Local teen describes her path from rejection to a joyful Pride Parade
Pride seems to be a sacred practice, one only reserved for large liberal communities. Celebration of the rainbow is rarely shared with those overlooked in small towns, but pride is for everyone. Young, old, gay, or straight people deserve access to celebrate love, in all forms. The small town of Lyons with only 2,000 people has rarely celebrated pride, however this year the town of Lyons will host its third official celebration on June 15, 2024. Lyons, despite its small size, will display its pride at this parade.
This year, the celebration will host several live music performances, notable public speakers, countless free activities, and informational booths provided by local LGBTQ+ organizations. Free ice cream, cookies, and flower crown crafting are just a few of the activities provided. Although the event has grown into sweet treats, professional bands and donations, it began as a summer goal for two 15 year old girls.
Grace Farrell and myself, (Jane Harker), founded and organized the Lyons pride parade. Our town, like countless others, continues to face homophobia within the community, of which I (a queer person myself) have experienced plenty. As homophobia became more apparent within our community, Grace and I became determined to take efforts in order to combat it. Our hope being that other young people would not have to experience the same feelings of hopelessness or ignorance. So, doing as much as two 15 year olds could, we organized our first pride parade in 2021. Racing against our limited resources and funds, we scrambled to create an event that would celebrate love within our town. This parade, although small, left Grace and I with a lasting impression; and it encouraged us to continue the parade into the next year.
Our community recognized our efforts from the previous year, and when we needed their help, leaders stepped up to join our team and assist with the next pride parade. We were lucky enough to work with a large team and increase the size of the event, and impact more of our community. There were countless more smiles, countless more mothers thanking us for displaying their children’s voices, and countless more challenges, but that year we increased our attendance from 50 to 300. For Grace and me, that parade was a spark. It was the confidence we needed to not only continue the parade for the third year but display the voices of 2,000 residents of Lyons.
As the fourth year of the event is about to commence, and Grace and I are preparing for college, the Lyons Pride Parade has become bigger than the two of us; and it will continue to thrive long after we say goodbye to our lovely town. We have not only turned a little event, attended by mostly friends and family, into a large festival of which we believe attendance will continue to increase, we have also proved that pride is for everyone. Pride is for those two terrified 15 year old girls who started something that would change their town.
Lyons Pride Parade and Festival will be hosted June 15th from 3-6p.m. in Sandstone Park, Lyons, and will be followed by a family-friendly drag show from 7-9p.m. at Adventure Lodge’s Rock Garden, 338 W Main Street, Lyons.
Come celebrate love with us and have your voice heard!
………………….Jane Harker
SEE ALSO 6/6/24 ARTICLE on Lyons’ Pride Fest 2024, detailing the day’s events; and links to other PRIDE events happening around Colorado/Front Range.