LANCASTER – More than 2,000 people came through the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds Saturday for the fourth annual Pride Festival, organizers said.
The event, which celebrates the valley’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, was hosted by The OUTreach Center .
“This day has been phenomenal,” said OUTreach Center President Sanie Andres. “It’s an opportunity for us to get together to celebrate our diversity and to be visible in our community and let people know that we’re a part of it.”
Festivities kicked off around 10 a.m. with music, food, and arts and crafts vendors.
Entertainment started around 11:30 a.m. with a performance from Sean Wiggins and Lone Goat, and stage performances continued throughout the day.
Several rainbow-colored flags could be seen, throughout the fairgrounds, in recognition of the Pride Festival’s theme, “Raising the Colors.” The theme came from a contest won by former Senior Airman Charles McCrory.
“For him it was like a merging of the end of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’, raising the rainbow colors and having some pride and visibility in our community,” said OUTreach Board Member Sue Dell.
This year’s Pride Festival was the biggest yet, Adres said.
“Usually we average about 25 to 25 vendors but this year we had nearly 80,” he said. “In terms of attendance, we usually average from 500 to 800 people, but this year we’ve crossed well over 2,000 people.”
“We’ve had so much support from our non-LGBT allies,” said Dell. “The parents, the siblings, the friends, it’s just been positive all day. It’s been a great family day.”
Rene Padilla attended the festival with his wife, Rosa, and their one-year-old son Isca.
“We just decided to come out for the fun of it, for something different,” said Padilla. “This is a really good atmosphere.”
Others came out to support family members.
“We’re here to support my sister-in-law,” said Daniel, who attended the event with his girlfriend and several friends.
Several community service organizations were also represented at the Pride Festival, including The NAACP, Antelope Valley Chapter.
“Whether you’re gay or straight, it really doesn’t matter at this event,” said AV-NAACP President Juan Blanco. “This is an event for family and for celebrating the freedom of being yourself.”
For many more pictures from this event, visit our facebook page.
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Casey Keith says
As a Christian, Republican, and local Lesbian business owner, I am confused by some of the comments here. Last time I checked, Christ meets us all where we are and leads us forward. Being rude, bashing people and blantantly disrespecting other was not His way. Jesus has always been about inclusion, so what are people trying to exclude? I feel fortunate to have met Christ before I really met “Christians.” At Biola University, I learned that the term “Christian” means “Christ-like.” Try and remember that. Jesus’ mission was always about love and change, not hate and judgement.
William says
roger wrote
“Tea Partiers are generally middle to upper class.”
Did he see the tea partiers dressed in silly costumes at their rallies in 2009 and disrupting town hall meetings? Did he see their signs that old people carried saying “Keep the government away from my Medicare/Social Security” or whatever? Apparently, they’re too stupid to know that those are government services.
There is a woman in the AV who writes frequently to the AV Press who says she’s a tea partier. During the health care debates, she bragged that since she’s younger and fairly healthy, she ‘chooses’ not to buy health insurance. Yeah, and who is going to pick up the tab if she does get sick or injured?
She epitomizes the silliness of the tea partiers. They, and you, talk about personal responsibility and yet criticize the Democrats for passing legislation that would have people like her buy insurance so the costs aren’t passed onto everyone else. Which is it?
BTW. Gays are higher than average income earners. That’s why more and more businesses are catering to them. Cruise ship lines have special ‘gay cruises’ for example. You should try one. So, if that’s your measure of people, you should be ‘proud’ of them. But, you’re all over map.
roger, you keep backing up throwing out silly arguments. Eventually, you’re gonna back off the cliff behind you.
roger says
Good one William. It’s easy. If you don’t have insurance, you pay for your own care. If ya can’t afford it, you either get better on your own or you die. So, under your and Obama’s brilliant plan, if I don’t have insurance I can wait until I get sick or injured…then sign up for Obamacare and all will be taken care of. Hey, why don’t we do that with car insurance too….think of all the money we could save in premiums! I’m sure that costs would stay low. Ugggg….morons.
William says
You apparently ‘doan’ know what you’re talking about. ACA is about having people who don’t have insurance now buy it or face a penalty tax to make in order for insurance companies to be able to insure pre-existing conditions such as you describe.
