Lesbian Gay Pride Week Events Revived In Ann Arbor

Lesbian/Gay Pride Week events revived in Ann Arbor

■ Members of the gay community plan to participate in local rally as well as activities scheduled in Lansing.

By DAVE WILKINS

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

The Ann Arbor Lesbian/Gay Pride Week rally is back.

For the past few years, gay activists have set aside local Pride Week rallies to focus their efforts on state-level activities, said Jim Toy, co-coordinator of the Lesbian and Gay Male Programs Office at the University of Michigan.

“This year, we’re going to tiy to do both,” Toy said.

The local rally is set for noon to 2 p.m. Friday in Federal Plaza at the corner of South Fifth Avenue and East Liberty
Street in downtown Ann Arbor. State Rep. Lynn Rivers, D-Ann Arbor, will be one of the speakers.

Pride Week events continue Saturday with a canoe trip, starting at 11 a.m., from Argo Park to Gallup Park. The third annual Pride Week picnic is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday in Wheeler Park, at Depot Street between North Fourth and Fifth avenues.

On Sunday, the action shifts to Lansing, where a memorial service for AIDS victims is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on the steps of the Capitol Building, followed by an ecumenical service in Riverfront Park at 10:30 a.m.

A march from the Lansing City Market to the Capitol is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. It will be followed by a rally on the east steps of the Capitol Building about 2:30 p.m.

Then there will be a festival at Riverfront Park until about 7 p.m.

In Ann Arbor, a carpool will leave for Lansing from Arborland at 11 a.m. Sunday, Toy said. For more information, call 741-0659.

“The message that’s going to be sent out is that we are from every aspect of America. ... We’re all-inclusive,” said Jacke Randall, office coordinator at the Michigan Organization for Human Rights and a member of the committee that organized the Lansing events. “What we are asking for is not special rights, but basic civil rights. That seems to be the biggest misconception in America today.”