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The sun shone brightly on the Broadview Heights City Campus on Saturday June 8th for the second annual BBH Pride Fest. Although there was not a drop of rain, the 1,869 visitors and vendors brought plenty of rainbows. The attendance was more than double the 2023 event, with plenty of local residents joining their families, friends, and neighbors, along with visitors from surrounding counties and states.
Under a welcoming rainbow arch, six food trucks and scores of vendors lined the property as guests streamed in. Pouring over resources and goods, visitors walked through the event chatting with LGBTQ+ supportive businesses and organizations. Creative citizens made artwork at activity booths, shared quiet, mindful moments in a zen area, and made new connections with fellow participants.
Music rang out throughout the day, enticing visitors to the dance floor. Cleveland-based band Pop Fiction performed covers of favorites from hair band power ballads to early aughts chart toppers, to Taylor Swift tributes. Adding to the melody were performances from the Cleveland Pride Band and Windsong, Cleveland’s Feminist Chorus.
While the day was full of joy, the road to success has been bumpy for BBH Pride, as a vocal minority has spoken out in opposition to the group, the event, and the LGBTQ+ community in general. Despite these struggles, the event went on without a hitch and within an atmosphere of complete respect, affirmation, and acceptance.
Broadview Heights Mayor, Sam Alai, who supported the city’s sponsorship of the event, took the stage along with Broadview City Council Members Jennifer Mahnic and Brian Wolf to emphatically and intentionally welcome guests to their city. “You are welcome in Broadview Heights. You have an Ally here in our city. In the rank of decision-making this was the easiest thing to without hesitation,” said Alai. He added, “I understand people having other opinions, but it is truly a vocal minority. In a city of this size you have 19,900 people in support of what we are doing here today.”
A Brecksville resident stated, “We’ve never been to a Pride event before. But today my son and I had somewhere to come where we could be with hundreds of welcoming people and he could be his authentic self. He was properly gendered by the BBH Pride team and I am forever grateful.”
Finally, two special guests made a surprise appearance, to the delight of attendees. Sitting United States Senator Sherrod Brown and Pulitzer Prize winning writer and journalist Connie Schultz greeted Broadview Heights and Brecksville residents and thanked them for welcoming this gathering into their communities.
Broadview Heights resident Michael Morse said, “Today was such a positive, affirming, and simply amazing day. I don’t know how you’ll top it next year, but I do know that my family will be there to find out.”
True to Pride event origins, which began in 1970, BBH Pride Fest is more than a celebration. As BBH Pride President, Jennifer Speer, remarked in her address “I want to be very clear that our work has only just begun. These last two years have been about laying the foundation and bringing more and more seats to the table. To our friends in the entire LGBTQ+ community – please know that our tent will only continue to grow and our work will not be finished until it shelters and includes everyone.”
June may be over but Pride isn’t. Check out some more upcoming Pride events in Ohio to keep the love going!
