In celebrating St. Patrick Day, the annual Las Vegas Valley Firefighters St. Patrick's Day Parade and Fun Challenge was held at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC) today.
The parade started at the Main Street Stage at noon. Led by Grand Marshal Terry Murphy, Honorary Irish Consul to Nevada, uniformed firefighters, honor guards, bagpipers and step dancers made its way along the Fremont Street under the Viva Vision canopy. Then the Firefighter Fun Challenge took place between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. where firefighter teams from around the country competed in a tricycle race, wheel barrel race, midnight equipment run, tug of war, hose bowling and garden hose efficiency contest. winners would donate their prize money to the charities of their choices.
Outgoing postcard US-3263675 to Hong Kong shows a vintage "Horse and Cart" poster "Lovely day for a Guinness", one of the most popular of all the Guinness beer advertisements, circa 1949, by artist John Gilroy.
Step dancers perform at the Las Vegas Valley Firefighters St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Las Vegas honors 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Day with its 33rd annual parade that attracted thousands visitors and locals lining up Fourth Street downtown to watch more than 100 floats, bands, dancers, politicians, classic cars, motorcycles and people from various organizations marching in honor of Dr. King.
The theme of this year's parade was "Living the Dream: Where do we go from here?" It highlights the reflection and debate resulted from the racial tensions exposed after multiple police killings of black men last year. It is also a reminder that the struggle for equality is continuing and there are a lot to be done ahead.
An elderly spectator watches younger marchers streaming by at the 33rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Las Vegas on January 19, 2015.
The featured postcard was a maxi card featuring a self-portrait of me in front of the Newseum in Washington D.C. on August 28, 2013 with a USPS March on Washington Forever Stamp and its first-day-of-issue postmark.
Postcard US-3017742 was sent to Germany with warm greetings from Nevada. On October 31, 1864, Nevada became the 36th state of the United State during the Civil War. Today marks the 150th birthday of the "Silver State" Nevada.
Las Vegas hosted a special Nevada Day Parade for the first time started at 10 a.m. to celebrate the State’s Sesquicentennial, highlighting the legacy of Southern Nevada. 150 groups marched up 4th Street in Downtown Las Vegas, consisting of floats, antique cars, horses, motorcycles, and marching bands. Hard to miss were larger-than-life Birthday Cake, Elvis, and American Eagle balloons.
Celebrations continue tomorrow including the 76th annual Nevada Day Parade in Carson City on November 1, 2014.
Outgoing postcard US-2529931 to Belarus was another postcard from Zumanity, the Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil at New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The scene on the postcard, with a tag line "Innocence, so fleeting, so fragile", reveals elegance and passion of women. The show is scheduled to undergo an overhaul early next year. The postcard was purchased at the show's gift shop. It was sent on November 28, 2013 and had since expired.
Tonight, the giant Viva Vision LED display canopy at the Fremont Street Experience lit up again for the 16th annual Las Vegas Pride Parade in downtown Las Vegas. A blog from Las Vegas Weekly explains why Las Vegas Pride matters for a largely dis-unified LGBT community. The pride festival will be held at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater tomorrow from noon to 10:00 p.m. on September 6, 2014. As concluded in that blog, we will be there "not because we want to see more people impersonating Britney Spears, but because we want to see us."
Postcard US-2293205 to California features a 1955 poster showing the Rainbow Sailboat Fleet at Nantucket, Massachusetts. The Nantucket Yacht Club chose Beetle Cats, 12.25 ft or 3.76 m catboats first built in 1920 in New Bedford, Massachusetts by members of the Beetle family, for its fleet with the sails in different colors in 1925.
The Nantucket Yacht Club and the Great Harbor Yacht Club are hosting its 20th annual Nantucket Race Week to promote affordable access to sailing and water sports to the public starts on Saturday August 9, 2014, with the Rainbow Fleet Parade scheduled at 9:30 am on August 17, 2014.
