Girl Scouts on the Mall + Capital Pride == ??
June 3, 2012 5:29 PM Subscribe
We are taking our daughter and one of her friends in her troop to the Girl Scouts Rock the Mall sing-along shindig next Saturday. That's also the day of the Capital Pride Parade. Whether/how to do both? Much snowflakiness inside.
Background: I'm trans and for the past few months have been out nearly fulltime. Out to the supportive wife and kids for a few years now. I have never been to Capital Pride.
Question 1. Is the Pride Parade too much for an 8 year old? I have never been to Capital Pride; my recollection of Chicago Pride happening outside my window, back when I was deeply closeted, was that there were elements which were not entirely kid-friendly, but for the most part it would be ok. My daughter is "grossed out" by any adult PDA to begin with, and so I think that the elements at Pride which would go beyond PDA suitable for network TV are....explainable with good parenting. Am I being overly cautious here?
Question 2. We are very good friends with the mother of my daughter's friend who is accompanying us, and she has been supportive in my transition (name change, pronouns, etc.), but I am pretty sure I'm her first real exposure to the LGBT family. We certainly wouldn't take her daughter to watch Pride without parental consent, but is this just too much of a minefield? If not, how best to bring up / explain Pride?
Question 3. On the official Pride Parade map, there is a "Kid's Area" on R & New Hampshire. Is this the best place to attempt to view the parade with a pair of 8-year olds, or will it not really make any difference?
Question 4. Setting aside the "whether" stuff, we'll have a pair of tired kids having spent most of the afternoon on the Mall. Is it totally foolhardy to try to get from the Mall up to the Parade? The Girl Scout main stage event ends at 4:00 and the Pride parade steps off at 4:30. It seems at least theoretically possible to make it to Parade route. Insane? If not, how?
Side note: It made me totally squee-tastic to realize that the kids could totally fulfill one of the requirements for earning the "Community Awareness" -- which is "attend a parade" -- by attending the Pride parade.
Background: I'm trans and for the past few months have been out nearly fulltime. Out to the supportive wife and kids for a few years now. I have never been to Capital Pride.
Question 1. Is the Pride Parade too much for an 8 year old? I have never been to Capital Pride; my recollection of Chicago Pride happening outside my window, back when I was deeply closeted, was that there were elements which were not entirely kid-friendly, but for the most part it would be ok. My daughter is "grossed out" by any adult PDA to begin with, and so I think that the elements at Pride which would go beyond PDA suitable for network TV are....explainable with good parenting. Am I being overly cautious here?
Question 2. We are very good friends with the mother of my daughter's friend who is accompanying us, and she has been supportive in my transition (name change, pronouns, etc.), but I am pretty sure I'm her first real exposure to the LGBT family. We certainly wouldn't take her daughter to watch Pride without parental consent, but is this just too much of a minefield? If not, how best to bring up / explain Pride?
Question 3. On the official Pride Parade map, there is a "Kid's Area" on R & New Hampshire. Is this the best place to attempt to view the parade with a pair of 8-year olds, or will it not really make any difference?
Question 4. Setting aside the "whether" stuff, we'll have a pair of tired kids having spent most of the afternoon on the Mall. Is it totally foolhardy to try to get from the Mall up to the Parade? The Girl Scout main stage event ends at 4:00 and the Pride parade steps off at 4:30. It seems at least theoretically possible to make it to Parade route. Insane? If not, how?
Side note: It made me totally squee-tastic to realize that the kids could totally fulfill one of the requirements for earning the "Community Awareness" -- which is "attend a parade" -- by attending the Pride parade.
Assuming the other mom gives informed consent (I would absolutely show the parents photos of recent events during your in-person, grown-ups-only conversation) my biggest concerns would be a) kid exhaustion and b) physically making it there in 30 minutes, given the crowds I assume will be there. That is potentially a VERY long walk - even getting to the metro stations could be a bit of an ordeal. (I have no idea how crazy the Pride parade will be - I assume that given that it's happening in DC, the nudity and simulated acts of intercourse will be limited, compared to other locales.)
