My Big Gay Summer - Part II: Pride Alive In Green Bay
Interview by Mike Fitzpatrick
As veteran Wisconsin gay pride watchers well know, celebrating pride in Wisconsin is a summer-long sensation. After the record numbers posted by Milwaukee PrideFest, organizers around the state are hopeful that those attendance figures plus the recent political successes for LGBT equality in Wisconsin and around the country during the 40th anniversary of the start of the gay liberation movement will combine into added interest for the upcoming regional pride events.
  Due to a new group in Madison switching the city’s pride event from its traditional date to mid-August, northeast Wisconsin’s Pride Alive is the next big event and now has July all to itself.
  Pride Alive has expanded to five days for its second year, kicking off July 8 with the "Safeguarding Our Lives Together" legal issues workshop at Green Bay's Harmony Café. However, the day-long festival festival on July 11 remains the centerpiece of the week-long party. Quest news editor Mike Fitzpatrick sat down recently to speak with Andrew DeBaker and Andrea Schultz, the tirelessly energetic producers of Pride Alive, to see what’s on tap for the upcoming week.

Quest: Before we get to what’s happening in 2009, tell me a little bit about how the first Pride Alive went last July.

Andrew DeBaker: Last year was the inaugural year for Pride Alive. We walked into it with realistic expectations. If we could hold the event and make sure some people show up and have a good time, we would consider it a success. We originally said if we could get 800-1000 people it would be a success. We had over 2500 people attend.
  We had all sorts of vendors and sponsors, great media coverage. It was an incredible success for a first-time event.
  What we’re doing this year is building on that success - expanding the event , making it bigger and better.
Quest: Give me two examples of how this year’s Pride Alive will be bigger and better.

Andrea Schultz: The first thing that’s super obvious I think is the Pride Alive 5, which is a 5K run or a two mile walk that will start and end at Joannes Park, where Pride Alive will again be held this year. Runners have the option of donating a portion of their registration fee to local charities that are LGBT-supportive: Golden House, which is a domestic abuse shelter that has specific programming for the LGBT community; the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Institute, which works on environmental and conservation issues; and the GLBT Partnership of the Harmony Café, which reaches out to and works with (gay and lesbian) youth in both Green Bay and Appleton.

Andrew: Also, Pride Alive this year runs from Wednesday to Sunday, July 8 to the 12th. The next biggest thing would be the Friday (July 10) Pre-Pride. Something we wanted to do this year is to expand into other areas besides Green Bay so everyone understands that this is definitely a northeastern Wisconsin event. On Friday, July 10, we’re having a movie showing of the Oscar-winning movie “Milk.” After that will will be a “disco diva” drag event at Liberty Hall (Banquet and Convention Center) in Kimberly. The movie showing starts at 8 o’clock, with the drag show to follow immediately afterward. Then after that wraps up we’ll be heading over to Rascals in Appleton for the after-bar party.

Quest: What about the festival itself on July 11? Are there things that are new and different there?

Andrea: Last year we had great success with our main stage entertainment. This year we’re having the nationally known comedian Vickie Shaw as our headliner. We also are having some really great bands from all over the country. We’re also adding a second stage this year with different groups and karaoke. These will be more interactive performances. There will even be hula hooping.

Quest: Hula hooping was very big this year in the dance pavilion at PrideFest. I also understand that you’re having one the the acts that was one of the biggest hits during the afternoon in Milwaukee, the Chicago band Pulsation. I was shooting (candid photos) of the band as the crowd was screaming relentlessly for an encore, even as the next  act was waiting - instruments in hand - to take the stage.

Andrea: Yeah. They’ll be taking the stage in later afternoon, getting everybody ready for Vickie Shaw.

Quest: Are you doing anything to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Stonewall?

Andrew: One of the things we are adding to make the event bigger and better is an LGBT History Tent, similar to PrideFest in Milwaukee, but headed by two local members of the local LGBT community who have been very involved in the last several decades. We will be showcasing the LGBT history of this area for the last 40 years to coincide with Stonewall, but also back to the 50’s and 60’s.

Quest: Is this is the very first attempt to collect the history of the northeast Wisconsin “neighborhood?” I’m aware that most of the archival work done to date has focused on Milwaukee and Madison.

Andrew: Correct. This will focus on northeast Wisconsin, from Oshkosh to Marinette, from Door County to west of Green Bay.

Quest: Tell me about the other pre-Pride events.

Andrew: Thursday night (July 9) will be a LGBT Art Gallery opening. It will be at 319 Broadway, just north of the new Broadway Lounge and Chefusion. That will be showcasing local LGBT artists. There will be wine and hors d’ouerves. It will be a great night to see some art and mingle with the community.
  The Wednesday before that (July 9), we are having a legal protections workshop at Harmony Café in Green Bay from 6 - 9 o’clock. The event will focus not only on couples but individuals as well, talking about the impact of recent events on gaining legal recognition. (The workshop) will wade through what couples need to do to protect themselves in case something should happen.

Andrea: Also on the day of event (July 11) we are having a food drive, to give back to the greater community. We are encouraging people to bring several canned or package food items and drop them off at a specific booth that we will have set up on the grounds. The food will be donated to the Brown County Food & Hunger Network, which serves 18 pantries in the area, including the ARCW food pantry.

Quest: You’ve talked about a number of pre-festival events but you mentioned that this year’s Pride Alive will from from July 9 though the 12th. What is planned for after the festival?

Andrea: We will have on Sunday morning (July 12) a Pride Alive brunch at one of our sponsor locations, Hotel Sierra on Main Street on the east side of Green Bay. That brunch will kick off at 11 AM. That’s also where our partner charities will be receiving their donations from the Pride Alive 5K run.

