by Ava Fleisher | Special to the Courier

Members of the LGBTQ+ community, families, friends, and allies packed Memorial Park over the weekend for the first Claremont Pride Festival. The April 18 event included more than 65 booths, speeches from local and national lawmakers, panel discussions, and performances.

U.S. Representative Judy Chu, co-sponsor of the Equality Act, a bill introduced last year in the House that would expand the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, kicked things off. Chu emphasized the importance of pushing back against the Trump administration attacks and standing up for LGBTQ+ rights.

The aptly named Jordan Sunshine at the inaugural Claremont Pride Festival on April 18. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

“It’s more important than ever to have a sign of solidarity and support, and you cannot underestimate how much people will feel like the community supports them when they see events like this,” Chu told the Courier.

Claremont Mayor Jennifer Stark said the festival’s “authenticity, diversity, and respect” made her proud to call Claremont home.

“It was such a joyful event,” Stark wrote in an email. “In times of struggle it is so important to remember to get nurtured by joy. I loved all the creativity and celebration.”

Stark wrote that support is crucial right now and that she wants to hear directly from LGBTQ+ people to make them feel “safe, valued and protected. It has always been a moral imperative to ensure that self-expression is valued. But now more than ever it is vital that small communities like Claremont make sure our actions and policies are louder than our words.”

The event drew a diverse, all-ages crowd from across the region. Two young local music acts performed: The Fine Print, a trio of Claremont High students, and Jordan Sunshine, a 6-year-old singer and guitarist.

Charles Perry, who was managing a booth for his business 5 Tails and Some Whiskers, underscored the value of intergenerational advocacy. in the LGBTQ+ community. As a gay man born and raised in Claremont, he has made it a priority to provide the kind of representation he didn’t see when he was younger.

Claremont residents Bill and Pam Stevenson at the first Claremont Pride Festival on April 18. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

“Growing up in the ‘80s, [being gay] wasn’t as widely accepted as it is now,” Perry said. “I felt showing up for past generations and future generations is really important to represent. I think that fight is in me because I was a part of it in the beginning.

Bill Johnson — who in 1972 became the first openly gay minister ordained in a historic Protestant denomination — and Cal State Stanislaus interim President Sue Borrego discussed their experiences navigating spaces where queer people have been historically excluded. Organizer Darlene Berg, whose nonprofit The Endless Foundation hosted the festival, said they highlighted the importance of being open about one’s sexuality when possible because “it gives younger people something to look up to and to aspire to be.”

Cheryl Garcia, a San Bernardino resident who came out in the 1980s, hadn’t attended a pride event in about 20 years. She said she came to Claremont Pride not only to support other queer people, but to show up for all communities disenfranchised under Trump.

“I have several friends that are married and their rights of being married are being challenged,” Garcia said. “So that and immigration is a big topic for me. I’m trying to involve myself in things to support others that don’t have the privilege.”

A number of people not a part of the LGBTQ+ community showed their support at the festival. Wearing shirts that read “F**k Trump,” and “Proud ally,” and wearing rainbow wigs, Pam and Bill Stevenson said this was one of many pride events they attend, especially, Pam Stevenson said, as Trump is “trying to silence anything to do with LGBTQ rights. I think they should have this every single year. I think the more you come out, speak out, show up, it just tells people, ‘We’re not going away. We’re not going to push people back in the closet. You’re not going to make them feel bad about their sexuality.’”

(L-R) Missy McCormick and Camila Camaleon shop with their child at Dana McKeon’s booth at the first Claremont Pride Festival on April 18. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Jesscia MacLachlan represented the League of Women Voters Mount Baldy Area chapter at the festival and, although the group is nonpartisan, she said “we’re seeing some threat to our democracy and voting rights,” under Trump. “We do want to make sure that every single person maintains the right to vote and is educated on how voting works.”

For Perry, the festival served as a reminder that people must use their voices to advocate for vulnerable populations, especially the LGBTQ+ community.

“We can’t sit on our morals or be comfortable,” Perry said. “I think that is the time for us all to fight again, represent, show up and [remember] the old saying: we’re queer, we’re here and get used to it.”

Organizers spent more than a year planning the festival, working with the city and with help from a $4,000 donation from Jackie and Monique Baca-Geary, who own JGB Walks, the event’s largest sponsor.

Berg said the unity and support inherent at the event make people more inclined to invest in the community.

“It brings people together no matter what walk of life you come from,” Berg said. “We want to reach out to our neighbors and if other people are having events, we want to be a part of them and show our support to them. It just builds everybody up.”

Berg said she thinks the April 18 festival will be the first of many.

“I can say it with confidence,” she said.

Ava Fleisher is a sophomore at Scripps College where she studies writing, politics and anthropology and is a news section editor at the Claremont Colleges newspaper The Student Life.