She added, “We have a whole list or organizations, including different religious organizations … because those are also communities that are really good at providing resources and gathering places for their communities, and they have LGBTQI folks in their communities.”Įvanston Pride is also seeking connections with Black- and BIPOC-centered organizations, Ms. Yovovich cited Evanston Public Library as one such organization whose engagement with the community would complement her own organization’s. “ … The name of the game for us is picking high-value efforts that we can handle with the size of our team.”Įvanston Pride will be reaching out to various City organizations for potential partnerships Ms.
“We would still love for people to reach out to us if they want to join up with us in any way,” said Ms. Those surveys will remain available on the group’s website. Yovovich described as a “data-heavy process,” Evanston Pride distributed surveys to the community, the results of which they’ve been aggregating the last few months. She added, “This is a thing that this community is really hungry for.”įor the moment, key goals for Evanston Pride include reaching out to the community to see who wants to participate and see what kind of programming and events they’re eager for. I was really pleased that it wasn’t just of cis white men saying ‘Yay, you’re doing a pride thing.’ It was exactly the kind of diversity of folks that we want to support speak up – and they were affirming.” We had a mix of different races, genders and ages. She explained, “It was really gratifying that folks who did show up were a mix of different identities. Yovavich said she and other organizers were “bolstered” by the turnout at an introductory online meeting with community members in March. That diversity crosses barriers of gender identity, ability, ethnic origin, financial status and various other categories. Indeed, the founders of Evanston Pride are very conscious of a trap LGBTQ organizations can easily fall into: not recognizing the overall diversity of their own community. The celebration is themed around “Proud to Be,’’ a theme that “celebrates the deep intersectionality of the LGBTQIA+ community with other marginalized communities, all of whom struggle for justice together,” said organization officials. Signs are available through Evanston Pride. “Proud to Be” is the theme of this year’s Pride Parade. Evanstonians will be encouraged to decorate their homes for the passing car parade, effectively turning their homes or shops into “parade floats,” according to organizers. “We’re going to have programming that is safe, inclusive and inspiring,” said Rada Yovovich, one of the organization’s founders.Īmong those events, which take place June 26, will be a car parade, picnic and candle-lighting ceremony. The organization will help amplify LGBTQIA+ voices, and educate the broader Evanston community on LGBTQIA+ issues and needs.”
The function of Evanston Pride, Inc., according to its organizational website, “is to organize and support the full spectrum of local LGBTQIA+ community members through specialized programming and training efforts. With COVID-19 cases increasing due to the Delta variant and the city on the verge of another surge in cases, many events are now postponing or also canceling altogether.A number of Evanstonians, who recently banded together to create a new community LGBTQ pride organization, unveiled plans for a Pride Month celebration at the end of June. The City of Chicago has allowed a number of large gatherings to go forward this summer, including Chicago’s enormous Lollapalooza festival in Grant Park. He guided the Chicago Pride Parade from its ragtag beginnings to a massive celebration of self-expression. Gay rights pioneer Richard Pfeiffer died Sunday. Frye had intended to honor Pfeiffer, as well as several other individuals and organizations, at this year’s event. Pfeiffer had coordinated Chicago’s LGBTQ Pride Parade since 1974 and had grown the parade from a few hundred participants to the vast number of attendees it typically sees today. The Chicago’s LGBTQ Pride Parade next year will be the first without Frye’s late husband, Richard Pfeiffer as the chief coordinator.