Columbus Community Pride 2023: Here to Stay!

Columbus Community Pride 2023: Here to Stay celebrates the enduring legacy of resistance and survival in the face of unrelenting state violence. The theme reminds us that Black and Brown queer, trans, and intersex folks from all walks of life have always preserved by grounding ourselves in intentional community and building our own systems of care, safety, and healing outside of the influence of the state. We are rooted in these values and this is what allows Community Pride to continue to flourish.

“Here to Stay” also honors how our queer, trans, and intersex elders from communities of color have led countless movements toward liberation throughout history. We believe that working for the most marginalized among us will serve to benefit everyone, and our collective liberations as oppressed peoples are intertwined. We thus work for the liberation of all oppressed people, including but not limited to those in oppressed positions based on their gender, sexuality, race, socioeconomic status, employment, housing, citizenship, disability, religion, etc. We remain in solidarity with local and broader struggles against oppressive forces that disrupt our livelihoods and opportunity to live freely.

And of course, Community Pride itself is here to stay. Building upon our previous themes thus far, “Back to Our Roots” (2018), “Decades of Resistance” (2019), “FTP!” (2020/2021), and “The Future is Queer” (2022), we are happy to be bringing this grassroots festival celebration into its sixth year in central Ohio. As we navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, white supremacists disrupting queer spaces, fascist legislation at the Ohio Statehouse, police targeting our people, and more, we maintain our commitment to resisting state violence in all its forms and building abolitionist futures.

We retain our commitment to Black trans elder Miss Major Griffin-Gracy’s words: “I’m still fucking here!” by striving to make the world a better place for future generations of queer, trans, and intersex folks. We know that to do this, we must also continue to cultivate our connection to those ancestors who previously did the same for us. Here to Stay declares that queer, trans, and intersex folks refuse to be eliminated and will continue to fight for our right to now only survive, but thrive, for many generations to come.

Columbus Community Pride 2023: Here to Stay will have summer events starting in May and running through June, then we’ll take a summer break and return for fall events in August, and September. We hope that you will support and celebrate with us in whatever way you choose, whether that be donating to our fundraising, attending an event, telling a loved one, or sharing on social media why Community Pride is important to you. The schedule of events is below; this list will continue to be updated with further details as they become available, as will our social media platforms.

Our fall Community Pride festival will be at Mayme Moore Park on Saturday, September 23rd, 2023, from 12-7PM. We hope to see you there!

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Vend, table, or sell food at the festival

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