Forest Park Pride celebration notes challenges, draws crowd

Event returns after successful 2022 debut

By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter

owd, many clad in “Pride Forest Park” T-shirts, gathForest Park’s Constitution Court on Madison Street the eveune 23 to watch the centervillage’s second annual Pride ent featured 8 drag performers, ineturning performers Angel LeBare, lor and Fox E. Kim. Keri Traid, Mariela Duarte, Moana Lotte and Dymond C. Calloway made their Forest Park Pride debut this year.

As happened last year, the drag queens walked to several Madison Street businesses beforehand, chatting with customers and posing for pictures. This year’s participants included Brown Cow, Twisted Cookie, Fiore, Team Blonde, Play it Again Sports, MacDaddy Salon, Schauer’s Hardware, NOLA Louisiana Kitchen and Kribi Coffee Air Roastery.

PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), OPALGA+ (Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association), the Howard Brown Health Center and Ener gy Tees custom apparel company set up tables at Constitution Court.

“This is perfect for us [as a business],” said Energy Tees owner Eric Priceman. “Why wouldn’t we be here? We’re part of this village.”

Mayor Rory Hoskins, village commissioners Maria Maxham and Michelle MelinRogovin, Village Clerk Vanessa Moritz and several members of the Forest Park School District 91 Board of Education attended the drag show.

“We’re a very progressive community, and we have a very equitable school board, and we value openness and inclusion,” Hoskins said.

Erich Krumrei, owner of Play it Again Sports, organized the Forest Park Pride Celebration. In his speech before the show, he touched on the challenges the LGBT community, especially the trans community, continues to face