2023 Akron Pride Festival Pride Guide

STEERING COMMITTEE

Development

Entertainment

Finance

Kids’ Zone

March

Marketing

Merch

Safety & Services

Vending

Volunteers

Event Coordinators

Community Representatives

Julie Beckert

Michael Davids

Josh Parks

Maria Espinosa

Phil Montgomery

Rebecca Callahan

Becky Oram

Lucas Barstow

Isaac Baez

Cassandra Warren

Julie Beckert

Jill Migone

Gert Wilms

Angie Falcone

Greg Nyburg

Julie Beckert

Morgan Heskett

Brian Lamoda-Genet (Chair) & Julie Beckert (Co-Chair)

Maurice Thomas, Autumn Frampton

ABOUT AKRON PRIDE FESTIVAL

Akron Pride Festival is an open celebration of music, entertainment, and information focused on promoting equality and inclusion of all people. The mission of Akron Pride Festival is to unify and affirm the LGBTQ+ community and allies in celebrating our diversity and promoting our likeness. We promote acceptance of all individuals by defending human equity.

OUR FISCAL SPONSOR

The mission of the Community AIDS Network Akron Pride Initiative (CANAPI), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is to serve and promote the well-being of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) community and persons at risk and/or affected by HIV through education, support services, quality housing, and advocacy. To learn more about CANAPI, visit www.canapi.org.

TProud Sponsor ramonte ramonte

PHOTOS BY SHANE WYNN

At Huntington, we believe that the strongest communities are the ones in which every voice is heard. Because a diversity of perspective, experience and ideas just leads to better all-around outcomes for everyone. That’s why we’re proud to support the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. And that’s why we say to every customer and colleague who walks through our doors, Welcome.

Member FDIC ⬢® and Huntington® are federally registered service marks of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Huntington® Welcome.™ is a service mark of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated © 2023 Huntington Bancshares Incorporated

Made by Klutch Cannabis in Partnership with Kiva Confections. MMCPE00017

PERSONS UNKNOWN

(TRaNSGENdER day Of REMEMbRaNCE 2022)

Claiming my own womanhood a radical form of protest.

Remember in shadow the spirit of Rita Hester, anguish in silence, ghosts rising from their plot of soil. Stones unnamed or misnamed, graves flowerless and forgotten, no mourners but us.

Smell of fear, cigarettes, and sweat sudden terror of infinity breathes darkness, alive and seeking.

My own irrelevance a comfort, escorting the lost through a labyrinth of contemplation toward the liveliness of resurrection ©2022 by Barbara Marie Minney. All Rights Reserved.

THE 2023 EQUITy MaRCH

Akron Pride Festival’s sixth annual March (“The Akron Equity March”) is a celebration of our lives and our community. Join us as we march to show that Akron as a whole, supports equality and equity for all people! The March will kick off the 2023 Akron Pride Festival with step off Downtown on Main Street (from Spaghetti Warehouse) at 10 a.m. and head towards Cascade Plaza, ending at Mill Street.

EQUALITY VS EQUITY

Our theme continues to be The Akron Equity March, emphasizing the difference between equality and equity.

In short, “equality” refers to the equal distribution of (the same) resources to everyone, whereas “equity” refers to the distribution of resources based on an individual person’s needs.

Over the last year we have seen a surge of legislation that directly impacts the LGBTQAI+ community. From social justice issues impacting the Black-Indigenous-People of Color (BIPOC) community, to legislation impacting women’s access to healthcare, and legislation sweeping states that impact the transgender community and LGBTQAI+ youth - We stand in solidarity with you and will continue working towards a time when everyone can be their authentic self and feel safe (and included) within their city.

Standing together as a community and becoming active in other marginalized community issues is how we achieve change. We march for our sixth year to demonstrate that Akron - OUR city, OUR home - is a safe and equitable community for all!

THE 2023 PRIdE fESTIVal

Entering its sixth year, the Akron Pride Festival, presented by the JM Smucker Company, is a day of fun and celebration in the name of equity. The festival is gearing up to bring a wide range of entertainment and experiences for all ages.

Attracting over 35,000 attendees in 2023, festival goers will again be connected to a vast array of local and out-of-state exhibitors (comprised of corporate groups, community organizations, craft merchants, and more) as well as a diverse lineup of food purveyors offering tasty treats for festival patrons to enjoy throughout the day.

The 2023 Akron Pride Festival will conclude with a fireworks show sponsored by Downtown Akron Partnership and The Johns S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

WHEN & WHERE

SaTURday, aUGUST 26TH | 10 aM - 10 PM

dOWNTOWN aKRON | MaiN STREET, (RElOCaTEd) lOCK 3 & CaSCadE Plaza

The day’s events are free and open to all. Free parking at City and County decks surround the festival and Metro RTA will be providing free rides to festival goers throughout the day. Refer to the Parking & Road Closures Map at the back of the Pride Guide for more information.

PRIDE HEROES (KIDS’) ZONE

Visit the Pride Kids’ Zone at Cascade Plaza from 11:00am to 3:00 pm. Families and children of all ages can enjoy free activities, including a rock climbing wall, trampoline bungee jumping, photobooth, and inflatable slides and games! Kids can also enjoy activities and giveaways provided by the Akron Summit County Public Library and Akron Public Schools.

