Got Pride?

Jon Koblin’s New York Observer article got us wondering how many of you crazy kids will be heading out to pride this weekend.

In case you don’t remember, Andrew Sullivan, Koblin snuck into the underbelly of New York’s vicious gay scene to investigate the ups and recent downs of New York Gay Pride. For the first time since its inception, Heritage of Pride, the corporate loving organizers of pride, are in the red. Koblin explains:

The financial picture is bleak. In 2004, Heritage of Pride raised $2 million for the event, while in 2005 that dropped to $1.8 million and last year that fell to $1.5 million, according to financial statements released by the organization. Organizers fear that number could drop again this year, with operating costs standing steady at $1.6 million.

The number of gay businesses that have given to the parade has declined, said [HOPper] Mr. O’Dell. For the first time, mailings sent to individual donors were discontinued this year; the costs of the mailings were too expensive and the donations were too few.

“We need money,” said Mr. Spafford [of Heritage of Pride]. “This year we’re in a deficit and we shouldn’t be running under.”

As we discussed yesterday, pride’s slow death stems from a multiplicty of reasons. We won’t allow ourselves to get bogged by all that social dynamics, but we are intrigued: will you be out and about on gay pride?