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JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) – Jamestown’s third Pride Fest has come to an end, we speak to community members about their thoughts of the annual blowout.
The event had a decent turnout this year, bringing new and returning faces to last weekend’s festivities.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to see a lot of different people, not only people that are like us, but people that support us too. That’s a huge thing for me because I haven’t had a lot of support through my life so it’s really cool to have that,” said Pride attendee Aston.
Those in attendance were seemingly excited to have an opportunity to rejoice.
“After everything our community has endured I feel like it’s just to celebrate who we are, we should be proud of who we are and we should be proud of everything we’ve endured. All the abuse and all the violence you know we came from, but now we’re celebrating,” said greeter Carter. “I feel like everybody should be happy about who they are and to put a smile on somebody’s face, to welcome them to something we should be proud of. I feel it’s a good kick off to Pride.”
The festival itself was met with mixed reactions from the public, but the main message of Pride rang true to everyone in attendance.
“The main message is come to love yourself and come to love the others around you, despite your differences it’s very important and just be proud of who you are and obviously it’s not easy for everyone but finding that inner acceptance and love for yourself is something that’s really important for everyone,” said Jamestown High School Pride Committee member Arron Loomis.
Overall, most are looking forward to next year’s event.
“I’m glad I came because it’s a fun experience to have and it’s really cool to see just how many people there are around here even in a small community that support us and like us and it’s just really cool. It feels really awesome to be able to come here and see it in person,”
Pride month will continue through the month of June, with different organizations, businesses, and individuals celebrating love and acceptance by flying their pride and progress flags.
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