Drag queen Nuclia Waste crafted a dress worthy of a parade from a kiddie’s swimming pool and topped the ensemble with an inflatable octopus.
Waste, a member of the comedy drag act Demented Divas, was among the more flamboyant marchers in the PrideFest 2008 parade Sunday morning that flowed down East Colfax Avenue and into the region’s largest celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered culture.
“I am my own float,” he said.
PrideFest commemorates the birth of the modern gay-rights movement. Organizers estimated more than 200,000 people participated in the two-day festival in Denver’s Civic Center that promotes unity with a group of people who have frequently been discriminated against.
Jean Hodges, 74, a retired teacher, said that almost 20 years ago, her son advised her not to tell anyone that he was gay.
And so Hodges kept her mouth shut, even when some of her students at Boulder High School made homophobic remarks. “It was really hard for me.”
But as the gay-rights movement made advancements and it became less acceptable to discriminate against gays, Hodges became active with Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays, a non-profit that works to end discrimination. “He doesn’t do parades,” she said of her son. “I am the activist in the family.
Things have changed since 1992, when her son came out, said Hodges, who carried a sign that said: “I love my gay son.” The movement “has changed what the norms are, it is no longer OK to harass people.”
John Wranesh, 44, rode the parade route in a 1977 Mercury Cougar Villager station wagon trimmed in polished chrome.
“This is a wonderful event, there is a great sense of community,” said Wranesh, a member of the Colorado Chapter of Lambda Car Club International.
The festival also assures that people don’t forget their history, said Wranesh, who has marched in the parade each of the last five years.
PrideFest commemorates the Stonewall Riots which began on June 28, 1969, when New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village.
“This is a way of preserving a part of history,” Wranesh said.
It was Dannette Muselman’s first year marching in the parade.
Muselman, 24, a graduate student at University of Colorado-Denver, is straight.
In the past years she came to PrideFest to enjoy the festivities. “I always loved going every year. This year I wanted to get involved with the community. I wanted to show support instead of just going to PrideFest.”
A rally and entertainment followed, with Nuclia Waste’s Demented Divas among the acts on the performance roster.
Waste, who sported 2-inch long gold eye lashes, has a formula for determining the age of a drag queen. He multiplies his age by 0 and then adds 29.
“A drag queen is always 29 years old,” he said.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