Member of Balloon Magic Marches in the 42th SF Pride Parade on June 24, 2012.
The 44th Annual San Francisco Pride Parade kicked off at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday June 29, 2014. attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators and participants to this one of the largest LGBT gatherings in the nation. The theme of this year's parade was "Color Our World With Pride."
Balloon Magic marches along the Market Street in 2014 (Screen capture from livestream)
Adding a splash of colors to the parade, the group Balloon Magic has been a staple over the years and one of my favorites. They have usually been marching between the leading Dykes on Bikes and Cheer San Francisco. The featured postcard was made from one of my photos taken on June 24, 2012.
Balloon Magic in the 43 the Pride Parade on June 30, 2013 (Screen capture from livestream)
One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two landmark rulings on June 26, 2013: one striking down part of the the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages and the other allowing same-sex couples to marry legally in California.
Since then, huge advances for the same-sex marriage have brought pride and joy to many couples who could not marry before. Before the rulings, same sex couples could marry in only 10 states and the District of Columbia; today, that number has almost doubled to 19 states and the District of Columbia, covering near 44% population of the country.
Most recently on Wednesday June 25, 2014, a federal judge struck down same-sex marriage ban in Indiana. Meanwhile, a 2-1 decision from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, the first issued at the level of the federal appellate courts, ruled that the same-sex marriage ban in Utah was unconstitutional. Marriage-equality lawsuits are now pending in all 31 states where same-sex couples are still barred from marrying.
Postcard US-2333973 to Indiana, which was sent on July 25, 2013 and has since expired, was made out of a hand fan distributed by Macy's during the 2012 Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Parade in San Francisco. The 2014 Parade, themed "Color Our World with Pride," will start at Market & Beale and end at Market & 8th Street in downtown San Francisco at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday June 29, 2014.
I got this postcard from a Capital Pride Festival in Washington D.C. more than 10 years ago, showing Badlands that was located near the Dupont Circle and first opened in 1983. Once billed as Washington D.C.’s most progressive and longest running gay dance club, it later changed its name to Apex and was abruptly shutdown on July 5, 2011 after 28 years. The space, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Codman Carriage House and Stable, is now occupied by Phase One of Dupont, a 21+ lesbian venue.
Today, for the first time in the Annual Capital Pride Parade's 39-year history, the U.S. Armed Forces color guards marched along with the rainbow flag. An eight-member color guard team from the U.S. Army Military District of Washington led off the parade, started at 4:30 pm on June 7, 2014. It is the same team that presents the flags at congressional and White House events. The Department of Defense authorized the participation. Celebrations continue tomorrow at the Capital Pride Festival from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm on June 8, 2014.
St. Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious holiday that celebrates the death date of the most commonly-recognized patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick on March 17. While the festivals are underway this Sunday, Guinness became the third beer company to withdraw sponsorship of a major St. Patrick's Day parade in the U.S. because the organizers banned LGBT groups from openly participating in the parades.
Earlier, according to Boston.com, Boston Beer Company, which manufactures Sam Adams, announced on March 14 to pull out today's parade in Boston after South End restaurant Club Cafe said that it would no longer serve Sam Adams due to the brewer's sponsorship with the parade. Boston's Irish-American Mayor Martin Walsh skipped his city's St. Patrick's Day parade after failing to broke a deal with organizers to allow a group of gay and lesbian activists to march openly.
In New York City, Heineken ended its relationship with the 250-year old parade for the same reason; and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio will not be marching in the parade on Monday, March 17 to protest the exclusionary policies, becoming the first mayor in decades to break the tradition.
In this Veterans Day 2013, we feature postcard US-2475557 to Portugal that shows the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall with reflection of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors U.S. service members who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam and the South East Asia, and service members missing in action during the War.
In Las Vegas, there will be the 2013 Veterans Day Parade in downtown at 10 a.m on Monday, November 11, 2013. The parade is said to be the largest Veterans Day parade west of the Mississippi River, featuring active duty and reserve service members, veterans groups and local organizations.
