Three Pride Month events to be held in Aurora this weekend
To celebrate Pride Month, the Aurora community is set to hold three events, including a parade, around downtown this weekend.
On Saturday, the Aurora LGBTQ+ Advisory Board will again this year be hosting Pride at the Plaza, which will transform Stolp Avenue in downtown Aurora with live music, a drag show, food trucks and booths from local community organizations, according to a news release from the city of Aurora.
'We're thrilled to kick off Aurora's Pride weekend with this event,' Zachary Bishop, chair of the Aurora LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, said in the city news release. 'We're building on last year's success to make this celebration even better with fantastic performers, delicious food and an inclusive space for everyone to enjoy.'
Pride at the Plaza's entertainment lineup this year is set to include a drag performance by the Divas and live music from artists Cheryl Rodey and Invisible Cartoons, according to the release.
The event will run from 6 to 10 p.m. and will be free, although there will be a suggested $5 donation to the Denee Mallon Scholarship Fund. The fund's namesake, Denee Mallon, fought to end Medicare's ban on transgender procedure coverage, and the scholarship will help members of the LGBTQ+ community in Aurora, the city's news release said.
The Aurora Pride Parade, which is set to feature between 60 and 70 marching groups, including floats, will kick off downtown at noon on Sunday. The event has taken place yearly since 2018, except for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is organized by the Aurora Pride organization.
Gwyn Ciesla, president of Aurora Pride, said the parade is a family-friendly event that attracts all ages and yearly draws between 5,000 and 6,000 spectators.
One difference between this year's Aurora Pride Parade and past ones, according to Ciesla, is that it will feature three grand marshals rather than just one. Ciesla said the grand marshals, which will lead the parade, are people honored for their work for or importance to the LGBTQ+ community in the Aurora area.
This year's grand marshals, as announced on the Aurora Pride Facebook page, are: Corvin Ezri, founder of The Prideful Path Project; Aleyna Couture, a local drag queen known for her active role in west suburban nightlife and her mentorship within the local drag community; and Paulene Spika, a 71-year-old transgender woman who serves on the Aurora LGBTQ+ Advisory Board.
The Aurora Pride Parade has a number of sponsors, its website shows, including Rush, NuMark Credit Union and Sonova. But Ciesla said the organization had some fundraising challenges this year because of the current political climate.
'You have some companies that are actively walking back any sort of DEI or equality initiatives and then others that are kind of doubling down and being more supportive,' Ciesla said. 'There's a lot of both.'
Immediately following the parade, Aurora Pride will be hosting a party — aptly named the 2025 Pride Parade After Party — at the Two Brothers Roundhouse in Aurora.
The party, planned to start at 1 p.m., will be family-friendly like the parade and will include food, drinks, live music, a drag show and more, according to a post on the Aurora Pride Facebook page.
Tickets to the event cost $10 and will go towards funding next year's Pride Parade. Tickets can be purchased at the door on the day of the event or ahead of time at: www.aurorapride.org/pride-afterparty
Ciesla said that, although Chicago has long held Pride events, it is fantastic to see so many like the ones in Aurora pop up all over the state in recent years, because that means no one has to go that far to attend one.
'Now there's so many you can't even do them all even if you had a private jet,' Ciesla said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
Record turnout anticipated for Budapest Pride march
Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Budapest Pride march despite a law passed earlier this year banning Pride events. Photo by Zoltan Balogh Hungary Out/EPA June 28 (UPI) -- Saturday's Budapest Pride march is expected to have drawn record attendance and participation in opposition to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's anti-LGBTQ policies. The parade is being held in the Hungarian capital amid threats of legal consequences by Orban and the Hungarian government, including a ban on gatherings that promote homosexuality, the BBC reported. Hungary's child protection law restricts such gatherings, but Pride march organizers are being joined by Hungarians and politicians from other European nations to support those who identify as LGBTQ. "This weekend, all eyes are on Budapest," European equality commissioner Hadja Lahbib told media in Budapest on Friday. "This is bigger than one Pride celebration, one Pride march," Lahbib said. "It is about the right to be who you are, to love who you want, whether it is in Budapest, in Brussels or anywhere else." March organizers expected between 35,000 to 40,000 people to participate in the march, but the BBC reported said organizers estimated as many as 200,000 people showed up. Orban and Hungary's Fidesz party earlier this year enacted the nation's child protection law and have said it applies to the Pride march and similar events. The law also bans the display of LGBTQ promotional materials, which might include the rainbow flag. Orban has said there won't be a violent police crackdown on the event, but organizers and participants might be subject to legal prosecution afterward. Facial recognition technology could identify participants, each of whom could be fined up to $500. "The police could break up such events because they have the authority to do so," Orban told state-run radio on Friday. "Hungary is a civilized society [and] a civic society," Orban continued. "There will be legal consequences, but it cannot reach the level of physical abuse." Event participants waved Pride flags and signs mocking Orban, including at least one depicting the prime minister in drag.
