The TBT (Tampa Bay Times) Float.. I wonder if San Antonio ever gets it's gay act together if there would be a PrimeTime gay pride float...Whatcha think Helen?

Toss me some beads!!! The only thing I miss at this parade is yelling "Shoes, Shoes, Shoes" -- Check of the Fiesta pictures for further explanation.

Okay.. I had to take a pic of this guy in blue..... Damn if I had that body....or if I had that body on top of, or under me!!!!! Did I say that?

Fags with flags! These guys promote the AIDS walk, that will happen this year on September 9th. Join team Samantha Kitty and walk for a cure! Its just a 5k, and you can stagger that far!

And then the "Good Christians" show up. Five of them - 50,000 of us and they were protected by gay cops... Okay I have gone on record before that this is the good old USA so they do have a right to speak their minds, but in the middle of our event???

Pleazzzzzze Martha.... If we showed up outside their church we'd get arrested I'm sure... Now to "our" credit no one got mean our nasty with them, they just faced chants of "Shame, Shame, Shame". If you really want to get pissed off over some whakos demented interpretation of the Bible and such visit www.godhatesfags.com This site will get you really pissed off, and be sure if you send them an e-mail, keep it nice and be sure to let Fred Phelps and his followers you came from samanthakitty.com ....I'm sure my 'lil place is on their radar too...

According to this sign, they hate everyone.... I watched this "good Christian" tell the folks at the Methodist and Lutheran Church tables that they were going to hell....

This guy's sign said that anyone with pride is going to hell. He got into it with the Catholic Church group, and made some nasty comments about the pope.

Damn, I thought I got a pic of the front of this sign, but it showed Jesus being whipped, and that he was still suffering in hell because he died for sinners, hence he's in Hell..

St. Petersburg, Florida — From motorcycles to floats, the young and not-so-young, the parade made it's way down Central Avenue in St. Petersburg Saturday morning. Crowds lined the route, and so did dozens of vendors, including many who were making a first appearance at the parade. Many say they felt compelled to come here, since other communities aren't as welcoming of gay pride events. Michele Clark brought her sister and friends to help her set up her booth. Clark remembers the first St. Pete Pride parade four years ago.

“It was small, but I knew it had potential, the route was very short, but each year it gets bigger and bigger. It shows St. Petersburg is accepting. I'm thrilled to live here. I think (this shows in other communities the gay community ) will make five steps forward and two back, then we'll go five steps forward again. ”

Parade-goers could also stop by for an AIDS test. With rapid testing, patients can find out if they test positive in 40 minutes, rather than several weeks. Health care experts hope this will encourage people to get tested. The goal is that by 2010, 80% of Florida residents will know their AIDS status. To find a testing site near you, log onto www.myflorida.gov.

ST. PETERSBURG - Stretching six blocks between two rows of white canopies, the rainbow flag of St. Pete Pride could not be missed.

The flag, and the cheers that greeted it, heralded the fourth annual festival on Central Avenue. Roughly 45,000 people celebrated - the most in the event's history, said event co-chairwoman Jennifer Edwards.

"We're getting a lot more of corporate America to realize that we're more than just a political force, we're an economic force," Edwards said.

"That's taking into account all the transportation, food and entertainment costs," she said. "This has become a destination event. We advertise in Germany and England, and people come."

Wearing a tiara and waving a wand, Janet Howe is the self-proclaimed "price fairy" of Central Avenue. Her store, Janet's Antiques, rang up good sales Saturday, especially after a late afternoon thunderstorm drove several guests inside, she said.

Howe, 52, said she was pleased this year's parade didn't end at the festival's entrance as it has done in the past. Marchers came down the festival's six blocks on Central Avenue to the entertainment stage before disbanding.

"It's much more fun to have it go right down the street," she said. "It's fun to be right in the heart of it. We anticipated the crowds coming, so we spruced up."

Sitting between booths hawking real estate, bank cards and homemade jewelry, actress Margaret O'Brien smiled serenely and signed autographs. At the age of 8 in 1944, O'Brien received an honorary Academy Award statuette as the "outstanding child actress of 1944" for "Meet Me in St. Louis."

"She was a great performer," O'Brien said. "She had lots of problems along the way and yet was a survivor. They have great sympathy for her."

