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20 JUNE l3.2009«jNotes
PRIDE 09
Excited about Pride
Pride Charlotte organizers plan for
record event, anti-gays plan counter
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE — Organizers of one of the
largest LGBT Pride festival between
Washington, D.C., and Atlanta are gearing up
for what they anticipate as another record year
of growth.
Kicking off at the end of July, Pride
Charlotte brings with it a host of activities and
events. The mainstay of each year’s Pride cele
brations, the Pride Charlotte
Festival, will take place on
Saturday, July 25 at Uptowns
Gateway Village.
Anti-gay religious organiza
tions are also gearing up. The
Coalition of Conscience, led by Dr.
Michael Brown of FIRE Church
and School of Ministry in
Concord, N.C., is planning a 1,000-
strong “God Has a Better Way’’
worship and prayer event.
“what we hope to accomplish
is to send another message to the
city and to the lesbian and gay
community, in conjunction with
the gay pride event, that is really a
message of God’s love and God’s
goodness,” Brown told Q-Notes.
Brown said his group doesn’t plan on
doing any public preaching, as has been the
case with past anti-gay protests of Pride
Charlotte and other LGBT events.
“We plan to be engaging primarily in wor
ship and prayer,” he said. “We do not plan on
being disruptive of the event itself. The goal is
to send a message that God does have a better
way and to surround the event with an atmos
phere of worship and God’s presence.”
Clay Smith, one of Pride Charlotte’s 2009
co-chairs, told Q-Notes that Pride is about cel
ebration and shouldn’t be about the conflict it
might create among certain portions of the
Charlotte community.
“We want everyone to be excited about
Pride and not necessarily the conflict that it
brings,” he said. “We aren’t necessarily making
a political statement. We are putting on a festi
ve to celebrate who we are.”
Brown, whose group is the sole organizer
of the counter “God Has a Better Way” event,
said he will be getting the word out however
he can. He said those participating in his event
are churches and individuals who “share a
heart of love for the gay and lesbian commu-
nit)^’ adding that, “under no circumstances
will anyone be allowed to participate who
does not share the same heart.”
Smith said the Pride Charlotte festival is a
family-oriented event and that anti-gay pro
testers really have no reason to be offended by
the festival. “You won’t see nude artists or
nude art. You won’t hear vulgar language from
the stage. Those are things to celebrate.”
He added, “We are there to have a good
time. I encourage everyone to come out and
have fun.”
Organizers have already planned to count
er any resistance they receive from protesters.
As in years past, the “Partners in Peace” will
help to keep anti-gay protesters from inter
rupting the festivd, which is being held on
private property.
“Speaking as someone who attended the
festival last year, the Partners in Peace handled
the protesters very smoothly,” Smith said. “I
can only imagine that it will be handled with
the same professionalism and grace this year.”
Smith said last year’s festivd set record
attendance and that organizers “would love to
see that surpassed this year,”
Entertainment at the day-long festival
includes musician and poet Amy Steinberg,
singers Brendan Velasquez, Chrys Matthews,
Rodie Ray and Joshua Klipp, dancers Daniel
Gray and the Beledi Beat Dancers and the Gay
Men’s Chorus of Charlotte and One Voice
Chorus, among others. The event will feature
more than 100 vendors including businesses
and non-profits, food vendors, a children’s
area, DJ tent, beer and other refreshments and
two stages for entertainment.
Pride Charlotte organizers have been hold
ing several Pride Charlotte Pageantry System
preliminaries. The winners of the preliminar
ies will compete at a final pageant at Scorpio
on July. The winner of the final will be
crowned Miss Pride Charlotte.
Sponsors and a full slate of official events
have yet to be officially announced; Q-Notes
plans on being an event sponsor.
In-depth; ‘God Has a Better Way’
Dr. Michael Brown of the Coalition of
Conscience will hold “God Has a Better Way” on
July 25, from Noon to 3 p.m. According to the
evenfs website, those who will be a part of the
group’s prayer and outreach teams will meet at
First Baptist Church on Davidson St. in Uptown
at 11 a.m. Others will meet there at Noon for
prayer and instructions and walk to their final
destination for worship and more prayer.
Brown told Q-Notes he was unsure of the
final destination for the event. As this story
was being completed at press time, Q-Notes
was unable to reach city officials in charge of
event and protest permitting.
Their website says the group is looking for
“worshipers, intercessors, musicians, soul-
winners, walkers, talkers and believers.”
The Coalition of Conscience is expecting
1,000 or more participants.
More information on the event and
Coalition of Conscience can be found online
at www.godhasabetterway.com and
www.coalitionofconscience.org. I
— For more on Pride activities in Charlotte
and across the Carolinas visit Q-Notes’Pride
2009 website at www.q-notes.com/pride/.