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FERNDALE — Ferndale’s annual celebration of the LGBTQIA community will ring in its 16th year at the end of the month.
Ferndale Pride will arrive in the downtown on Saturday, May 30, located on West Nine Mile Road between Woodward Avenue and Livernois Street, as well as parts of Planavon and Allen streets. This year’s event is sponsored by The Whittie Law Center PLLC.
The theme for this year’s Pride is “Now More Than Ever” and bringing more attention to the fight for the rights of the LGBTQIA community, said Event Director Julia Music.
“We’re concerned about the future of the rights of LGBT people,” she said. “For some reason, our rights are always on the negotiating block for politicians, which makes no sense to me, because human rights should be human rights.”
The festival will begin at 12:30 p.m. with its opening ceremony at the Credit Union One Performance Stage. The festival will continue until 10 p.m.
Before the traditional opening ceremony, the event will begin with a performance from Baddie Brooks. Brooks, who was the event’s headliner last year, will be reading a poem honoring Marsha P. Johnson, an LGBTQIA activist.
“I feel like having the opportunity to honor Marsha P. Johnson means a lot to me because as someone who is a young, 26-year-old Black transgender woman, she was such a pivotal and central part of the Stonewall riots, as well as the gay liberation movement,” she said. “I feel like she made such a significant impact that some of our community members don’t give her enough flowers, even though that was quite literally a part of her look. I feel like we need to give a significant figure, like her, her flowers and honor her in as many ways as we can.”
When it comes to rights, Music said Michigan does a much better job than a lot of the country in protecting the rights of the LGBTQIA.
“There are things that we will do on our stages that are not even legal in other states, as far as just a human being walking onto the stage,” she said. “It’s really important to us that Michigan continues to be a leader in LGBT rights. We are a state where people have more rights, have more organizations. Like, we’ve launched in Michigan, we have some of the organizations that have launched movements across the country. So, we are very fortunate to have so many leaders in Michigan who have done so much, and so many resources as well.”
More than 200 vendors will be on-site for the event, with the shops opening from 1 to 8 p.m. Running during this time frame as well will be drag performers reading stories for Reading with Royalty, with new stories each hour; a baby feeding area; a climbing wall; a recovery education area; animal adoption; and on-site food trucks,
Activities located in the children’s area include an art section and aerobatics. There also will be a sensory zone for those who need a sensory break while attending the event.
Proceeds from this year’s Ferndale Pride will go toward Affirmations, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, Ferndale Community Foundation, Gender-identity Network Alliance, Matrix Human Services MAC Health, TGDetroit and Transgender Michigan.
The Woodward Dance Stage, headlined by Zach Witness, will feature performances from Andromeda Colt, Weisman, Ashton Swinton, Tylr_, DJ Erikk Raphael, Mona Black, DJ Darryl G and Samuel K.O.
The Credit Union One Performance Stage will host two drag shows and a music lineup from deadbeatdad, Elspeth Tremblay & The Treatment, LVRS, RyXn and headliner Alise King.
“Ferndale Pride has such a welcoming presence to it,” Brooks said. “I feel like it truly has a way of bringing together a sense of community. I feel like anyone who was in the LGBTQIA community can feel appreciated, valued and welcomed when walking into Ferndale Pride.”
For more information, visit fern dalepride.com and facebook.com/fern dalepride.