New to the festival, the Florida Gay Rodeo Association signed up seven new members Saturday, said President Brian Hodges. The group formed in March 2005 and has about 262 members. The FGRA held its first Sunshine Stampede rodeo in April in Davie.

"It's about returning to our roots for some, and it's a new venue for those who have always had a fascination for rural activities," he said.

Tampa's own gay pride festival, Winter Pride, attracted a much smaller crowd of about 5,000 in its inaugural event at Lowry Park in February, but it's growing, said organizer Brian Feist, who attended the pride event Saturday.

The next Winter Pride will be Feb... 24, with more room for vendors, who were crowded at this year's event, he said.

"Each event has its own unique character," Feist said. "That could be lost if they formed under a larger group."

By midafternoon, the sun had chased Helene Curnow under a store canopy while she waited for her partner of 21 years, Robin Cruse, to finish shopping among the booths. This was the Gulfport couple's third time attending St. Pete Pride.

"It's amazing to see," she said, sipping a cool drink. "It's good to see more young gays come out of their closets."

Curnow has only in recent years felt safe enough to be completely open about her sexuality, she said. Events like Saturday's put her at ease, she said.

"I'm not afraid to hold her hand or give her a kiss here without some redneck taking a punch at me," she said. "I've seen us go a long way, but we have a long way to still go. We're just a loving people, in general. It's terrible to be hated.

ST. PETERSBURG — In the beginning, there were drag queens, lesbian bikers on Harleys and gay men with sparkling butterfly wings.

Disco music blared from parade floats; people sprayed water and tossed beads along the six block festival on Central Avenue downtown.

Then five protesters from the Biblical Research Center in Tampa arrived and yelled through bullhorns: “The homosexual doesn't go to heaven.”

And there was fury, from organizers of Saturday's St. Pete Pride festival and the thousands of attendees who yelled back, threw drinks and beads and made out in front of the evangelists.

“I'm really sick and tired of being the underdog every day,” said Jackie Smit, 45, of St. Petersburg. “Why couldn't we just have this one day?”

It was the first time in the event's history that religious protesters had marched through the festival. They did so four times — with eight weary police officers in tow — to “spread the Gospel,” said Larry Keffer, founder of the group.

Once they walked through the first time, around noon, the remaining four hours of the festival were dominated by clashes.

“You're a sodomite! You're filthy! You need Jesus Christ!” yelled a 23-year-old evangelist who would not give his name or occupation.

He called himself “John the Baptist,” and kept preaching even after someone threw a drink on him. Ice cubes sat melting on his shoulders.

No arrests were made during the festival, police said. But dozens of arguments broke out, with the police stepping in to stop physical confrontations. One woman hit a protester with her sign. Most just shouted.

Festivalgoers and organizers blamed the police for allowing the protesters to march through. “They're creating a hostile environment under the guise of Christianity,” said Steve Elliot, an event organizer.

Meanwhile, children bounced in a blow-up tent, teenagers flirted and adults sipped cups of beer and reunited with friends.

Some stopped to stamp their thumbprint on a photo of Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms, an outspoken opponent of gay rights, for an interactive art piece.

They danced, and listened to a speech by City Council member Richard Kriseman, who in one hour handed out all his 1,000 stickers for his run for state House District 53.

Kriseman had crafted a slogan that played off Mayor Rick Baker's “Today is another great day in St. Petersburg.”

Baker has never attended the pride festival and has said in the past he doesn't support its “general agenda.”

“If the mayor wanted to make it difficult for this event to exist, he could, but he doesn't,” he said. “He has some strong personal convictions that guide him, and I can't criticize him for that.”

“If the city supports it, then he should be here,” said Gary Humphrey, 60, who watched the morning's parade pass.

There were Christians, but they had booths. Chris Goldsmith, 44, sat at one, the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa. As a gay youth, he said, religion made him resent who he was, he said.

“Queer, perverted, sissy boy — those are the words I heard growing up, and I didn't want to be all those things,” he said.

Goldsmith was brought up Southern Baptist in Lakeland. After testing HIV-positive in 1988, seeing friends die, and turning to crack, he “found a higher power” in recovery.

One of the bikers, Joan Carpenter, 56, of Tarpon Springs, said much has changed since she was a kid, “but it hasn't gotten to where it's supposed to be.” She was talking about rights granted to heterosexual spouses.