That you don’t know what you’re talking about doesn’t surprise me. As it’s been for many years, people who can’t or won’t pay their hospital bills shift their costs to the insured and/or the hospitals and their staffs. Premiums are higher for the insured because of that and taxpayers pick up other uncompensated care expenses such as at county facilities.
You’ve been listening to right wing media way too much. People who watch Fox News, for example, are more uninformed than people who don’t watch TV news at all. Many on the right still think we found WMDs in Iraq and that President Obama isn’t a citizen and is a Muslim despite evidence to the contrary. And they want the republicans to run the government even though they don’t believe in science or anything else provable but they have ‘faith’ in the unprovable such as religion. If that ain’t stupid and backwards, I don’t know what is.
roger says
Ok, you got me. I’m a left winger….just playing devil’s sdvocate.
roger says
You got me so worked up that I mis-spelled a word.
William says
I just havin’ fun wit ya. I learned it from watching my cat play with a mouse.
roger says
I bet William hates the NRA, probably never owned a gun (let alone fired one), thinks that the military is a waste of money, hands money to losers (or scammers pretending to be poor) at the off-ramp asking for money, hetes the killing of animals for food, etc. etc. What a real man! I bet the gay guys love him!!
William says
NRA? Is that the group of guys with small dicks and big belt buckles?
No. I don’t hate it or them. They’re just grown up little boys.
roger says
What’s next? Multiple wife pride? Beastiality pride? When does the insanity stop? The lib homosexuals can’t answer that one.
William says
So, roger, you’ve never had the kind of sex Bill Clinton got in trouble for? No wonder you’re so irritable.
And, if you have, you’re a hypocrite because that’s not right, is it?
roger says
Don’t know why yer comparing apples and oranges man, but I do have trouble with the cheater Bill Clinton. Personally I don’t believe in cheating on your wife…no matter how much of a shrew she is.
William says
I’m not talking about the cheating but about the specific sexual activilty that he and Miss Lewinsky engaged in.
If you’ve engaged in similar activity, you must know that that is verboten for some people. How do you feel when they condemn that behavior, if you do engage in it?
If you don’, well too bad for you.
Honey says
What CONSENTING ADULTS do is their own choice.
An animal and/or inanimate object cannot give their CONSENT. Good lordy..get out of your wet dreams and into logic.
And who cares if three people want to get married. It is IN THE BIBLE! DUH!
William says
Some people still believe the earth is flat and nothing, nothing at all, can change their minds. I keep telling roger, it’s his issue, his problem, but he insists that it’s the fault of others who use the word ‘pride’ to describe their festival.
What can you do with people like that, the flat earthers and roger? I love to play with his mind and watch him wiggle his way around the issue. It’s cruel but what the heck.
roger says
Please William…stop the torment…I can’t take it!!!
William says
I knew you couldn’t.
You see. I’m smarter, more clever and better looking than you.
But, I’ll try and be more gentle.
roger says
Honey-dear, I said nothing about doing anything to an animal. I’m talking about the DESIRE to do something with an animal. What could be wrong with a pride festival celebrating the lust for animals??? You can’t answer.
Honey says
There is no “Pride” in having a desire to do anything to anything that is incapable of consent.
Do heterosexuals have “pride” in the desire to rape? I don’t think so. There is nothing to be proud of in that act.
miffed american says
I have no respect for this at all. A picture of a man bent over offering his back end! this was a exhibition of forcing a behavior on society. You do not see Heterosexual people the norm in our population running around and behaving this way generally. Is there a Heterosexual Pride day? The parade is a charade to try and continue the Gay,Bi,Trans on society and try and make it normal. Normal is when you keep your personal Sexuality to yourself and not make a circus out of it.
roger says
That’s what I’m sayin! Well said!
Missy says
has anyone seen the front page article of the valley press dated July 2nd? “city trail ‘hook up’ area for public sex” about barrel springs trail, near pearblossom hwy, being a hotbed for homosexual activity..it’s even listed on websites advertising it..this is disgusting..I don’t call this normal and it’s sickening that these people are so perverted that they can’t contain themselves until they are in a private place.. too bad for the people that just want to take a hike thru the area and have to witness this crap.. maybe some of your gay and lesbian organizations should educate your people..
Letlow says
I saw the article and I think it’s very sad.
