It’s almost Pride month! Participants can celebrate the Aurora LGBTQ+ community with the Aurora Public Library District (APLD) at the Santori Library in the Parker Garden, Friday, June 4. It will be a part of a special First Fridays: We can celebrate Pride Month! Registration is not required!
The event will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will hold exciting activities for all ages:
• At 6 p.m., will be a lively, colorful, Pride storytime that will be a focus on diversity and inclusion with Miss Andrea in the Santori Library Children’s Garden!
• From 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., will be jazz favorites played by the Maevis Jazz Trio.
• From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., participants can get crafty and wear their pride with Pride button-making.
• The 2020 Aurora Pride Drive-by Parade photo exhibit will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. Viewers may see someone they know, or even themselves, documented in a collection of a major point in history!
Although there will be plenty of enjoyment next week, the festivities of First Fridays: Let’s Celebrate Pride Month! and other Pride events will carry important messages of impact, such as appreciating diversity.
“Aurora has a history of celebrating diversity and showcasing that diversity with festivals, parades and events that allow us to experience cultural difference through shared appreciation without appropriation. Aurora is one of the first communities in Illinois, outside of Chicago, to host a Pride parade, modeling what is possible for surrounding communities,” Krista Danis, events & program coordinator at APLD, said.
In a world where LGBTQ+ figures are still underrepresented in media, the workforce, and many other areas of life, Pride celebrations are crucial events where individuals can feel represented or seen, sometimes literally!
Danis recalled that, “the most exciting response to our past Pride events has been when community members literally see themselves in the photo exhibits from parades past. When we first started the photo exhibit two years ago, people would get so excited to see themselves reflected in the photos as they walked through! They would jump up and down with excitement to be portrayed in their Pride gear.”
This year, we’ll be displaying the 2020 Aurora Pride Drive-by Parade photo exhibit, which documents how Aurora residents faced the challenges of a global pandemic and still managed to celebrate with Pride. Many decorated their yards and homes in creatively, colorful, ways.
“I am looking forward to witnessing our community light up when they see the exhibit truly representing the people in Aurora,” Danis said excitedly.
APLD will be offering the following Pride programs in June: The Legacy Project: LGBTQ+ History and Illinois’ LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum and Película por Zoom: Alex Strangelove Celebrando el mes LGBTQ+.
We’re excited to celebrate with you, Aurora, both virtually and in person this year! Happy Pride!