Marble Falls Pride Fest about visibility, love, and safe spaces
The Highland Lakes Equality Center hosts its fifth annual Marble Falls Pride Fest on Saturday, June 14, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Johnson Park, 230 Avenue J South. The free, community-wide event features live music, food, local vendors, performances, and other entertainment.
“Pride is about visibility, love, and creating safe spaces for everyone to feel celebrated just as they are,” according to HLEC organizers in a media release announcing the event. “This event is for anyone who believes in that mission.”
The HLEC held its first major event, Equality Fest, in 2021 in honor of Pride Month, which is observed in June and celebrates inclusivity and equality for LGBTQIA+ people, whom the center supports with community and resources.
HISTORY OF PRIDE
The origin of Pride Month is rooted in a six-day protest, known as the Stonewall Uprising, in New York in 1969 following a police raid on a gay bar.
According to the Library of Congress, it was illegal to serve a gay person alcohol until 1966, and homosexuality was still technically illegal in the state of New York in 1969. This led many gay bars to operate without liquor licenses and made them susceptible to recurring raids by law enforcement.
Police raided a popular gay bar, The Stonewall Inn, in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, detaining and arresting many patrons and targeting cross-dressers specifically. At the time, it was illegal in New York City for someone to wear more than three items of clothing that did not match their gender. Protesters gathered and a mob formed, leading to a riot across the city that was fueled by years of tension within the gay community.
Following the protests, gay activists began celebrating their pride in who they were in June 1970, which has continued and grown since the Stonewall Uprising. Now, it is common for LGBTQIA+ communities across the country to celebrate in some way throughout the month of June.