LOCAL

Crowds brave heat for Hagerstown Pride

The Herald-Mail

Hagerstown's Central Lot was bedecked with rainbows — and not a few unicorns — Saturday as Hagerstown Hopes hosted its seventh annual Hagerstown Pride event.

Organizers anticipated 3,000 would attend the six-hour festival; more than 1,000 had arrived during the first hour or so, estimated Matthew Schmuck, who serves on Hagerstown Hopes' outreach committee.

Vendors lined the Elizabeth Hager Center Lot, their offerings ranging from face-painting to information on health care, advocacy services and cold beverages.

And on the stage, performances by drag queens, dance troupes and a quartet from the Maryland Symphony kept the crowd entertained.

Ashley Minso of Frederick took some time out from her booth with RM Benefits of Maryland to get a henna tattoo from Elisa Rodero of Hennamorphosis.

"I love the drag shows," Minso said. "I also like to interact with people."

And the food from Pizza and Pretzel Creations was an added incentive, she said.

So were the wine slushies; Minso was looking forward to having one of those.

Olivia Grey of Scranton, Pa., and her cousin, Brianna Kerin of Akron, Ohio, tagged along with a group of Frederick friends. They were visiting their grandmother in Frederick, they said, when their friends asked if they wanted to come with them to the festival.

"I was like, yeah, let's do it," said Grey.

Kerin said the Hagerstown festival was "much more eventful than the other 'Pride' I've been to … The live stage, and so many more booths."

"The people are friendly, too," she said.

Hagerstown Hopes President Jeffrey Rohrer said last year's event, held on South Potomac Street, drew about 2,000. The festival was moved to Central Lot this year because of construction on the Urban Improvement Project, and Rohrer said "everybody loves the new location." He said the organization will probably keep it there, even after the construction is complete.

"It's a more focused crowd" this year, Rodero said. "They're here for 'Pride' rather than just passing by."

Jason and Emily Baker brought their kids, Ryan, 11, and Spence, 8, from Greencastle, Pa. They just wanted to check it out, Jason said.

"We came last year and had a good time," he said.

For her part, Ryan liked "just seeing everybody being who they are and being happy," she said.

But for her little brother, it was all about the food.

It was a first-time visit for Jason's mom, Dotti Baker of Waynesboro, Pa.

"I think it's wonderful — the whole idea that everyone's human," she said.

"That's our goal," Schmuck said, "for families and everybody to come."

"The whole point is to bring the community together in support," added Bernadette Hall of Gerrardstown, W.Va.

"The biggest thing is to advocate for acceptance for everybody," Rohrer said, "to bring all the communities together to make this community stronger."