It's no secret Miami Beach loves her gays, but once a year, there's still occasion to cover yourself in rainbows, slap some glitter on, and hit the streets.
Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade is the most fun you can have with clothes on, not that you're expected to wear much. The floats were bigger, louder, and brighter than ever. Even Gloria Estefan rode down Ocean Dr. to serve as parade grand marshal.
But half the fun of a parade is the people watching it all go by. We went down to see just how much fun it can be to support the local gay community, and we may or may not have taken sips from strangers.
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We met couples young and old, recently married, and going on decades. We met gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders. There were a lot of straight kids coming out to show support for their friends and become exposed to more of gay culture. We even ran into our good friend Tommy Strangie, AKA Shelly Novak.
"What I'm loving is the youth of it all, the freedom," he said. "Twenty years ago, we didn't have that like this."
But the message we heard the most was how gay pride week isn't just about being proud to be gay. It's more about being proud to be you, whoever you are. That's something everyone, whatever your preference or politics, should rally behind.
Follow Kat Bein on Twitter @KatSaysKill.
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