“Even when I die, I can't leave anything to her,” Carpenter said, pointing to her life partner, Lynn Brown, 47. “It's just not fair.”

Evening came, and the protesters made their final trip, carrying signs quoting biblical passages and such slogans as “Father of Sodomites — Homo.”

They weren't new to protest, or the fury they had incited with their evangelism. They are seen often on street corners in Ybor City, where, Keffer said, they preach through bullhorns to sinners of all stripes in hopes of saving their souls.

Smit, who works as a chef in St. Petersburg, watched the evangelists leave. They made her so angry, she said, that she slammed her bead necklaces around the neck of one.

“I can't believe I did that, but I was so mad,” Smit said. “But you know what? They didn't change anything. I'm proud of who I am.”

The Pride parade set for Saturday is expected to draw up to 50,000 visitors. Organizers point to the city’s accepting climate

ST. PETERSBURG — Gregory Kompes loves this city so much, it made his list of the 50 Most Gay Friendly Places to Live.

Residents and business owners are gearing up for the fourth annual parade and festival in the Grand Central District. Pride is celebrated in several cities around the world by the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.

Organizers expect the festival, which drew 35,000 last year, to attract 50,000 this year for music, food and shopping. Central Avenue’s portion of the parade route — from 30th to 22nd Street — is five blocks longer than a year ago.

Brian Longstreth, president of the Grand Central District Association, said the event has 71 sponsors, bringing in more than $160,000.

Attendance grew from 20,000 in 2004 to 35,000 in 2005 after the Hillsborough County Commission ban on acknowledgement, participation or promotion in gay pride events last June. Since then, Tampa has had a winter Pride festival in February that drew 4,000 participants.

In September, the Hillsborough County Commission also denied an ordinance that would have added protection for gays and lesbians to its human rights act, said Brian Winfield of Equality Florida. “In general people feel more accepted in St. Petersburg.”

City Council member Richard Kriseman has been a supporter of St. Pete Pride since its inception. “If you look at the economic impact, it’s quite significant,” he said

Kriseman, who donated $1,000 to this year’s event, said a number of businesses that had booths last year have since opened stores in the city.

“It’s an event hosted by the GLBT community, but an awful lot of straight people go there, too,” Kriseman said.

“It’s not different than attending Rib Fest or any of the other festivals we have down on the waterfront.”

“It’s unfortunate to have a mayor that will attend the grand opening of a Hungry Howie’s but not an event that brings 35,000 people to his city,” Longstreth said.

Baker has never attended the Pride parade, saying in the past he does not support the event’s “general agenda.”

“The question is, by not embracing somebody else’s views, am I shutting them out? I’m not shutting anybody out,” Baker told the Times in 2004.

Local businesses can rent booth space along the parade route for $70. This year’s route will have 226 vendors offering everything from food to real estate.

“People who don’t know we’re here find us,” said Richard Valmain of Grand Kitchen and Bath. “Thirty to 35 percent of our clientele is of an alternative lifestyle, and we are just thankful for that business.”

Grinders Coffee Shop on Central Avenue has been open for two Pride festivals and owner Andrea Pawlisz said the business is phenomenal. “Here, it’s the busiest day of the year,” she said. “It’s not just gays – straight people, families, everything. Everyone comes to this event.”

Coordinators said parking will be available on side streets of Central Avenue, and shuttles will move people from the designated lots at Central Plaza and near the interstate.

Kompes said he added St. Petersburg to his list of gay-friendly cities after visiting 400 cities he’d found on the Gay and Lesbian Atlas. From the 400, a city made the cut based on recreation, cultural activities, housing market and other criteria that make a city livable.

A former Sarasota resident, Kompes said that Pride allows the community to come together and feel a sense of belonging. “You can go there and know that 'Hey, it’s not just me,’” he said.

- Tropicana Field hosts “Pride Night at the Trop” for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays-Atlanta Braves game at 7:15 p.m.

- Pride brunch with Margaret O’Brien will begin at 11 a.m. at Hospice of the Florida Suncoast at 3050 First Ave. S.

- Equality Florida is hosting a Pride family picnic in Joe Chillura Park at 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa from noon to 3 p.m.