'We're super excited': BoroPride celebrates new LGBTQ+ 2023 festival location
BoroPride found a location for 2023 after previous rejection from Murfreesboro officials to continue the annual LGBTQ+ festival.
The free festival will be Oct. 28 at Tennessee Miller Coliseum in north Murfreesboro, according to the BoroPride announcement posted at 9:39 p.m. Monday on Facebook. The news pleased Norman Hanks, the reigning Miss BoroPride for drag show performances at the annual festivals that attracted more than 7,000 people in 2022.
"We're super excited that it's going to happen, and we can't wait to see how it turns out," said Hanks, who was upset the previous fall when the Murfreesboro government opposed permitting continuation of the annual festival. "We're glad it's going to happen."
BoroPride organizers previously applied to hold the fall 2023 event at the Middle Tennessee State University campus. MTSU officials, however, rejected that initial application through an LGBTQ+ student group because policy "prohibits an external event seeking use of university property, facilities or services under the guise that the activity is a student event."
The university instead accepted a new application to use MTSU's Miller Coliseum, which is off West Thompson Lane and across the street from First United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro and nearby Erma Siegel Elementary, Siegel Middle and Siegel High.
MTSU Vice President Andrew Oppmann, who oversees marketing and communications for the university, confirmed Tuesday that BoroPride has rented the use of Tennessee Miller Coliseum.
Leslie Russell Yost, who is one of the BoroPride organizers, said the seventh-annual free event will be from 1-8 p.m. and include a main stage with live entertainment, games, community information tables, vendors and "your favorite food trucks."
"We're really proud and excited to bring BoroPride back to Murfreesboro in a bigger and more accessible location," Yost said.
BoroPride face opposition from Murfreesboro government
The annual festival that started in 2016 also faced opposition from Murfreesboro officials to continue after the September 2022 event. BoroPride had been at Cannonsburgh Village, a historic parks and recreation property off Front Street and Broad Street (U.S. Highway 41), which is across the highway from Murfreesboro City Hall in the downtown area.
Murfreesboro City Manager Craig Tindall said in an October letter to BoroPride organizers that he'd reject future permits for the festival and accused them of exposing “children to a harmful prurient interest.”
Festival organizers contend drag shows are protected First Amendment freedom of speech rights that allow LGBTQ+ people to express a part of who they are. The organizers deny that any drag show performance exposes children to harmful adult entertainment.
Even prior to the 2022 BoroPride festival, the city government had five people complain through email and asked Murfreesboro officials to prevent the event, records show.
Many BoroPride supporters have responded by attending public meetings to tell the Murfreesboro City Council why they wanted continuation of the annual festival that provides a safe place for LGBTQ+ people to be themselves.
No compromise is reached with city on BoroPride
The council and BoroPride organizers, however, were unable to reach a compromise pertaining to drag shows in particular.
Drag show performers also have faced a Tennessee General Assembly law that prohibits any adulty oriented entertainment on public property. The state has faced legal opposition to strike down the law.
The Murfreesboro council also recently adopted an ordinance that includes punishments for violators exposing children on any city property to "public expressions appealing to prurient interests or that are offensive to prevailing community standards."
Messages were left with Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland and city spokesman Mike Browning prior to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to give them opportunity to respond to news about BoroPride finding location on north side of city.
"The city has no response," Browning said.
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About BoroPride festival
When is the LGBTQ+ festival scheduled: 1-8 p.m.
Where is event: Tennessee Miller Coliseum off West Thompson Lane in north Murfreesboro
Admission: free event
What will be at event: a main stage with live entertainment, games, community information tables, vendors and "your favorite food trucks," says Leslie Russell Yost, one of the BoroPride organizers
Sponsoring group for BoroPride: Tennessee Equality Project Foundation, an organization that advocates for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people
Name of Facebook page that provides festival updates: BoroPride
Sponsorship opportunities or questions: email BoroPrideEvent@gmail.com
Inaugural year: 2016
Initial location: Grounds of historic Rutherford County Courthouse on Murfreesboro's downtown Public Square
Date of most recent festival: Sept. 17, 2022
Location for recent event: Cannonsburgh Village, an historical recreational area off Front Street and Northwest Broad Street (U.S. Highway 41) in Murfreesboro
Attendance at recent event: Over 7,000
Total BoroPride festivals so far: Six
Note: BoroPride skipped 2020 in the first year of COVID-19 pandemic
Source: Leslie Russell Yost, chairperson for 2022 BoroPride festival
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: BoroPride celebrates new LGBTQ+ 2023 festival location after rejection
