Bo Diddley Plaza came alive Saturday with Pride flags, rainbows and the vibrant hum of thousands of voices.
The Pride Community Center of North Central Florida has planned Gainesville Pride for more than 20 years. Donn Smith-Lopez, the center’s president, said plans for this year’s festival started in the summer.
He said that this is a time for Gainesville to come together and celebrate the diversity of its community.
“We've always been here, and we're going to remain here,” Smith-Lopez said. “Our theme this year is ‘Pride is Protest,’ because we need to make sure that we continue to protest, to stand up for ourselves.”
Smith-Lopez and his husband are the parents of a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old.
“I want our kids to live in a world where their parents are accepted,” Smith-Lopez said. “That they feel loved, and that they, whomever they are, whomever they choose to be, or whomever they choose to love, they are in a place and in a world which will embrace them.”
The festival hosted more than 100 vendors and community groups, such as the Gainesville chapter of Stonewall Sports, Grace Presbyterian Church, We Rock Gainesville and Free Mom Hugs.
Nichaela Williams is the owner of Indescribbable, a small business that sells sensory-friendly crochet plushies made with soft blanket yarn instead of standard acrylic material.
“A lot of other people in the pride community also have things like autism or other neurodivergencies,” Williams said. “So, a lot of people find it very helpful when my stuff is easy to touch and fidget with.”
A 22-year-old UF psychology senior, Williams embraced the Halloween spirit and came to the festival dressed in her costume as Claudia from “Interview with a Vampire.”
“I love that I’ve been accepted by multiple pride events here in Gainesville, because I feel like it helps me embrace the community and I recognize that I’m accepted as a part of the pride community,” Williams said.
Throughout the day, 31 local drag artists and entertainers took to the stage.
Braxton Mackenzie, a UF alum who uses they/them pronouns, performs as Circe Du Freak, a “drag clown.” Mackenzie chose this persona to keep their drag genderless.
“Drag is art. And drag is also a protest, just because of the political climate we’re currently living in,” said Mackenzie.
Aldo Grazo, the vice president of the Pride Community Center, described his drag as “high-energy camp.” Performing as Emma Gration, Grazo began Saturday’s performance with a 50-foot-long cape, lip-syncing to “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga.
”It's like an outlet for me to relieve my stress and to just have fun in a way that I always wanted to have — and that’s just to express my queer joy,” Grazo said.
Grazo took the stage with Crystal Methyd, a drag queen who competed on the Season 12 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Grazo said Methyd is one of his favorite drag artists, and inviting her to perform was a “full circle moment.”
“She’s super quirky, super artsy and she follows the beat of her own drum,” Grazo said. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
Crystal Methyd is known for her colorful and surreal style.
“I was an artist before I was a drag queen, and I think as an artist, you're always wanting to inspire other people,” Methyd said. “It's so important that we're all actively trying to inspire each other, because it ain't easy making art.”
Methyd began performing in a small conservative town in Missouri. She was inspired to meet other people “actively seeking community themselves.” Pride is, and always was, a protest, the drag queen said.
“They keep trying to come back and come for us,” Methyd said. “But I think if we look to the older generation, we know that we've been through these struggles before, and we’ve overcome them.”
This year’s pride festival came after unprecedented legal challenges made against the rights of LGBTQ+ people by the Trump administration, as well as ongoing efforts by Florida’s state government to pass laws that undermine LGBTQ+ protections and rights.
The festival featured the unveiling of Terry Fleming Street. Fleming, who died in 2020 at the age of 58, was known for his activism and work within the LGBTQ+ community. Mayor Harvey Ward led the ceremony alongside other members of the city commission.
History doesn’t just occur in the city commission minute books, but in the streets, Ward said after the ceremony.
“It's incumbent on those of us who do know the history to share that history one-on-one when somebody asks,” he said.
Terry Fleming’s family and husband were also present at the unveiling, including his sister, Heather Fleming.
“It is very surreal and very emotional, and Terry would have hated it. … He’s not good with compliments,” Heather said.
Terry was a key player in the installation of the rainbow crosswalks in downtown Gainesville. While the city voted to remove the crosswalks in compliance with an order from the Florida Department of Transportation, the bricks are planned to be used in a future installation.
“He was very humble, and even though he could be rough on the outside, his heart was bigger than anyone you have ever met,” Heather said.
Julianna Bendeck is a contributing writer for The Alligator. Contact her at jbendeck@ufl.edu.
Julianna Bendeck is a contributing writer for The Alligator.
