At the San Francisco gay pride parade all kinds of different people did all sorts of odd things and provided a variety of entertainments.

One man was dressed as Shrek and another was dressed as Tinkerbell from Peter Pan. Another man wore a T-shirt that had the Cheerios cereal logo changed to read “Queerios,” while another man on rollerblades wore nothing but a black bag covering his baggage.

Gay and lesbian couples romantically kissed in front of their friends to show their passion, while a set of three older males shared a three-way kiss. Drag queens were also a major part of the celebration, surrounding festival-goers in the middle of the street. Young couples were also part of the crowd, including a teenage lesbian couple holding hands.

Meanwhile, a black man read gay poetry. Women held each other and men held each other as he read the poem, titled, “Making Black History With You.”

An Asian male named J.J. Chin, 66, was holding a big cardboard sign and repeating the words, “Happy, happy, happy.” He was wearing a hat with some prescription glasses, a tan jacket, and some blue jeans.

Chin was balancing on a bucket turned upside down that was on two wooden boxes. He was standing on the compiled items and had a long mustache and beard. With missing teeth, he talked about how President George W. Bush was destroying the economy. Chin said he was standing in a different place before but said, “This is the second time the gay people kicked me out.”

A drag queen named Ms. Elegant had some positive things to say about the parade.

“What’s unique about the parade is all the diversity you see (and) all the families you see. It’s marvelous. I’m loving it, loving it,” said Ms. Elegant.

The drag queen wore a green dress, high heels, a blonde wig, lipstick, makeup, and some colorful nails. She said she loved being in the parade and she comes every year.

“The parade was fabulous," said Ms. Elegant. "I have never seen so many people before.”

Searching for souvenirs, a 40-year-old woman named Shelly Dixon was with her two small children. They traveled from Utah to support her father for the parade and just to have a good time.

Dixon said what was unique about the parade was how proud people are to be what they are. She also said her children were looking for beads and “cute little stuff.”

“We asked some people for some beads but they just gave us condoms. I mean that’s good but not for a little kid,” she said.

Mitch Hightower, 44, was wearing nothing at all and was with some friends who had the same lack of clothing. The men, who were part of a crew called Buck Naked in Public, were just walking around naturally with no guilt or shame.

“Everybody should be comfortable with the body God gave them no matter what you look like,” Hightower said. “We walk around to make (the point) that no matter what you look like because I’m not the best looking.”

Hightower’s group walks around naked at many San Francisco events. “Our main point is body acceptance,” he said.