Dare to dream!

No, really, I dare to you to dream and then make it a reality! Never in a million years did I think that I would get some of the biggest and hottest LGBT-names in Finland to come to my little shindig, but they did and it was amazing!

You know, there's always room for improvement and we definitely have that in regards to attendance but as far as the program part of Forssa Pride 3 goes, I can't complain. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I had no doubt that Rakel would deliver, she's a pro at this. She's funny, she's articulate and she was the perfect hostess for the event. I listened carefully when Leena won her Miss Gay Finland crown and her speech after winning was something I could identify with. She wants to have an impact on the same things I do. The one part that I wasn't familiar with was Aleks, but I was really impressed with him. Not a lot of 19-year olds have to do that much self reflection nor are they ready to take on the task of changing peoples perception or fight for human rights. Aleks was very mature and his attitude of "you have to take bad with the good" was really impressive. You can't take everything personally and that's something we should all remember. On top of them bringing their A-game, they were all really lovely people and weren't bothered with all the "Can I get a picture with you" questions they heard throughout the night. I think Aleks with his recent stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house was the biggest hit of the night.

 Backstage beforehand.

 Showtime!

Me with the stars of the night.

The intellectual discussion was something that you don't really get in Forssa, at least not in public, and makes me think about all the things I'm missing. Also, makes me sad that not more people were interested in coming to hear them, because there was a lot of things that could have opened peoples eyes and really make them think about things and their own resources to impact a change, whether in their own lives, in Forssa or even more nationally. Listening to that discussion and also the questions that were posed, made me appreciate my own Gay Cafe group and the "more than a rainbow" group I go to at Pirkanmaan Seta.

On Sunday I heard people I don't personally know talking about Forssa Pride for the first time. I thought it was great, because I haven't heard anybody ever talking about anything LGBT related in Forssa before, and just few weeks ago I saw my first female couple holding hands in Forssa. What a sheltered life I've led so far!

I want to thank Green Whale for sponsoring this event and bar 54 for hosting us. I was also promised that there would be Forssa Pride 4, so I'll see you next Spring! Before that I'll be at Lahti Pride, Gay Cafe will be marching there and some of us were thinking about staying for the after party.