Words by Jeff.
With perfect weather for a change, and an extremely rare palindrome date (02022020), the 25th Pride March was happening with a vibrant procession of around 10,000 people taking part. Motafrenz was there of course for the 25th time and this time with possibly a record number of seven cars.
Mike in his magnificent Plymouth Fury convertible was the opening vehicle carrying the delightful Boon Wurrung Elder Arweet Carolyn Briggs in the Rainbow Aboriginal Pride & VIPs wave.
The rest of us for a change were at the beginning of the [Queer Organisations, Individual Marchers, and Organisations Showing Pride] wave, rather than the sports wave. The Motafrenz foot crew lead the way with banner in front of our six Motafrenz club cars. This meant we were much earlier in the march, although with 10,000 participants, it still took a while to get moving and we probably spent more time stationary than moving along. It was slow but very hard to complain when everyone around you in the crowd was smiling and cheering each and every one of us.
The Motafrenz contingent this year had a splendid diverse collection of marques. Japanese, English, Polish, German, American and Australian looking just great. James did the usual spectacular presentation with the community minded and much-loved Jessica, complete with a colourfully dressed supporting entourage. Nearly all of us took the opportunity to park in the Catani Gardens where we had a fantastic spot and great exposure.
Motafrenz certainly is valued part of the community and we had many members catch up with us with plenty of interesting and wonderful people to talk to about the club and the cars on display.
The rest of Pride March took some hours to all arrive at Catani Gardens for the after party. From where we were displaying our cars, up near the Fitzroy Street end, we were pretty much in the thick of it. We could see a constant arrival of more and more marchers and thousands of punters approaching the gardens. From this prime location, we really were able to appreciate the enormous size of this years Pride March and relax again in perfect weather.
It all went very smoothly with the usual minor issues, but I think overall, our presence at Pride March can never be understated. Well done to everybody involved and the club as a whole for being proud to be there.
