Roanoke's 21st Annual Pride in The Park this Sunday

Break out your pride wear and your rainbow banners boys and girls, it's time to get your queer freak on! The Star City's 21st Annual Pride in the Park takes place this weekend at Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke. From the looks of the schedule, it should be a great day to enjoy meeting up with friends you haven't seen all year and enjoying some great entertainment. 

The weather is supposed to be sunny, clear and hot, so wear something skimpy and protesty. That's right, there is a chance that there will be press coverage, so bring your protest posters and wear your political t-shirts. Let's bring back the spirit of activism to our annual Pride celebrations. It's about so much more than partying. Our rights are being violated on a daily basis. This is your chance to make yourself heard.

I've been corresponding via FaceBook with Newschannel 10's Jay Warren and challenging the local newsman to do more to cover the local LGBT community. We've got a lot going on throughout the year, as more and more of us are getting involved in the fight for full equality. 

As I pointed out to Jay, by ignoring us our local news media are missing out on some compelling local stories and local insights on national issues. We deserve more than just a 20-second blurb about Pride once a year. Let's see if they have the guts do the right thing this time around.

I'll be there taking pics, talking to people and gettin' my gay groove on. I hope you will be too! Visit the Roanoke Pride website for more information.