By Tara Cavanaugh
Motor City Pride's move from Ferndale to Detroit's Hart Plaza this year has caused quite the controversy in the community.
While some celebrated the move as a way to gain more space, attendees and attention, some Ferndale businesses lamented the loss and some past Pride attendees pledged not to go to the new location.
But Craig Covey has decided to make sure that Ferndale still has a pride celebration of its own. Covey, the former mayor of Ferndale and now Oakland County Commissioner, named himself the chair of Ferndale Pride and has started to organize several events that will take place June 3-5. Motor City Pride takes place June 4-5 this year, but Covey stressed that the Ferndale events are scheduled during times before or after Motor City Pride is operating.
"This town has a long tradition of putting on events, so even though Motor City Pride decided to move its big festval to Hart Plaza, there was an outpouring of interest in Ferndale," Covey said. "All of the things we are doing are happening when Motor City Pride is not in Hart Plaza."
Many Ferndale businesses have signed on to support the pride celebration, including the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority, the Ferndale Area Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan AIDS Coalition, the Ferndale Community Foundation (which is helping fund the pride events), Affirmations, Al Gamea, Hazel Park Friends and others.
Covey, who has been in contact with Motor City Pride Chair Dave Wait while planning the events, said he "made a commitment to (Wait) that I would not personally organize any event that conflicted with the times of Motor City Pride."
Covey hopes the events in Ferndale attract 5,000 people. He expects Motor City Pride to attract 30,000 to 40,000 people.
"We support Motor City Pride, and we encourage everyone to go to the festival," Covey said. "We're just providing additional choices to celebrate."
Covey hopes to plan more events in the week leading up to Detroit and Ferndale's pride celebrations. "The plans are still evolving and we're interested in any kind of grassroots or additional events," he said.
And because he jokes that "I'm getting a little too old to do this all myself," Covey plans to hold a meeting at Affirmations in a couple of weeks for anyone who is interested in volunteering.
"There's a lot of emotion tied to any type of change," Wait said. He's right: Community reactions to the announcement of Ferndale Pride have been mixed.
"I view this alternative as a scurrilous attempt to try to deflate attendance at Hart Plaza in retribution for moving Motor City Pride out of Ferndale," said Steven Schonfeld of Detroit. "Regardless of what it's called, competition with Pride is divisive and snide."
Todd Erickson, who lives in Ferndale, agrees with Schonfeld about the divisiveness of having two events in the same weekend. He also thinks Ferndale Pride is mostly motivated by businesses who want to make money.
"It seems a little bit like sour grapes – not to mention unseemly – if there's a city-sanctioned effort to establish a separate Ferndale Pride identity that will no doubt take away and diminish Motor City Pride," he said. "The GLBTQ population has come so far in this past decade; we need to move forward as a unified cohesive group in these trying times. We don't need to be divided by the bruised ego of one town, or people with an axe to grind, or a few businesses who want queer money – but could hardly be considered supportive of GLBTQ causes."
Others say they would feel more safe celebrating Pride in Ferndale. "I think Pride in Hart Plaza is inviting disaster for the gay community. It gives an open invitation to gay bashers who were unable to get a foothold in Ferndale," said Delores Dougan, who lives in Detroit. (Wait said Detroit police, a private security company and volunteers will provide security during the festival.)
And some other community members are unbothered by Ferndale Pride, such as Rosalea Brown, who works at Affirmations. Brown plans to attend both events. "I'm excited that Motor City Pride is actually going to be in the Motor City. But I also understand that it's been in Ferndale for a long time," she said. "I like the idea of it being in Ferndale on a Friday night and Hart Plaza on Saturday and Sunday. It spreads the wealth around."
So far, the following events are scheduled:
Friday, June 3:
-"We Are Family" Pride Parade, starting at 7 p.m. on the north side of W. Nine Mile Road. Lineup in the alley behind businesses on W. Nine Mile will begin at 6 p.m.
-Night March, 9:30 p.m., for GLBT and allied community members. Lineup begins at 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Kulick Community Center.
Saturday, June 4:
-Second annual Dyke March in early afternoon (which was still planned to take place in Ferndale before Covey organized the Ferndale events)
All weekend:
-Bars and clubs are planning parties and special events all three nights, such as Como's, Dino's, Rosie O'Grady's, Soho, Danny's, Loving Touch and others