Sad that this type of activity takes place because of bigots and homophobes.
Men are pretending to be straight to avoid the stigma unfairly placed on the gay population. They end up having to lead double lives and sneaking around in the bushes rather than being proud of who they are.
When the ones with enough courage come out and freely express themselves to the world, as was the case with the Pride Fest, you blast them as being blasphemous based on YOUR beliefs.
For the record, I am straight and I believe in God. I believe that God would not want me to judge another human being and would want me to treat others as I want to be treated. For this reason, I support love of any kind.
roger says
There’s no way you could possibly believe in God. It’s perfectly fine to judge people if they’re up to no good. These people are mentally ill (which they can’t help), but exhibiting the behavior in public is something they are doing by choice. That’s the part that’s wrong. Keep it in the closet like in the 70s and the world will be a much better place. Gays are abnormal and sick.
Missy says
so, letlow, you know these men? you know they are leading leading a double life? quit making excuses..they at least should have some sense and get their jollies in a private place..maybe they should use their brain and stop playing the poor me routine..would you want your kid to come across this deviant behaviour?
roger says
Yeah Missy….I love how straight people say that they are ok with homosexual behavior, but in the same breath they claim that they are straight and would never engage in homosexual behavior….but they can’t say why.
William says
Some people don’t like broccoli but they don’t go on a crusade about it like you do.
The problem is with you, roger. And, you alone. But, I know. It looks like it’s out there at the fairgrounds and you’re just observing it. Yeah, right.
I bet you see a lot of things during the course of a day that don’t rile you up but you’ve got an issue here and you keep beating you head against the wall about it. Well, the wall doesn’t care.
roger says
I haven’t seen a broccoli pride festival yet William, but when I do I’ll laugh at it’s absurdity just like I do the gay pride one. You don’t get it…the problem is with the “pride” part of it. There’s nothing to be proud of; straight or gay. You don’t get it man.
William says
Geez, roger. You are aware that they have car shows at the various public places where people show off their custom and restored cars.
They don’t necessarily call them ‘Car Pride Shows’ but do you need that explained to you.
A ‘Gay Pride Festival’ celebrites whatever culture is associated with the gay community, their tastes in music or whatever.
Why are you so dense? Not only dense, but you keep changing the subject from ‘mental illness’ to your objection to the word ‘pride’. So what if they use the word ‘pride’. You’d still be bitching if they called it the ‘Gay Broccoli Festival’.
You’re waging a losing battle in a war you can’t win.
roger says
Cars are cool. Homosexuals are gay….and sick.
Letlow says
People should get their jollies in a private place and not subject others (especially kids) to their public sex. That, me and you can agree on. I don’t know if most gay men lead double lives, so perhaps it was wrong of me to imply that. I don’t know or understand how most gay men live because I try to stay out of other people’s business. I don’t fear or hate what I don’t understand, and perhaps you shouldn’t either.
Just because we don’t understand something that doesn’t mean it’s deviant, disgusting or abnormal.
I am sure I engage in behaviors that the gay community doesn’t understand. I wouldn’t want them condemning me for it.
What you believe is sacred to you, and that’s fine. But try not to judge others based on YOUR beliefs. Recognize that they might have other beliefs as well.
And who’s to say which one is right or wrong? Live and let live!!
Letlow says
You said: You do not see Heterosexual people the norm in our population running around and behaving this way generally…
YOU DON’T???
What about Mardi Gras? Superbowl parties? The Halloween block party in Santa Monica? Renaissance Fairs? St. Patrick’s Day?
The fact is, you ALWAYS see this type of behavior at festivals by heterosexuals. Pick any downtown LA bar on a Saturday night and you will find a man drinking liquor shots out of a woman’s breast. Heterosexuals displays of affection are the norm so no one bats an eyelash. Why shouldn’t the gay population be able to express themselves in a similar manner without attacks from you?
If you don’t like it, you can simple choose not to watch. But there is no law against it, just like there is no law against your apparent bigotry.
William says
Exactly. “There are none so blind……..”
It’s amusing and disturbing at the same time that any articles having to do with the gay community elicit such hateful responses from people like Ace, roger, GWBush and others who are unaware that they are revealing their own ‘issues’.
