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'It's about being happy about who you are' Dalton Steerzer, of Ashland, marches in the Pride Parade through downtown Ashland Saturday. Jamie Lusch Sunday Oct 10, 2010 at 12:01 AM Oct 10, 2010 at 2:40 AM After watching men in drag leading Southern Oregon's first organized gay pride parade in Ashland on Saturday, Rogue River resident Shannon Webb couldn't help but register a complaint. By Paul Fattig After watching men in drag leading Southern Oregon's first organized gay pride parade in Ashland on Saturday, Rogue River resident Shannon Webb couldn't help but register a complaint. "They look better in a dress than I do," she observed. But Webb, a fellow parade participant, was smiling. She and her partner, Cat Bonney, had ridden on a quad bearing the sign, "Queers on quads." They were among several hundred people, young and old, gay and straight, who walked, rode or pranced and danced down Main Street in support of gay pride. The parade, which drew participants from as far away as Idaho, Portland and Northern California, began at Gresham Street and moved down East Main to the Lithia Park bandshell where bands entertained for several hours. Bill Rauch, artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, served as the grand marshal. Among the floats in the parade was one in memory of five gay teens from across the country who committed suicide in the past month after being bullied or harassed because of their sexuality. The parade followed the Southern Oregon Pride Festival held Friday night at the Ashland Springs Hotel, which featured a sold-out party featuring a drag show, dancing and cocktails. Webb and Bonney, who both work in the medical field, have been together a little more than five years, and recently joined together in domestic partnership vows. "This is the first time we've ever been in a gay parade," Webb said. "It's fabulous." "It's not necessarily a political statement and not necessarily about being a label," Bonney said. "It's about being authentic. It's about being who you are, about being yourself. "I think it's fabulous that everybody is able to come out like this," she added. "It's about being happy about who you are." Butte Falls resident Linda Hill Spencer and Herbert Rothschild of Talent, both members of the South Mountain Friends Meeting, the Quaker church in Ashland, marched in the parade to show their support for the gay community. "Unconditional love is our core value — that's what we see as the center of Jesus' ministry," explained Rothschild, a retired literature professor at the University of Houston. "We don't put any boundaries to the love and the welcoming of people into our congregation," he added. "Jesus welcomed everybody to his table, which got him into trouble with people who thought they were good religious people in his day." "We don't exclude anyone from our midst," said Spencer, who retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Riding in a white pickup in the parade was retired Navy Cmdr. Beth Coye. "This was long overdue," she said afterward. "It was a wonderful feeling. If I tended to cry, I would have cried as I thought back about being in the closet in the Navy so many years. "I'm very proud of the Rogue Valley. We've made such great progress. But we still have a ways to go." Among the hundreds lining the parade route was Ashland resident Marianne Strong. "I think it is absolutely wonderful that these people are having so much fun," said Strong, who said she was "retired from corporate life." She had just watched men in drag prance past. Her husband, Harvey Rupp, a retired marriage counselor, agreed with her parade assessment. "It's wonderful — I'm very glad they are proud," he said. "Look at how mild-mannered it is — it's not a big fiery thing," added Melanie Royale of Ashland, a substitute teacher. Parade participants Isabella Tibbetts, 19, and Nasha Richards, 20, both of Medford, carried a banner announcing "Women with Wings," a local choir. Tibbetts' mother is a member of the choir. "I'm straight but I'm totally fine with gay people," said Tibbetts, who, like Richards, wore long eyelashes forming the color of a rainbow. "I go both ways, and I'm happy and proud of it," Richards said of her sexuality. "I'm not afraid of it." Both expressed sadness at the recent suicides by gay students around the nation. "That's so sad they are put to that extreme, that they are tormented and made fun of because of their sexual orientation," Tibbetts said. "Ultimately, they don't choose whether or not they are gay." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 541-776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected].