‘Love Louder’ brings pride, performance, and fundraising to Winchester

Tickets are going quick­ly for Sunday’s event, “Love Louder: A Pride Month Drag Celebration.” The pro­gram will be held in the gym­na­si­um at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Lexington Avenue this Sunday, June 14, at 6 p.m. 

Co-spon­sored by WinCity Media and Emmanuel Episcopal Church, the event is billed as a fam­i­ly-friend­ly evening of drag per­for­mances, con­nec­tion, and celebration. 

The alco­hol-free event will fea­ture cus­tom mock­tails for sale and free char­cu­terie box­es for VIP tick­et holders. 

Entertainers include head­lin­ers Poly Tics and Rayona Dawn, as well as Petty Pousey, Mavis Steel, and Latoya Bacall. 

The event is a fundrais­er for three Winchester non­prof­its: A Life Worth Celebrating,  All Voices Reading Room, and Humanists of Winchester. 

“This is more than just a cel­e­bra­tion,” said Crase Wilcoxson, the founder and exec­u­tive direc­tor of A Life Worth Celebrating. “It’s a step towards fos­ter­ing a more inclu­sive and accept­ing community. 

“The show brings our com­mu­ni­ty togeth­er to hon­or LGBTQ+ joy, expres­sion, and belong­ing in Winchester and helps us cre­ate a safe, wel­com­ing space where every­one can show up as themselves.” 

As of this writ­ing, all VIP tick­ets had been sold. General admis­sion tick­ets are still avail­able for $20 and can be pur­chased online here: wincityvoices.org/lovelouder.  

Tickets may also be pur­chased at the door if any remain. Capacity is lim­it­ed by fire code. Organizers sug­gest order­ing online now to reserve your seat. 

Kayla Mullins, co-exec­u­tive direc­tor of All Voices Reading Room, told WinCity Voices that she is “real­ly excit­ed for Love Louder. I’ve always loved the art of drag and the per­form­ers’ abil­i­ty to not only enter­tain but also to share impor­tant mes­sages. And to be invit­ed to hold a fundrais­er like this one in a church could be very heal­ing for a lot of our LGBTQIA+ friends who have nev­er felt wel­come in a reli­gious space.” 

Added her co-exec­u­tive direc­tor, Kim Grissom, “I’m excit­ed for Love Louder as well. I hope that this gives the com­mu­ni­ty a moment to check out a drag show in a safe space for all. We will also be rep­re­sent­ed at the Juneteenth Celebration event on the 20^th and expand­ing our involve­ment in the Winchester com­mu­ni­ty through con­tin­ued pres­ence and col­lab­o­ra­tions with oth­er local causes.”

About the sponsoring organizations 

The event also high­lights the mis­sions of the orga­ni­za­tions behind it. 

Ryan Bloyd-Wiseman, Priest in Charge at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, wrote a piece for WinCity Voices last month explain­ing the church’s deci­sion to host the event. It is a com­pelling read. 

Emmanuel is a wel­com­ing and affirm­ing church that lends its facil­i­ties to many com­mu­ni­ty orga­ni­za­tions, includ­ing the Boy Scouts, Operation Happiness, Pride Prom, and many others. 

All Voices Reading Room was found­ed as a safe space for peo­ple who have been mar­gin­al­ized, dis­crim­i­nat­ed against, or who have had to fight just to live their lives authen­ti­cal­ly. The lead­er­ship rec­og­nizes that lit­er­a­cy inter­sects with iden­ti­ty and social change, and that books can be one of the best ways for peo­ple to glimpse the per­spec­tive of a life dif­fer­ent from their own. 

Books that reflect these dif­fer­ences are avail­able to the com­mu­ni­ty for free. AVRR strives to fos­ter diver­si­ty, equi­ty, inclu­sion, advo­ca­cy, and com­mu­ni­ty con­nec­tion through its pro­gram­ming, lend­ing library, and col­lab­o­ra­tive initiatives. 

WinCity Media Inc is the non­prof­it behind WinCity Voices and The Voices of Winchester pod­cast. The orga­ni­za­tion is ded­i­cat­ed to using var­i­ous forms of com­mu­ni­ca­tion to help make the Clark County com­mu­ni­ty more informed, engaged, inclu­sive, and affirming. 

Founded in September 2023, Humanists of Winchester is a local chap­ter of the American Humanist Society. With over 40 active mem­bers, the group strives to be “good for good­ness’ sake” as they meet to fel­low­ship, sup­port one anoth­er, and serve the com­mu­ni­ty. In 2025, they were the title spon­sor of the Winchester Pride & Inclusion Fest. 

The group meets on the sec­ond Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Clark County Public Library. 

A Life Worth Celebrating is a non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tion ded­i­cat­ed to advanc­ing inclu­sion, edu­ca­tion, and com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment for LGBTQ+ indi­vid­u­als and allies in Winchester, Kentucky. Through pub­lic events, cul­tur­al pro­gram­ming, and vis­i­bil­i­ty ini­tia­tives, ALWC works to fos­ter safe­ty, dig­ni­ty, and belonging—ensuring that every per­son has the oppor­tu­ni­ty to live a life worth cel­e­brat­ing. The group orga­nizes and runs the annu­al Winchester Pride and Inclusion Festival.