From false eyelashes to feather boas, a full spectrum of color appeared on everything at the 13th annual Rainbows Festival on Saturday and Sunday.
The festival, hosted by Phoenix Pride in Heritage Square Park, was an opportunity for the LGBT community to celebrate the Friday legalization of gay marriage in Arizona after state Attorney General Tom Horne decided not to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. County clerks began issuing marriage licenses on Friday.
Phoenix Pride has organized the festival for the last three years. Justin Owen, executive director of the organization, emphasized the welcoming and well-rounded aspects of the festival and all of its events.
“Why we put on all of our events is to bring exposure to our community, to end homophobia, transphobia and discrimination,” he said. “As well, it is an opportunity for our community to come out, to bring their friends and family. We have a lot of individuals that often might not get the opportunity to get together with other folks from the community, so these events afford them these opportunities.”
Attendance at the Rainbows Festival has grown in the past three years. This growth helps show the community and its allies that they are not alone, Owen said.
“The main thing is if someone is having a struggle or dealing with orientation or gender identity and they’re from a small area or maybe their friends and family aren’t accepting of them, they can come out and realize they’re not alone,” he said. “They can come out and meet new friends and family members and say ‘I am who I am and that’s great.’”
Mormons Building Bridges, an organization that exists to spread love from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to the LGBT community, attended the festival this year as well as last year. Mormons Building Bridges has hundreds of supporters in Utah, where it is based.
Vicki Wimmer Johnson helped organize and run a hugging booth at the Rainbows Festival, handing out stickers that read “Hugged by a Mormon” to those who chose to receive hugs.
“We’re just offering hugs!” she said. “We are Mormons who love our LGBT brothers and sisters and we just wanted them to know that by being here. It’s a way to outreach, get into the community and to let people know that we are real Mormons who love them. It’s important to us.”
Translator and stay-at-home dad to his 2-year-old son Robbie Ring said he looks forward to events that give his family an excuse to get outside and enjoy the weather.
While he has attended the Phoenix Pride Festival in April, Ring said he prefers the annual Rainbows Festival because of its relatively laid-back atmosphere.
Though perhaps not as party-oriented as the Phoenix Pride Festival, the Rainbows Festival still draws over 20,000 people annually as the second-largest LGBT event in Arizona, and creates awareness for the community, according to the Phoenix Pride website.
“I think it’s important for visibility and it just normalizes the LGBT existence,” Ring said. “This event I think more than anything helps to organize and get people aware of all the great resources.”
The booths at the event ranged from clothing vendors selling shirts with LGBT-positive sayings to medical organizations offering information and support.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton appeared on stage on Sunday to congratulate the LGBT community on the recent legalization of gay marriage in Arizona. He emphasized not only the aspects of freedom that were enhanced by this ruling, but also the positive impact this will have on Arizona businesses.
Grant Miller, a board member for Equality Arizona, acknowledged the fun aspect of the festival, but also said the event is a reminder of what still needs to be done.
The legalization of same-sex marriage is one large step out of the way, but it is still only one step in the progress that still needs to happen, he said.
“We still haven’t passed full workplace or living protections, so even though we may have the ability to get married, we can still be kicked out of our apartments, fired from our jobs,” Miller said. “So there’s still a lot of work to do. It’s a reminder of what we’ve accomplished but also a good encouragement to keep fighting.”
Events like the Rainbows Festival allow community members to celebrate their diversity and take steps toward full equality.
“I think Phoenix is on a good track toward being a diverse and welcoming city,” Miller said. “Attending these events is a lot more than having fun, it’s about supporting the community as a whole.”
Contact the reporter at Miranda.Reddy@asu.edu
