Follow the rainbow to the Raising Cane’s River Center this Saturday, June 24, for the Baton Rouge Pride Festival.
Baton Rouge Pride will conclude its long list of Pride Month events with this family-friendly festival jam-packed with events for everyone to celebrate love, inclusivity and acceptance. This year’s fest will celebrate the theme “Proud to Be Me in 2023.”
Baton Rouge Pride Chair and President Bobbi Wisekal says Baton Rouge Pride has grown tremendously since its start in 2006. Though the fest started out with a handful of people over a decade ago, Wisekal says the event has grown into one of the South’s largest indoor pride events.
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“We’ve had an attendance of up to 12,000 people throughout the day because it’s a come-and-go event; it doesn’t just start and end,” Wisekal says.
Baton Rouge Pride Fest will be a safe space for those in the LGBTQ+ community to come together and celebrate Pride with their families, friends and allies. Wisekal says everything will be located inside of the River Center and all attendees must go through metal detectors to ensure no dangerous items are taken indoors.
“Some people just want to go hang out, have a good time, have their flag and enjoy themselves but be authentically themselves in the safe space,” she says. “All the love is inside. We keep all the hate outside. And, I think that’s a wonderful thing.”
A trio of iconic celebrities will take the stage at the event. RuPaul’s Drag Race Judge and TV personality Carson Kressley will be in attendance along with queens Kennedy Davenport and Jasmine Masters, who have also competed in RuPaul’s Drag Race.
There will also be Baton Rouge stars to celebrate throughout the day like community-appointed grand marshals, the 2023 Capital City Pride Royal Court and plenty of well-known local drag queens like London Manchester, Victoria Valentine and Lady D Andrews performing acts inspired by Reba, Selena and Diana Ross.
Other guests include ministers who will volunteer their time for the Blessing of Relationships. These special blessings will be complete with a floral arch donated by Original Heroman’s Florist and a cake from Counterspace.
“If someone wants a blessing over their family or their personal relationship or just a blessing in itself, there will be moments where they’ll go on stage and get the blessing,” Wisekal says.
In addition to the acts on stage, attendees can also tour the resource fair, shop at the Queerative Market produced by Baton Rouge queer arts initiative LEUR Magazine, LLC, or participate in free HIV testing courtesy of Wisekal’s company the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
For the first time ever, Baton Rouge Pride had an anonymous donor who decided to help with all food at the festival. Wisekal says she’s very thankful for this donor and has been working hard to connect with local restaurants and food trucks to have plenty of offerings at the event.
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Though the festival is a day-long event, Baton Rouge Pride has helped host and promote plenty of events throughout the month like comedian Jen Kober’s show at Manship Theatre, an art exhibit at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, drag shows and more.
Wisekal also points out that Baton Rouge Pride holds events throughout the year to celebrate. Wisekal and her team have been using the phrase “pride is a marathon” to emphasize the importance of showing up and supporting the LGBTQ+ both before and after Pride Month.
Baton Rouge Pride Fest will be held this Saturday, June 24, from noon until 7 p.m. Doors at the Raising Cane’s River Center will open at 11:30 a.m. Though it is a free event, Wisekal suggests bringing both cash and cards for food, merch and art. More information can be found on Baton Rouge Pride’s website.