Miles waved a rainbow flag and cheered with the crowd gathered to watch the Aurora Pride Parade make its way through downtown Sunday.
Miles, who declined to give a last name, is from a rural community.
“I love it,” Miles said about the parade. “I’ve never seen so many people who like me in one place.”
LGBTQ+ members, their families and allies gathered to celebrate Pride Month at the city’s fifth annual Pride Parade.
Aurora Pride, a nonprofit founded in 2019, sponsored the parade. It is on a mission to promote LGBTQ+ acceptance and community in the city, according to its website.
The parade had 75 units, the most it has ever had, said Brittney Keller, an Aurora Pride board member.
The parade usually draws about 8,000 people, Keller said. An estimate of how many people attended Sunday wasn’t available Sunday afternoon.
This year’s grand marshal was Annie Hex, who Keller said advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and mental health.
“How much pride does Aurora have?” emcee Danielle Tufano shouted from the parade grandstand during the event. Tufano was co-emcee with Ashton Bishop.
“Woo-hoo!” shouted the crowd at the same time.
This year’s parade featured organizations like Belong Fox Valley, the West Aurora High School Pride Club, the Aurora Public Library and the Open Door Health Center of Illinois, businesses like Ikea, On-Cor and NuMark Credit Union, radio stations B96 and Q101, and politicians, including U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville.
Community United Methodist Church, based in Naperville, was one of the churches marching in the parade.
Leslie Cano, who decked out her dog Luna for the parade, came to support her sister, Maritza Cano-Sosa. Cano-Sosa is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The two wore rainbow colors, accessorized by balloons of many colors. They’ve been coming to the parade in Aurora for the last few years.
“I like that you can show your true colors and not be judged,” Cano-Sosa said.
No one judged Angelina Lamping for wearing a furry costume at the parade. Lamping got a lot of compliments from the crowd during the event.
“I used to get bullied a lot, but I feel so comfortable here,” Lamping said.
Aurora Pride hosted an after party at Two Brothers Roundhouse on North Broadway following the parade, which Katrina Stevens, of Aurora, attended. Stevens’ three children came along as well, making the parade a family event.
A widow, Stevens’ husband died of cancer a few years ago.
“When I was younger, it wasn’t legal to marry a woman and to be open,” Stevens said. “If it was, my life would be different.”
Stevens loved the parade and appreciated the supportive environment surrounding it. Stevens’ children, aged 7, 5 and 4, are growing up in a society that is more accepting of LGBTQ+ members, Stevens said.
“My kids will have the opportunity to be open to choose rather than be in fear of what society says or what the law says,” Stevens said.
The parade was “a really good time,” Stevens said. “I’m going to come next year too.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
