Pride Festival gets near-perfect day to celebrate diversity

Elio came out two years ago, but it wasn’t until last year that she began to feel her authentic self.

That's what made Saturday’s Fox Valley Pride Festival – Elio’s first – so special.

“There's a lot of places in the world where we can't do this, we can't be ourselves authentically,” Elio said. “And I think it's really important that children and that teenagers get to see that who you are is not inherently taboo. It's a really important thing to acknowledge everyone is different and seeing there are so many different people here.

“I cried when I came in earlier. I was like, this is beautiful, this is a community house. Joy, you can feel the joy in the heart tonight. That makes me really happy”

Elio was among more than 6,000 people who turned out in Jones Park to listen to music, check out the 140 vendor booths, watch Hmong children dancers and, above all, to celebrate diversity.

The fifth annual Pride Festival was held against a backdrop of increasing hostility toward the LGBTQ+ community, especially since the second Trump administration came back into power and immediately launched anti-trans actions that critics see as an attempt to erase trans culture and trans identity entirely. Many states followed suit, passing anti-trans legislation around the country. Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature drafted four anti-trans laws last year, including both a high school and college sports ban for trans athletes, restrictions on pronoun usage and a ban on certain gender-affirming care. Gov. Evers vetoed them all.

The impact of such legislation, even when it doesn’t pass, touches directly on the mental health of those people targeted by it. Flamy Grant, the final performer of the afternoon, spoke of her recent concern for a singer-songwriter friend of hers who was struggling with the new hostile climate, waiting anxiously, she recounted, for return texts.

“I was kind of hanging out by my phone a lot, just making sure I could check in with them and make sure they were okay,” she said. “It got pretty rough for a minute. My friend's still with us, and still fighting, and still on that journey to healing and wholeness, like we all are.”

Grant wrote Better Off Alive from that experience and performed it on Saturday.

Bigger. Bolder. Braver.

This year’s theme, Bigger Bolder Braver, was a defiant response to all that recent backlash. Dana Johnson, the event’s lead organizer and the CEO of Fox Valley Pride, said, “We’re going to have the culture we have and if people don’t want to come or they don’t like it, that’s okay. They don’t have to come. But we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and not in the shadows.” 

Unlike last year, when heat indexes reached 105, this year’s festival offered near-perfect temps and bright sunshine. Most of the musicians were Mile of Music faves, including protest singer-songwriters Crys Matthews and Heather Mae, who performed together. One striking song expressing the hope that members of the current administration get justice contained the lyrics, “no Presidential library/Just a 12 by 7 cell.”

Still, the vibes were much more joy than anger. In fact, many people expressed joy over the joy they were witnessing.

“I came out today with my partner for the visibility and being able to feel seen amongst other people who are also looking to be visible in our community,” said Adina. “I think it means a lot, as well as the joy that you can find here amongst all of the people, the vendors, the people running the whole event. It's just so uplifting to me.”

Adina’s partner, Ophelia, said they saw the event as an opportunity to show what the gay community is all about.

“I think it's important to be visible because the media and other people whose views may oppose (us) tend to get stuck in echo chambers,” Ophelia said. “So, I feel like it's good to see something so joyous and so welcoming in the community.”

Ophelia said they weren’t frustrated or angry toward those who denounce the gay community.

“If they haven't had much exposure to this, and they've just been told negative things about this community their whole life, it could be expected that they may foster some negative opinions. That's why it's important to be visible and see that they aren't like I thought they were. So it's important to maintain a presence.”

‘They exist exactly how they are’

Brody, one of the founders of the Panorama Arts Collective which stages plays and musicals with a focus on inclusivity, said the festival is about inclusion and love. He said it is more important than ever to speak up for the LGBTQ+ community.

“It all started with a riot because of the way we were treating the queer community,” he said, referring to the Stonewall Riot in New York City in 1969. “The queer community fought back. And right now we have to pick up the battle axe for those whose space is being taken away. We need more people to say, this is my sister, brother, sibling. It doesn’t matter because they exist exactly how they are.”

Kat, who is heterosexual and who brought her young daughter with her, echoed that sentiment. She said the message she was trying to impart to her child was one of tolerance and acceptance.

“I think it's important to celebrate who you are, and especially because I have this little one,” she said. “I think it's so important to show her that it doesn't matter who you are, you can love whoever you want and you can be whoever you want to be.

“People are just trying to live their lives and be happy whenever they can find it. And I don't know why that's such a big deal.”

State Sen. Kris Dassler-Alfheim, who was on hand with her wife, Karianne, said the Pride Festival was an important statement of acceptance for people who may not always feel that.

“Pride events serve as an oasis of safety, free of judgment and full of love for all humans, no matter who they are or how they choose to represent themselves,” she said.