One of the great aspects of Pride is that it brings together such an amazing array of GLBT community members, and while news crews may ignore PFLAG and organizations like Something Special Food Pantry in favor of the Dykes on Bikes and colorful drag queens, it’s the fact that everyone comes together as a team that makes Pride so important. If there is any group that has an understanding of teamwork it is San Diego’s GLBT sports community.

Water sales at the Pride Parade have become a mainstay for softball teams preparing to go to the softball world series, held every year in August. However, with this year’s cooler temperature and early start, sales were not as high as the league had originally expected.

Fortunately, the Big Grrrrr Ranch Foundation saw increasing water sales at the Pride festival, where attendees’ seemingly unquenchable thirst left them in short supply after the first day of the festival.

“In all, we started the weekend with 170 cases,” Brian van de Mark of Big Grrrrr Ranch told the Gay and Lesbian Times. “On Saturday evening, we were shocked to find that we had sold through 155 of the 170 cases of water. We had expected the 170 (to last) both days, so being nearly sold out the first day was a great problem to have!”

Priority Pharmacy, Bourbon Street, ROK Enterprises and Hamburger Mary's each donated 40-50 cases of water to Big Grrrrr Ranch for the festival, but with supplies dwindling on Saturday night, they turned to the softball league for their extra water demands.

“Rather than go out ourselves and purchase more water, we simply asked the softball teams if we could buy the water from them,” said Van de Mark. “This win-win situation where they were able to unload water without taking a loss and we were able to continue on Sunday is the kind of cross-pollination within the LGBT community we strive to foster.”

Van de Mark said that the sales for the weekend ended up grossing $5,500 dollars, but after expenses, which include the water purchased from the softball league, ice and Pride’s cut of the profits, the Big Grrrrr Ranch will most likely net around $4,500.

Big Grrrrr Ranch is a San Diego based non-profit organization that helps members of the GLBT community with chronic conditions such as AIDS, HIV, cancer and diabetes, as well as helping youth from around the country attend GLBT rodeos, so that they can participate in a positive and affirming environment.

“This month, we will be sponsoring three contestants in Sacramento, two of whom are HIV-positive and one is battling cancer,” Van de Mark noted. “When the head of the Sacramento Rodeo called, he said, ‘These people would have never thought they could participate in a rodeo; your scholarship has given them the courage and the financial ability to do so.’”