Las Vegas Pride Parade is one of the few, if not the only one, Pride Parades held at night. The 15th Annual Las Vegas Pride Parade will march up the 4th Street from West Charleston Blvd to Ogden Avenue starting at 8 pm on September 6, 2013 in downtown Las Vegas. The 2013 parade, presented by the MGM Resorts International and led by Grand Marshal Edward Padilla and Celebrity Grand Marshals from the cast of Divas Las Vegas, brings together the gay and straight business community, nonprofit organizations, LGBT service agencies, civic groups, and churches for a big celebration.
The postcard shows the banner of Las Vegas Pride projected on the giant Viva Vision LED display canopy at the Fremont Street Experience on April 30, 2010. The parade was changed to be held in September since.
San Francisco's Pride Celebration and Parade is the largest LGBT gathering in the nation, taken place over the last weekend in June each year. About one million people attended the event last year in 2012. My postcard US-2246692 to Netherlands shows a group of young men climbing onto a pole in anticipation of the incoming parade on June 24, 2012.
In less than 12 hours, the 43rd annual San Francisco Pride Parade will start marching on the Market Street at 10:30 am on June 30, 2013. More people are expected this year due to the Supreme Court rulings last week. The theme for this year is "Embrace, Encourage, Empower". House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other elected officials will be in the event.
I received a postcard IN-54195 from India today. It shows a long building with a row of domed chambers where the ancient royal family housed their ceremonial elephants. Hampi, once the capital of Vijaynagar Empire from 1336 and 1565, is a ruined city. However, the elephant stables are among the few least damaged structures. The ground in the front was a parade place for the elephants and troops. The domes and the arched gateways indicated the Islamic influences on the structure. Hampi is now listed as a "threatened" UNESCO World Heritage
Site, due to heavy vehicular traffic and constructions nearby.
Main Street Parade at Magic Kingdom on June 7, 2008
My postcard US-1749242 shows Micky Mouse and Minnie Mouse on top of a float in the "Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade" at the Walter Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida on June 7, 2008. The card was made of one of my photos from my trip to Orlando for the 2008 Gay Day at Walter Disney World.
Gay Day at Walter Disney World started in 1991 as a weekend outing for the local LGBT members from a central Florida bulletin board system (BBS). The date was set to the first Saturday in June as it was the last weekend available to the Florida resident seasonal pass holders before the summer block out dates. (The summer block out dates for the 2013 seasonal pass run from June 8 to August 15.) It was also decided that the participants wearing red shirts so they could recognize each other. By 1995, the event had grown to 10,000 LGBT travelers from all over the world for the gay day at Disney. By 2010, it had been transformed into a week long celebration as Gay Days Orlando that includes pool parties, conventions, festivals, and a business expo at other venues in addition to Walter Disney World. Over the years, the tradition of wearing red shirts continues to make the presence more visible. The highlight is still the gathering in front the Cinderella Castle and along the Main Street to watch the parade on Saturday at Magic Kingdom.
It should note that the Gay Day is not a Disney event. It is just like any other summer day. Indeed, during my visit, there were all kinds of people there and we were all having fun. One of my favorite rides was the Walter Disney World Railroad at Magic Kingdom:
The other one was the Splash Mountain based on the theme from the 1946 Disney movie "Song of the South". The ride stars with a peaceful outdoor float-through, and continues into indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic finale of a 53 ft (16 m) drop.
In 2013, the Gay Day at Walter Disney World is June 1st, while the Gay Days Orlando runs from May 28 to June 3. If you are in Orlando this weekend, please send me a post card or a photo or a video of your celebration.
Yet, Walt Disney World's unofficial "Gay Days" tradition is under fire again from a conservative and notoriously anti-gay group. We need to remind them the previous 8-year boycott by the Southern Baptist Convention boycotted ended in 2005 with a big failure. Get a life, will you?
