Muskogee Pride 2022 activities planned for Saturday

Sep. 22—Aerial silk dancers, sidewalk chalk art and a parade are among highlights set for Muskogee Pride this weekend.

The festival, which begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, is hosted by Oklahomans for Equality: Muskogee Equality.

"It's a chance to get together," said organization Vice President Rory Rouell. "It's a chance to say that we're here, we're still active, we're still fighting, we're still saying we're not going away. We want to be part of the community in any way we can."

Rouell said he expects 300 to 400 people.

The event will feature aerial performers who do sky dancing, which Rouell said are performances at Cirque de Soleil.

"There will be an area outside where we will have a sidewalk chalk art contest," he said. "We are working on having a dunk tank."

There also will be a "family friendly" drag show made up of performers from the community, he said.

"The queens will be dressed in attire that would be more like evening gowns or jumpsuits that are full length, full body," Rouell said. "They're performing songs that you'd hear on the radio, pop songs and staples of the radio."

There also will be an array of food vendors, vendor booths and information booths. The event will close with a parade from along MLK Street from Fifth to Main Street. Participants will carry a giant rainbow flag.

"It is a combination of a celebration of the years since Stonewall and the fight for equality, and kind of a reminder that we still have a ways to go," Rouell said. "Stonewall was when the LGBTQ community got tired of being raided and being told they didn't have the right to exist and they fought back, and actually won the fight."

Stonewall refers to a 1969 riot that occurred after New York City police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn.

If you go

WHAT: Muskogee Pride 2022.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

WHERE: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 300 W. Martin Luther King St.