Milwaukee - PrideFest kicks off Milwaukee’s lakefront festival season June 9 - 11 with three nights of major entertainment, more than 100 performances and activities and over 150 food and merchandise vendors. 
  PrideFest is Wisconsin’s largest celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture and community and is held annually at the Henry W. Maier Festival Grounds on Milwaukee’s lakefront.  Tickets are $12 daily and $25 for a Weekend Pass at www.pridefest.com.  Children under 12 get in free (accompanied by a parent or guardian).
  After paring down to two days in 2004, PrideFest returns to form by bringing Friday night back to the schedule with The Community Gathering, a kick-off celebration for Pride weekend featuring internationally acclaimed comedienne Margaret Cho.
  Friday night’s program also will highlight Voices for a Fair Wisconsin, featuring representatives of the Fair Wisconsin statewide coalition working to educate the community about the proposed state constitutional amendment to ban civil unions.  Two dollars from every admission Friday night will be donated to the coalition. Fair Wisconsin’s exclusive “meet and greet” with Cho will be held immediately following the comedienne’s show, and was nearly sold out at Quest’s deadline.
  Additional entertainment Friday night will include Lady Bunny, creator of Wigstock, the renowned festival of camp that delighted up to 40,000 New Yorkers every Labor Day, gay rapper LISP, and a sneak preview of Pride Idol.
  In addition, the Pump! Dance Pavilion will kick off the summer’s hottest outdoor dance party with an upgraded sound and light system, and fireworks will light up the sky at approximately 9:30 PM.
  PrideFest gets into full swing on Saturday, June 10th with six stages of entertainment and educational activities.  Saturday’s musical lineup features hitmakers Berlin (“Take My Breath Away,” “No More Words,” “The Metro”), Martha Wash (“It’s Raining Men”, “Gonna Make Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”) and Bow Wow Wow (“I Want Candy”) performing the headliner show at the Miller Lite Pavilion, as well as many independent favorites like Jill Sobule, Jinx Titanic, the Cathy Richardson Band, and Tret Fure,  MorrisonPoe, and comedian Bruce Daniels. 
  Sunday’s headline performances will feature the sophisticated sounds of powerhouse group En Vogue (“Hold On”, “My Lovin’ (Never Gonna Get It)”, “Free Your Mind”, “Whatta Man”).  Opening act will be Belgian dance-pop duo DHT featuring Edmée, who had one of the year’s biggest radio hits, “Listen to Your Heart.”  Other entertainment highlights include comedienne Michele Balan, who is appearing on this summer’s NBC program, “Last Comic Standing”; Milwaukee favorite Pamela Means; internationally acclaimed blues guitarist Sue DaBaco and her band Wise Fools; and the finals for PrideFest’s very popular Pride Idol talent contest.  
  Family and youth activities are scheduled Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, including visits from the Humane Society and a youth dance contest, “So You Think You Can Prance?”   Educational and information panels will be held throughout the weekend at the Stonewall Pavilion and will feature discussions on health topics, a presentation on transgender identity, Latina/Latino poetry performances, and even a graduation ceremony for students from Milwaukee’s Alliance School.
    New this year, PrideFest features a martini bar with premium beverages Effen Vodka, Hendricks Gin and Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Rum, as well as five wine selections from Intermezzo Wine Bar.  The wine bar will feature coffee, wine and cold beverages in a relaxing garden environment. 
  PrideFest will also add the Rainbow Pavilion, a full stage at the north end of the grounds, and the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center (MGAC) Cafe and Wine Bar,  the Milwaukee LGBT History Project and selections from the Milwaukee Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.  
  This year’s event marks PrideFest’s first festival following the retirement last October of debt incurred in 2003.  As a result of a reorganization and successful 2004 and 2005 festivals, PrideFest has emerged bigger and stronger than ever.
  Festival hours are: Friday from6 PM to Midnight; Saturday from 11 AM to Midnight; and Sunday from 11 AM to 10PM. PrideFest will offer free entrance with donation of four non-perishable food items Saturday and Sunday, 11 AM to 1PM. Donations will benefit the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin’s Food Pantries in Milwaukee, Green Bay, Kenosha and LaCrosse.  Children under 12 accompanied by a parent or guardian receive free admission all weekend. 
  The full schedule for PrideFest is available at www.pridefest.com.