Emporia’s annual Pride celebration brought the gay, straight, allies and casual bystanders to downtown Emporia on Sunday.
Better than 200 people attended the activities, and organizer Mallory Bishop was grateful for the diverse demographics at the event.
Bishop says June is obviously special for the LGBTQ community, but identity goes well beyond one month.
Among the vendors at the Pride festival was Mulready’s Pub, which consistently has LGBTQ+ friendly signage, including a flag, outside the business. Co-owner Meg Worthing says diversity needs to be celebrated, not eradicated.
Worthing says the recognition of diversity can be important along with the annual celebration.
Pride this year featured a short parade, live music from Sunblush and Sincerely Eugene, vendors and a drag show led by Emporia native Q — who appeared on Season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and will be on Project Runway starting July 9.
Queer Year Round, meanwhile, is becoming increasingly active, both in the community and on social media. Bishop says there will be a strawberry social next month in honor of the movie “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar,” as well as other community events through the rest of the year.
Photos by Chuck Samples/KVOE News
