Families had a backdrop of warm weather and a sunny sky at the Pride Family Picnic celebrating the annual North Shore Pride Fest in Highwood Saturday.
Those gathered at Everts Park on Highwood Avenue enjoyed the food and drinks, as children bounced in a bouncy house and played with bubbles on the playground.
Highwood resident Cheryl Wollner said she was pleasantly surprised when she spotted a rainbow flag waving from a picnic table Saturday. It felt welcoming, the 24-year-old said.
Wollner, who identifies as homoromantic asexual, had been planning on finding a quiet spot to read, but instead joined the group who invited her to sit on the grass and enjoy the festivities.
“I’m really excited by this because I’ve been to the Chicago Pride (Parade), but I didn’t know there were small pockets of events like this one,” Wollner said, adding that she loves to meet new people, both queer and straight.
The family friendly activity was followed by a Taste the Rainbow Pub Crawl for adults at six area bars, where colored-themed drinks were served.
This is the second year the North Shore Pride Fest included the picnic, which aims to include more be more inclusive, said Florencia Lagos, organizer and founder of North Shore Pride Fest.
While the pub crawl is usually well-attended and has been growing each year, Lagos said organizers wanted the celebrations to be open to the younger crowd and families outside of the LGBTQ community, too.
“The picnic is a more open and welcoming event for all type of families to be together, embracing everyone’s differences,” Lagos said.
For 15-year-old Lily Rubin of Highland Park, the picnic was an opportunity to celebrate pride month, for which she’s been wearing a pride shirt each day, she said.
On Saturday, Rubin was dressed in a black tank top with a rainbow and the words: Celebrate Your True Colors. The picnic was exciting, she said, because it’s one of the first pride events she’s been able to attend.
“A lot of events are targeted for older people, like at bars and clubs, so this is nice that its open to all ages. I love it,” Rubin said.
The celebrations and display of support for the LGBTQ community kicks off Pride Month, said D.R. Smith, a Celebrate Highwood board member.
The month of June is significant, Smith said.
“It’s commemorating the Stonewall Riots that marked the beginning of the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community,” Smith said.
The violent demonstrations took place in New York on June 28, 1969 and catapulted the issue of sexual liberation into the spotlight.
On Saturday, Smith said during what he sees as a political climate of intolerance, “It’s even more important the (LGBTQ) community is visible, especially in family friendly settings.”
Yadira Sanchez Olson is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
