Youth Pride Day 2002 This Weekend; Youth Pride Alliance Announces Event Sponsors

WASHINGTON, DC (April 10, 2001) - Washington's sixth annual Youth Pride Day will be held this Saturday, April 13th, 2002, from noon until 5:30pm in P Street Beach (23rd and P St. NW).

There are over twenty speakers, ranging from local youth to Chad Allen of television and stage fame, will grace Youth Pride Day's two stages in addition to over a dozen bands and entertainers booked for this year's event. To date, over fifty different organizations will be represented at Youth Pride Day as exhibitors.

"It has rained at Youth Pride Day 2000 and 2001," said David Grossman, President of Youth Pride Alliance, "but we're expecting nothing but sunshine and thousands of young people to come for our unique annual event."

Over thirty young people attended the third annual Youth Pride University, held this past Saturday as part of the Youth Pride Week kick-off. Almost two hundred local youth showed up for the "Alternative Prom", a dance that Youth Pride Alliance co-sponsored as part of Youth Pride Week.

Presenting sponsors of this year's Youth Pride Day include the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL).

"I'm very happy to see both HRC and SMYAL return as presenting sponsors," said Grossman. "Their continued support for the past five years has enabled us to grow to become the great event we are today."

In addition to providing on-site HIV testing, Whitman-Walker Clinic is a Platinum sponsor of Youth Pride Day. Other organizational sponsors include the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Washington Blade, Metro Weekly, M&T Productions, and Advocates For Youth.

NOTE: We offer a special invitation to members of the press to join us for Youth Pride Day 2002. Our on-site media booth will be open from 10am to 6:30pm. For more information, please call (202) 423-3239.

The Youth Pride Alliance celebrates the dignity and courage of all young people as they discover their identities as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or straight, and challenges society to stop the hate, the violence, the fear, the isolation, and the denial. Every young person deserves to live, love, and be loved.

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