Of course, illegal or harmful activity isn’t being condoned by anyone. But, it’s ironic that those people mentioned above express hate in the name of religion towards those whose ‘crime’ is loving each other. I’m sure their God will make the appropriate adjustments to them in their afterdeath.
Let them be upset. It will eat them alive and displace a great deal of happiness in their lives. Ace is not a happy person, for example. “Happiness is a function of accepting things the way they are”. When I’m upset about something, I’m not also happy at the same time.
Those people mentioned above are only slightly less intolerant than those in Middle Eastern countries that we object to for their human rights abuses.
roger says
I knew it. You couldn’t answer my simple question. If there’s nothing wrong with being a homosexual, what’s wrong with being sexually attracted to animals? How ’bout a animal-love pride festival? Would you object to that? You can’t answer with any logical reasoning. It’s either “It’s ok, because they can love whatever they want to love”. Or “It’s wrong, because animal love is a mental disorder”. So, which one is it?
William says
Your premise if faulty to begin with. If it’s OK for you to have sex with a woman you love, why not an animal you love?
See. Your game can be turned around to you.
Like I said, you probably engage in activity that others would find objectionable but you’ll say ‘it’s you right’ or something like that.
roger says
So, I’ll turn it back around the right way. My point is that there’s nothing wrong with having sex with the woman you love. But it’s sick to be attracted to animals just as it is to be attracted to members of the same sex. How much more simply can I put it?
Honey says
Were there scantily dressed people? Showing a lot of skin? Guys in thongs or chaps?
Everyone was naked… underneath their clothes!
Guys don’t wear thongs.. this isn’t Greece!
Guys wear cod pieces with a STREET LEGAL backside covering of at least one inch of material.
Be happy they don’t wear it more often!
It is the damn summer… nobody wears chaps in the desert. Maybe chap style booty shorts… with a cod piece. Again.. street legal and can be worn at any time of the year down any public street.
Were their people wearing leather bondage outfits and people with whips wearing spiked dog collars?
Too hot for bondage “outfits”… and FYI.. people with the whips don’t wear the collars. Duh
Pretty Lesbians in bikinis?
I wouldn’t say they were all pretty.. but I don’t care for blondes personally.
Did the Dikes On Bikes show up?
It is Dykes On Bikes.. geez
Who were the vendors and what were they selling?
Well.. we were selling kool-aid with doses of BE GAY serum in it!
Was there food? Do Gay people eat the same food as straights do?
No food.. just our local dose of “BE GAY” juice. You see, if we don’t take it we start becoming attracted to the opposite sex and wear mismatched clothes! Those who are bisexual are those who have somewhat of a resistance to the serum… we are working on a more powerful mix to help them. Sorry for Denis Rodman.. clinical trial didn’t go so well.
Was there a Drag Queen Beauty Contest? A talent show?
We are ALL FABULOUS! We pity any one trying to JUDGE us!
Was their booze for sale like at that outlaw biker party deal?
We had a bunch of free kool-aid! Who wants alcohol after that??? geeez.. besides, I do believe the bikers took all the booze with them. Which explains why the Dykes on Bikes didn’t show up.
Was there drugs? Rock bands? A Rave..?
Man! I was asking the same question about the drugs! I mean, I was there all day and couldn’t even get a wiff of the funny stuff! Bikers must have taken that too.
We don’t listen to “rock”. Streisand, Judy Garland, Madonna, Lady Gaga and for the lesbians we throw in some Tracy Chapman and Melissa Ethridge.
Oh raving was done…. raving about “Oh no she did not wear THAT to Pride! Oh guuuuurl NO!!!
Were those people in the photos characteristic of most of the attendees?
Sampling of the FABULOUS!!
Did any of our local leaders show up and make a speech?
I am sure they showed up where they were asked to be and made a speech. That is their job…. right?
What was the most fun part of the whole deal?
Throwing glitter bombs on everyone.. filled with BE GAY serum. I have a few saved..
Why wasn’t it held at night? That would have been much more cool and even romantic?
Because we SPARKLE during the daylight hours! Silly, don’t know anything? Besides, it was stilll going when the sun went down! It went till midnight… then the party moved to a local TAX PAYING establishment that was filled to capacity with those seeking a “romantic” moment. hehe
How come no one heard about it? Or was it only advertised for Gay people?
Oh honey.. I do belive that those who are “no one” even heard about it cause damn near everyone showed up!!
