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Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival: New Name, New Location

This Saturday, for the first time, the Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival will be held in downtown Harrisonburg. WMRA’s Kara Lofton reports.

For several years, the festival celebrating the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents, originally called Pride in the Park, was held in Hillandale Park in Harrisonburg. But the festival has outgrown both the space and the organizers’ ability to provide enough volunteers to run the event. So the festival disbanded for two years while organizers cultivated supporters among more than 30 organizations, reserved Court Square for the event, recruited sponsors and lined up a schedule of performers, vendors and music. Up to 3,000 people are expected to attend the event, which will debut this weekend as the Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival.

Jo Benjamin is co-chair of the pride planning committee.  

JO BENJAMIN: We’re celebrating just the fact that we are able to be out and be accepted and we enjoy many of the same rights and privileges as any other does at this time.

She says it’s important to note that even with recent victories, the fight for equal rights isn’t over yet.

BENJAMIN: We’re also acknowledging the fact that there are many people among us in the LGBT community and outside who are still not seen, still not heard and making a space to lift up their voices and making space for people to learn more about LGBT. What does the acronym mean? What does it mean to be a area like this, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and be a minority?

Most importantly, she said, they want to make sure it is an event that respects all viewpoints, is welcoming and provides a safe space for attendees.

Kara Lofton is a photojournalist based in Harrisonburg, VA. She is a 2014 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University and has been published by EMU, Sojourners Magazine, and The Mennonite. Her reporting for WMRA is her radio debut.