For more than two decades, PrideFest has celebrated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender selfhood and the hope for cultural change.

That’s still true. But this year, after two seismic shifts in public policy — the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and President Barack Obama’s endorsement of same sex marriage — the series of events will be about more than just a promise.

“I think right now it can be seen a lot as a celebration of pride and being a respectable, functioning member of society,” says Charles Irwin, executive director of the Colorado Springs Pride Center. “It celebrates our equality, our differences and just shows the community that we are proud of who we are.”

PrideFest and the Colorado Springs Pride Center, which serves as an advocate and resource for the LGBT community, will celebrate these new milestones in a fabulous (albeit reflective) fashion from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Sure, there will be the campy fun that comes with pride parades. But what excites the center this year is the balance between family, history and the activities everyone has come to associate with the festival.

Here, Irwin talks about the shift in focus the festival has taken recently.

The Gazette: What does PrideFest mean to you?Charles Irwin: It has changed over the years and I think it is ready to change again. PrideFest meant some very different in the beginning when we were trying to find our place in this world after the Stonewall Riots first started the movement in 1969, then it gradually changed to the festival side of it. But I think it is about time for me to balance the festival side with the education and activist side.

Gazette: Talk a little about what the festival means to the Colorado Springs LGBT community.Irwin: People tend to come out to the festival because there is a sense of belonging. It definitely pulls people out and gives the entire LGBT community a place to feel connected.

Gazette: What events will be taking place on Saturday?Irwin: I love that we are having Lucky Dog Resorts Family Fun Day and they are doing all kinds of stuff including a rescue parade. We are also going to have three bounce houses over by Uncle Wilbur (Fountain), where the kids can just have a blast. I am definitely excited about the focus on good clean fun time on Saturday with family members.

Gazette: What events will be taking place on Sunday?Irwin: We’ve got a great selection of entertainment on Sunday, the stage is packed and we go through the entire gamut. We have a worship service, then we go to men’s chorus then we go to Peaks and Pasties and there is everything in between. It is just phenomenal.Gazette: Has President Barack Obama endorsing same-sex marriage and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell effected the tone of the 2012 festival?

Irwin: I think that both of those did, as well as our fight for domestic partnerships here in Colorado. What I see over and over is that the LGBT community often takes two steps forward and is then forced two steps back. … (The LGBT community) have changed their tone of the past and are now saying that they are not just going to sit back and allow the changes to happen as they might. We are going to stand up and make the changes happen that offer equality.

Gazette: There is such a large military presence in Colorado Springs. With the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, will the event incorporate that community into the festival this year?Irwin: For the first time we have a real military color guard. We’ve tried for years to set that up, unsuccessfully, but now that it is legal to express your love as far is in the military is concerned, we wanted to honor our military community by having them kick off the pride parade on Sunday. I am extremely proud of that this year.

Gazette: The Gay & Lesbian Fund shut their doors in 2011. Did the Colorado Springs Pride Center or PrideFest feel a ripple effect?Irwin: Not really because we still have a partnership with the Gill Foundation, (which) sponsored the Gay & Lesbian Fund here in Colorado Springs. One of the things that we pride ourselves with is that we have always empowered the community in the 34 years (the center has) been open to the community. For a while it felt like we fumbled over each other, but with the Gay & Lesbian Fund simply not having a presence in Colorado Springs, we find that we are busier now. And we are certainly equipped and capable of getting people the help they need.

Gazette: Has there been a shift of focus by organizers between 2011 and 2012, and if so could you explain why?Irwin: Yes. We looked at how many people are using our center and why individuals come by or contact the Pride Center. We determined there are about 27 reasons why people need our help. … So what we determined is that we needed to change our mission statement to help narrow our focus. We changed it to read that we will connect, support and empower the LGBT community through PrideFest, the Pride Center and the Pride Business Network. By making that change, and always paying attention to those details, it has allowed us to really sit on a solid foundation of we do and help the community to the fullest.

Gazette: Has that shift of focus impacted the PrideFest?Irwin: I think it has some. We are always asking the question, “Why do I want to be at PrideFest?” … It allows us to keep us on task to make sure the voice of the community as a whole is being heard at the festival. Some of the community is more fantastic than others so we have to give that balance. This year we will have the family fun day, then it is more of a historic festival focused on having a good time and marching. We want to make sure we have a little bit of everything so everyone is able to be heard.

Gazette: So, what’s your favorite event at the 2012 festival?Irwin: I think it is the fact that in a worldly perceived conservative city, tens of thousands of LGBT people can come together and celebrate unity and fight for equality.