By any measure, OUT at the Park 2015 was a huge success.
I rode the beautifully refurbished vintage trolley to the event and quickly found the tailgate party. I was greeted by Pride Director of Development, Sarafina Scapicchio, and she handed me tickets for the game, as well as complimentary food and drinks. She introduced me to Susan Jester, a San Diego Pride Board member, long-time LGBT advocate and founder of AIDS Walk San Diego. We spoke briefly about OUT at the Park and the importance of being visible in the community.
The tailgate party was well attended by a very diverse crowd. There was music courtesy of JACK FM and an assortment of beers and canned cocktails. I spoke with a lot of first time attendees from every community. People proudly wore the complimentary rainbow hued beads and feather boas. There was a promotion for OUT at the Fair, too, which is happening Saturday, June 13. I scored a voucher for a $4 entry to the fun-filled event.
In addition to meeting a lot of new people, I ran into a couple of former neighbors from Azalea Park, a small “gayborhood” in City Heights, who I had not seen in years. It was great catching up with Rick and Robin.
The game was very enjoyable and 28,058 attendees watched as the Padres beat the Rockies, 4-2. The HD video screen, the largest in the National League, really amps up the experience. To understand the size, the screen completely dwarfs the four-story Western Steel building. Our seats were near the top of the stadium overlooking home plate with breathtaking views of downtown and the bay, but nobody missed any of the action thanks to the mega screen. Padres closing pitcher, Craig Kimbrel, took the field in a ring of fire. I was amazed by his zen-like strangely articulated pose before winding up and scorching the plate with strong pitches.
At one point in the evening, I struck up a conversation with a 13-year old girl who was there with her family. It was her first time at a Padres game and she was having “a lot of fun.” Her face really lit up when I gave her my beads to wear. “Thank you,” she said and clutched the rainbow colored strands.
Finally, as if a tailgate party and Padre victory wasn’t enough fun, there was a fireworks show set to the music of Led Zeppelin. The pyrotechnics were spectacular, but left me wanting more boom and less chat and comedy clips on the video screen.
Thanks everybody for a memorable time, and I look forward to doing it again next year. By any measure, OUT at the Park was a huge success.
