DES MOINES, Iowa — As Pride festivities continue in Des Moines, East Village wasn't the only place Iowans were marking the occasion. Dozens of community members gathered at Water Works Park on June 10 for the first-ever Des Moines People's Pride — a grassroots celebration of local LGBTQ Iowans.
The People's Pride featured vendors and nonprofits to provide resources for attendees, as well as live music and spoken word poetry. The event was inspired by similar grassroots Pride celebrations held in cities like Minneapolis. Organizers wanted to create a smaller, sober alternative to larger pride events.
"We wanted to bring this here A. to have a space that had no cops involved. But to really highlight and celebrate our local vendors, every single person who's participating here is not paying to be here. And they're all from Des Moines or they're from Iowa," said Apple Amos, emcee of the People's Pride.
That hyper-local focus might not seem like a big deal. But for artists like Reese Rand, who was selling their work at the event, the smaller setting can make all the difference in the world.
"It's always been hard to try and get a foothold in certain spaces just because of being neurodivergent as well as being a gender that some people don't believe exists. So having that open acceptance just in this community especially has made me feel so welcome," Rand said.
Organizers said that after a successful first event, they are hoping to bring the People's Pride back in the future, as well. But until Pride comes around again, they hope that the event reminded LGBTQ community members that they're surrounded with support the rest of the year, as well.
"One word that I hope people are leaving with is community, specifically queer community. I'm really hoping that people are leaving with new connections and with opportunities to build those connections," Amos said.