Delaware Pride Festival 2021 returns to Dover – The News Journal
When Desiree Aurillo struts around Legislative Mall during the rainbow-bright return of Delaware Pride Festival on Saturday, she hopes she’s also joined with non-members of the LGBTQ community.
“I would personally encourage anyone who does not identify themselves as a member of the community to attend and educate themselves as much as possible,” said Aurillo, of Dover, who’s bisexual.
“The festival also has educational venders that have information about support groups, HIV and AIDs prevention, safe sex options, churches that are open to individuals that are openly part of the LGBTQ community, etcetera. Plus, of course, some fun!”
Some of the fun that will be on tap at Saturday’s festival, hosted by drag queen Magnolia Applebottom, includes the beer garden and a kid zone, both new this year.
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The Kid Zone will have coloring projects for children and Drag Story Time throughout the day. Drag Story Time is a trend around the country where drag queens read to kids.
This year’s event also will include Delaware Pride pageant winners, such as Tamia Mykles, 2021 Miss Gay Wilmington.
The festival also features guests including: Manhattan Prairie Dogs, Aunt Mary Pat DiSabatino, Miss Troy, Andrea Nardello, Antony Cherrie, Marielle Kraft, Josh Zuckerman, Chris Jehnert and Clarion Brass.
‘We are valuable members’
Bruce Ricketts, 42, of Seaford, said it’s been a challenge to get straight people to recognize him and his peers as representing more than just a handful of “letters” in the alphabet.
“We are valuable members of the community. We don’t walk around creating magic with glitter and dance music,” said Ricketts, who’s gay. “We are having a human experience just like everyone else, trying to live a life that brings us happiness and purpose, too.”
There’s still sizable resistance to LGBTQ acceptance in 2021. And that adds extra weight to Delaware Pride Festival, because it gives Ricketts and his peers a place to celebrate their struggles and victories together.
“It is important because it creates a safe space where we can come out of hiding to own our truth and see that we’re not alone,” he said.
Max Dick, 69, of Rehoboth Beach, said misconceptions about the LGBTQ community include that they want “special rights” or that gay people, like himself, fit a certain stereotype.
“I think a Pride celebration can show how diverse the gay community is and help educate the public,” Dick said. “For some younger gays, it can help them find their niche and help them see that they are not alone.”
‘Pray the gay away’
Aurillo, who holds a master’s degree in school counseling from Wilmington University, wants people to accept others for who they are, instead of trying to “pray the gay away” from homosexuals.
This is why she thinks it’s a good idea for heterosexual people to join the Pride Festival, as we’re all neighbors in the end.
“This festival demonstrates that despite the differences within our community, we are still able to come together to show one another support when it really matters,” she said.
The Delaware Pride Festival is the single largest LGBTQ event in the state. It originally started in Wilmington in 1998 and has been held in Rehoboth Beach and Dover. The event has averaged thousands of guests.
Originally scheduled for June, which is Pride Month, this year’s Delaware Pride Festival was postponed to October because of the pandemic. COVID-19 forced the festival’s cancelation in 2020.
Delaware Pride Festival will be held at Legislative Mall (411 Legislative Ave., Dover) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday. Admission is free. For more info visit Delaware Pride Festival on Facebook, at delawarepride.org or call (302) 265-3020.