http://www.statenews.com For Monique Goch, the Michigan Pride Festival is more than a celebration. Goch went to the festival for the first time in 1997 after coming out as a lesbian at age 26. She now serves as the festival’s outreach coordinator. “It’s very personal to me because I didn’t come out until I was 26,” Goch said. “I really needed that energy. I needed someone to say it’s OK, and now if we do that, look at our response. We have so many allies here.” The Michigan Pride festival, march, and the Michigan Equality Rally & Commitment Ceremony took place Saturday among a number of events that took place this weekend as part of Michigan Pride 2009. The festival was held at Adado Riverfront Park in Lansing and attracted more than 12,000 people. en-us Gryphon 2.2.3b-tsn (woodward)/Foundry5 webmaster@statenews.com