Bigger and better than ever, the 2004 Delaware Pride Festival is an event you want to be sure to mark on your calendar! This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, September 18, from noon until 6 p.m. at Cape Henlopen State Park Gordon’s Pond (North Shores), in Rehoboth Beach. Last year’s festival, the seventh annual, brought together over 2,000 members of the local GLBT community for a day of celebration, entertainment, and call to action. It was by far the largest turnout for Delaware Pride, and they’re expecting an even bigger crowd in 2004.

Delaware Pride has put together an extraordinary entertainment roster for this year’s festival. Headlining the festival is dance music diva Martha Wash, formerly of The Weather Girls, of "It’s Raining Men" fame. Miss Wash has been a regular on the dance music scene for three decades. She was the "ghost voice" behind many C + C Music Factory smash hits, and she continues to tour today. In addition to Miss Wash, the nationally renowned DC Cowboys will make a special appearance. The DC Cowboys are a gay male line-dancing group who has performed to rave reviews in our nation’s capitol and the surrounding area. You’ll think these boys’ blue jeans are painted on!

In addition to Martha Wash and the DC Cowboys, there will be plenty of live music and comedy to wow the crowd, including Sister Funk, Ruth Gerson, and Steve Gelman. Also, your favorite local drag queens and kings will perform throughout the day. This year’s drag stars include Anita Mann, Miss 814 and Empress of All the Crowns III; Tina Montgomery, Philly’s Supreme Diva; ChiChi LaBangBang, former Miss Wilmington; southern Delaware favorite Tisha Towers; The Incomparable Joey Josephs; and Philly’s hottest drag king, Rome. As if all this weren’t enough, Delaware Pride has extended an invitation to all statewide elected officials to speak at this year’s festival. Keep an eye on the stage area throughout the day so you’re sure not to miss anything!

In addition to the dazzling entertainment on the stage, there will be a number of vendors and tables for you to peruse on the park grounds. Vendors will have many types of food and non-alcoholic drink, clothing, jewelry, books, art, gifts, and souvenirs. Also, there will be numerous tables representing political groups, community organizations, youth groups, churches, and GLBT health concerns. Be sure to speak to the representatives of these wonderful Delaware organizations. Don’t be shy! Find out how you can get involved in your local GLBT community and make a difference that will last for years to come. Speaking of getting involved, feel free to stop by the Delaware Pride table, so you can find out how to shape next year’s festival and events throughout the year.

If you have never been to the Delaware Pride Festival held each fall, you may be wondering what it’s like. First of all, Delaware Pride is adamant about keeping the festival family-friendly. All entertainment and vendors are held to a strict "PG" rating, so you don’t have to worry about bringing along your children or other youngsters. The festival regularly features children’s activities like face painting and pumpkin-carving. The atmosphere at the festival is very friendly and holds true to the original meaning of the name Rehoboth—"room for all." People of all ages, races, genders, and sexual orientations—gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered—are warmly invited to attend. Although some GLBT persons prefer a large city atmosphere, Delaware is blessed with a smaller but tight-knit, dedicated, welcoming GLBT community.

This year’s festival will be the same as previous years’ festivals in many ways, and different in other ways. The festival still serves as one of Delaware’s largest annual gathering of GLBT persons and their allies, and it will still be open to all people, tons of fun, and family-friendly. Once again, the festival will be held at the beach, to draw the maximum number of attendees to (hopefully!) bask in the sunshine. Rehoboth Beach is a regular destination for GLBT locals and visitors, and Delaware Pride has no plans to move the festival back to Wilmington, its original site. The difference in this year’s festival will be simple—bigger and better than ever! The 2004 festival will have more vendors and tables and big-name entertainment than you can shake a pink stick at. This year, Delaware Pride is anticipating another record crowd, continuing the attendance increase each year since the festival’s inception. Last year’s festival attendance increase over the prior year was phenomenal, and Delaware Pride expects another huge attendance increase this year.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the wonderful work of Delaware Pride, here are a few facts about the organization. According to its mission statement, "Delaware Pride is dedicated to creating a more visible and united GLBT community through outreach, education, and referrals." Delaware Pride is an entirely volunteer-run organization. All funds raised throughout the year go toward presenting the annual Pride Festival each fall. Most of the money left over at the end of the year is then awarded to other organizations through grants, which are announced at the beginning of January each year. Those Delaware Pride volunteers are some busy bees! In addition to planning the annual festival, Delaware Pride offers a number of social and fundraising events throughout the year including Gay Bingo, Pride Pins bowling, Roller Skating, dances, and films. Delaware Pride supports and works hand-in-hand with other local GLBT organizations to support the local GLBT community.