Winchester pride festival celebrates community stories

On Saturday, October 3^rd, Winchester host­ed its fourth annu­al Pride and Inclusion Festival down­town on Depot Street. 

The event last­ed from 2 to 8 p.m., fea­tur­ing music, art, food, orga­ni­za­tions, and fea­tured poems and sto­ries. The theme for this year’s fes­ti­val was “The Story of Us,” cho­sen to reflect on moments that have shaped our com­mu­ni­ty, its peo­ple, and its relationships. 

The fes­ti­val is host­ed by A Life Worth Celebrating, Inc., Humanists of Winchester, Kentucky, and Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Rev. Ryan Bloyd-Wiseman, priest at Emmanuel Episcopal, said it’s a joy and priv­i­lege to share love from their church to its neighbors. 

“We think being at pride is impor­tant because love is for every­one,” she said. “God is love, and God loves all that God has made.” 

GRC’s Gay-Straight Alliance, a club ded­i­cat­ed to pro­vid­ing a wel­com­ing and safe envi­ron­ment for LGBTQ+ youth and allies, attend­ed the event as one of many ven­dors advo­cat­ing for uni­ty and inclusivity. 

Caleb Rollins, a mem­ber of the club, expressed the impor­tance of con­nect­ing with those in the community. 

“Being in a small­er town, like in Kentucky, which is prob­a­bly a state not known for being as accept­ing, to have events and groups like this is real­ly impor­tant to [reach] the com­mu­ni­ty so they know there are oth­er peo­ple like them,” he said. “They aren’t just on an island alone in this area, that they’ve got a com­mu­ni­ty and a safe space they can be around.” 

There were a few speak­ers who shared words of wis­dom, art, and sto­ries from their own life expe­ri­ences at the fes­ti­val as well. Willie Edward Taylor Carver, an author and poet, said events like Pride and Inclusion are reminders of worth and importance. 

“We are all wor­thy of the most beau­ti­ful sto­ries we could tell,” he said. “And for me, this is how we remind our­selves of that, how we ener­gize our­selves, and how we see our­selves in oth­er people.” 

The event host­ed many busi­ness­es and cor­po­ra­tions, includ­ing National Youth Advocate Program, Inc., a fos­ter agency ded­i­cat­ed to pro­vid­ing care and resources to youth and their families. 

“We spe­cial­ize in a holis­tic approach to fos­ter care, look­ing at offer­ing the par­ents sup­port and the youth sup­port,” Anna Grace Peterson, a rep­re­sen­ta­tive of the pro­gram, said. “We are also try­ing to recruit peo­ple who are inclu­sive and wel­com­ing in terms of being able to [accept and care for all youth]. There is a huge need for fos­ter care in gen­er­al, but also for queer youth.” 

The ven­dors, speak­ers, and per­for­mances aren’t the only things that make Winchester’s Pride and Inclusion Festival a suc­cess, how­ev­er. The atten­dees play a huge part in the envi­ron­ment and fun as well. 

Rachael Scalf, a youth mem­ber of our com­mu­ni­ty, said it’s a nice, fun, and impor­tant event. 

“If some­one rec­og­nizes me, they know I’m a pastor’s daugh­ter. I’m involved in church and I just think it’s real­ly not that hard to love,” she said. “It’s a lot more dif­fi­cult to hate than it is to love. I think this is a real­ly great thing.” 

Amy Fugate-Rouse, an active com­mu­ni­ty mem­ber and advo­cate, said it’s a reminder of sup­port, despite any hardship. 

“It brings the com­mu­ni­ty togeth­er,” she said. “Often in the face of adver­si­ty, it’s hard to see the sup­port around you. There were so many ven­dors there that we already shop from, and to see them there, know­ing there are some in Winchester that are anti-LGBTQ+ events, remind­ed me that sup­port in Winchester exists.” 

The fes­ti­val con­tin­ues to pro­vide love, inclu­sion, and a sense of com­mu­ni­ty for yet anoth­er year, leav­ing last­ing reminders of belonging. 

“Going to Winchester Pride helps me to real­ize all of the love that we have in our com­mu­ni­ty,” said Lisa Bush, LGBTQ+ ally and founder of All Voices Reading Room. “It’s beautiful.”