Many Rogers Park residents and their friends celebrated this Pride Sunday a little closer to home at Pride North, the new Northside Pride festival held along Glenwood Ave. between Morse and Lunt.
The festival drew an overall crowd of just over 2,700 attendees. Folks had the chance to dance to the sounds of Moosebox ( the combined talents of DJs Marc "Moose" Moder and Voxbox ) and street festival staple Sixteen Candles, who kept the crowd going with their special blend of '80s hits.
Pride North's main sponsor was The Glenwood, the Rogers Park bar which welcomes an even mix of gay, straight, men, women, etc. The bar's diversity was reflected in the crowd at the festival.
Many festival goers were heard to comment that they didn't even bother to go to the parade this year. This may mark the beginning of a trend of people celebrating Pride at smaller festivals rather than all at the same crowded event.
Photos and text by Kirk Williamson. More photos available in the next issue of Nightspots.