By Avery Beaton, Assistant Editor
The Upstate Pride March & Festival, presented by Michelin, was held this year at Barnet Park in downtown Spartanburg. This annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community takes place every November, starting with an hour-long march through the streets to kick off the rest of the events.
After the march the emcee, drag queen Patti O’Furniture, welcomed everyone to the show. She then introduced Upstate Pride, the City of Spartanburg, and US House of Representatives candidate Kathryn Harvey.
An overarching theme of this year’s pride was the importance of voting. There were two to three political organizations, in addition to local democratic candidates, encouraging people to vote in this year’s election.
There were numerous vendors, companies, support groups, and various LGBTQ+ organizations. Small businesses that attended included Watsons Whims, who makes functional jewelry, and W by L, with crocheted flowers.
Michelin, in addition to presenting this year’s festival, also attended. Other companies included T-Mobile, Denny’s, Milliken, and TD Bank, who handed out various pride-related merchandise.
Several churches were in attendance, some of which included Unitarian Universalist, Congregational Church, and Fernwood Baptist, all showing their support for the LBGTQ+ community.
Local universities such as Furman, USC Upstate, and Converse had pronoun pins and bracelets for people to show their pride. Numerous support groups such as Project REST, PFLAG (both the Greenville and Spartanburg branches), and the Queer Wellness Center had information for those in need.
The main events of the festival were the drag queens and kings. Drag queens included Jessica Black, Glitterous, and headliner, RuPaul’s Drag Race star, Kennedy Davenport. Drag Kings outnumbered the queens this year, and those names include Shane Grant, Jayden Lee, and Parker Lee Price.
Later in the afternoon the Gay Men’s Choir of Greenville performed their set and advertised their December performance at the Greenville Theatre. The Proud Mary Theatre, a nonprofit theatre centered around LGBTQ+ stories, attended and showing their events for the season.
Attendees Pip Wren and Madhav Kumar felt it’s important to celebrate pride year-round.
“Inclusivity, we live in a world where people are judged for who they are, and it’s important to recognize that but also celebrate who we are,” Kumar said.
Wren was attending Upstate Pride for the first time.
“I didn’t know Upstate did this until recently, but I knew I had to go,” they said.
Upstate Pride SC hosts two annual pride events: the Black Pride Parade & Festival and the Fall March & Festival in Spartanburg. If you were unable to attend this year, keep an eye out for next year’s pride marches.
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