Organizers have been working behind the scenes since May securing hotel rooms, sponsorships and entertainment venues for the event, scheduled for April 30 through May 3, 1998. House of Blues, Official All-Star Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, and Celebrations have all pledged participation in the festival.

Official All-Star Cafe, a theme restaurant and sister to Planet Hollywood, has agreed to serve as the registration and welcome site during the festival. They also hosted PRIDE 98's first press conference on November 5. In the evening hours of November 24, representatives of Burroughs & Chapin Co. (B&C), a local real estate developer, began a telephone campaign to halt the All- Star's participation, applying pressure not only to local management but also to All-Star's corporate headquarters in Orlando. The press conference went on as scheduled, and Official All-Star Cafe has publicly refused to be influenced by B&C, who owns the land where All-Star and Planet Hollywood are located.

B&C is the largest developer in the Myrtle Beach area, and has been in operation since before the city was founded in the late forties. The widow of a B&C founder is credited with naming Myrtle Beach. They own much of the cities commercial property, including the famous Myrtle Beach Pavilion and their latest venture, Broadway at the Beach, a $250 million mega-complex which houses theaters, shops, night clubs, a sea aquarium, hotels, and restaurants.

In a statement released as a quarter page advertisement in local newspapers, B&C said: ''Our company abides by the laws governing fair and equal treatment of all individuals. However, as a private company, we have not, nor do we intend to, be forced or intimidated into supporting organized activities that we believe endanger the historic values of our nation and the cornerstone truths on which they are based.''

B&C's next step was to ask Hard Rock Cafe to withdraw their support of the festival. The popular restaurant, whose theme is "love all, serve all," told the press they would not be influenced by the company. PRIDE '98 organizers are continuing to negotiate with Hard Rock.

Hard Rock Cafe is the cornerstone club for the Celebrity Square Street Association, a group of nightclubs who share a common outdoor concert and gathering area in Broadway at the Beach. In support of PRIDE '98, Celebrity Square had negotiated a contract with the Village People to appear on May 2.

However, a previously untested clause in their leases give B&C the final say on entertainment in the commons area of Broadway at the Beach.

The company refused to allow the Village People to perform, saying ''We have decided that it is in the best interest of Broadway at the Beach not to have any special events during April 30-May 3, 1998, which can be misinterpreted as an endorsement of the Gay and Lesbian Pride March to be held during the same period.''

The Celebrity Square Street Association has already paid the Village People a $5000 deposit for their appearance. Representatives of the Village People have expressed an interest in working with PRIDE '98 to appear elsewhere in Myrtle Beach during the festival.

Rumors of a "buycot" of Broadway at the Beach and other B&C properties quickly surfaced, and the controversy has drawn the attention of national media. Organizers of PRIDE '98 have fielded calls from CNN, the Los Angeles Times, wire services and others. After this, what is next?" asked Tony Snell, co- chair of the SC Gay & Lesbian Pride Movement, sponsors of PRIDE '98. "Will they prohibit music by openly gay and lesbian artists like Elton John and K.D. Lang? Will they ask individuals their sexual orientation before entering Broadway at the Beach?''

Many members of the community have voiced their opposition to B&C and their support of PRIDE '98, including most members of City Council. ''I look at the Gay Pride group as another group coming to have a good time, enjoy the entertainment and walk on the beach,'' Councilwoman-elect Judy Rodman said. "Hopefully we will be gracious hosts. Of course we want them to behave themselves, but we have no indication they will not." City officials offered City Hall as the site for future press releases if B&C would not allow them to be held on their property.

But earlier this year, city council member and now mayor-elect Mark McBride angered the gay community when he spoke out against the opening of a gay night club in downtown Myrtle Beach. "We don't want this garbage on the Boulevard." McBride said, making note of transvestites and people in "dog collars and chains." Many have speculated that this statement was the catalyst that drove GLPM to select Myrtle Beach as the site for the '98 festival. But PRIDE '98 organizers say plans were already in progress before McBride's remarks.

"Traditional family values don't support their lifestyle and their sexual activities," McBride recently told the Sun News. ''But I don't believe we're a community that needs to be enlightened," he said, referering to PRIDE '98 plans. "I think they're going to come and propose their lifestyle and what it means to be gay and lesbian. It's not going to be ugly and we're not going to have battles. Our community doesn't want it, so it will go away. People don't come here for those activities.''

The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has been working in cooperation with PRIDE '98 since last May, when they helped the organization contact and secure hotels for the festival. Chamber President Ashby Ward told the Sun News they are dealing with the march and festival the same way they deal with any large group. Ward said they would help with registration, which could include providing volunteers and name tags. The chamber voted in November to accept PRIDE '98 as a member organization.

News of the B&C controversy has helped PRIDE '98 organizers convince Candice Gingrich, sister of House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Betty DeGeneres, mother of actress and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, to attend the rally next Spring. Linda Robertson, PRIDE '98 co-chair, believes that the national attention will increase attendance at the festival. She said: `` Don't be surprised if our numbers are tripled after all this. . . . If for no other reason, this is the very thing that proves why we need this march here.''

All reaction to the B&C actions has not been positive. Several Baptist ministers, most from neighboring Conway, SC, have vowed to protest of the gay rights movement, and plan to stage their own march concurrent with the PRIDE '98 march.

Eric Gargus, minister of youth and activities at the First Baptist Church of Myrtle Beach, says they plan to "set up a tent somewhere and bring in people who were formerly homosexuals and converted to Christianity and do some seminar, education type things." Patrick Evans, also a PRIDE '98 co- chair, said that although a few ministers hold this negative opinion, "those of us who are both gay and religious are encouraged by the clear movement of mainstream religion towards our acceptance and support." A special "Community Liaisons" Committee of PRIDE '98 is being formed to address concerns of the community and work to allay fears and misinformation.