Largest pride festival in Pueblo’s history held Sunday, hundreds came out to support
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO)--The Southern Colorado Equality Alliance (SCEA) presented its annual Pueblo LGBTQ+ Pride parade and festival on Sunday, August 20th at Mineral Palace Park.
In recent years there have been around 110 vendors at pride, but this year there was over 150, making this the largest pride celebration in Pueblo’s history, according to organizers.
"Lately we've had a few people, food trucks that participate in our events or venues that host us and get some negative feedback. But it's very drowned out by how much positive feedback they receive," said Tommy Farrell, President of the The Southern Colorado Equality Alliance.
The Pride parade and festival is a celebration of Pueblo’s LGBTQ+ community. The event featured businesses and nonprofit vendors, food trucks, and various entertainment throughout the day. It also showcased Pueblo’s most colorful parade.
The parade kicked off at 10:30am. The grand marshals of the Parade were Heather Palm, her wife Pueblo County Commissioner Daneya Esgar, and their daughter, Marlo. In the Pueblo pride fest program, the family is described as making a "significant impact on LGBTQ+ rights in Colorado."
After the parade, members of the community had a wide variety of activities to participate in including drag shows, spoken word, and other speakers.
While this event was filled with positivity, some were still grieving the loss of the 5 people who lost their lives in the Club Q mass shooting back in November.
RELATED: Mass shooting at Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub left 5 dead; Suspect, 22, in custody
"One of my good friends, Derrick, he passed away and was attacked. He was a really good bartender.He was very kind, loving to everybody...we just got to bounce back. We got to come together and just be here for the community," said Alexis Rave, member of the United Core of the Pikes Peak Empire.
While many people who attended the Pueblo pride festival will never forget what took place in Colorado Springs, they hope their love for one another outshines any hate in the world.
