MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Hundreds of LGBTQ people and their allies filled two blocks of Middletown for drag performances, glitter paint, merchandise sales, dancing and more Friday for the annual Middletown Pride Fest.
The evening seemed more important in 2024 than in previous years for many, like Linda Nix, who came to the corner of Central Avenue and Broad Street.
"I'm a mama bear," Nix said. "That's my title."
Nix said she came to Middletown with Mom Hugs from the Queen City for her son.
"He's 25. He's been on his journey for about 10 years," she said.
Nix spent hours in the 90-plus degree heat giving out free hugs to those who needed to feel supported because the once deeply religious mom said she had a revelation when her son came out as transgender.
"He's amazing," she said. "He's taught me so much. I wasn't evangelistic, but I was definitely not comfortable or familiar with the life of LGBTQ+, the struggle, the hate, the fear."
Many at Middletown Pride said it was important to face the heat and show love for one another in what they called trying times politically in Ohio and across the United States.
Middletown's 2023 Pride Fest has served as a central clarion call for conservative politicians calling for drag shows to be banned in Ohio with House Bill 245.
A series of photos from last year's drag shows taken by former state Rep. Candice Keller have fueled some of the effort to pass the bill.
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PRIDE Middletown councilperson Duane Gordon defended the shows saying they were G-rated and the photos were selectively chosen to make the show appear overtly sexual.
"We didn't expect to get dragged into this fight, but here we are," Gordon said.
Gordon said he and others in Middletown would continue to protect what he called a constitutionally protected performance.
"We are here. We've always been here. We're always going to be here," he said.
The festival's theme 2024 theme was "Grab'em by the ballot box" as an effort to drive voters to the polls in November.
Nix said she'd just keep handing out hugs to make people feel welcome in an increasingly polarized world.
"They have to know that they are supported, they're seen, and not everyone feels that way," she said.
Pride Middletown awarded The Trevor Project and Transform Cincy each $1,000 during the festival, and Gordon said money raised during the event would go to other organizations supporting LGBTQ+ issues.
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