Whether you’re commemorating an anniversary or simply toasting to a successful day at work, Jaume Serra Cristalino’s signature sparkling wine is here to celebrate anything! Something to celebrate the entire month of June is LGBTQ Pride Month, honoring the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan in 1969. Although this year’s festivities look a little different due to COVID-19, Cincinnati residents are finding creative ways celebrate Pride this year. Here’s how four prominent community members plan on celebrating:
Photograph by ink drop/stock.adobe.com
Michael Cotrell, Cincinnati Pride Board of Directors President
“Typically, it’s a working holiday. I’ve been a President of the Board of Directors of Cincinnati Pride for six years. It’s always a working holiday for all of us. [This year,] we are planning different activities with different bars throughout the month of June. The weekend we would typically have Pride, we are going to [host] drag shows at the cabaret, brunch that Sunday, and then we are going to do a tea dance. We want to keep the celebration going. We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get out and celebrate. It’s a celebration for the LGBTQ community. It’s a time for them to be out and be who they want to be in all their glorious self.”
Megan Mitchell, WLWT Broadcast Journalist
“I will probably be staying home more this Pride month and transferring that energy I would usually give in person, online. Usually Pride and the Pride Parade can give kids that real, tangible representation of who they can be. Because of quarantine, so much of our lives has been connecting with each other through technology. A couple of my friends have been hosting Zoom dance parties for queer women. [I’ll] probably post things during pride month, sharing my story and the ways that I’ve been able to cope. Being in the Midwest, that voice isn’t always heard. We hear from the coast, L.A., and New York. It’s important to be heard here.”
Richard Cooke, Procter & Gamble Ventures Studio Communications Leader
“A tea dance! Tea dances date back to the 1950s, when it was illegal to serve gay people alcohol and it was illegal for them to dance in public. Tea Dances went underground so that LGBTQ people could meet, go on a date, dance, and drink. But they were vulnerable to arrest. We’ve come a long way since then, and I’ve been organizing Tea dances in Cincinnati for three years now. I think it’s very fitting that we are able to put on a Pride Tea Dance to celebrate our journey and ground us where we’ve come from while reminding us of the struggles we still face. That’s the basis of the Pride movement and Tea Dances are one important part of gay history.”
Bonnie Meyer, Founding Director of Northern Kentucky University’s Office of LGBTQ Programs and Services
“We have lots in store to celebrate Pride this year! We are encouraging our Northern Kentucky communities to participate in our NKY Porch Pride social media campaign, by decorating their porches, patios, windows, or anywhere they feel comfortable. I’m looking forward to decorating our porch and seeing all the signs of support from across our region for our LGBTQA community. I hope our LGBTQA youth are encouraged by the increased rainbows as well.”
How are you celebrating? Regardless of your Pride plans, we suggest picking up a bottle of Cristalino at your local Kroger to celebrate all the big events and little wins!
Facebook Comments