While vendors were setting up shop in the parking lot at Kachemak Bay Campus on Saturday morning, the party was already starting at the HERC. As the Homer Pride Liberation Community Walk proceeded from there toward the college, cheers from the parade walkers could be heard along Pioneer Avenue, along with horns from passing cars honking in solidarity and the megaphone-augmented voice of Winter Marshall-Allen as she led the procession.
“Love, not hate!” she chanted in a call-and-response with the parade walkers.
The parade landed in the KBC parking lot, where approximately 20 vendors’ tents were set up, selling unique Pride merch or providing information from various nonprofit organizations about local initiatives that community members could get involved in.
Saturday’s event also hosted performances including live music by Luna & Ursus and DJ Totally Tiff!, as well as returning performers Robin Sparkles, Rosasha Vendetta and Dr Feelgood. In addition, attendees could take part in a Kai Chi Do session, an aerobic movement meditation activity that incorporates a system of movements combined with music and breathwork to support wellness and create opportunity for participants to experience the feeling of connection to themselves, others and nature.
As part of their ongoing efforts to foster inclusivity and accessibility in their events, Homer Pride organizers also brought back the sensory-safe hour during the celebration to “ensure a comfortable environment for individuals with sensitivities to audio stimulus.”
Marshall-Allen kicked off the celebration with a land acknowledgement dedicated to the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people and the Ninilchik Village Tribe, and an acknowledgement to the Homer Pride board, of which Marshall-Allen is a member.
“It is our small collective of mightiness that makes this event pop off,” she said. “We really appreciate everyone here participating.”
Saturday’s celebration was part of a series of events scheduled throughout June in honor of Pride Month, including a guided beach hike, a beach cleanup, karaoke, the inaugural Community Connection Circle, and more.
“Last night we were at The Alibi for the karaoke night and we had the best turnout ever,” Jerrina Reed, Homer Pride board of directors president, said. “People were dancing all over the place, and that was magic.”
Reed also noted that the Community Connection Circle, which was held at KBC on Thursday, June 13 as a way to foster conversation and community between BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals in the wider Homer community, only had a few attendees — but she isn’t dissuaded from continuing similar efforts in the future.
“We’re trying to create a dialogue for BIPOC people who live here, and queer people who live here, and find out their needs in the community, and also discuss what it’s like to live in a small community,” she said. “So we look forward to trying to do more of that.”
As June begins to draw to a close, Homer Pride is far from done.
“We have some good stuff brewing,” Reed said. “We’re going to be doing some regular activities, and I’m really excited about that.”
For more information about Homer Pride, visit www.homerakpride.com or www.facebook.com/pride99603/.
The Homer Pride Liberation Walk concludes at the Liberation Celebration in the Kachemak Bay Campus parking lot on Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Community members attend the Homer Pride Liberation Celebration in the Kachemak Bay Campus parking lot on Saturday, June 15, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
