Cincinnati Pride may have scaled back 2021's celebration due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but the LGBTQ+ organization hasn't missed a beat when it comes to supporting the region or building community.
To launch Pride Month, which is typically celebrated each June within the United States, Cincinnati Pride shared a video to its social media on Tuesday, calling it a "love letter" to Cincinnati and its local performers. The video is hosted by entertainers Brooklyn Steele-Tate and Sarah Jessica Darker and features drag performances by Jessica Dimon, Savannah Judd, Tyese Rainz and more. Performers also visit Greater Cincinnati landmarks, including Fountain Square, the Purple People Bridge, Sawyer Point Park and Covington's Riverside Drive.
In addition, an inclusive Pride flag was raised atop Cincinnati's City Hall on Tuesday. The flag features the traditional Pride colors alongside additional hues that represent marginalized groups within the LGBTQ+ community as well as communities of color. Cincinnati City Council member Chris Seelbach and Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, who are gay, commented on the region's progress in LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance.
Though Cincinnati Pride canceled its traditional large-scale Pride parade and festival, the organization has planned a number of virtual celebrations and smaller, safer in-person events.
Tickets are on sale now for June 11's Pride Night at Great American Ball Park, when the Cincinnati Reds take on the Colorado Rockies. On June 12 and 13, Pride will stage a takeover of the Ziegler Pool in Over-the-Rhine. The organization also will host Pride Market at the Park at Washington Park on June 27, spotlighting roughly 25 LGBTQ- and ally-owned retail businesses that have been affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"Pride is so much more than just a festival or a parade,” Dustin Lewis, Cincinnati Pride entertainment chair, told CityBeat in April. “Cincinnati Pride felt incredibly fortunate to maintain so many wonderful and longtime partnerships and sponsorships with many organizations in our community this year, and more than anything, we felt a responsibility to find ways to deliver Pride, albeit different and more safely.”
For more details, visit cincinnatipride.org.
