A drag performer glitters in the sun, their outfit adorned with blue sparkles, catching the eyes of a crowd of people. Moving to the music, they lip-sync and dance, entertaining spectators with their animated expressions.
The sounds of upbeat pop songs echo through the busy street, with passersby donning Pride flags and singing along to the lyrics.
Teenagers and adults sit on the ground to carefully color and draw meaningful sentiments and icons with pastel chalk, decorating the road and sidewalk with an endless assortment of colors.
On a hot summer day, fighting back against a blazing sun, the same people gather along Oliver Lewis Way to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community at the annual Lexington Pride Festival on Saturday, June 28.
For some, the very essence of Pride serves as a space for the LGBTQ+ community to be themselves and to celebrate their queerness without fear or judgment.
Amber Boling, a Lexington Pride Festival attendee, said the celebration was freeing for her, as it gave her comfort in knowing she wasn’t alone and had a whole community behind her.
As a child, Boling said she was not always met with such comfort as she wasn’t supported by her biological father.
Now, attending her first Pride festival as an adult, Boling draped a pink, blue and white patterned flag around herself, showing off the colors of the transgender pride flag.
“Coming here and seeing that it’s OK to be the way I am and that there’s other people like me, it just brings a sense of security and community,” Boling said. “I’m not the only one.”
The festival served as a testament of strength for other attendees, such as David Robinson, who said he was pleasantly surprised to see the number of commercial vendors who chose to participate in the event.
“Just based on the year and everything that’s been happening, I thought some vendors might withdraw,” Robinson said.
Robinson, who identifies as a cisgender heterosexual man, said it was important for people to stand up for what they believe in, and seeing corporations participate in Pride was encouraging.
“It gives me that pride and belief that some people actually say what they mean,” Robinson said.
Josh Moses, a first-time Pride attendee, said corporations standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community at the festival gave him a sense of hope.
“People aren’t just rolling over and taking what’s happening,” Moses said. “People are standing on what they believe.”
According to Moses, although it was difficult to encompass what Pride meant to him fully, he believed the celebration to be a reminder to keep fighting and be true to himself.
“I have my Black pride, I have my Queer pride. Everything kind of merges together,” Moses said. “But to me, overall, it’s just being authentically yourself, and not letting those obstacles get to you. Just keep pushing.”
That same sense of resilience, stretching across Oliver Lewis Way down to South Broadway, was something drag performer Jaxx Jester emphasized.
Jester, who has performed at the Lexington Pride Festival for three years, said his favorite part of performing is the crowd and interacting with audience members as much as he can.
Pride is about more than performing for Jester, though, as he described how significant the festival can be, especially for young people, in helping them feel that they belong.
Jester said having this representation is vital, highlighting the importance of continuing to fight for his beliefs, even when it seems difficult.
“There are times where I even think, ‘Is it worth it?’ All this fighting, it’s exhausting,” Jester said. “And what’s the point if I just give up? The answer is a lot more pain.”
Refusing to give up, even when things seem difficult, is something Jester encouraged, reminding people that no matter what, they are valued and worth something.
“If one book went missing, the person who would notice the most would be the person who read it often. Or if a star went out, that favorite astronomer is going to miss its star,” Jester said. “It may not be important to everyone, but you have a few people who (are) going to notice when you’re gone, so don’t go out.”
Looking past people’s differences, Jester said, ultimately, one’s identity doesn’t define their character.
“So what that you like a girl and I like a guy? It doesn’t matter,” Jester said. “At the end of the day, you’re you, I’m me, and hell, we’re here together.”
