Dear Community,
Once again we have arrived at June, the month that GLBTQ people have selected to stand up in front of the world and proclaim, “I’m proud.” We who compose the Pride Festival Committee have worked hard to ensure that once again we will declare our pride with flare. We now invite you to come experience and share what we have prepared with many hours of work and many more touches of care and love. It is for you, the community, that we put forth a year-long effort, and, in the end, it is you who make the effort worth every minute.
This year our Committee has suffered trials, and it has enjoyed successes. First of all, the Committee inherited a Festival that had endured some rather large bruises. Unfortunately, last year’s festival, while fun, did not make any money and left this year’s Committee to start from scratch. I am proud to report that due to an incredible team, tough decisions, and tremendous work, we have bounced back. The Festival will have enough money to cover its costs by the day of the Festival. All the profit, and there will be profit this year, will go to support the ever expanding programming of Kentucky’s only Pride Center. Here is where I need to thank all of our sponsors. I want to make special mention of Crossings, which dug deep in its pockets to support the Festival; Ahava, which gave immensely; and Lexington Fairness, which ensured that street banners hanged throughout downtown for June.
Most of you know that Hands On Originals refused to honor a quote toward printing our t-shirts due to Christian belief. At times, great stress ensued. Reading the hostile comments on the Herald-Leader website among others dampened our spirits, but they reminded us that events like the Pride Festival are all the more necessary to show the world that we are good and proud people. You the community stood behind us and never wavered as we took a stand against discrimination and filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on behalf of the Fairness Ordinance. We thank you for the support. While the complaint is under investigation, the Committee has received what seems like an early birthday gift: Cincy Apparel decided to print our shirts for free. We thank them for reminding us that there are allies in the world who are finished with discrimination. We would like to take a moment to thank those businesses in the community like UK and Fayette County Public Schools who voiced their opposition to discrimination in the face of this complaint. Our mayor, Jim Gray, also deserves thanks for not shying away from a topic that has hurt many politicians before.
Another huge success is inaugurating the first Mr. LexPride: Clayton Burchell. We have had a couple Miss LexPrides, but Clayton merits a round of applause for being the first Mr. LexPride. He and Georgia Peach, Miss LexPride 2012, have done great work to bolster the name of Lexington Pride. Please shout out props to them when you see them.
Also, with the help of the Imperial Court, we pulled off a successful Very Fairy Christmas. Thanks go out to Shotz with a Z and Fred Worsham for their help on that event. While it was a jolly time, our biggest fundraising venture came from the Bachelor/Bachelorette auction. Thanks to JoDee Monroe aka Chad Hundley for his leadership there.
Perhaps our greatest success was creating year 5. I am so proud of that accomplishment. I feel like a parent sending his child to kindergarten. You will see on the street banners that our theme for 2012 is a simple 5 designed by Andrew Tan. The 5 represents 5 years of Pride Festivals, which feels like a dream. When we started five years ago, we couldn’t have imagined what year five would look like.
When I came to Lexington, we celebrated Pride with a picnic at Jennifer Crossen’s and Joan Callahan’s farm. Some of us referred to the occasion lovingly as the Pride Hide. Of course, we were grateful for Jennifer’s and Joan’s space, and we had a wonderful time each year, but by 2008, it was time to move downtown and let the world see us face-to-face. The first year we had no clue what we were doing. We didn’t know if we could do it. We didn’t know if we’d be successful if we did accomplish it, yet we were a determined crew. We started planning in March, suffered some crazy moments, and pulled off a successful Festival in a little over three months. By successful, I mean it made money and everyone enjoyed himself/herself. However, its success went far beyond money. The first Festival was on the lawn of the old courthouse. I will never forget a lady who stopped me on my way to the stage. She tearfully thanked me for all the work we had done. She told me that years before she had lost custody of her children in that courthouse for being a lesbian. She was overwhelmed with joy by how far we had come. Other people on that year’s Committee had similar stories to share. That Festival will always be a success to me because people like that lady felt validated, overjoyed, and empowered.
The positive energy kept strong through year two. One of my favorite memories from that year was Faces of Pride, a genius idea from Brian Slate who gives 110% of himself toward making our community a beautiful place. Dozens of people lined up and took the stage simply to say, “I’m John Doe, and I am a face of pride.” Seeing mothers and sons take the stage together lifted my soul. My friend Joey Rose told me he got a little teary-eyed. I don’t think I told him, but so did I.
Every year since then the Festival has evolved and grown. The evolution of the Festival has been an amazing journey. There are countless names to thank from years past, but this year I must thank those who have worked tirelessly toward a wonderful 2012 Festival:
Chad Hundley: festival VP, co-chair of volunteers, and organizer of the Bachelor/Bachelorette auction
Daryl Royse: treasurer, entertainment chair, and organizer of Mr and Miss LexPride events
Samara Baker: chair of fundraising and sponsorships
Don Lowe: chair of marketing and merchandising
Paul Holland and Donny Royse: chairs of logistics
Donovan Jefferson: technology and website chair
Jessica Martin: secretary
Ginger Moore-Minder and Corinna Svarlien: co-chairs of activities
Brad Shepherd: organizer of Coke and liquor contracts as well as all vendor apps
Adam Imparato: co-chair of volunteers
Shawn Pfeiffer: seller of many Pride bracelets
Aaron Baker: chair of GLSO
I’m sure there are others who deserve a huge thank you, but these are the people who have stood by the process since August and given their time and energy. They are all truly amazing people, and I hope that if you know them or see them that you will take a second to tell them how great they are.
So, now June 30th, our Festival date, is upon us. It’s our chance to stand in the Robert E. Stephens courthouse plaza where all of Lexington can see and to yell, “We are a face of Pride.” It’s our day to celebrate. And a celebration we will have. And whom do we have to thank most of all? You, the community. You, the people who live openly and lovingly every day and stand up to say, “I have pride.” Now, go forth with Pride and enjoy!
Hugs,
Paul Brown Chair of Lexington Pride 2012