Best Guardians & Nurturers of Pride

Paul Huddleston, Nathan Garcia, and the Austin Pride Foundation

Let's lay this out plain and simple: These are thankless jobs. Nobody will ever admit to being happy about Pride. The current crew in charge (2011-present) of Austin's annual fest and parade sure take a lot of guff. One school of thought complains that Prides by their nature are not proud, instead kowtowing to corporate overlords. Another says that they are way too permissive in allowing the representation of skin and kink. Or that they didn't order the correct weather for the comfort of attendees. Or that they charge admission. Or that they give to causes. Or, gee whiz, what about the lesbians? Or that they've booked some of the most innovative programming in the history of Austin Prides. Or that they work long, miserable hours for no pay, much to the detriment of their own personal lives, relationships, and bottom lines. Or that for some reason, this wacky festival that everyone seems to have an opinion about (but precious few with these opinions will volunteer to work) has never had one year where they haven't completely diversified and expanded the variety of event offerings, not to mention totally obliterated the previous years' attendance records (over 200,000 at this year's parade alone, according to public safety estimates). Yeah, we can see what the problem is….

Austin Gay & Lesbian Pride Foundation
PO Box 162924, Austin, TX 78746, 512/468-8113
www.fb.com/austinpride