The organizers of Equality Forum confirmed last week that the annual SundayOUT street fair will again be held at The Piazza at Schmidt’s.
Equality Forum executive director Malcolm Lazin said the festival will return to the Northern Liberties locale on May 1, a decision that followed a public squabble among Forum organizers and the producers of the annual Pride festival.
Equality Forum had originally booked SundayOUT, the culmination of a week of events, for Penn’s Landing — the same location where the annual Pride Festival is celebrated in June.
Philly Pride Presents, which stages Pride and OutFest, objected, contending that having SundayOUT where the Pride festival is traditionally held just one month before would cause confusion for both patrons and vendors.
Lazin said that, while his agency disagreed with that notion, the organization did agree to move the location after negotiations.
“[Philly Pride Presents] believed this would impact either their attendance and/or their vendors, and we were certainly respectful of that objection,” he said. “We inquired as to whether the people at Penn’s Landing shared that view and they didn’t feel that it would have any impact whatsoever. Given the concern of Philly Pride Presents, we offered them a free booth at SundayOUT, with their signage and announcements encouraging people to attend the June event but their board didn’t feel that was satisfactory, so we terminated the contract.”
He said the contract with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, signed in September, has been terminated, and a request has been made for the refund of the organization’s $2,500 deposit.
Laurie Heinerichs, DRWC spokesperson, confirmed last week that the contract had been voided and that Equality Forum will be reimbursed in full.
“The refund and event cancellation was requested well before the event date, allowing us to return the deposit,” Heinerichs said.
Philly Pride Presents executive director Franny Price said she was “fully” satisfied with the decision.
This fall, Philly Pride Presents announced it would host a Gay May Day in the Gayborhood the same day as Equality Forum’s proposed Penn’s Landing event, which Price said has now been cancelled.
Philly Pride Presents senior adviser Chuck Volz said he, Price and Equality Forum board president Dr. Debra Blair began negotiations on the issue in November.
Volz said he and Price attempted to emphasize the deleterious effect SundayOUT at Penn’s Landing could have on their agency and the community.
“Everybody would have thought they came to Gay Pride in May. I think our attendance could have been halved,” he said, noting that Washington, D.C., and Baltimore also hold Pride events on or near June 12, when Philadelphia’s festival is scheduled. “There are other events going on in cities in the area, and people would have said, ‘Oh, well, we did Philly’s event in May, so let’s go to the other locations in June.’”
Volz said he’s “happy with the resolution.”
Equality Forum and The Piazza have been working on a license agreement to address some operational concerns that arose at last year’s festival, the largest that the newly opened Piazza had held at the time.
The executive committee of the Equality Forum board will be presented with the agreement during its next meeting in early February, and Lazin said he anticipates it will receive complete support.
SundayOUT will include a trolley service from the Gayborhood to the Northern Liberties venue, sponsored by Uncles and Tavern on Camac.
Equality Forum recently applied for permits for the Gayborhood for May 1, which Lazin said will allow the trolleys to park on Locust Street. All vendors and other SundayOUT activities will be held exclusively at The Piazza.