Consider very seriously ducking out of the GSA event early, like 2 or 3pm, and taking a breather indoors. I'm not sure I could handle the itinerary your post is making me picture, and I've been known to do crazy things like hit the Lincoln Memorial, four Smithsonian museums, the Washington Memorial (back when you could actually go inside it) and the Vietnam/Korea/etc. memorials all on the same day.
The secret is drinking water often and sitting at every single opportunity. I would never do that kind of thing with kids in tow. Have you seen what happens to 8-year-olds after four hours at Disneyland?
posted by SMPA at 6:46 PM on June 3, 2012
Consider very seriously ducking out of the GSA event early, like 2 or 3pm, and taking a breather indoors. I'm not sure I could handle the itinerary your post is making me picture, and I've been known to do crazy things like hit the Lincoln Memorial, four Smithsonian museums, the Washington Memorial (back when you could actually go inside it) and the Vietnam/Korea/etc. memorials all on the same day.
The secret is drinking water often and sitting at every single opportunity. I would never do that kind of thing with kids in tow. Have you seen what happens to 8-year-olds after four hours at Disneyland?
posted by SMPA at 6:46 PM on June 3, 2012
I should warn you, registrations are up over 100,000 so far, so expect the Metro, streets, and bus routes to be really, really crowded. I honestly haven't been to a Pride parade officially, but my old dance studio was by a lot of the old leather shops in Dupont, and yes parts of it might be quite overwhelming. Forecast says it might be a traditionally steamy and hot DC summer day; your kids might, honestly, be in need of at least a duck inside somewhere with AC and a cool drink. I should think this is a pretty good opportunity to at least introduce them to the concept of a Pride Parade though, and I think that's a very sweet idea to make it part of a badge requirement.
(As a side note, I'll be there on the Mall as well!! I doubt our paths will cross, but I wonder if there's a Meetup...?)
posted by jetlagaddict at 6:46 PM on June 3, 2012
(As a side note, I'll be there on the Mall as well!! I doubt our paths will cross, but I wonder if there's a Meetup...?)
posted by jetlagaddict at 6:46 PM on June 3, 2012
I think it sounds like a great idea! My friends bring their kids to DC Pride and don't seem to run into any problems with it. There are always many families with kids watching the parade. You can find parts of the route that aren't too crowded and even have a little shade, probably anywhere once it gets out of the immediate Dupont Circle area.
The parade is joyful and full of energy and rainbows and music, but I think the most risque thing you'll see is bare-chested men dancing with each other. (Though I could be wrong; I've never tried looking at it from a kid's perspective before.)
I definitely agree with the recommendation to take a break for water and food and air conditioning between the two events.
posted by zahava at 7:01 PM on June 3, 2012
The parade is joyful and full of energy and rainbows and music, but I think the most risque thing you'll see is bare-chested men dancing with each other. (Though I could be wrong; I've never tried looking at it from a kid's perspective before.)
I definitely agree with the recommendation to take a break for water and food and air conditioning between the two events.
posted by zahava at 7:01 PM on June 3, 2012
I am coming in here to save you from my mistake.
I don't know about Pride for 8 year olds, but from a purely logistical standpoint, it is a really bad idea to take the children from one huge event to another huge event on the mall in 30 minutes. I took my 9 year old to a packed event recently and then tried to travel through crowds to the mall for another one, and it was absolutely awful. The heat was really bad, and she wound up getting really upset.
If you do it, you definitely need to have a /lot/ of water - and I mean a /lot/ - and be prepared to buy new cold water at various points along the way, because children often refuse to drink lukewarm water. They will need someplace to sit down. If they don't get to sit down, it will be a miserable experience for all of you.
I would try to get somewhere high, so you can at least try to catch breezes if possible. But I think the idea of being late to Pride and approaching near the end is a better bet.
posted by corb at 7:33 PM on June 3, 2012
I don't know about Pride for 8 year olds, but from a purely logistical standpoint, it is a really bad idea to take the children from one huge event to another huge event on the mall in 30 minutes. I took my 9 year old to a packed event recently and then tried to travel through crowds to the mall for another one, and it was absolutely awful. The heat was really bad, and she wound up getting really upset.
