Toledo’s LGBT community to celebrate their pride starting August 28

Downtown Toledo will burst with rainbows of color, performances and people from all walks of life as the sixth-annual Toledo Pride Festival takes place.

This three-day party begins Friday, Aug. 28, for the sixth-annual Toledo Pride festival.

Toledo Pride is an event centered on celebrating Toledo’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community with three days of activities and entertainment.

To Kelly Heuss, marketing director of Toledo Pride, the importance of the event is to create a sense of community. For her, it was a way of connecting with the LGBT community after feeling a sense of isolation.

“After graduating college, I moved to Orlando, in Florida, which has a really just massive, huge, open, vibrant LGBT community, and when I moved back home there definitely was not that at all,” Heuss said. “I felt very isolated because I didn’t know any other gay people in town…and I was sure that I wasn’t the only one that felt that way.”

Heuss said the festival has grown significantly since its first year in 2010, when it exceeded the original expectations for attendance by far.

“We were planning for about 250 people; 2000 showed up. It was clearly something that the area wanted, and for several years the attendance doubled every year,” Heuss said.

Last year the festival attracted about 20,000 people after increasing from the original one day of Toledo Pride to the current three-day schedule.

Jack Alferio, president of Spectrum at the University of Toledo, said Toledo Pride can help attract students from smaller communities and make them feel welcomed to the university.

“It must feel really good to be like, I’m coming to a town that celebrates me and I get to celebrate with the rest of the town,” Alferio said.

“It was exciting,” Alferio said. “I went with really close friends, and it was just really exciting to actually see the parade, and see everyone in it, and to just be there and be around people like you, and know you’re safe.”

The festivities start on Friday at 6 p.m. Heuss said all the money raised on Friday will be donated to the Northwest Ohio Food Bank, and attendees are encouraged to bring canned goods to donate.

Each day of the festival features different events. Friday will have live entertainment in Promenade Park and the ‘Nite Glo’ nighttime 5K run across the street at International Park.

92.5 Kiss FM will also be hosting the Kiss N’Drag event, where one of the DJs from the radio station will be hosting along with one of the local drag queens.

On Saturday, the parade participants will be marching from Adams and 21st street to Promenade Park, led by a special guest.

“The grand marshal for the parade this year is Jim Obergefell,” Heuss said. “He is the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that won marriage equality, which is amazing, so we’re so excited that he’s going to be joining us for Pride.”

Photo courtesy of Toledo Pride
One of the many live musical performances taking place during the 2014 Toledo Pride event. This year, Pride attendees can watch live entertainment following the parade, including drag performances and an Abba cover band.

Following the parade, attendees can enjoy live entertainment, vendors, food trucks, drag performances and an Abba cover band called Always Abba coming in from Canada to perform. Heuss said the following day is a family-focused, quieter day and admission on Sunday will be free.

Alferio said in honor of marriage equality being legalized this year, UT Spectrum is bringing a banner that says ‘I Vow to…” to their table and encouraging attendees to write vows of support related to the LGBT community on the banner.

In addition to Obergefell’s attendance in recognition of the legalization, Heuss said there will be a special ‘Marriage Equality’ raffle.

“We’re going to be doing a giant marriage equality raffle, and essentially raffling off a giant wedding package,” Heuss said. “It’s something we kind of put together with our sponsors to really celebrate marriage equality, and hopefully give a couple a really nice wedding.”

The prize package for the raffle contains items like vouchers for tux/dress rentals, gift certificates for invitations and jewelry store gift cards to help the winner with their wedding.

Heuss said religious organizations will also be present to affirm and support those who identify as LGBT. Trinity Episcopal Center is holding a Multifaith service on Friday at 7:30 together with several other churches and denominations on Friday night in honor of Pride.

“Our whole goal is we just kind of want to build that sense of community, not just with the LGBTQ community but with all of our allies,” Heuss said.

Alferio said he encourages both LGBT-identifying individuals and those who consider themselves allies to attend the event.

“I think it [Toledo Pride] gives a place that says there’s a place for everyone here. Even if you aren’t LGBT you can still go and feel celebrated because you’re different,” Alferio said. “But you know, I think for the LGBTQ community specifically it definitely makes you feel like you’re included and you are celebrated for who you are.”