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Every year Baton Rouge Pride selects an Honorary Grand Marshal, in the past several years more and individuals have helped to elevate the LGBTQ+ Community of Baton Rouge and it’s made it very difficult to pick just one. This year we have decided to honor two amazing individuals for their hard work, dedication and love of our community. They are: Gjvar Payne
Father Tommy Dillon
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 Proud To Be Me in 2023Plans are in place for a colorful celebration when the 15th annual Baton Rouge Pride Fest - “Proud To Be Me in 2023,” presented by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, takes place on June 24, 2023.
Baton Rouge Pride Fest is set for noon to 7 pm at the Raising Canes River Center Exhibition Halls, River View Room, and Galleria. The entertainment lineup is the biggest ever for Baton Rouge Pride, Ru Paul Drag Race Alums Kennedy Davenport, and Jasmin Masters, along with its first-ever celebrity MC from the original cast of Queer Eye, Carson Kresley! A great lineup for our community resource fair will be dubbed the “Rainbow Bazar,” the fourth annual makers market called the “Queerative Marke,” in partnership with LEUR Magazin, is all on set to take place. “As always, Baton Rouge Pride Fest is a place for everyone to be authentic to who they are in a family-friendly atmosphere,” said Dr. Bobbi Wisekal, President and Chair of Baton Rouge Pride. “But we also want everyone who attends to remember what pride stands for, especially in our current political climate. We need to aim for everyone to feel safe and be who they are every single day and not just for the few hours we can provide them in the safety and security of Baton Rouge Pride.” The theme of family-friendly inclusion continues with Drag Queen Story Time, in which local drag performers will read books to the audience on inclusion, acceptance, and anti-bullying to the audience. Additional entertainment will be provided by local community organizations such as the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and Theater Baton Rouge. Don’t forget to tip your favorite local drag queens when they also hit the main stage. We’d also like to invite all couples to participate in our Blessing of Relationships, a corner-stone tradition of Baton Rouge Pride for over a decade. We have partnered with several local organizations to provide FREE HIV testing. But we’re making it better with education on PrEP to stop the spread of HIV. We have partnered with several local organizations to provide FREE HIV testing. We encourage everyone who attends to get tested and help us reach our goal of 500 HIV tests, setting a record for us. But Baton Rouge Pride isn’t just about Pride Fest; we’ve partnered with other local organizations to bring more things to the community. Manship Theater will host two events; “The Beat Goes On” on June 1 and Louisiana native Jen Koben on June 23. Our first-ever talent show in partnership with Theater Baton Rouge on June 3rd, a “Candlelight Pride” at the Baton Rouge Symphony, and many more. For more details on Baton Rouge Pride, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and to stay current on its events and fundraisers throughout the year, visit www.BRPride.org or Facebook or Instagram @BRPride. To become part of the wholly volunteer-based organization and help with planning or to find ways your group or organization can become involved, visit www.brpride.org.  Baton Rouge, LA – With the conclusion of their pride edition of “Queer Conversations,” Baton Rouge Pride announces the release of their remaining 2021 “Queer Conversations’” topics and their anticipated dates. The topics will range from understanding the intersectionality of misunderstood identifiers in July to discussing the importance of proper name and pronoun usage in December, with much in between.
Baton Rouge, LA – On June 9th of 2021, Mayor-President Weston-Broome’s proclamation declaring the month of June 2021 “Pride Month” was read into the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council’s record during their general assembly by Councilman Aaron Moak of Baton Rouge’s 4th District. “Congratulations to all of you,” said Mayor Pro Tem Lamont Cole, “Councilmember Moak, let me say congratulations to you...I think I speak for all of us when I say this, we all support you greatly, appreciate working with you, and look forward to working with you in the future.” This initiative was led by Councilman Moak, who is the first openly LGBTQ+ elected official in the state of Louisiana. Promptly following the announcement of Mayor-President Weston-Broome’s proclamation, Councilman Moak also recognized the outstanding work of community members and organizations that have supported the LGBTQ+ community including: Jeremy Longmire, Chansely Dykes, and Guy Schmieder of George’s Place for their 50th anniversary; Chris Bradford, Thomas Merrill, Carlos Perez, and Caleb Keller of Baton Rouge Pride; and Corey Wise and Quentin Little of Splash Nightclub. “I'd like to thank Councilmember Moak for his continued support of Baton Rouge Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community by helping to secure the 2021 Pride Month Proclamation, said Baton Rouge Pride Chair Chris Bradford. “The strength that he exemplified today by standing in front of the entire Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, and telling his story was both extremely brave and heartwarming. We are looking forward to his continued support and future work with the Baton Rouge LGBTQIA+ community."
