(Photo by Dylan Todd)
ORLANDO | According to event organizers, 200,000 people surrounded Lake Eola and filled the streets of downtown Orlando to celebrate the return of Come Out With Pride Oct. 9.
Last year, COWP was celebrated with a vehicle processional and virtual Pride entertainment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Being able to see the happiness we were able to bring to the community, seeing them out there having a good time and enjoying themselves, just celebrating especially after the last year and a half we’ve all gone through was amazing,” says COWP Executive Director Tatiana Quiroga. “Having gone through quarantining and having to stay away from each other, it was just a wonderful reminder to folks that there are hundreds of thousands of people who love you, who accept you, who support you, knowing that you’re a part of this incredible, much larger community is so critical at this time.”
Thousands lined the streets to watch more than 300 groups and organizations in The Most Colorful Parade, which made its way through a new parade path in downtown Orlando. Check out Watermark’s parade photos here. Prior to the parade, hundreds attended the rally and march for the third National Trans Visibility March, the first outside of Washington, D.C.
“The first year we talked about visibility, the second year we talked about capturing the vote, the third year we talk about no lives left behind,” said NTVM founder Marissa Miller from the stage prior to the march. “You define what that means. You define how you go back in the community and get people that are more marginalized than any other community, you make the decision about how you engage the next people of our generation.”
As she left the stage, Miller played a video showing trans individuals who had died in 2021 at the hands of violence.
“This will be our third time watching this video because we want you to see how many lives we have lost. We good at burying people, we good at GoFundMe. We good at all that stuff. Are we good [at] preventing the death of Black and Brown trans people?”
Next year’s NTVM is expected to take place in Los Angeles.
This year also marks the final year that Jeff Prystajko will serve as Come Out With Pride’s board president. Prystajko began serving in the role in 2018.
“I love what this organization has accomplished, and I love having been a part of it for the last seven years,” wrote Prystajko on Facebook Oct. 11. “I’m not entirely sure what my role will be going forward and I definitely need to take some time to focus on reconnecting with friends and figuring out career goals, but I’m tremendously grateful for every moment I’ve experienced so far.”
Prystajko’s term will officially end in February 2022. Quiroga says the application process for COWP board members, including board president, will open in November.
