The two-day Pride event was hosted in Columbia around Rose Music Hall for students, locals and performers
On the rainy Saturday of Sept. 23, dozens of vendors, organizations, non-profits, volunteers and one horse stationed themselves in the streets of downtown Columbia for the first day of Mid-Missouri PrideFest. Park Avenue, Saint James Street and Orr Street all bustled with activity starting at noon.
Drag queens were in full glam, tables sold handmade jewelry and art prints, while iridescent balloons, pride flags and rainbow outfits all came together for a bright day under a gray sky.
Unlike other Pride events which are typically held in June for national Pride Month, Mid-Missouri PrideFest is hosted every year in September.
“[Columbia has] three institutions of higher education and being Mid-MO Pride, we also have outlying institutions of higher ed, and we want to make sure that our students are involved. So, we put it in September to make sure that they can come and celebrate with us,” Joe Jefferies, fundraising chair of Mid-Missouri PrideFest, said.
Hosting the event in September allows students who aren’t in Columbia over the summer to attend.
“It would almost be a waste to do it in June. I feel like with a lot of people being able to be more out when they’re at school and not at home, it makes it more accessible for the whole community to do in September,” senior Sophie Cohen said.
Organizers feel that this year’s pride event was important to hold in light of recent harmful legislation towards the LGBTQ+ community.
“This year is more important than ever … There has been so much violent legislation coming out of our state legislature and attempts at our federal level as well,” Jefferies said.
As of Nov. 7, The American Civil Liberties Union has tracked 506 nationwide anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the 2023 U.S. legislative session.
In August, Missouri’s Senate Bill 49 banning gender-affirming care for minors went into effect.
On Jan. 4, Missouri Senate Bill 134, sponsored by Sen. Mike Moon, was introduced to the Senate. The bill proposed barring school officials from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation with K-12 students. S.B. 134 also prohibits school officials from withholding information regarding a student’s gender identity from the student’s legal guardians. This bill was met with protests statewide.
This is one of 48 anti-LGBTQ+ bills authored in Missouri Congress in the 2023 Legislative Session so far, according to a legislation tracker from the ACLU.
Additionally, House Bill 1364 was introduced on March 1 and sponsored by Bennie Cook, and proposed establishing “the offense of engaging in an adult cabaret performance or organizing or authorizing the viewing of an adult cabaret performance and the offense of organizing or authorizing the viewing of a drag queen story hour,” according to the official bill summary.
This year’s Mid-Missouri PrideFest included many drag queen performances, including multiple storytimes where drag queens read and acted out children’s books.
“[There is a] narrative of drag and [people are] turning it into this predatory thing among either children, or just as a whole. People don’t really understand why we do it,” Marceline Mayhem, a drag queen who performed at Mid-Missouri PrideFest, said.
Local churches made an effort to show up at Mid-Missouri PrideFest to show support. Ericca Thornhill of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church emphasized the importance of standing up for those in the LGBTQ+ community when they are experiencing discrimination.
MU students, like freshman Jaylee Buck experienced this support.
“It’s been so good. I’ve cried a lot,” Buck said. “It’s been healing … So I got blessed by a priest and my grandpa is a pastor. And he does not support me or anything like that. So it was very healing for my soul.”
But even among rising anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, Mid-Missouri PrideFest continues to expand their event.
“I remember the first year I came, it was probably half the size, booth-wise, and I feel like I see more community here now than I used to,” four-time festival attendee Olivia Wood, said.
Multiple community members and MU students emphasized the joy they get to see and feel at the festival.
“Everyone’s so excited to be here. I know that’s kind of cheesy, but … I feel like it takes that one day a year for someone who’s afraid to be themselves to come here and just see other people like them, and the joy that it brings them,” Marcline Mayhem said.
Feeling a shared sense of community seemed to be a mutual feeling between event-goers.
“I’ve just really loved the community and the support that I see. Everyone’s so positive and there’s so much light and joy flying through the streets and it’s just so beautiful to see and be a part of really,” freshman Jenna Levy said.
And that feeling is exactly what organizers envision for Mid-Missouri Pridefest.
“What’s so important is that this event really symbolizes the unity, strength, and resilience of our community that cannot be broken,” Jeffries said. “When we come together here we celebrate our identities. When we come together here and make art and music and celebrate together, we are unstoppable, and I am absolutely thrilled that we are able to have this for our community in Mid-Missouri.”
Edited by Annie Goldman and Genevieve Smith | agoldman@themaneater.com and gsmith@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy and Grace Knight | gknight@themaneater.com