Pride 2007 Review- Parents Perspective!

Lucy McAlister

Pride with a toddler in tow is a world away from my pre-Mum Prides but that doesn’t mean all the fun has stopped. For me, Pride truly is a family event as my son’s family consists partly of queer friends who I invited to join our family before he was born. It’s a chance to get together and celebrate, not only ourselves, but our alternative family.

This is the first year that my little boy Jessy has been awake to watch the parade and watching it alongside him made the colours seem brighter and the costumes more extravagant than ever. Holding my son aloft and jumping up and down squealing with excitement as I pointed out his Nana and Uncle on a float was a definite highlight. All the stalls seemed to have something exciting for a 2 year old to grab, and Jessy went away with a flag, a fairy wand and a bracelet courtesy of kind hearted stall vendors who he charmed into giving away their wares! The German sausage stall was a big hit at lunchtime with Jessy and while he slept it off, I enjoyed the luxury of homemade cake and tea from the fantastic new healthy food outlet in Sackville park.

Sunday was spent in Women’s Space, which provided a children’s activity area this year. Jessy’s toddler friends both enjoyed having their face painted and getting creative. Jessy was more interested in the bowl of sweets on the SM Dykes stall and spent most of the day in a state of sticky sugar-high glee! He thought the environmental stall was fantastic but I’m not convinced the feeling was mutual; there’s a point at which ‘free gifts’ becomes taking liberties! I enjoyed the fantastic Rosie Lugosi while Jessy fell asleep in my lap. Friends and family working on the stalls all kept an eye on him while he slept, allowing me to fully appreciate the Hip Hop group who really stood out I thought. Catching up with friends is always easy in Women’s Space as so many women pass through at some point in the day. I very much appreciated having accessible parking so close by as it made it easier for a good friend to come along. It was fantastic to see her wheeling in, with her two year old daughter sitting in her lap both dressed up to the nines.

Jessy and his other toddler friends all boogied on down to the fabulously camp chorus group ‘Handbags’ on Sunday afternoon, and they tolerated their Mums watching Rosie Lugosi for the fourth time in one day! We threw caution to the wind and stayed out late every night. All in all a wonderful weekend