“Our Community A to Z” - Wichita Pride 2013
by Robin Dorner
Editor in Chief
Wichita Pride is upon us once again. It’s time for everyone to don their very gayest apparel and be at the Wichita Parade and Festival on September 28 & 29.
However, Pride week in Wichita begins much earlier. It’s a multi-day celebration of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Allied communities, along with a Festival and Parade have several other events, many of which are family-oriented and child-friendly.
The Gala will be on Sept. 19th and from that day through Pride weekend, there will be all sort of events like roller skating, bowling, picnic, movies, Wigstock and, of course, the ever-popular Party Bus.
The theme for PrideFest 2013 is “Our Community A to Z”. “Several theme ideas were submitted from members of the community, this one was the favorite,” said Lee Jarrell, Vice Vice President of Wichita Pride. “There are so many abbreviations for who we are: LGBT, GLBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQQIA, etc., we wanted to make sure that we didn’t leave anyone out.”
Pride 2012 featured many family-oriented, child-friendly events, in addition to our rally, parade, and festival entertainment which received such a great response that they’re now a part of our Pride Week.
Wichita Pride is a non-profit group with planning meetings every other Monday at 7pm. through most of the year. “Anyone is welcome to join us as they are open to the public,” said Jarrell. The meetings are held at The Center of Wichita (1602 E. Waterman).
“We begin planning for the next year’s PrideFest even before we get the current year and our goal is to make it bigger and better each year,” added Jarrell. “We are all-volunteer so we are always looking for new people to join us and help.
“We want everybody to come and have a great time.”
If you’re just looking for information on the organization, the minutes from the last year of meetings is available for your viewing.
For more information, visit www.wichitapride.org.
September 16, 2013