Where Was Metro Weekly on July 7?

To Whom it May Concern:

On June 10, 2007 I was one of many folks who attended the Capital Pride festival in Washington DC. One booth that was at the event was advertising that Six Flags America in Largo, MD would be holding Pride in the Park on July 7, 2007, which was a day for GLBT customers and their families to come to the park and enjoy what it had to offer. Metro Weekly billed itself as the media sponsor of Pride in the Park and it advertised the day in the paper as well. I also received an E-mail for a drawing from Metro Weekly for free tickets to go to the park, and a discount code to use for group tickets.

I coordinated a group of friends from a local GLBT community group in Maryland to attend Pride in the Park. We went, expecting to have a good time, and while some aspects of being at Six Flags were good, there was one glaring omission on July 7. There was no acknowledgement that it was Pride in the Park from Six Flags. They basically acted like it was any other Saturday at the park. Now I wasn't expecting them to go all out and start hanging rainbow flags everywhere, but even their staff had no real idea of what day it was at the park.

I could solely lay the blame on Six Flags, but Metro Weekly seems to have dropped the ball on Pride in the Park as well. When Disney does their gay days, it is handled by outside sponsors, including media sponsors, but to show solidarity, they tell folks to wear a certain color shirt to the park. Well I saw no sort of advertisement that we as GLBT folks should wear a certain color shirt to the park, in fact, I only saw that the local GLBT community group I went with wore shirts that advertised their group. Why was there no coordination of something to wear, or even a place for GLBT folks to gather at the park? Metro Weekly also tends to take pictures of GLBT events in and around DC as well as folks out at the local bars. Why wasn't Metro Weekly at Six Flags America to take pictures during Pride in the Park?

I hope that next year if Six Flags puts on Pride in the Park again, that there will be more recognition of GLBT people and their families who patronize the park from both Six Flags and Metro Weekly. I am severely disappointed in both entities right now because it really feels like the both of you told me "Thanks for giving us your money, now go back in the closet before the neighbors see you!"

Sincerely,

theblackdog
Greenbelt, MD