Multiple bands performed at the Glen Huntington Bandshell during PrideFest Sunday, hosted by Rocky Mountain Equality. (Andrea Grajeda/ Staff writer)
Thousands of people celebrated the LGBTQ community at Boulder PrideFest with love and laughter, while still recognizing the need to keep fighting for equal rights.
Boulder PrideFest was hosted by Rocky Mountain Equality, formerly known as Out Boulder County, at the Boulder Central Park, 1212 Canyon Blvd., on Sunday.
Bruce Parker, Rocky Mountain Equality deputy director, has been working in LGBTQ community work for 20 years. For him, Pride is about having a place for LGBTQ youths to explore and express themselves without the fear of being attacked.
Susy Bates, campaign director for Freedom for All Coloradans and Freedom to Marry Colorado, (right) poses for a photo with a volunteer with One Colorado at Boulder PrideFest Sunday. (Andrea Grajeda/ Staff writer)
Parker recalled the uncertainty when he was a kid of whether he would be accepted by his friends and family, and he said it can be impactful to have a space to be oneself.
“So when you come to a space and you see literally thousands of people celebrating who they are and who you are, I think nothing could be more life-affirming, or more resilience-building or better for people’s mental health than being around that energy and people like them,” Parker said.
Parker said Rocky Mountain Equality changed its name from Out Boulder County, because the needs of the LGBTQ community do not stop at the county lines.
Chris Castañeda, who uses they/them pronouns and is the senior youth program manager, said Pride is a way to celebrate the LBGTQ’s fight for liberation while still acknowledging there is a long fight left.
Castañeda explained that being able to provide a safe environment for LBGTQ youths to be themselves and know they have a trusted adult who can support them is incredibly important.
“It’s beautiful to see kids open up and see their personalities expand once they are in a space where they don’t have to fight for their right to exist,” Castañeda said.
Mardi Moore, executive director, said Pride is a way to celebrate the LGBTQ community. She said the Boulder PrideFest starts with the Visibility March, and it is a simple way to ensure the broader community does not ignore the LGBTQ community.
“For one day, or one month, people have to pay attention to us. We’re here. We come in all different shapes and sizes,” Moore said, “We’re your neighbors, we’re your kids, we’re your parents.”
Moore also said by gathering the LGBTQ community can also work together to ensure they are not being left out of or targeted by legislative work.
Susy Bates, campaign director for Freedom for All Coloradans and Freedom to Marry Colorado, said the organizations work to fight for LGBTQ rights. She said the main focus for this election is marriage equality and protecting transgender youth.
Freedom to Marry Colorado is campaigning to remove obsolete language in the Colorado constitution that bans same sex marriage, to ensure that if Obergefell v. Hodges is overturned at the federal level, any Colorado resident still has the right to marriage equality.
She also explained Proposed Initiative 142 would require parents and legal guardians to be notified if their child is questioning their gender identity and Proposed Initiative 160 would place a ban on transgender girls competing in athletics.
Bates said both initiatives not only put a huge burden on the school system, but could potentially put young queer people at risk by outing them.
“It’s important to me that anybody in the state of Colorado has access to the rights that allow them to thrive, and that also means not limiting rights,” Bates said.
Bates said Pride is about the LGBTQ community being able to show up, communally and politically, and define rights for themselves. More information about Freedom for All Coloradans is available at freedomforallcoloradans.org.
More information about Rocky Mountain Equality, resources and events is available at rmequality.org.
