Mommy's Blog: Pride

Friday, August 8, 2014

Pride

This week we are welcoming the 2014 Gay Games to Cleveland. This is pretty darn cool, for so many reasons. Not the least of which being that we beat out cities like Boston for this, putting in the ranks with San Francisco (a surprise there, I know), Montreal, and Cologne. And, our city is beginning to be overrun with groups of attractive international athletes, jazzing up our streets with their innate fabulousness. Also, I am singing with the Community Chorus during the opening ceremonies, so that's neat.

It's been a hoot to sing with this choir. I've never been in a group where the sopranos are ridiculously outnumbered! The great thing is that I get to sing as loud as I want. :) And enjoy the sound of 50 talented men singing behind me-- not to mention the raunchy jokes and and innuendoes that punctuate rehearsals and real live "jazz hands" incorporated into our routine.

An unexpected benefit of this little singing gig? It's gotten me downtown three times in the last two days, with two more visits to come. I am falling more in love with my city each time. Cleveland on the edge of a resurgence is a pretty neat place to be. Busy sidewalks full of people from all walks of life, new restaurants popping up around every corner, our gorgeous new Mall by the Convention Center anchoring Public Square to the lake...

Tonight that centerpiece shone brightly, hosting the AHA! Cleveland Light Festival, a welcome of sorts, setting the stage for the Games.

What a great night to be out in Cleveland.

The three light installations ( a giant rainbow that actually made an arc over our heads, a very cool giant projection on the side of the Justice building, and the "pond" of light-changing lily pads on the grass) were supplemented by a giant outdoor yoga class and a night bike ride across the Cuyahoga river. A few food trucks and a guy flying a couple of drones rounded out the attractions. As far as festivals go, this was pretty minimalist.

It was just right.

I loved watching the unison yoga, 600 hands reaching up in the sun salutation together. It would have been neat to participate but in a way I was more grateful for my spot as a spectator, watching unity at work. The hill behind the stage gradually filled in with people as the light fell, with the Pond acting as a magnet for all the families with kids. People dropped onto the grass in relaxed groups, or gathered near the rail to watch the sun sink over the lake.

Everyone was smiling, easy with each other. Happy to be there.

Across the mall, giant letters across the top of the Federal Reserve Building read "Welcome". I could feel that welcome radiating everywhere around me, in the lights and the music and the gathering of friends and strangers.

Magic.

Here are a few pictures of the rest of the afternoon:

Here's our Choir up on the Jumbotron athe Q Arena, during today's rehearsal. I had my doubts about doing "Choral-ography" as our director has dubbed the jazz hands dance moves, but I have to say it looked pretty neat up on the screen.

We are singing backup for a couple of celebrities-- Andrea McArdle, the original Annie, and Alex Newell, who was in the show Glee. Alex has the most amazing voice. They are both pretty funny and seem to be thrilled to be a part of the Games. There is a grand sense of purpose and community among all of the participants.

To kill some time between my rehearsal and the lights, we restaurant-hopped around the Gateway district. Here are our funny kids enjoying pizza at the Arcade, playing video games while Nat and I ate wings at the Greenhouse Tavern, and being goofy and having a cookie at a coffee shop...