Even made the newspaper a few times..
Did any prominent openly Gay people show up? Was there an art exhibit? Body painting?
We only let those people come out at big events. Between events we have to make sure to give them “BE GAY” transfusions.
And believe me… seeing some of the girls there.. they were works of art in motion! They were fierce!!
And since it was all about Gay Pride, how come the nice photos didn’t identify who the people are?
I have them on my Facebook if you would like to get to know them! I mean, which one did you want to know more about? I can dish on most of them…..so, just tell me doll… which one strikes your fancy??
Lot of unanswered questions that a good reporter would have answered for the readers like me who are curious and want to know.
See… curiosity is how we all started honey! You are right on schedule!
How much was admission?
It was alll free.. well, except for the dance and parking after 1pm. But my outfit, hair, nails… oh lordy help me I can’t even say how much money I spent in this town just getting READY for the event! HUNDREDS! I came on fierce and owning it!
Were straight people welcome?
Yes.. how can we feel Pride if we don’t turn a few folks at each event? It is like one of the revival tents that converts sinners to christians! It is the reason we have Pride in the first place! That is in the Gay agenda book on page one! Didn’t you get your copy???
Letlow says
LOLOLOLOL!!! You got me laughing loud and crazy with your post!! Absolutely perfect and priceless response!!
roger says
Just look at the morons in the pics. Pretty much answers all the above questions. I’d love to se the gay reaction to a Straight Pride Festival. I wouldn’t be there because there’s no reason to be “proud” of any sexual preference. Stop rubbing your un-natural lifestyle in normal people’s faces.
William says
You’re not normal. Get over yourself.
roger says
A guy who is sexually attracted to another guy is abnormal (about 5% of the population)….it’s a mental problem. The world was a better place when they kept it in the closet. Why be proud of it? You can’t answer that.
William says
Are you left-handed? Left-handed people are not ‘normal’ statistically. Would you have them stay in a ‘left-handed closet’?
I promise you that there are things that you are or do that are not ‘normal’ statistically. Now, what do we do with you?
roger says
They’re abnormal as well…but not mentally ill. And they don’t force it on right-handers “pride” festivals. Lefties are abnormal. Gays are sick. Both should go about their business without forcing everybody to accept that they are somehow normal.
William says
So, Village Idiot, are you a mental health professional or do you just talk out of your rear?
Or, can you tell the difference?
roger says
I’m no shrink, but I can tell the difference between a beautiful woman and a hairy guy!!
William says
You wrote>
“I’m no shrink, but I can tell the difference between a beautiful woman and a hairy guy!!”
So, which one did you have sex with?
Let me guess. A beautiful woman wouldn’t look twice at you, so it must be the other.
roger says
Why does it matter to you which one’s the one for me??? Sounds like you may be suffering from a touch of homophobia…in my professional opinion. You biggot!
William says
No one is being ‘forced’ to go to the festival.
You aren’t even being forced to read the article or comment on it, are you?
But, something inside you is really ‘mentally ill’ that you rant about it constantly.
Keep it up. It will eat you alive.
roger says
It’s like a traffic accident William. It’s likely shocking and gross, but it’s human nature to check it out. I also like to stay up on current events….disgusting or not.
G.W.BUSH says
GOOD ONE LMAO !!!!!!!!!
G.W.BUSH says
william i was not laughing @ your comment,i was laughing @ rogers.i just wanted to make that clear after you tried to make me throw up yesterday! your new name is, (LiL’nasty william)
William says
You know G.W. Bush was known as the ‘Village Idiot’ of Crawford, Texas.
So, from now on, you are ‘The Village Idiot’.
And it fits you perfectly.
William says
BTW, Village Idiot, it’s the right wing bible-thumpers who are always saying they don’t like the “gay agenda shoved down their throats”.
Apparently, they and you prefer other things shoved down your throats instead.
roger says
PS- Unfortunately for you “William”, the idiot in charge is going to lose the election to a good conservative like Bush was. The free ride is over for you….better get a real job with healthcare coverage, because Osama Bin Bama Care will be gone too!! Thank God!!
William says
I came across this today regarding Mitt Romney’s press conference on the ACA issue.
