On June 7, the community gathered for the fourth annual Chapel Hill Pride Promenade, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, pride and love.
The day started off at the Peace and Justice Plaza, featuring music, a student poetry reading and a speech from Chapel Hill Town Council member Karen Stegman.
During her speech, Stegman spoke about recent threats to the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and offered words of advice to the community.
“Don’t be a drag — be a queen,” Stegman said, referencing Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” “Now is the time to be the best queens that we can be, whatever that means to you. Because we need to be seen, because visibility is resistance. We need to be visible now more than ever, together, like this, right here.”
Following Stegman’s speech, attendees walked to 140 W. Franklin Street Plaza, accompanied by a drum performance from Batalá Durham, a branch of the international samba reggae music group based in Brazil.
At the plaza, the crowd was greeted by a market of over 30 vendors and nonprofit organizations. Attendees could enjoy a crafting booth from The Scrap Exchange, face painting, mural painting and other activities. The celebration ended with performances from drag queens including KiKi Diamond and Diamond Dixxx.
“I’m from a really small town, so I love being in a big city like this with the community and seeing everybody and the compliments and looking, and everybody liking me,” Dixxx said. “I like that. I like being liked and I feel very much confident today.”
Between 1,000 to 1,500 people attended the event, Xavier Vallejo, the special events coordinator for Chapel Hill Community Arts and Culture, said, but this is a decrease from last year’s attendee numbers of between 1,500 to 2,000. Vallejo said the smaller attendance was likely primarily due to the high temperatures and humidity.
Vallejo also said that a goal of the Town’s planning of the event was to reach as many people that identify as LGBTQ+ as possible.
The Chapel Hill Pride Promenade is held as part of Chapel Hill-Carrboro Small Town Pride, a monthlong series of pride events hosted by the two Towns. Stegman said through Chapel Hill-Carrboro Small Town Pride, the Towns are able to do a variety of events all month long, promoting education, artistry and celebration.
“I think what makes Chapel Hill so special and important — along with Carrboro and a handful of other cities in North Carolina — is how very actively and visibly we are supportive and welcoming to all, including the LGBTQ community, and that means so much,” Stegman said. “I’ve heard from so many people who live in other parts of North Carolina where it can be really difficult.”
Next year, Vallejo said the Town hopes to bring back and expand on the interactive elements of the event, such as Batalá Durham’s drum performances and the drag show.
“We really worked closely with community, with other Town departments to create a space that was absolutely and completely safe for folks to be themselves and to be able to celebrate,” Vallejo said.