Igor Ignatovich stood in a blue and white dress, held a tiny dog in a basket and waved to people gathered along University Avenue as his float drove along. He stood with the Tin Man by his side on the United Church of Gainesville’s float during Saturday’s parade for this year’s Gainesville Pride Festival.
The festival, which included the parade and an event on the Bo Diddley Community Plaza, was hosted by the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida. Thousands of people attended the festival on the plaza, which included about 100 vendors from the area.
Ryan Holman, who dressed as the Tin Man for his church’s “Over the Rainbow” theme, said he loved being in the parade.
“It was great,” he said. “It’s the coming together of straight and gay.”
The parade included Boy Scouts, Gainesville High School students, dancers and other political and religious groups, who paraded from Seventh Street to the Bo Diddley Community Plaza.
On the plaza, attendees visited vendors like Rainbow SWAG, Gainesville Animal Rescue, Rainbow Alliance and Stonewall Democrats. Various tables sold items from rainbow flags to feather hair accessories and homemade salsa.
Event Organizer Terry Fleming said there were 27 new vendors this year.
“It’s all about visibility,” Fleming said. “People coming out need to know people are caring.”
Mayor Craig Lowe stood at a booth asking for community support.
“It’s a great event. It gets bigger every year,” Lowe said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for residents and people from around the region come to see the diversity Gainesville has to offer.”
UF LGBT Affairs was part of the event as well. LGBT Affairs ambassador and sociology sophomore Leah Warwick said the event promotes community support.
“It’s really important for the community because it lets you see you have support,” the 19-year-old said. “We want to educate the community about us.”
Pride Student Union president Bridget Siegel, 20-year-old religion junior, registered voters throughout the festival.
She said she appreciated how the community came together for this event.
“It keeps growing,” she said. “The community is so fantastic. This is a great way to jump-start the year with Pride Student Union.”
Psychology freshman Frederick Franco wore a “Queer at UF” shirt to his first pride event.
“I wanted to meet people and see all of the activities,” the 18-year-old said. “I feel like going to Pride is a stepping stone into the community.”
Check out alligator.org for video footage of the parade.