GREySON CHaNCE

Greyson Chance is a singer-songwriter who first grabbed the country’s attention in 2010 when his grade school performance of Lady GaGa’s “Paparazzi” went viral on YouTube. Greyson went on to garner over 100 million views on YouTube and tour the world all before the age of 16. Equipped with unending determination, Greyson displays a magnetic combination of his Oklahoma roots with an eccentric center stage aesthetic. He has performed on Ellen, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and Good Morning America as well as MTV and VH1. In September 2022, Greyson released his third studio album, Palladium. Greyson has headlined LA Pride, Chicago Market Days, and San Diego Pride. His appearance at Akron Pride Festival this year comes fresh on the heels of his recent tour throughout China.

MaRCIa MaRCIa MaRCIa

Marcia Marcia Marcia takes the Main Stage fresh from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 where they showed the competition and viewers they are a “Boss...”! Marcia is a New York based drag queen that has performed in Broadway shows such as Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Hello, Dolly!

Madison Rose has slid down the rainbow from an alternate universe to wake everyone up to the full acceptance of others and most importantly - themselves. The Cincinnati born, New York based popstar introduced the world to her rainbow realm with her debut single, “Diamonds” and set out to make an electronic dance/pop crossover record. She recently released her debut album, TECHNICOLOR, and the deluxe edition, TECHNICOLOR: The Full Spectrum featuring tracks such as “Sunshine” which was heralded by Rolling Stone as a “Song You Need to Know” and cult favorite, “ICONIC”. She credits Donna Summer, Freddie Mercury, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Katy Perry as some of her influences. The self proclaimed “rainbow girl against a storm cloud world is on the rise and set to take the world by storm!

MadISON ROSE laNdON CIdER

Landon Cider was born and raised in Los Angeles and began his drag career in Southern California. In 2019, he joined the cast of the reality competition show, The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula becoming the first drag king to compete on the show. He went on to win the season, being crowned “World’s Next Drag Supermonster.” Landon has appeared on shows including We’re Here and Hulu’s Huluween Dragstravaganza and was named one of Pride Magazine’s “11 Drag Kings You Should Definitely Know About.”

MORE THINGS TO SEE & DO: CHECK OUT OUR DOWNTOWN GUIDES

dOWNTOWN PaRKING & ROad ClOSURES

LIVE TOUR: Sun. Dec. 3, 2023

VIRTUAL TOUR: Sat. & Sun. Dec. 9 & 10, 2023

Support the Sugar Plum Tour by becoming a sponsor!

To secure your sponsorship, visit us online at sugarplumtour.org/become-a-sponsor.

NEW THIS YEAR FOR SPONSORS ONLY

The pre-tour Patron Party is Sat. Dec. 2, 2023 at Stan Hywet. Guests will receive a complimentary ticket to tour the Stan Hywet property during the Patron Party as part of the 2023 Deck the Hall Tour.

22ND ANNUAL

In 2023, the Gay Community Endowment Fund celebrated reinvesting more than $750,000 in the Greater Akron LGBTQ+ community since it was established in 2001.

VANTAGE Aging Learn more at akroncf.org/GCEFgrants

To make a gift to the Gay Community Endowment Fund, visit: gaycommunityfund.org

RECREATION & PARKS

FIRESTONE PARK COMMUNITY CENTER

C o u r a g e o u s l y Q u e e r S t o r y t e l l i n g

R a i n b ow Ru n 5 K

S a f e S p a c e T r a i n i n g

Pa n e l D i s c u s s i o n

A r t E x h i b i t s

L i ve M u s i c

T e a D a n c e

P r i d e D a n c e Pa r t y

a n d M O R E !

2023 aPf SERIES: WHaT PRIdE MEaNS TO ME

“Sharing Akron Pride Festival with my daughter is such a needed experience for us. I didn’t have a safe home or space growing up, so I never came out for safety reasons. 2020 that changed. I was finally free to come out and be myself. My daughter who had been out to me for a bit, was now safe to be herself as well. We can go to Pride and see others like us, part of the LGBTQ+ Community. It’s so beautiful to see, literally life affirming.”

“To me, Akron Pride is a place where I can be around others like me. It’s one thing to know I’m not alone, but being at Akron Pride is proof that just in the Akron area there are so many of us of all genders, sexualities, and everything in-between.”

“The Akron Pride Festival gave me the opportunity to finally come out as bisexual to the public (including my family) - and that’s just what I did last year (2022) at the age of 26. I think I waited so long because being married to a man, I felt like my queer identity was not valid or didn’t matter, but going to Akron Pride with two friends who really supported me and are also part of the community gave me the drive to live EVERY part of my life to the fullest. <3” (Pictured Above)

“What Pride means to me:” (Pictured Below)

“Akron Pride means a lot to me - growing up and finding my true self and my true sexuality through life. I get to see I’m not alone in this. I have a huge community behind me that supports and loves everyone for whom you are. I love the Akron Pride community (and I get to mess with the protesters who don’t understand that love isn’t harmful.” (Pictured Above)

2023 SPONSORS