Buzz Feed
2 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Anna Camp Calls Out Hollywood's Age Gap Double Standard
Anna Camp had a little message for anyone who still has something negative to say about the age difference between her and her girlfriend, Jade Whipkey. Earlier this month, Anna celebrated the premiere of her new film Bride Hard, at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. While at the event, Anna, 42, and Jade, 24, made their red carpet debut as a couple. The two were all-smiles the entire night. Despite this being their first red carpet together, Anna and the celebrity stylist confirmed their relationship back in March, after posting a photo of them together on her Instagram story dressed for the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. News of their relationship caused a stir online, ranging from comments from fans being surprised that Anna is now dating a woman after being in two heterosexual marriages, to shock about the 18-year age gap she shares with Jade. So, the Pitch Perfect star hopped in the comments to set the record straight, saying, "I dated men exactly my age and Jade is FAR more mature than any of them." Well, with conversations on the topic still happening, Anna subtly addressed the naysayers again on Instagram, this time through her own post. On June 24, Anna shared a carousel of photos and videos, with the majority of them including Jade. And while pitcures just kept getting cuter... ...and cuter... ...there was one image that really stood out. In the middle of the carousel was a photoshopped photo of Leonardo DiCaprio with his current girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, with the caption "25 years" written across it, emphasizing their age gap. Outside of being an extremely talented actor, Leo is also known for dating models in their 20s. Leo is 50 (1974) and Vittoria is 27 (1998). The two were spotted celebrating Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding at Hotel Gritti on June 26, 2025, in Venice, Italy. Despite the image Ana posted saying "25 years," the two actually have a 24-year age gap. You can see everything she posted below: What are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments! Looking for more LGBTQ+ or Pride content? Then check out all of BuzzFeed's posts celebrating Pride 2025.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Around 100,000 march in Budapest Pride in open defiance of Hungary's ban
One marcher, Blanka Molnár, said it was 'a fantastic feeling' that more people had attended the Pride march than ever before despite it being outlawed. She said it was 'increasingly important' for Hungarians, 'even those who have never been to Pride before,' to push back against the government's policies. 'This isn't just about LGBQT+ rights, it's also about the right to assemble and about standing up for each other and not allowing (the government) to oppress us,' she said. Advertisement The massive size of the march, which the government for months had insisted would no longer be permitted in Hungary, was seen as a major blow to Orbán's prestige, as the European Union's longest-serving leader's popularity slumps in the polls where a new opposition force has taken the lead. Orbán and his party have insisted that Pride, a celebration of LGBTQ+ visibility and struggle for equal rights, was a violation of children's rights to moral and spiritual development — rights that a recent constitutional amendment declared took precedence over other fundamental protections including the right to peacefully assemble. Advertisement The law fast-tracked through parliament in March made it an offense to hold or attend events that 'depict or promote' homosexuality to minors underage 18. Orbán earlier made clear that Budapest Pride was the explicit target of the law. Authorities installed additional cameras throughout the city center before the march, and were expected to use facial recognition tools to identify individuals who attend the banned event. According to the new law, being caught attending Pride could result in fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($586). Marcher András Faludy said the 'hysteria' that has emerged in Hungary over the Pride march in recent months was 'damn pathetic. It's nonsense.' 'I could use an uglier word because I'm extremely angry, but I won't,' he added. The ban was the latest crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights by Orbán's government, which has already effectively banned both same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents. Police rejected several requests by organizers in recent weeks to register the Pride march, citing the recent law. But Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony joined with organizers and declared it would be held as a separate municipal event — something he said doesn't require police approval. But Hungary's government remained firm, insisting that holding the Pride march, even if it's sponsored by the city, would be unlawful. Hungary's justice minister this week warned Karácsony that organizing Pride or encouraging people to attend would be punishable by up to a year in prison. Advertisement Many marchers expressed their belief that the Pride march represented a struggle not just for the protections of the rights of sexual minorities, but for the democratic future of their country. Participant Zsófia Szekér said the number of attendees showed that a major part of society desired a new direction for Hungary. 'I think we can only achieve change if so many people take to the streets,' she said.
