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South Carolina Gears Up To Be ‘So Gay’ for Pride

■ The  “So Gay” ads (above) on the escalators at the Leicester Square London Underground station.  South Carolina politicians were aghast and ordered them removed.  photo courtesy www.OutNowConsulting.com. Within a day of the politicians complaining, Gay Pride organisers in Columbia had 'adopted' the ad's tag line (below)

COLUMBIA, September 11, 2008  –  South Carolina will be ‘so gay’ later this month with the intentional help of celebrity drag diva and recording artist RuPaul – and the unintentional help of state officials.

Organisers of South Carolina Pride are inviting the public to celebrate its annual Gay Pride events in the capital city, Columbia.

But before Pride itself is the ‘press conference’, set for next week, when organisers will take a “So Gay” banner to the steps of the State House for a ‘photo-op’.

Pride events include a film festival, a boat cruise, a pageant, parade and an afternoon celebration – free and open to the public – at Finlay Park on Saturday, September 20.

RuPaul, international recording artist and star of the upcoming reality series, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will be featured during the Finlay Park celebration.

A diva of stage and screen, RuPaul’s career spans 30 years, from her hit TV show on VH1 to her upcoming LOGO TV series, "RuPaul's Drag Race."  RuPaul was the inaugural VIVA GLAM spokesperson for the M·A·C AIDS FUND, a foundation that has raised more than $100 million dollars to fight HIV and AIDS around the world.

“We are extremely excited to have RuPaul as the headliner for SC Pride 2008, and we’re looking forward to her performance in Finlay Park on September 20,” says Ryan Wilson, president of South Carolina Pride

“RuPaul crosses cultural barriers, and we hope her performance draws a large, diverse crowd to Finlay Park.”

This year’s events took an interesting turn due to the recent controversy involving a state sponsored marketing campaign.

In July, Governor Mark Sanford ordered the SC Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Department to stop an ad agreement with Amro Worldwide, a travel promoter, after it began to market the state to potential gay tourists.

Parks, Recreation, and Tourism claimed that the ad campaign – on the London underground – was never properly approved and was conducted by a “lower level employee.”

Republican State Senator David Thomas  even called for an investigation.  Both Gov. Sanford and Sen. Thomas denied it was homophobia that led to the pulling of the ads.

Both said it wasn’t right to use state dollars to market to groups with a “specific social agenda”.

The controversy led to international, mostly negative, attention to the state, including ridicule on a segment of “The Colbert Report”.

While Sanford and Thomas backtracked from their original comments, the state refused to pay the nearly $5,000 share of the ad campaign.

SC Pride stepped in and offered to raise this money to pay South Carolina’s debt and has raised over $1,000 to date.

Mr. Wilson said SC Pride is doing this to send out the message that despite the homophobic comments of some public officials, South Carolina is a welcoming place for gays and lesbians.

Amro Worldwide is backing South Carolina Pride.  The company is the official travel agency of the Pride and is offering a $75 discount on bookings of $500 or more made by US residents.

Seed Newsvine  

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