Why you do not want to miss OKC Pride 2015
Village People, En Vogue to headline entertainment
by Michael Clark
OKC Pride president
Thanks to our strong community partners, numerous individual donors and corporate sponsors, I am excited to announce our entertainers for OKC Pride 2015. Village People and EnVogue will headline the 2015 OKC Pride Block Party and Concert on Friday, June 19, on the 39th Street Strip. This concert is provided free to the public by OKC Pride and represents the largest OKC Pride concert ever.
The 28th Annual OKC Pride Festival has become the largest privately held event in the state and is expected to bring more than 75,000 attendees over the weekend of June 19-21. OKC Pride Week activities will begin the preceding Sunday, June 14 at the deadCENTER Film Festival with a showing of the film Out and Proud on the lawn of Myriad Gardens and continue throughout the week at various venues throughout the OKC metro area, culminating with the Friday night OKC Pride Block Party and Concert, Saturday and Sunday OKC Pride Arts Festival and the OKC Pride Parade on Sunday, June 21.
Village Peopleis an American disco group that formed in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American masculine gay cultural stereotypes as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. The group scored a number of disco and dance hits, including Macho Man, Go West, the classic club medley of San Francisco / In Hollywood, In the Navy, and their greatest hit, Y.M.C.A.. They have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
The name En Voguerings more than a bell. It invokes memories of a long line of red-hot R&B and pop smashes recorded in the 1990s. Songs like Hold On, My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It), Giving Him Something He Can Feel, Free Your Mind and Whatta Man featuring Salt-N-Pepa, are just a sampling of the mega hits made famous by this R&B super group who sold more than eight million albums in the US.
OKC Pride weekend will feature on-stage entertainment throughout the weekend, with more announcements to come about musical groups and other performing artists to appeal to nearly any taste. Details will be posted on the OKC Pride web page and Facebook, as well as listed in the annual OKC Pride Guide. VIP access with private seating, refreshments and a meet and greet with the entertainers is available from OKC Pride for those interested in helping to sponsor the concert.
OKC Pride Festival and Parade registration is now open on our website (www.OKCPride.org). While we fully expect this year’s festival to be twice as large as last year, fees for booth space and parade entries have remained about the same as last year. We are actively seeking local LGBT and supportive artists to come share their talent with a huge consumer base. While the Arts Festival portion of OKC Pride is relatively young, I fully expect that this will become one of the largest and most-popular art fairs in the region.
OKC Pride 2015 is shaping up to be tremendous, thanks to our community partners, corporate sponsors, individual donors and volunteers - without them, there would be no OKC Pride. We owe a special thanks to Robin Dorner and The Gayly for their strong commitment to OKC Pride and tremendous sponsorship. Additionally, changing social perceptions of the LGBT community, the impending Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision and involvement from throughout the Oklahoma City community are taking Pride to an all-new level. The support from our community has been thrilling, and not just from traditional sources. We have partnered with hundreds of individuals, businesses and other non-profit agencies to reach out and include the entire community in this, the biggest and best OKC Pride ever!
OKC Pride is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization whose mission is to provide leadership to meet the needs of the LGBT community through awareness, health and educational services. Donations to OKC Pride are tax-deductible and volunteers are always needed. You can join OKC Pride at www.OKCPride.org.
The Gayly – May 20, 2015 @ 9:20am.