Hideta Nagai
Celebration. Love. Joy. Community. Pride.
Upper Arlington will make space to celebrate the rainbow spectrum of the LGBTQ experience with the second edition of Rainbow UA’s Pride festival on Sunday, June 5. The event begins at 1 p.m. at Mallway Park.
Last year’s celebration was a major success for the new group, which celebrated its one-year anniversary in February.
Rainbow UA members had no idea what to expect when planning the inaugural event, says co-founder Jillian Maruskin.
“We were really impressed by the amount of people that came out, particularly the amount of families,” she says. “So, when we sat down after it was over, we were really adamant about keeping it as family-friendly as possible and as focused on our youth here in the community as we can, because they seem to be just super excited about it. That was kind of the impetus for this year.”
Organization members took everything they learned from year one to cater the day even more toward kids, preteens and teenagers.
The event exclusively features vendors and food trucks with local and/or diverse owners. A stage with live entertainment hosts both school and local groups. Drag performances, which were a hit with all ages last year, return to stage this year.
Community organizations booths, including Stonewall Columbus, Glisten and Kaleidoscope, will provide educational resources and information about their services. Pride goers can also
relax in shaded tents and a teen lounge space.
“If someone can find a resource that helps them, especially the teenagers, then that’s a huge win for us,” Maruskin says.
Last year, the event took place at Northwest Kiwanis Park. For 2022, Pride moves to Mallway Park, where many of Upper Arlington’s most popular events are held, at the suggestion of the city.
“To say, we’re going to close the street for the LGBTQ group,” Maruskin says. “That sends a really strong message that (the city is) supportive.”
Maruskin was inspired to get involved with Rainbow UA in its early days by her son, who is transgender.
“I know for my kid, it just gives him the sense that he’s being seen and being supported,” she says.
Kathy Adams, an ex officio member of Rainbow UA and the first LGBTQ city council member in Upper Arlington, was spurred to action during fall 2020 after reading the @DearUASchools Instagram account, which shared anonymous personal accounts of discrimination within the school district.
As an LGBTQ person who graduated from UAHS, Adams felt the calling to get involved.
“I just wanted to do something about that situation because it was very disappointing to read that that’s still how kids are,” she says.
The solution, Adams decided, was to meet people with support and community close to home. Though Stonewall Columbus, a nonprofit serving the LGBTQ population, is not far away, UA itself had a niche to be filled, and Rainbow UA seeks to do just that.
“I thought it would be nice to have something in Upper Arlington,” Adams says. “Upper Arlington’s not huge, but members of the LGBTQ community just living right here don’t know each other. There’s not any kind of social organization or anything for people to just meet each other and get to know each other.”
Rainbow UA works to create that community in addition to providing support and sharing resources for LGBTQ families and individuals in the area.
As more young people feel safe to come out, more families with LGBTQ youth look for resources and support, Adams says. When she was campaigning for city council, that experience was confirmed by the number of families she met with queer and trans youth members.
“I think that it’s just a really important space for the community to show our young people that they’re accepted and they’re welcome here and they’re loved,” she says.
Upper Arlington Pride aims for an inclusive atmosphere and is open to anyone who wishes to attend.
“We can’t do this work without allies,” Adams says. “So hopefully no one would ever think that Pride is just for LGBTQ people. We need all the allies we can get.”
Find more information, as well as volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, at www.rainbowua.org.
Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com.