Andrew: Last year we had people from around the state as well as from around the Midwest.One of the comments we had last year said “it just kind of ended without a finalé.” So we added this brunch as one last chance for people to interact, exchange numbers.

Quest: It sounds like there are a lot of things going on. Are there admission charges for any of these events?

Andrew: The main event on Saturday is going to be completely free and open to the public. For some of the other events, there is a minimal charge: the Friday movie showing has a $5 cover which includes soda and snacks. (Editor’s Note: Quest learned following the interview that because the showing of “Milk” is a public event, festival organizers had to pay a significant exhibition fee.)
  The Sunday Brunch is $13 in advance and $15 at the door. The legal protections workshop nd the gallery opening are free.

Quest: For people who want to simplify their lives, you have put together an attractive package for those wishing to attend several of the events.

Andrea: If you’re planning to attend several events at Pride Alive this year, or if you’re interested in getting some extra goodies at a bargain price, we highly recommend you getting the Pride Alive VIP Pass. The passes are available through the website (www.newpride.org) and at Rascal’s Bar & Grill.
  The VIP Pass gets you into the movie and drag show performance. It gets you one of our Pride Alive goodie bags that we are giving out to the runners and volunteers. It gets you drink tickets for Pride; it gets you raffle tickets for Pride. It gets you a Pride Alive 2009 t-shirt. It also gets you an autographed copy of Vickie Shaw’s tour DVD and it gives you admission into the brunch. For only $50, the (VIP Pass) gives you a more than $100 value.

Quest: So its not only a VIP Pass, its a bargain package as well. Have you seen any interest in these  yet?

Andrew: We have already sold some of these, especially from people who are coming from out of town and are planning to make a weekend of it. It’s a good way to simplify everything for them.

Quest: Have you made any accommodations available for people who are coming in from out of town?

Andrew: Yes. Hotel Sierra is the official hotel for Pride Alive this year. They have a number of rooms set aside at a special Pride Alive rate. Hotel Sierra is a remodeled hotel with brand new rooms and really just amazing. By calling Hotel Sierra (800-474-3772) and mention they’re coming in for Pride Alive and they will hook them up with that special rate.

Quest: So let’s get down to the party angle. What kind of mass quantities of fun stuff are Pride Alive attendees going to get to eat and drink?

Andrea: (laughs) As always, we will have a beer tent at Pride Alive, that will be sort of the party zone.

Andrew: This year’s Beer Tent will have a beach-swim suit-lifeguard sorta theme. Some of the bartenders will be enjoying the sun in beach attire.

Andrea: You might see some topless male bartenders. I’m thinking that might be a possibility.

Andrew: The dunk tank will be back as well. Last year it was a lot of fun, both for the people throwing the balls and the people in the tank.

Andrea: And who doesn’t love karaoke? Well, some people don’t (laughs). But if karaoke is your thing, we’ll have hours of it during the day.

Quest: How about things to eat?

Andrea: A number of our food vendors  are back this year. We’re going to have everything from pizza to iced coffee drinks. There will be the Indian tacos that were so popular last year. And there will be the typical picnic food:  hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, cole slaw - all that stuff.

Andrew: Positive Voice will be there with their popular cheesecake on a stick.

Quest: How about activities for families?

Andrea: We were really conscious of the fact that many in the LGBT community do have children and have some place to go where they can just be themselves. This year we really wanted to up the number of things that families could do. We’re going to have a bigger and better children’s area. Starbucks is taking the lead on organizing some fun activities for kids. Also, on our second stage we’re going to have the  recording artist Tom Pease, a children’s entertainer.

Quest: Anything else we should know about Pride Alive for the big day July 11?

Andrew and Andrea: We want to mention some of the sponsors who have been with us both since last year and new sponsors this year. Rainbow Over Wisconsin is our lead sponsor again this year. Oneida Bingo & Casino, Kimberly-Clark, Adagio Dance Studio in Appleton, Starbucks, Positive Voice, Quest, Arketype and Hotel Sierra.

Andrew: We couldn’t put on an event like this - as most people know - without the generous support of our sponsors.  they’ve been again just amazing this year.

Andrea: And not just high level sponsors, who are going to get a lot of attention that day. There are lots of others - like people who own a small shop and are willing to donate items to the raffle - which are are going to have again this year with some amazing prizes.

Andrew: We’re raffling of a Las Vegas vacation package. We’ll be offering a Jim Brickman music concert package. We’ve got some really great things to raffle off this year.

Andrea: And there’ll be a 50/50 raffle again - who doesn’t love the chance to win a little pocket cash? And we have the vendors - over 45 are already signed up - but we’re still getting applications, so we should have between 50-55 vendors all together this year.

Quest: What’s your sense of what’s going on in the community. Do you think there’s excitement building?

Andrea: You know, every time I mention that I’m doing something with Pride Alive, people say “Oh yeah, I was there last year!” And I think, “I don’t remember seeing you there.” But there were so many people. I’m hoping there’s a lot of great buzz going on. People remember how well it went off last year.

Andrew: I think last year some people weren’t sure what it was going to be. It was new. A lot of times we got the comment, “In Green Bay?” Now that people know that it happened, they’re excited for it. We’ve had more people step up to volunteer, get involved. It’s been amazing.
  There’s so much that’s going to go on this year: to get more specifics, people should go to our website - www.newpride.org - we update that almost daily.

Andrea: And if you’re not into the Internet web thing, go to one of your local bars, check out a poster and grab one of our brand new Pride Alive coasters on the bar. It has the whole schedule right on it. We’re encouraging people to take the coasters with them as a reminder. And you can always call Andrew at 920-471-3260.  And we still need a few more volunteers, both for the pre-Pride and the events on Saturday. We can always use the extra help.