ORLANDO | Thousands of attendees filled Lake Eola Park and the surrounding Downtown area in Orlando Oct. 15 for the annual Come Out With Pride parade and festival.
Come Out with Pride is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that strives to make an annual pride event that creates a sense of community by encouraging LGBTQ people to embrace their identities, while educating the general public what Pride means. This year’s Pride theme was “A Place for Us.”
“It’s exhilarating being around so many people who are so happy, so free and comfortable,” says McKenzi Shelpman, a senior from the University of Central Florida with a rainbow heart painted on her cheek. “Community is going to be the biggest resource of support and strength. There is always a strength in numbers.”
From musical performances to play areas for children, people from all backgrounds were encouraged to take part in the event. Along the Sponsor Walk, attendees were given an opportunity to learn more about the community from organizations like QLatinx, Orlando Queer & Trans Asian Association, Planned Parenthood, 26Health and many more.
“It really means getting together as a community,” says Allyson Nepmuceno. “It’s really awesome to see how many community supporters and non-affiliated organizations and local businesses will come out to show their support. In this world, with all the uncertainty and all the hate that is spread around and all the unfortunate incidents that we are seeing within our community. So like have events like this to show that there’s still good in the world.”
As a first-time vendor, UCF professor Humberto Lopéz Castillo brought out his research project the Sex Café Podcast. The podcast introduces a safe space where clinicians, researchers, policymakers and community advocates can discuss various topics that pertain to sexual and reproductive health within the LGTBQ community, Lopéz Castillo mediates the conversation. Lopéz Castillo said the podcast aims to educate people from all sides of the conversation and that everyone can learn something from it.
For Morgan Paternoster, who just moved here last year, the week-long celebration of Come Out with Pride was the first time they had ever attended something of this magnitude. Like many others who wore various Pride flags, Paternoster had a nonbinary flag tied like a cape around their neck. As an individual of Lebanese descent, Paternoster says they were overjoyed to find a community so accepting.
“It’s really a shame in the Arab community we have deep ingrained homophobia, hell I can’t even go back to my families’ country in Lebanon, I’m not able to go to any of the neighboring countries because they all ban it and a lot of the punishments are really harsh there,” they say.
The Most Colorful Parade kicked off at 4 p.m. with various LGTBQ organizations dancing, singing and passing out beads to the people along the streets watching and cheering. Orlando police helped guide traffic and keep pedestrians off the road, some riding horses with rainbow-colored ankle socks.
Prior to the parade, Orlando witnessed the inaugural Central Florida Trans March. The march featured transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people, celebrating and showing their Pride down the streets of Downtown Orlando. Everyone was decked out in a brilliant display of colors and outfits that best suited their identity as they marched.
After the parade the celebration continued as guests were able to continue to enjoy the bars, restaurants and vendors that downtown had to offer. In a finale to the day’s events, there was a fireworks show. Under the explosive display, thousands of local residents from all different ages and identities joined together in celebration of not only themselves but their community as well.
Photos by Dylan Todd.
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