Planning Underway for Seventh Annual Youth Pride Day

WASHINGTON, DC (February 24, 2003) – Youth Pride Alliance is pleased to announce the seventh annual Youth Pride Day, which will occur on Saturday, April 12, 2003 in P Street Beach (also known as Rock Creek Park) at P and 23rd Sts., NW, in Washington, DC.

The annual celebration for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people has brought over ten thousand youth together since the first event in 1997. Since the first annual event which drew 900 young people out for a day of celebration, Youth Pride Day has evolved into Youth Pride Week, which draws thousands of youth to over a dozen events ranging from a conference, dances, poetry readings, and the main Saturday event.

“Every year brings many new faces to our unique events,” said Paul Marengo, returning as Director of Youth Pride Day for his second year. “We are going to have a full week of events with something for everyone, starting with our annual Youth Pride University on April 5th and finishing in style with Youth Pride Day on April 12th.”

The Youth Pride Alliance is also the very grateful recipient of a grant from Brother Help Thyself, the nation’s first fund for gay and lesbian health, cultural, and social service organizations, to help fund Youth Pride Day 2003. Brother Help Thyself has been providing funds to gay and lesbian community causes since 1978, and has distributed over one million dollars to date.

“We are proud to celebrate our seventh anniversary and look forward to continuing the success we have enjoyed as an organization,” said Kelly Costello, President of Youth Pride Alliance. Costello, a senior at American University and a seasoned community activist, was elected President of Youth Pride Alliance in 2002. Nate DeCarolis also joins Youth Pride Alliance this year as Vice President.

The Youth Pride Day Planning Committee has an open call for speakers and entertainers, and the search has begun for this year’s keynote speakers. Past keynote speakers have included Chad Allen, Candace Gingrich, and prominent youth activists Anthony Colin (CA), Steven Cozza (CA), Michael Bisogno (NJ), and Jessie Gilliam (VA).

For more information, please visit www.youthpridedc.org. 

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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