Fremont Pride celebrates second year with performers, downtown parade

FREMONT — With his kaleidoscopic hat shielding him from the sun on Walsh Park's open field, Bryce McCoy unfolded his lawn chair and sat in his matching rainbow shirt to take one of the best seats in the house for the 2022 Fremont Pride Festival.

McCoy, a Genoa resident, had missed last year's inaugural Fremont Pride, but he made sure to be there Saturday for a full day of entertainers, speakers and fun activities.

As community members began slowly showing up for the festival, McCoy said Saturday's event featured a strong turnout and a great show for the community.

"I like small groups rather than big Pride events, so this is more comfortable for me," McCoy said.

This year's Fremont Pride kicked off with a parade through downtown Fremont before turning its attention to Walsh Park and the festival's nine-hour entertainment lineup

While the festival featured dozens of drag performers and contestants in the Mr., Ms. and Mx. Fremont Pride pageants, festival-goers also heard from Jim Obergefell, a Sandusky resident whose name is attached to the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.

He is currently running for the Ohio House as a Democrat in the 89th House District against incumbent Republican D.J. Swearingen.

Obergefell and John Arthur, who was gravely ill, traveled to Maryland in July 2013 to get married because Ohio didn't allow same-sex unions. Arthur died three months later, and Obergefell sued to be listed on the death certificate as Arthur’s husband.

That case was among multiple cases involving dozens of plaintiffs argued together before the Supreme Court but Obergefell was the lead plaintiff, meaning the case bore his name.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that nationwide there are 568,000 same-sex married couples, including 31,500 in Ohio.

Obergefell referenced the Supreme Court's June ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and Justice Clarence Thomas' concurring opinion, where the justice suggested the court reconsider Obergefell's precedent in the future, along with cases that overturned sodomy laws and established the right for married people to obtain contraception.

He told Fremont Pride festival-goers he felt "kind of terrified" right now in light of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Thomas' opinion and moves being made by state legislatures in Ohio and elsewhere.

"It's OK to be afraid. But more importantly, be angry. Because what's happening in this nation right now is not what the Constitution is about. What's happening in this nation is not what America is supposed to be about," Obergefell told the Fremont Pride crowd.

Community senjoy Fremont Pride crowds, feeling of inclusion

Drag performers and pageant participants filed in and out of a dressing tent behind Fremont Pride's main stage throughout the day.

Jade Moonstone of Bowling Green and Moonstone's mother, Shannon Applehans, stood by the tent as Moonstone waited to go on stage.

Moonstone acknowledged there's always a certain amount of nervous tension before going out for a performance.

"But once you go out there, your character takes over and it just melts away," Moonstone said.

Applehans said she was glad Obergefell spoke at the festival and urged festival-goers to be loud with their voices in support of gay rights and other causes.

She applauded the supportive atmosphere for performers like Moonstone and the festival itself.

"It's nice when they have things like this where the community can get together and have fun," Applehans said.

Main festival organizer Stevie Keck, who emceed for most of the afternoon as drag performer Stevie Phoenix, said earlier this month event organizers were really proud to provide representation and a welcoming community atmosphere for the area's LGBTQ community.

Chrystal Gubanche and her family made the drive from Lima to attend Fremont Pride.

Gubanche sat at a picnic table behind the food trucks at Walsh Park.

"Lima doesn't have a big Pride festival like this. I love it. It has such a great energy," Gubanche said.

Fremont Pride 2022 organizer Tyler Kneeskern said this year's festival ran much smoother than the inaugural 2021 event.

Kneeskern said he grew up in the area and never had an event locally like Fremont Pride that he could attend.

"It's nice there's something that people can come to and be themselves," Kneeskern said.

He said he spoke to a woman at Saturday's festival that brought her father for the first time to a Pride event.

dacarson@gannett.com

419-334-1046

Twitter: @DanielCarson7

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Fremont Pride makes Walsh Park come alive with day of performers, fun