“1. Agrees with Roberts the penalty is a tax making it constitutional
2. Agrees with Dissent declares the penalty is not a tax and unconstitutional.
He said that in the same press conference and you aren’t smart enough to know an idiot candidate from a rock.
It’s a wonder that Romney had any children as he can’t figure out which way is up or down. It musta been an accident that he put it in the right place.
BTW I do have good health care coverage even though I’m retired and I had it before. At my previous job, I had a menu of benefit options and selected the most advantageous if I got sick or disabled and did without some options that would have been nice at the time. In other words, I was prudent and thought long term. I even took out private disability insurance in case I broke a leg at Wrightwood and was laid up for 6 months. It was $150/month.
The ACA is to get ‘freeloaders’ like the tea partiers to pay up so we don’t have to pay their health care expenses while they bitch about the government.
roger says
Tea Partiers are generally middle to upper class. How’s that freeloading???? I hate to admit it, but you lived your life right. Plan for the future, invest in healthcare insurance, private disability insurance, etc. That’s what EVERYBODY can do. If you screw up in life, why make others pay for it???? I believe in personal responsibility…not a Robin Hood scenario like you do.
roger says
Thanks for the support G.W.!
J. Ripper says
I dunno, chickie in the top photo is NOT an argument for gays (lesbians, specifically, if she is indeed) having fashion sense and wearing matching clothes.
roger says
What a bunch of freaks. This valley is going down the tubes like the rest of the country.
David says
I was shocked to hear there was anything gay in the A.V. You have to remember this is the Antelope Valley. For those of you that did not attend the A.V. Pride Fair it was exactly what I thought it would be. Very low key, with plenty of vendors, food & drink vendors and some entertainment and lots of friends and families enjoy the day without having to worry about any violence. It was a place for everyone to enjoy the freedom to be themselves and still be safe. It was nothing like , Hollywood, S.F., N.Y. and other Pride Fairs. I had not expectation of what it would be and I enjoyed it for what it was with friends and family. Out of the fifteen of us that went I was the only gay one. Everyone else was there to support the gay community and me. We all decided to do it again next year as well. Hopefully it will be bigger and better. :-)
G.W.BUSH says
And we are taken the word GOD out of our schools,and we are trying to take the word GOD off of the dollar bills,but we are pushing for this!!in every religous book that has GOD as being a rightous vessel,speaks against it! HE has destroyed cities behind things like this !!now in our schools they don’t just teach about kings and queens,they teach about kings and kings!!don’t get me wrong, i do beleave in teaching the kids about it,but there is a time and a place for everything!!!!people we was created man and women, because two of the same sex can’t reproduce,or procreate.i remember when there was a time that if it was done, it was done behind the scene,not glorified like as today !!! see a person don’t have to tell you that you are doing wrong,you have that inner person that tells you,and thats why you hide when you do it !! and now that you have fought, and fought, and now you have people to help you glorify in your wrong doings,still does not make it RIGHT!!! yeah it is a new day and time, but it still does not make it RIGHT!! this is not a new trend,because there is nothing new under the sun,it is just history repeating it self.aand just like he destroyed it then,he is going to destroy it again!!! Have we not learned from history,that is one of the points of history,and that is so that we dont make the same mistakes twice!!! i understand not every body beleave in GOD,and thats not the point. just look at it from the naked eye MAN+MAN=0….WOMAN+WOMAN=0….MAN+WOMAN=1 which is a BABY..I know that every body is going to jump down my throat for this,but i can’t give up the right for the wrong !!!!!!!!
S. Parker says
It looks like a good time was had by all. It seems like just yesterday I was reading about them yanking down a rainbow flag from the Fairgrounds. Now, less than a year later, they are having an entire pride festival there. I’m so happy to be a part of this new Antelope Valley that seems to embrace people from all walks of life. It is a good day for tolerance in the AV. Bravo to the organizers of this event!!! Score one for diversity!
roger says
Diversity is perversity man!!
William says
It was reported that Ace was at the festival dressed as Pretty Pollyanna escorted by 2 bodybuilders.
Now, try to get that image out of your head.
Sad says
With all of the violent crime committed by African Americans in this town you’d think the NAACP would have its hands full with that issue alone and not have to butt its nose into a Gay Pride event?????
David says
I was a bit surprised how many African American gays and non gays were at the fair. Easily 25% were.