Northern Colorado residents came together to celebrate LGBTQ History Month with Northern Colorado Equality. The event hosted by the Fort Collins Senior Center on Oct. 4 featured an array of vendors, speakers and entertainers.
Creators of the event said they wanted to bring awareness to LGBTQ History Month and differentiate it from Pride Month in June. The slogan for this event was “Make your mark on LGBTQ+ history.”
“It’s not just the story of our queer elders and trans elders, but we’re doing the same thing they did, and hopefully we’re not starting from scratch,” Northern Colorado Equality Vice President AJ Knight said. “The more you know about what has worked in the past, hopefully the easier it will be.”
The event included drag performances and bands, such as Notes of Dissent Marching Band and Thee Fiasco. A large number of other vendors and organizations were associated with the event.
“NoCo Equality (has) done so much for the region,” vendor Xan Owens said. “So we saw that they were having this and thought it would be a great opportunity.”
Owens was at the event with the Fort Collins Safe Zone Collective and was positioned alongside local artists and business owners. The event served as a way to support local business owners who advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s an opportunity for us to drive more business towards those organizations because a key point is we want to be loud in our support of the organizations that are loud in their support of us,” Knight said.
Beyond the vendors and organizations present, NoCo Equality also had a few speakers come to discuss happenings in the queer community and how members can continue to show their pride in today’s day and age. These speakers were PFLAG Fort Collins, PFLAG Greeley, Ben Greene and Istana Castillo.
Creators said they focused on making the event accessible for everyone, which is what led to the decision of hosting at the Fort Collins Senior Center: American Sign Language interpreters were present during performances and speeches; the event was hosted indoors to ensure people were out of the heat and to offer greater ease for wheelchairs and other mobility aids; they also included an arts and crafts corner for children.
“We have a separate event that tends to be a little more quiet, a little bit more accessible,” Knight said. “And we want to be sure that it’s accessible for people who aren’t safe to be out.”
Everything about this event was centered on the history of the queer community; that theme carried through to the logo. Designed by artist Percy Sawicki, the logo was titled Bricks and Balloons to showcase the duality of fight and joy in LGBTQ+ community history.
“There’s still a lot of work to do and protests and fighting to be done,” Sawicki said. “But we also have to remember that queer joy is queer resistance.”
The event offered a space of connection for the LGBTQ+ community and allies. Some people gave out hugs from “parents” to whomever wanted one. PFLAG Greeley Support and Hospitality Chair Jan Scales said these hugs were a highlight of the event.
“I’m encouraged that one person can make a difference,” Scales said. “And I’m just (going to) love all I can and give out hugs.”
The event offered a place for the LGBTQ+ community to gather and celebrate, as well as remember their history and look to the future.
“Find community; find your people,” Sawicki said. “There’s people that want you in their community and keep that strong. That’s one of the most important things: being in (your) community. Especially nowadays.”
Reach Claire Nestor at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