 Baton Rouge, LA – Baton Rouge Pride will be delaying their pride month edition of Queer Conversations by one week to ensure a diverse and representative panel, moving the event from June 16th to June 23rd.
The pride month conversation is titled "Transgressions: A History of the Trans Identity," highlighting trans history, current affairs, progress to-date, and areas of much-needed improvement, and will now be held on June 23rd at 7:00 PM CDT. “We, at Baton Rouge Pride, want to make certain that our panel is as representative and diverse as our Louisiana trans community is, and we believe that with an additional week we will be able to deliver,” said Caleb Keller, Queer Conversations Coordinator. “With the current trans-hostile climate sweeping the nation, we thought it necessary to focus and uplift the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of our trans community members. The love and support of one another in our community has been what’s propelled us since before the first brick of Stonewall was thrown, and it is what will continue to propel us beyond this most recent wave of backlash targeting our trans and gender noncomforming siblings.” The Queer Conversations event structure is designed to mimic a roundtable discussion with a moderator and/or facilitator to both better focus conversational topics and ensure a\the diversity of topics to be covered within a timely manner. The goal of the conversations are to provide free resources to the LGBTQIA+ community of Baton Rouge and surrounding areas. Each of the panelist are chosen from a diverse field of queer and/or allied individuals spanning different lived professional experiences and are specifically tailored per monthly conversation. The community is invited to actively submit recommendation questions, topics, and panelists or moderators to BRPride.org for future conversations. Queer Conversation is a free event, however, registration is required to attend. For more details, visit www.BRPride.org. ###  Baton Rouge, LA – Baton Rouge Pride and Red Cake Events are pleased to announce their latest partnership in the production of the “Badass BR Drag Brunch." The drag brunch is set to take place on June 6th at Gallery14, beginning at 11:00 AM. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Baton Rouge Pride in order to help fund Louisiana’s largest family-friendly pride festival slated to take place in June 2022 as well as their other monthly community initiatives like “Queer Conversations” and “Business After Hours.”
Red Cake Events has been a supporter, sponsor, volunteer, and friend of the LGBTQ+ community since its inception. Beginning in the early 1990s, Red Cake’s founder, Heather Sewell Day, has volunteered and assisted with the production of events for organizations like Friends For Life and the HIV Alliance for Region Two, also known as HAART or more recently Open Health, to support the local and regional LGBTQIA+ community. “This year has hit the whole entertainment industry hard from entertainers and event planners to venues and caterers. Not knowing when we could gather or share all the creativity with the world again was both devastating and stressful,” says Ms. Day. “When Red Cake took over Gallery14 in March of 2021, I was giddy with ideas of all of the events I wanted to host when the world opened up again. Having the Badass Drag Brunch was absolutely at the top of my list! I’m levitated and elated with excitement to raise a glass with all of the Glamazons, celebrate Pride week, and most of all raise money and support Baton Rouge Pride!” “Both I and the BRPride committee were saddened to have to cancel not only one, but two of our major pride fest events,” said Baton Rouge Pride Chair Chris Bradford. “When Heather first approached me about planning a fundraiser for Baton Rouge Pride I was elated. Having the ability now to work with Heather has been a blessing especially to be able to give back to the community in at least some capacity during pride month. We look forward to the talents of Miranda Mann, London Manchester, Lady Danisha Andrews, Connie Hung, Laveau Contraire, and special guest Quiana Lynell.”  Baton Rouge, LA – Baton Rouge Pride is excited to introduce its newest community outreach endeavor, Queer Conversations. Queer Conversations will be a queer and questioning roundtable to foster open dialogue and tackle tough topics facing the LGBGTQIA+ community in a safe space, occurring on the third Wednesday of every month. Our first conversation will be on May 19th at 7:00 PM and titled “Queer and Graduating - Navigating the World,” which will focus on tips, experiences, and advice to recent graduates entering the workforce.
