Out In The Park

CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA - Sherri Ford caught up with friends Saturday as they settled in on a blanket, chairs and coolers nearby, in the grass at Chesapeake City Park.
Ford, 28, comes every year to Out in the Park - an annual festival celebrating Hampton Roads' gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. This was the festival's debut in Chesapeake; for more than a decade, it had been held at Norfolk's Lakewood Park.
To many, the change was a good thing.
"It's becoming more mainstream," said Ford, who lives in Norfolk.
She added that moving the venue to Chesapeake reflects the way cities in the area are growing with new developments and new residents. So, too, is Hampton Roads' gay community, she said.
"We're not hidden anymore," Michele Barron, 30, chimed in. She's from Newport News and came to the festival with her partner and their son. "This is really a place that is family- friendly - you're able to bring your kids."
Like Barron, several families, couples and friends sat on blankets or on the grass to listen to the day's entertainment. Others checked out the festival's first beer garden as well as 60 vendors - more than in the past, according to Ed Jones, an executive board member of Hampton Roads Pride, which organized the event.
There were booths providing such items as rainbow-colored jewelry, information about St. Mark's Episcopal Church and books from Lambda Rising in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood.
Members of the Commonwealth Coalition passed out "vote no" literature, too, in reference to a question that will appear on November's ballot, asking voters if they want to amend Virginia's Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. The Commonwealth Coalition is composed of gay rights activists and business and religious organizations.
Opponents say the proposed amendment is discriminatory and could interfere with contracts between unwed heterosexual and same-sex couples dealing with health care, property ownership and child custody.
On Saturday, Franco Ferrandini-Pucci did his part to get the word out, walking through the crowds with a sign that read: "Equal love, equal marriage, equal rights!"
"He's our one-man parade," Jones said.
He usually does something like this at every year's Out in the Park, Ferrandini-Pucci, 71, said. This year, the amendment was on his mind.
"We want you to vote 'no' on all this," he said, pointing.
The festival was the culmination of a week long pride celebration, including events at the Naro Cinema in Norfolk and a cocktail reception for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender veterans.
Keynote speaker Rich Merritt took the stage at 2 p.m. to share some of his personal story, which is chronicled in his book, "Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star."
Merritt encouraged people to stop searching for role models and to instead be empowered by those around them.
"There's no reason to sit back and whine that we don't have a Rosa Parks when there are heroes all around us," he told the audience. "And there's nothing stopping you from becoming your own hero."
Meanwhile, Betty Perry of Virginia Beach strolled past booths with her friend Carol Bland of Norfolk. It was Perry's first visit to Out in the Park. And it was liberating.
"I've been closeted. But I'm not closeted anymore," said Perry, 68. "It's just nice to be with people where you can just be yourself."
from The Virginia Pilot