Depot Street to Become Dr. John Fryer Blvd for a Day as Winchester Celebrates Pride and Legacy

Oct. 18 Promises a Fun, Family-friendly Day of Music, Magic, and Community Spirit

We’re just a lit­tle over a week away from the third annu­al Winchester Pride + Inclusion Festival.

Depot Street in down­town Winchester will be cer­e­mo­ni­al­ly renamed “Dr. John Fryer Blvd.” for the day on Oct. 18, which will also be offi­cial­ly pro­claimed “Dr. John E. Fryer Day” in Winchester by procla­ma­tion of Mayor Jo Ellen Reed.

This cel­e­bra­tion, hon­or­ing the Winchester native son who was instru­men­tal in the effort to acknowl­edge the rights of LGBTQ Americans, is part of the third annu­al Winchester Pride + Inclusion Festival.

Presented by Humanists of Winchester and oth­er spon­sors and orga­nized by A Life Worth Celebrating, the fes­ti­val promis­es to be the largest and most excit­ing Pride event in our town’s history.

The fes­ti­val will take place from 11 AM to 5 PM on Oct. 18 at the pavil­ion on Depot Street. There will be some­thing for every­one at this fam­i­ly-friend­ly event, fea­tur­ing a play zone for the kids, music and enter­tain­ment, and dozens of ven­dors, food trucks, and com­mu­ni­ty ser­vice organizations.

Safety is also a pri­or­i­ty, with a secu­ri­ty team in place as well as con­trolled access to the venue, wrist­bands for all atten­dees, and a crew of trained vol­un­teers to help ensure a smooth, fun, and safe envi­ron­ment for all.

Entertainment will run through­out the day. The day will kick off with wel­com­ing remarks from Ned Butler Royse, Interim President of A Life Worth Celebrating. At 11:30, DJ “Glitter Gremlin” will be serv­ing up beats, joy, and sparkle with high-ener­gy music. At noon, the mayor’s procla­ma­tion will be read by City Commissioner Hannah Toole.

At 12:30, the local per­form­ing troupe Triple Crown Theater Group will bring the the­ater to life with charm, tal­ent, and a touch of mag­ic. Turtle Mountain Music will take over the stage at 1 PM with their fresh take on tra­di­tion­al sounds. At 2 PM, a vari­ety show will fea­ture four incred­i­ble per­form­ers for a fam­i­ly-friend­ly cel­e­bra­tion of artistry and self-expression.

As in past years, a pre­sen­ta­tion of the Community Star Awards will take place at 3:15 PM to hon­or those who paved the way in the past, uplift the com­mu­ni­ty in the present, and shine a light toward the future.

From 2 to 4 PM, “The Flaming Femme” will per­form amaz­ing feats of fire, flair, and unapolo­getic femme power.

At 4 PM, the head­lin­er act will fea­ture Zach Day, a nation­al­ly rec­og­nized folk song­writer and alum­nus of the TV pro­gram “The Voice.” A Kentucky native, Zach has toured all over the coun­try and abroad. His unique voice and brand of folk-pop music, which he calls “y’allternative,” will delight festival-goers.

Besides Humanists of Winchester and A Life Worth Celebrating, oth­er com­mu­ni­ty spon­sors and part­ners include Crystal Coven Mystic Cottage, All Voices Reading Room, New Vista, Tom & Mike’s Farm, 2 Dudes Baking, WinCity Media, Bluegrass Parenting Solutions, and Emmanuel Episcopal Church.

Vendors include 2 Dudes Baking, Tom & Mike’s Farm, Crystal Coven Mystic Cottage, Harkness Edwards Vineyards, Abettor Brewery, Sweets From the Hart KY, Savannah’s Silly Smiles, Dirty Delights Soda Shop, 2 Rivers Beer Cheese, White Rabbits Bakery and Catering, K&K’s Tropical ParadICE LLC, Groundwork Counseling LLC, JuJu Dolls, Brooklen’s Jewelry, The Noble Nebula, Noe-Made, Calico Rugs, Scatterbrained Studios, Wolf Moon Crossings, Glow by Nikki, Novel Designs Co., Nena’s Emporium, Life Gives You Clemmons, Juniper Moon Folk Arts, Ms. Nola’s Crystal Emporium, William McCann, Upper Room Thrift Shop, Bells on Wheels, KY Wedding Nanny, AT&T, and Morning Glow Coffee Company.

Nonprofits include Humanists of Winchester, Fairness Campaign, All Voices Reading Room, Inc., New Vista, Central Kentucky Drug Screening/ Bluegrass Parenting Solutions, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, UKHC/KIRP — Target4 Project, New Day Recovery Center, Young People in Recovery YPR, Clark County Equity Coalition, CASA of the Wilderness Trail, National Youth Advocate Program, Legacy Greenscapes, Clark County Animal Shelter, Clark County Homeless Coalition, AVOL Kentucky, Inc., Recovery Café Lexington, Build Inclusion inc., Leeds Center for the Arts, Mason’s Banned Book Club, Pride of Morehead, Democratic Women’s Club, and Recovery Community Center (RCC).

A Life Worth Celebrating is a new local non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tion ded­i­cat­ed to advanc­ing inclu­sion, edu­ca­tion, and com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Humanists of Winchester, a local chap­ter of the American Humanists Association, is a group of peo­ple striv­ing to be “good for good­ness’ sake,” while work­ing to make Winchester and Clark County more wel­com­ing, affirm­ing, and safe for all peo­ple, regard­less of age, eth­nic­i­ty, gen­der, sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion, dis­abil­i­ty, reli­gion, or immi­gra­tion status.

Dr. John E. Fryer (1937−2003) was a promi­nent psy­chol­o­gist from Winchester and a gay man whose brav­ery helped shift the con­ver­sa­tion around LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. A his­tor­i­cal mark­er was recent­ly erect­ed near Dr. Fryer’s birth­place at the inter­sec­tion of Lexington Ave. and Bön Haven.