With Carolina blue sky above, downtown Chapel Hill was filled with many colors on Saturday afternoon for the local Pride Promenade.
With hundreds of people wearing and waving various combinations of colors to represent factions of the LGBTQ+ community, participants gathered in the Peace and Justice Plaza before marching down Franklin Street. Organizers and attendees found many ways to celebrate Pride and have a party: hula-hooping, bubble-blowing, dancing, putting on temporary tattoos and comparing their outfits or costumes.
Attendees of Saturday’s Pride Promenade in Chapel Hill smile and pose in the Peace and Justice Plaza for a photo.
A bubble performer teams up with a stilt walker to entertain those at the Pride Promenade on June 4, 2022.
Loki McKenzie, a dog groomer in Chapel Hill, led around a dog named Ziggy whose fur displayed the rainbow Pride colors. McKenzie said the process took around four hours.
“It’s awesome,” he said of the celebration. “This is actually my first Pride and I’m really glad I could go all out with it.”
Loki McKenzie shows off the Pride-theme dye work on Ziggy the dog.
Gina Kowalski experienced a personal first during the celebration too: roller skating a parade. Having started the hobby in February, she planned to venture out slowly into the procession down Franklin Street in the quads she painted rainbow colors.
“There are so many differences in everybody that’s here, so much love,” Kowalski said. “It’s a great community, so I’m just here to celebrate it, be a part of it and share all the love that I have.”
Sam Slayer, an Orange County resident who was sporting a set of rainbow feathers on her back, agreed.
“It’s wonderful and it’s exciting to see so many other people out here celebrating Pride,” she said. “It’s been a lot of hard news lately, so it’s nice to be joyous.
“Happy Pride and tell your representatives to shoot down House Bill 755,” Slayer added.
That piece of legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly was on the minds of several attendees of the Saturday promenade. The Republican-led bill is presented as a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” to allow more influence in classroom curriculum, but also ban discussions of gender and sexual identity in grades K-3. While still several steps away from a full vote in the Senate, and with likely vehement opposition from Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, several advocacy groups and members of the LGBTQ+ community have denounced it as an attempt to further stigmatize queer-identifying students and educators.
Former Chapel Hill mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, who was the town’s first openly gay mayor, addressed the crowd as the march began. He mentioned HB 755 and called for people to funnel their celebratory energy into a drive to protect the LGBTQ+ community too.
“Not a thirty-minute drive from here,” Kleinschmidt said, alluding to state lawmakers, “there are people who are putting members of our community in danger. They’re putting our youngest, most vulnerable members of our community at harm’s risk.”
The Trevor Project, a national advocacy group for suicide-prevention of young LGBTQ community members, reports that 45 percent of queer-identifying or questioning youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the last year. The same survey found youth who considered their school to be LGBTQ-affirming reported much lower rates of suicide attempts.
Kleinschmidt acknowledged that such a public display of queer love and pride seen Saturday would have been considered taboo in Chapel Hill when he moved to the area. He said it strikes him how much has changed to see the town help organize its first Pride parade downtown in decades.
“The world is a different place,” said the former mayor. “I can’t imagine seeing the Pride colors on Franklin Street like we do today. I can’t imagine seeing queer young people on the street celebrating who they are.”
Carrboro resident Walker Smith, who carried perhaps the biggest rainbow flag seen on Saturday, echoed Kleinschmidt’s sentiment about the participation of young people in Pride — himself included. He also shared the emotions around his and the crowd’s excitement to be marching in Chapel Hill.
“I think celebration is important, whether it’s been more difficult or not as difficult [of a year],” said Smith. “I think it’s always good to show that we have pride in it, that we’re not embarrassed about it, that it’s a good thing.
“And it’s fun to celebrate,” he added. “It’s fun to have a parade, to hang out with people, to see friends. It’s uplifting and I think it’s very valuable.”
It was a party on Franklin Street Saturday afternoon for the #Pride2022 Promenade!
It was the first of several Small Town Pride events scheduled for this month in Chapel Hill and Carrboro: https://t.co/QR2FzYgNlb pic.twitter.com/t1iwBKNKHv
— WCHL & Chapelboro (@WCHLChapelboro) June 5, 2022
Editor’s Note: Anyone who is considering suicide or self-harm is encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, which is available 24/7 by calling 800-273-8255.
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I watched live updates from a buddy during The Promenade, which featured a festive gathering with a performance by Imagine Circus, DJ Savon spins, interactive art by Kelly Schrader, and a musical performance by Triangle Gay Men’s Chorus. I registered online and received my temporary tattoo a week before the event. I’m not sure whether this will last a month, but it looks fantastic on my arms. Are temporary tattoos painful?