MONROE — Colors of the rainbow filled St. Mary's Park on June 30 as eventgoers celebrated Monroe County Pride 2024. This year’s theme, “There's No Place Like Home," was organized and hosted by Embrace and Prism .
A rainbow arch welcomed guests. Perched under canopies were more than 20 vendors and artists. Several businesses, clubs, churches and organizations peppered the park. Many passed out educational material along with Pride giveaways like rainbow totes, stickers, buttons and free water.
Held on the last day of Pride Month, the five-hour event provided the opportunity to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and diverse sexual orientations and genders (LGBTQI+) and to raise awareness for how communities can embrace the array of sexual orientations and gender diversity.
Reese Johnson of Prism estimates more than 1,000 people attended the celebration originally scheduled for Saturday, June 29.
“We canceled Saturday because of the extreme weather conditions,” Reese Johnson said. “It was a tough decision but our No. 1 priority is people’s safety. We wanted to make sure everyone could enjoy the event without worrying about rain.”
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This was the third year Johnson has been involved in Monroe County Pride. Formerly held at Munson Park, in 2023, the venue was moved to the West Elm Street location.
“We took the ‘Go big or go home’ attitude,” she said. “We want to make it as big as possible and this year’s event had a great atmosphere.”
Johnson explained sometimes it’s difficult for a member of the LGBTQI+ community to know if they have supporters.
Grace Marks of Carleton walked the park with her granddaughter, Carolyn. They stopped to watch the different performers in the drag show before grabbing a corn dog and French fries at a food truck.
“This is the first time I have ever been to a Pride celebration,” Marks said. “I came for Carolyn. There are strangers talking with strangers. One lady told me, ‘Thank you for being so kind and talking to me.’ It’s a good energy here. It feels safe.”
“To see how many people came to Pride to show their support was amazing,” Johnson said.
Plans are already in the works for Monroe County Pride 2025. The hosts will meet soon to evaluate this year’s event.
“We’ll get together and discuss what we liked about this year and how we want to continue moving forward,” she said.
— Contact reporter Lisa Vidaurri-Bowling at lvidaurribowling@gannett.com .
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Pride month concludes with Monroe County Pride 2024
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