, and a time-to-get-down feel that’s just right for the caboose of a very long party train.
As the Novak’s float passed, dozens of people followed alongside, eventually becoming hundreds as the throng poured down Grand towards Tower Grove Park; by the time Arsenal was reached, the side barriers were parting and the street was taken over by pedestrians zipping across the block. By then, all kinds of conversations were breaking out amongst friends, as members of the nearby neighborhood hosted impromptu house parties on their front porches. Restaurants were overwhelmed: St. Louis Bread Company, for example, ran out of ice by 2:15 p.m.
At times, especially on a hot morning, you feel like the whole thing could use even more splash and flash, another marching band or phalanx of balloon-bearing shock troops. But then a small moment passes and you realize that the Pride Parade offers the best people-watching the City sees on an annual basis, with a number of the most adventurous participants reminding you that human beings come in all shapes, colors, and sizes.
As the Parade emptied into Tower Grove Park, thousands jammed the center roadway, as food trucks set up for thick crowds. TV vocal show star Frenchie Davis entertained one set of the crowd, while another decamped in the sports village. It was hot. And teeming. And energetic.
And back on Grand? With the Park overflowing with hungry people, it was easier to walk to a neighborhood restaurant for a late lunch or early dinner. At Wei Hong, a truly-authentic Chinese restaurant, a half-dozen Chinese diners enjoyed the AC alongside a TV showing the England vs. Italy soccer match. As the game reached the penalty kick phase, all of us remaining sat and watched the game together. The craziness of the Pride Parade, which had passed only an hour before, was now a world away, and just that quickly, Sound Grand was returning to business as usual.
