Phoenix turned out its largest Pride celebration to date this past weekend, with over 30,000 people in attendance this year. Visitors arrived from the Mesa/Phoenix area as well as Flagstaff, Tucson and surrounding states, and Bookmans celebrated our diversity by being the only entertainment exchange - or book or CD store for that matter - in the middle of it all.

The Mighty Bookmans Prize Wheel.

We hosted a booth featuring a prize wheel, where patrons could spin their luck for various bits of Bookmans swag. Everywhere you looked someone was wearing a Bookmans shirt, bedazzled with their Bookmans beads, playing "Walk the Dog" with their newly won Bookmans yo-yo, or sharing their own Bookmans stories with one another.

There were hundreds of people - some from Arizona, some not - who all had a story to share and a favorite store to talk about. I heard from the same sex family who had adopted their child and couldn't find a book aimed at children on gay adoption - except for at a Bookmans in Tucson. Another lady shared her story of finding her dog through an animal adoption hosted at Bookmans Phoenix. Another gentleman told of how he has been going to Bookmans since finding it in 1991 and was completely touched when given a book for free by our very own Bob.

Being an employee of only a little over two years, these stories from "before my time" take me back to when I had just moved to Arizona myself three years ago. I became captivated by this little store I had stumbled across called Bookmans, where there was no censorship, no being unable to find that book deemed inappropriate by someone else, where the material I wanted, I could find.

Bookmans celebrates diversity at Phoenix Pride.

On Saturday, we had a non-stop line ranging from the veteran Bookmans shoppers, to the curious who wondered what we were all about and walked away with plans on coming into to our stores. It has always been my understanding that we do these events to promote our core values and to get our name out there. We accomplished both of these 120% this weekend.

Some may not understand, or care for, that we do this particular type of event, where others may not understand why we do Comic Con or video game tournaments. I understand the need and place for us at all. That need is why I felt called to Bookmans over two years ago and now stand prouder at the accomplishments of what we achieved over the weekend for both ourselves and the community.