The Queer Conversations event structure is designed to mimic a roundtable discussion with a moderator and/or facilitator to both better focus conversational topics and ensure a\the diversity of topics to be covered within a timely manner. The goal of the conversations are to provide free resources to the LGBTQIA+ community of Baton Rouge and surrounding areas. Each of the panelist are chosen from a diverse field of queer and/or allied individuals spanning different lived professional experiences and are specifically tailored per monthly conversation. The first conversation is set for Wednesday, May 19th at 7:00 PM with the topic of “Queer and Graduating”. Moderator Capi Landreneau will lead the inaugural panel of 7 individuals discussing the most important dos and don'ts of landing a job while being able to express your identity. Talking points are set to include questions such as “What are some ways to ask and address diversity and inclusion policies when interviewing with recruiters,” “What is the best way to address misidentification and/or misappropriate use of pronouns in an interview or employment setting,” and much more. Future topics are set to include “Pronouns - Why are they important?”, “Helping Educators with LGBTQ+ Students'', and more. The community is invited to actively submit recommendation questions, topics, and panelists or moderators to BRPride.org for future conversations.  Dear Baton Rouge Pride Friends and Family,
For more than a decade Baton Rouge Pride has been a shining light and beacon of family-friendly fun for the LGBTQ+ community. Then in 2020, we were devastated by the onset of COVID-19, leading to the cancelation of Baton Rouge Pride Fest 2020. As many other event-based organizations did, we looked forward to a brighter 2021 and set forth planning Baton Rouge Pride Fest 2021. As 2020 came to a close and 2021 began, however, COVID is still here and just as devastating as ever. Because of the continued our commitment to ensure any event produced by our organization follows the strictest health and safety guidelines set forth by federal, state, and local governments, we do not see the ability to truly plan an in-person large event for the summer of 2021. As the availability of vaccinations and treatment become widely available this year, we hope to bring the Baton Rouge Pride Fest back to its family-friendly roots in June 2022. Until the return of Baton Rouge Pride Fest, we hope to continue assisting the LGBTQ+ community through virtual events, social media groups, and our growing LGBTQ+ Business Directory. While the Baton Rouge Pride Team continues to plan smaller events than Baton Rouge Pride Fest, we are open to suggestions from the community on things we can bring to you as well as ideas for Pride Fest 2021. If you’d like to submit any suggestions please click HERE. With Love and Pride, The Baton Rouge Pride Team To become part of the completely volunteer-based Baton Rouge Pride organization and help with planning, or to find ways your group or organization can become involved, visit www.brpride.org or call (225) 384-6344.  Plans are in place for a great celebration when the 14th Annual Baton Rouge Pride Fest is held on June 12, 2021, at the Raising Cane's River Center.
Baton Rouge Pride also will hold its second annual Pride Week of activities surrounding the festival. The 2020 celebrations had to be postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, but organizers say they already are arranging a great lineup for next year. “Baton Rouge Pride is committed to ensuring any event produced by our organization follows the strictest health and safety guidelines set forth by federal, state and local governments,” said Christopher Bradford, chairman of Baton Rouge Pride Inc. “The health and safety of our community is always at the forefront of any plans we make.” For more details on Baton Rouge Pride and to stay up to date on its events and fundraisers throughout the year, visit www.BRPride.org or Facebook or Instagram. To become part of the completely volunteer-based organization and help with planning, or to find ways your group or organization can become involved, visit www.brpride.org or call (225) 384-6344. Dear Baton Rouge Pride Friends and Family,
On behalf of the Baton Rouge Pride Board, it is with great sadness we announce the decision to cancel our annual pride fest in lieu of postponing for later this year. We know the importance of Pride to the community; however, as we cancel our normal pride festivities of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we encourage the Baton Rouge LGBTQ+ community and its allies to stand with our Black and Brown family members and the Black Lives Matter Movement. After all, the first Pride was a riot led by Marsha P Johnson, a black trans woman who objected to the continued harassment of the LGBTQ community by the NYPD. Since the Stonewall Riots and the Christopher Street Liberation, we have used Pride as a celebration to stand together as a colorful, diverse community. We want Baton Rouge Pride Fest and our other community events to be a safe place for all to come together and not feel torn apart. We understand that everyone is different in their own way, but those differences make the human race beautiful and amazing. In the end, we want everyone, LGBTQ+ and Allied, of any color, religion, or gender identity to feel unified, welcomed, and most of all LOVED. Our LGBTQ+ Community has a deep understanding of oppression, violence, and discrimination, especially those whose lives exist at the crossroads of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity. We must all stand up to hatred together, now and FOREVER. For we cannot be a stronger community if we aren’t a community together. With this, we encourage members of our colorful LGBTQ+ community to support our Black and Brown family members and support the Black Lives Matter Movement. Here are a few ways you can help:
I’d also like to encourage everyone to make a visit to our online apparel store, every dollar earned from our store sales in the months of June, July, and August 2020 will be donated to The LGBTQ Freedom Fund. The Baton Rouge Pride Board and I stand as a united, colorful, multi-racial group committed to helping the LGBTQ+ Community and to fight for our black family members, today and into the future. We are committed to the betterment of the lives of LGBTQ+ Individuals of the Greater Baton Rouge Area through multiple events and meetups later this year. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram as details emerge. I hope you will join us. Together, we will fight oppression, racism, discrimination, and hatred. With LOVE and Pride, Christopher Bradford Chairman |
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