Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Pride Parade Goeth Before Them All. Wrath Next? Greed?

Hillcrest Looks Forward to Remaining Six "Capital Parades."

Will Sloth Bother to Show Up?

CONCRETE AGENDA BUNKER BENEATH THE CENTER, HILLCREST - The 2011 Pride Parade is history now, and by all accounts, it was a smash success. From gay politicos (Bonnie Dumanis, Carl DeMaio) to gay-friendly Mayor Sanders to incoming SDSU President Eliot "Green is My Favorite Color of the Rainbow" Hirshman - who pledged "Every day in every way, I'll make this school a bit more gay" in his first day on the job - prominent San Diegans from all walks of life marched side by side with the city's GLBT community to show their support for the full equality of all Americans and for leather daddy dungeon raves.

But now that the glitter and greasepaint have been cleaned up, says The Center Parade Planner Elaine Marshall, it's time to look ahead and gear up for the Lust Parade, the Greed Parade, the Envy Parade, the Wrath Parade, the Gluttony Parade, and who knows, maybe even the Sloth Parade. ("Though that last one is usually just a couple of dudes in recliners, riding in the back of a pickup truck," admits Marshall.)

Artist's rendering of the next Capital Parade planned for Hillcrest.

"Pride is the biggie, of course," stresses Marshall. "Really, it's the root of all the parades - without Pride, most of these people wouldn't have the moxie to get out and march in public support of their particular community. The Envy folks tend the covet the spotlight, and the guys at Wrath are kind of angry about the relative lack of media coverage. But the simple fact is, it all starts with Pride."

Still, she says, the lesser of the Capital Parades are not without their uniquely attractive aspects. "Gluttony tends to be less of a parade than a sustained walking tour of every imaginable sort of Street Food. Fried dough and bratwursts are just the beginning here. Once, we had a guy selling foie gras corn dogs. And ever since the food truck boom, it really has become something to behold. People tend to purge along the way just so they can keep moving, and we've had to place extra trash cans on every block to hold all the vomit."

In a way, says Marshall, the smaller parades, "because they haven't gone quite as mainstream, maintain a little more edge" than Pride, which has toned down some of its more preening aspects in recent years. (Viz. the marked decrease in baby-oil related slip-and-fall accidents along the route.) Wrath, for instance, "is not something for the faint of heart. The screaming alone can be unsettling for outsiders, and even though we've mandated the use of foam bats instead of aluminum, there are always a few folks who wind up in the emergency room. And Lust? Let me put it this way. We encourage people to bring their kids to Pride. For Lust, spectators must have ID showing them to be at least 18 years old. And it doesn't hurt to be a little bit drunk."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots
Next Article

Last plane out of Seoul, 1950

Memories of a daring escape at the start of a war

Hillcrest Looks Forward to Remaining Six "Capital Parades."

Will Sloth Bother to Show Up?

CONCRETE AGENDA BUNKER BENEATH THE CENTER, HILLCREST - The 2011 Pride Parade is history now, and by all accounts, it was a smash success. From gay politicos (Bonnie Dumanis, Carl DeMaio) to gay-friendly Mayor Sanders to incoming SDSU President Eliot "Green is My Favorite Color of the Rainbow" Hirshman - who pledged "Every day in every way, I'll make this school a bit more gay" in his first day on the job - prominent San Diegans from all walks of life marched side by side with the city's GLBT community to show their support for the full equality of all Americans and for leather daddy dungeon raves.

But now that the glitter and greasepaint have been cleaned up, says The Center Parade Planner Elaine Marshall, it's time to look ahead and gear up for the Lust Parade, the Greed Parade, the Envy Parade, the Wrath Parade, the Gluttony Parade, and who knows, maybe even the Sloth Parade. ("Though that last one is usually just a couple of dudes in recliners, riding in the back of a pickup truck," admits Marshall.)

Artist's rendering of the next Capital Parade planned for Hillcrest.

"Pride is the biggie, of course," stresses Marshall. "Really, it's the root of all the parades - without Pride, most of these people wouldn't have the moxie to get out and march in public support of their particular community. The Envy folks tend the covet the spotlight, and the guys at Wrath are kind of angry about the relative lack of media coverage. But the simple fact is, it all starts with Pride."

Still, she says, the lesser of the Capital Parades are not without their uniquely attractive aspects. "Gluttony tends to be less of a parade than a sustained walking tour of every imaginable sort of Street Food. Fried dough and bratwursts are just the beginning here. Once, we had a guy selling foie gras corn dogs. And ever since the food truck boom, it really has become something to behold. People tend to purge along the way just so they can keep moving, and we've had to place extra trash cans on every block to hold all the vomit."

In a way, says Marshall, the smaller parades, "because they haven't gone quite as mainstream, maintain a little more edge" than Pride, which has toned down some of its more preening aspects in recent years. (Viz. the marked decrease in baby-oil related slip-and-fall accidents along the route.) Wrath, for instance, "is not something for the faint of heart. The screaming alone can be unsettling for outsiders, and even though we've mandated the use of foam bats instead of aluminum, there are always a few folks who wind up in the emergency room. And Lust? Let me put it this way. We encourage people to bring their kids to Pride. For Lust, spectators must have ID showing them to be at least 18 years old. And it doesn't hurt to be a little bit drunk."

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Why Does Obama Hate San Diego?

Next Article

Of leather kilts and opposing bulwarks

Human rights groups enter fray over public nudity at Hillcrest Pride parade
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader