In a colorful crowd, Ed Fox stood out with his double-breasted Italian jacket and English riding boots.
“They’re cheapo rubber knock-offs,” he said of the boots.
Fox was among several hundred people who attended Mansfield’s 10th annual Pride festival, put on by the Mansfield Gay Pride Association, on Saturday morning.
Many revelers sported the familiar rainbow colors associated with Pride on their clothes, hair and face. Fox wore all black and was accompanied by his 2-year-old Spitz.
The 1969 Ontario graduate has attended Pride for years.
“We are all queer in some way and I think we need to bring out the best in us,” Fox said. “We have far more in common than we think.”
A morning thunderstorm may have kept some people away from the parade that got underway with Chris Dwiggins as the grand marshal.
“It’s a huge honor, a little bit of a surprise,” Dwiggins said of his selection. “I had always done the behind-the-scenes stuff and worked with the vendors.”
He was one of the founders of Mansfield Gay Pride. Dwiggins said he came out to his family at the age of 19.
“I’m so lucky that we came through it together. Not everybody gets that,” he said.
He and husband Bryan, who drove the vehicle at the front of the parade, have been together since 2007. They married in 2013 and again in 2016 when Ohio legalized gay marriage.
Dwiggins donned a rainbow sash and a crown for his role as grand marshal. He reiterated that not all LGBTQ people have it easy in today’s political climate.
“Our focus is to make sure we don’t go backwards because the threat of that is very real,” Dwiggins said.
A report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found LGBTQ people in the U.S. are five times more likely to experience violent victimization than non-LGBTQ people.
LGBTQ victims of violence are also more likely than non-LGBTQ people to face serious violence – such as rape, sexual assault, robbery or aggravated assault – and to suffer injuries because of these attacks.
A number of the vendors that lined Park Avenue West for the festival offered self-defense options.
There were no such concerns Saturday. By the time the parade, which stepped off at the five-way light in downtown, reached between Mulberry and Walnut streets, a large crowd was waiting.
The festival featured a relaxed atmosphere and a spirit of acceptance.
‘A day where people can be themselves’
“It’s that special day of the year where everybody who is afraid to be themselves can come out and be themselves without fear of repercussions,” said Tim Denis, president of the Mansfield Gay Pride Association. “They can come together. They can enjoy each other’s company.”
Following the parade, the festival kicked off with City Councilman Aurelio Diaz reading a proclamation from Mayor Jodie Perry, who could not attend, recognizing June as Pride Month.
“This is a big deal,” Diaz said. “I remember moving back to Mansfield. This would have been unheard of, even in the 2000s.”
Tara Taylor wore a T-shirt with the words, “I see your true colors, and that’s why I love you,” a line from the Cyndi Lauper anthem “True Colors.” A rainbow tutu completed her ensemble.
“I love it,” Taylor said of the Mansfield festival. “I loved it last year. Everybody seems really friendly.”
She brought her dog, Cooper the beagle, with her.
Told there would be a drag show, Nickie Rodi said, “Sweet; I got here just in time.”
She has been to other Pride festivals, namely one in New Orleans.
“Everybody deserves to have the same rights,” Rodi said. “It doesn’t diminish anyone else’s.”
mcaudill@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield’s Pride festival gives chance for people to be themselves
Reporting by Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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