The 35th Annual Phoenix Pride Festival brought together nearly 36,000 people at Steele Indian School Park earlier this month to celebrate the LGBT community, and an official said Arizona’s legalization of same-sex marriage in 2014 helped contribute to those numbers.
The turnout on April 11 and 12 was the largest crowd the festival has had, said Shannon Lank, the chair of the board of directors for Phoenix Pride.
“It’s been steadily increasing and I think it’s going to continue to get bigger,” Lank said. “More and more people are comfortable in their own skin, and comfortable supporting their friends and family members.”
Lank said the Phoenix Pride organization is planning to fund $100,000 in grants and scholarships with funds raised from the festival. These would go to students and children who meet the qualifications, as well as small nonprofits within the community.
“This is the two days a year here in Arizona where (LGBT community members) can come out and be exactly who they are and who they want to be,” she said.
The festival featured more than 150 entertainment performances and 20 percent more vendors than it has ever had, according to Lank.
“I cant think of another festival that I go to where everyone is happy and gets to go out and celebrate exactly who they are, whatever color of the rainbow they are, and have a good time with friends and family showing support,” Lank said. “It makes me smile that they can come to a festival that I’m part of, and can be so open.”
Andre Apodaca went to the festival for the third time this year, and said Pride means a lot more now that same-sex marriage is legal in Arizona.
“More couples are coming out in Pride, able to come together holding hands,” Apodaca said. “Even though its a pride event, when you’re walking down the streets to the pride event it seems like people are a little more standoffish, and its not like that this year. Everybody seems to be holding hands, it’s a little bit more of an equal basis.”
Performances this year included comedians, drag queens, drag kings, singers, headliners Wilson Phillips and Betty Who, and a parade April 12 that went along Third Street from Thomas to Indian School roads.
“There’s a lot more social acceptance,” attendee Jeremy Balentine said. “And even if gay marriage passing isn’t a direct link to the popularity, to the turnout here, it changes everybody’s social acceptance of the issue.”
Ken Mensack, who just moved to Arizona from Philadelphia, said Phoenix Pride is ten times bigger than the one he sees back home. Although he was happy to see everyone celebrating, he said there is more work to be done to reach equality.
“It’s not only about gay marriage, it’s also about equal rights,” Mensack said. “Gay marriage is a part of it, but there’s so much more that needs to happen.”
Mensack said he is very happy that same-sex marriage became legal in so many states in the past year, and that it is a step in the right direction.
But he added: “It needs to be recognized not just by gay people, but gay-friendly people and allied people need to recognize that we are people too and we deserve the same rights as everybody else. So it starts with marriage. Marriage is not what the goal is.”
Contact the reporter at dcnoehring@gmail.com.
