Residents and leaders both municipal and otherwise plenty to say in one of Taylor’s most debated new festivals.
On June 25, the Taylor PRIDE Music & Arts Festival had its second inperson and third overall annual event on Second Street. The event was to open to all and meant to be celebration of the LGBTQ community. Vendors, booths and live music were outside in 100-degree weather but also inside adjacent venues Black Sparrow Music Parlor, Texas Beer Company and Xchange Nightlife.
“The theme for this year’s event is ‘Small Town, Big PRIDE,’” said Mayor Brandt Rydell, who presented opening remarks. “Not everybody sees eye to eye on everything, but we all get along and we respect one another. We’re a place where not only do we know our neighbor, we care about our neighbor and dare I say we love our neighbor.”
In addition to people in support of the festival, others sang songs, read Bible verses and displayed signs of concern for the event and reasons behind it. Vicar Terry Pierce, of St. James Episcopal Church, addressed counter concerns of hers and thoughts on the festival and LGBTQ community.
“I have learned it is not enough for me to invoke the power of love because there are those who invoke love in the same voice that they invoke shame,” said Pierce. “We are each and every one of us part of the glorious diverse kaleidoscope creation and we are each and everyone of us made in the image of God. The world is a better place, a more heavenly place when we affirm the glorious diversity of gender and sexuality that God has made.”
Martha Van Garza is a Taylor resident, a mother of a pansexual son and identified herself as a “bonus mom” of a bisexual daughter and two heterosexual sons. As one of the master of ceremonies, she offered her take on a common phrase used by the LGBTQ community and allies such as herself: “Love is love.”
“I believe that love is love and God is love, and if love is love and God is love, by the transitive property of equality, we love everybody,” said Van Garza. “God is love.”
She reiterated that everyone regardless of their thoughts on the festival were invited to the event.
“We welcome you all,” Van Garza said as she turned to some people in opposition. “Yes, we welcome you all.”
The festival expanded this year and included more activities and visitors. Nick Ramos, of graphic design and illustration studio Graphismo constructed a large multi-colored duck to display at the festival. Many residents used the duck as a photo opportunity.
“I just said it’d be fun to make an 8-foot duck,” said Ramos. “Of course, I didn’t realize it’d be a lot of hours and a lot of patience and a lot of glue sticks.”
People such as Johanna Esper, a threeyear Taylor resident, and Ben Morgan, a Taylor businessowner and resident of 17 years, were glad to see Taylor PRIDE return.
“I’ve been here so long and we’ve never been able to do this in the past. I’m just taking the opportunity to come out and support them,” said Morgan, who also commented on the spark Taylor PRIDE made more central Texas towns started their own Pride festivals. “It’s not only important here to Taylor. It goes well beyond Taylor, but it’s awesome for us.”