If you do it, you definitely need to have a /lot/ of water - and I mean a /lot/ - and be prepared to buy new cold water at various points along the way, because children often refuse to drink lukewarm water. They will need someplace to sit down. If they don't get to sit down, it will be a miserable experience for all of you.
I would try to get somewhere high, so you can at least try to catch breezes if possible. But I think the idea of being late to Pride and approaching near the end is a better bet.
posted by corb at 7:33 PM on June 3, 2012
Okay, I popped open my laptop just to answer this question. And I am driving my husband nuts by not going to bed. I love love love the Pride Parade. I haven't missed it since I started going (6 years ago?). It's my favorite.
Logistically, you can do this. I've gone to the Pride Parade several years in a row. It does *not* start on time. As I see it, the easiest way to get from the Mall to Pride would be up 14th Street. If you have bus passes or can get on the Circulator, that'd be your best bet. Check wmata.com to see where things will be re-routed for the various events and what time that all will start.
Drink a ton of water. Have snacks for the kids. The parade can also be long - like two hours plus so maybe plan on not staying for the whole thing. Also, there are occasional gaps, especially if you're catching it towards the end of the route so you might want to be prepared for that regarding the kids. You will know when it's over but there might be short periods where nothing is going on. If you need to go to the bathroom, duck into one of the hotels on 14th St at K. Or Starbucks or Caribou or whatever.
My goddaughter is 6 and her mother is very tolerant/open-minded and I would have no problem taking her to the parade. Granted, she will see things that she does not see every day and some of those things may inspire questions but it's no big. There will be children watching the parade and children in the parade. The parade usually starts with dykes on bikes, some of whom are topless and there are plenty of scantily clad people but not offensively so IMHO. I went to the pride parade last year with my in-laws and we had an amazing time. You can show the friend's mom pictures but I wouldn't worry too much. I can't remember anything objectively offensive from last year's parade. The one float that was always kind of entertaining was the float for Results Gym and there was one year it had a sort of bondage theme but that was an anomaly. There were also gay cowboys in cut-off jean shorts dancing but again, not really that out of the ordinary, all things considered.
I think it's a great idea and I hope you make it.
posted by kat518 at 9:34 PM on June 3, 2012
Logistically, you can do this. I've gone to the Pride Parade several years in a row. It does *not* start on time. As I see it, the easiest way to get from the Mall to Pride would be up 14th Street. If you have bus passes or can get on the Circulator, that'd be your best bet. Check wmata.com to see where things will be re-routed for the various events and what time that all will start.
Drink a ton of water. Have snacks for the kids. The parade can also be long - like two hours plus so maybe plan on not staying for the whole thing. Also, there are occasional gaps, especially if you're catching it towards the end of the route so you might want to be prepared for that regarding the kids. You will know when it's over but there might be short periods where nothing is going on. If you need to go to the bathroom, duck into one of the hotels on 14th St at K. Or Starbucks or Caribou or whatever.
My goddaughter is 6 and her mother is very tolerant/open-minded and I would have no problem taking her to the parade. Granted, she will see things that she does not see every day and some of those things may inspire questions but it's no big. There will be children watching the parade and children in the parade. The parade usually starts with dykes on bikes, some of whom are topless and there are plenty of scantily clad people but not offensively so IMHO. I went to the pride parade last year with my in-laws and we had an amazing time. You can show the friend's mom pictures but I wouldn't worry too much. I can't remember anything objectively offensive from last year's parade. The one float that was always kind of entertaining was the float for Results Gym and there was one year it had a sort of bondage theme but that was an anomaly. There were also gay cowboys in cut-off jean shorts dancing but again, not really that out of the ordinary, all things considered.
I think it's a great idea and I hope you make it.
posted by kat518 at 9:34 PM on June 3, 2012
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1) I don't know what you mean by overly cautious, but one thing I can think of that could be awkward to explain to an eight year old is condoms and you should anticipate free condom acquisition opportunities. There are photos of past years and Metro Weekly has video of the 2010 parade.
2 and 3 I have no idea about.
posted by hoyland at 6:17 PM on June 3, 2012