Community members and elected officials gathered on the hot and sunny June 29 afternoon for the 13th annual Jarvis Square Family Pride event in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. The focus of this event was community, celebration and family fun.
This year featured the first children-focused Jarvis Square Family Pride Parade around the small commercial district that makes up Jarvis Square. Prior to the parade, children were invited to create their own Pride flags and posters at tents sponsored by Illinois state Reps. Kelly Cassidy (who helped organize this event and represents Jarvis Square) from the 14th District and Lindsey LaPointe from the 19th District.
Ahead of the children-focused Pride parade (that was slightly delayed due to a spurt of rain in the neighborhood), Evanston Mayor and 9th Congressional District candidate Daniel Biss performed his signature fire juggling moves.
Cassidy welcomed everyone to the festivities and said, “These are the children who are going to undo the harm being done right now by this [Trump] administration. We need to teach these children how to take these streets” in reference to the children’s parade.
In an additional statement to this publication, Cassidy said, “Over the years, the main Pride Parade has felt less and less connected to community for me. When we started seeing Pride North events, and the folks here started doing Family Pride, it became clearer to me that that’s where I wanted to be. I wanted to be among my neighbors and friends, and in a space where people of all ages can have a blast and where we focus on the kids for part of it. We’re really leaning into it this year by adding the parade for them. It’s speaks to me about Pride’s origins. I’m never going to forget that we come from a riot, and we come from protests. Having the kids here and teaching them about the history of Pride is what Pride means to me.”
LaPointe told Windy City Times that, “We’re coming off a really successful Family Pride event on the far Northwest side of Chicago, where I represent. Knowing that there was something similar happening in a part of the city that’s led by one of our premier Champions for LGBTQ and especially trans rights, I physically wanted to be here with my team to show that this is a city-wide thing and Kelly and the LGBTQ community have some real strong allies like me.”
Biss said he came to the celebration “because the LGBTQ community is under attack and we have to stand together. We have to show joy and solidarity. There’s a debate inside the Democratic party about whether or not it’s important to stand up for LGBTQ people, or whether instead it’s politically more convenient to throw them under the bus … I feel like it’s important for me to stand with the LGBTQ community every chance I get. It means a lot right now.”
Miss Aimee Leigh (who invited the children to play instruments while she sang and played the guitar), Sid Kingston and Beaver Moon Band provided musical entertainment throughout the afternoon and early evening.
Photos by Carrie Maxwell
