Last Saturday, along Prospect Park West in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a modest celebration was taking place that you probably didn't even know was happening. I didn't know myself, even as I ran under an archway made of multi-colored balloons, past the stage where a very convincing transvestite was testing the mic, and on into the park for my daily run.

I soon figured out that I was immersed in Brooklyn Pride, a smaller, more intimate version of the circus that dominates Fifth Avenue in Manhattan every June for the annual Gay Pride Parade. I don't mean to bash that event, of course, which will be on Sunday, June 22nd, but merely to point out that pride can take many forms. Sometimes celebrating who you are doesn't have to be an explosive affair on an epic, Manhattan-worthy scale.

The Gay Pride Parade is fun to watch, but I always think of a New Yorker cartoon I saw years ago: a middle-aged gay couple are sitting on their sofa, one is lying down and the other is on the phone. The caption reads: "No, we're not doing anything for Gay Pride this year. We're here, we're queer, we're used to it."

The Brooklyn Pride event, on the other hand, from what I saw, just looked like a fun day in the park. There were a few people soliciting money for gay rights causes, such as one gentleman I met from the Human Rights Campaign (full disclosure: I did not give him any money because I had nothing on me but a pair of running shoes, shorts, and a key to my apartment), but fundraising didn't seem to be the focus.

Everything about the event was very Brooklyn: diverse, polite, and full of spirit. And it made me proud, too, just to call Brooklyn home.