PRIDE OF THE AMERICAS FINALLY HAPPENS

John Hayden

It was a scaled back version of the original vision. But despite years of delays, an exodus of leadership, and several critical issues bordering on scandal, Pride of the Americas (POTA) finally happened.

It wasn’t a grand, hemispheric event attracting visitors from Newfoundland to the tip of Argentina. However, it was a fun event with a local feel.

Friday Night Reunion

The weekend kicked off in Wilton Manors with Pride On the Drive. On a stage in front of Hunters Nightclub, Thunderpuss held their first performance in nearly 19 years. More than 2,400 people registered for the show and it felt like all of them showed up.

The area in front of the stage was packed with fans and dancers, and Thunderpuss delivered a fun set with a heavy dose of Whitney Houston remixes.

Across the parking lot, another stage was set up, this one giving off a caribbean vibe. A couple of food trucks and outside bars were set up. Though not as busy as the stage at Hunters, the crowd seemed to have a good time.

Pride On the Drive was created to fill the void created when POTA abandoned plans for any Friday night events.

PARADE & PARTY

Saturday started with a parade down A1A to Las Olas then turning right and leading to the main POTA event at Las Olas Intracoastal Promenade Park. The parade was very short, with only about forty groups and organizations. Truncating the parade was necessary because Pride Fort Lauderdale, the organizers of POTA, only had the street for three hours, which included time to close and reopen the road.

There was a bit of a crowd at A1A and Las Olas near the reviewing stand, but beyond that, there were few, if any, spots where the crowd was two deep or more.

The main event was well organized and touched on international themes to some extent. On arrival, guests walked down a long, fenced in passageway adorned with most if not all versions of pride flags (bisexual, trans, etc.). Once in the park, there were flags from other pride gatherings, signed by their attendees. There were several dozen vendors for everything from promoting safe sex and