It is with great honor and Pride that the members of the Northalsted Area Merchants Associations (NAMA) and those of us at the Pride Fest Program Guide extend a hearty Windy City welcome to all of you attending the 2008 edition of Chicago Pride Fest. One of the fastest growing street festivals in the city, Pride Fest helps put an exclamation mark on the month-long celebration of Pride here in Chicago. On this northern end of Halsted Street in the Lakeview neighborhood (between Grace and Addision Streets), Pride Fest brings together thousands of city residents, suburbanites, and visitors from around the world for a fun-filled and memorable day of art, culture, politics, commerce and entertainment. As you attend and walk around this year's Pride Fest, we encourage you to use this Program Guide and refer to it often. It contains information about the various Pride Fest Vendors and a map to help you navigate around the festival area. You will also find details in the Program Guide about the exciting entertainment that's on tap for Pride Fest. This year's line-up includes many popular local acts (such as ROTC, Spirit Brigade, and Boi Toiz) plus exciting main stage headliners Tiffany, Kimberly Locke, Frenchie Davis, Inaya Day, and Martha Wash. As Pride Fest is part of Chicago's June celebration of Pride, you will find plenty of information in this Program Guide about other Pride-related events in the city. The expanded Pride Planner lists many social and cultural events that are occurring in and around the city during the last two weeks of June. Finally, as you read through the Program Guide, we hope you'll take notice of the persons and businesses that make up NAMA as well as those advertisers who support this Pride Fest Program Guide. They all have contributed to make Pride Fest a meaningful, vibrant, and joyful experience for those who attend, and in turn we encourage you to patronize their businesses during Pride Fest and beyond. Once again, NAMA and the Pride Fest Program Guide welcome you all to the 2008 Chicago Pride Fest!