The Pride’s Testified

The attitude was relaxed, but the message was strong.

The two-day 11th annual Orange County Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival kicked off Saturday, drawing singles as well as families and highlighting the gay community’s campaign of empowerment for the next millennium.

Outside a tent where a deejay was spinning disco hits, Henrietta Navarro, 32, took in the sunshine and explained why she drove an hour from San Marino to attend the festival at UC Irvine’s Aldrich Park.

“I get to be myself here,” Navarro said. “When we’re here, we can be whoever we are and want to be.

“It relieves some of the stress of having to hide that sometimes. The fact that it’s on a college campus attracts a lot of different people. I like the diversity.”

Navarro’s need to be accepted resonated with other festival-goers and organizers who said they were pleased the event attracted big corporate sponsors for the first time.

The festival’s theme, “A Prideful Past, a Powerful Future,” stresses the community’s intent to become a stronger political and economic force, said Jackie Wayman, president of Orange County Cultural Pride.

“It’s about making a powerful future for ourselves,” Wayman said. “The gay community, by and large, is intelligent, educated, and most of us have money. We are looking for companies that want to do business with us without treating us in a derogatory fashion. I think businesses are starting to recognize the importance of our community.”

The event’s traditional coffeehouse was replaced this year by a House of Blues tent where participants enjoyed coffee and dessert in the funky style of the Sunset Boulevard restaurant.

There also was a live music stage, a square-dancing tent, church outreach programs and vendors selling a variety of ethnic foods.

Support groups and a host of organizations that cater to the needs of gays and lesbians also occupied booths.

Volunteers selling beer and margaritas line-danced in their booths.

“The most important tent in the world is the pink Cadillac margarita tent,” joked a 39-year-old man who did not want to be identified because he was at the festival celebrating a “pre-divorce party.”

“This is where we can relax and not worry about anything,” said Ulysses Lopez, 21, his friend.

The event’s main feature is a pride parade today on Campus Drive. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Organizers, who hope to draw 25,000 supporters, were disappointed with the low turnout Saturday afternoon.

“It will definitely pick up at night,” said Serrena Stallmo, one of the vendors. “For me, this is about camaraderie. I can count on running into somebody I haven’t seen in 10 or 15 years. It’s about unity.”

Her mother, Mary Stallmo, attending the festival to support her daughter, added: “When you see all of the people, it’s really something.”