Sep 26, 200809:33 AMThe Life

Palm Springs Pride November 1st and 2nd to Celebrate "Family"

This year, Greater Palm Springs Pride will feature the theme "Winds of Change–Celebrating Family" in recognition of significant strides in the past year to advance individual rights, particularly gay marriage. As in past years, the event will include a two day festival on November 1st and 2nd at Palm Springs Stadium and the Greater Palm Springs Pride Parade down Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs, on Sunday, November 2nd, beginning at 10 am.

Gay couples who have legally married in California are invited to march in a special contingent in the parade. For information visit www.pspride.org or email parade@pspride.org. Also, planning is underway to provide for gay marriage ceremonies at a private area at the festival for couples with valid licenses to marry. Details will be announced prior to the event and will be available at www.pspride.org.

The Board of Greater Palm Springs Pride is working to "raise the bar" with this year's event. The parade this year will be lead by Palm Springs Motorcycle Enthusiasts organized by the Palm Springs Biker Chicks. Entertainment headliners at the festival include international dance diva, Pepper MaShay, and top Billboard artists Jeanie Tracy and Taborah. A complete entertainment lineup and schedule for the festival will be posted on Pride's website at www.pspride.org. Also, the festival will feature a dance tent sponsored by PNN, a Latino Dance Tent sponsored by El Destino of Indio and a Cabaret Tent.

The popular Authors' Village at the festival will again feature major writers of the GLBT literary universe, signing their works, including best selling author Christopher Rice, this year's Celebrity Parade Grand Marshal, and acclaimed actor Leslie Jordan. Authors John Morgan Wilson, Michael Thomas Ford and Donald Reuter will be at Authors' Village signing books, as well.

The Board of Directors of Greater Palm Springs Pride is pleased to announce the honorees of Pride 2008:

Celebrity Grand Marshal is Christopher Rice, author of three best selling novels and columnist for The Advocate magazine. His first novel, A Density of Souls was published when the author was 22 years old, and to a landslide of media attention, much of it due to the fact that he is the son of best-selling vampire novelist Anne Rice. In addition to his literary accomplishments, Rice has been recognized nationally as an outstanding leader in the GLBT community.

Community Grand Marshals are Craig Novak and Rick Anderson, Owners of Q Trading, a retail store in Palm Springs specializing in GLBT merchandise. Mr. Novak and Mr. Anderson have sponsored Authors' Village at the Greater Palm Springs Pride festival for the past eight years and been active supporters of numerous community causes and charities.

Man of the Year is Gregg Selleck, a local contractor and Vice President of the AIDS Assistance Program. Mr. Selleck has worked tirelessly for over 16 years in the desert to raise funds to help individuals in need not only for the AIDS Assistance Program's food voucher service but for other organizations including the Desert AIDS Project, American Heart Association and Arthritis Foundation.

Woman of the Year is Mona Caywood, a multi-talented and award winning singer and performer. Miss Caywood has generously lent her talents to numerous charities and fund raisers for many years in the community.

Male Couple of the Year is Thomas and Robert Van Etten. This couple have been together for over 40 years and have been courageous pioneers in the fight for gay rights, beginning with conditions in their corporate careers. In San Francisco during the AIDS crisis in the early 80s, Thomas and Robert were instrumental in the establishment and support of a number of AIDS support organizations as well as advocating gay rights. Their involvement and caring has continued in our community since moving to the desert in 2000.

Female Couple of the Year is Rosie Fiorentino and Robin Rosenberg, local business women and community activists. Rosie and Robin have tirelessly given their effort to support community organizations including the Desert Dyners and the Desert Pride Center. They are also active in the business community in downtown Palm Springs, including serving on the VillageFest Board of Directors.

Volunteers of the Year are John and Irene Mancini, who in their retirement years have generously supported numerous community charities. They have given a significant amount of time and effort to support the Desert AIDS Project and are major supporters of the AIDS Assistance Program, as well as Caballeros, Gay Associated Youth, GLAAD, Greater Palm Springs Pride, the McCallum Theatre and the Mizell Senior Center.

The Pride organization and the production of the parade and festival is a volunteer, not for profit endeavor and the ever-increasing costs of producing an event that the community expects and deserves are significant. The Board of Greater Palm Springs Pride emphasizes that "Our event is about the power of unity. We cannot do it without the community's help, input and participation." Businesses, organizations and individuals are encouraged to support and participate in Pride by becoming a sponsor, advertising in Pride venues, making a contribution or volunteering to help.

Visit www.PSPride.org for updated information on Pride events. In addition, festival tickets may now be purchased online at the site and online registration, or downloadable forms are available for parade entry or festival vendor space. Those who wish to participate in the parade and festival are encouraged to register early inasmuch as space is limited at both venues and unfortunately, parade and festival participants have to be turned away each year due to space limitations. Information is also available by telephone at 760-416-8711.

Note to Publishers:
Photos of Grand Marshals/Honorees, Authors and Entertainers may be downloaded from: http://homepage.mac.com/tlbridg/FileSharing133.html

Some photos from last year's Pride may be downloaded from:
http://homepage.mac.com/tlbridg/FileSharing61.html

A pdf version of the 2008 Greater Palm Springs Pride Program may be downloaded from:
http://homepage.mac.com/tlbridg/FileSharing128.html