Lorain County Pride seeks to offer supportive, affirming space

OBERLIN — Residents donned rainbow attire and joined together in the grass between the Oberlin Science Center and Burton Hall on the Oberlin College campus Saturday to celebrate 2025 Lorain County Pride. The fourth annual event organized by LGBTQ+ Lorain County, and the third hosted by the college, had a new venue this year, after it was forced inside by rain in 2024. The event featured music, drag performers and booths for both vendors community resource providers. Volunteers and attendees said they were happy to be back outside, where they could share their pride with the world. "Everybody seems to really like this space," said Megan Baechle, executive director of LGBTQ+ Lorain County. "We always want to have Pride outside when we can, because it just has a different vibe when you are outside. You can just throw down a picnic blanket, relax and enjoy the performers and music." Baechle said that this year's Pride celebration was more important than ever, amid what advocates for and members of the LGBTQ community have called attacks on them and their lifestyle at the state and national levels. "No matter what is going on, we are not stopping or changing or scaling back anything that we are doing," Baechle said. "If anything we are only enhancing it, because as these oppressions come down legislatively on people and freedoms are restricted, we have even more need for our services to the community. … It is so critically important because there are so many queer people, kids and adults, living in parts of the country and of Lorain County where they don't have an affirming community, where they don't have supportive environments." The headliners of the event were the drag performers who walked, danced and lip synced on the stage erected in the quad. One of the performers was drag king Twisted Transitioner, who asked to be identified only by his stage name, who was back to his second year performing at Lorain County Pride. "More than any other Pride (event) I've been to, I see the same people coming back every year," he said. "So it is awesome to show off how much I have grown and improved at my craft in the past year. But also, a lot of people have told me this is the only Pride event they go to, so I think it shows that this is really needed here." The final drag performer was an Oberlin local, Lavender Goodnight, who also asked to be identified only by her stage name. "It means a lot to me because there are a lot of LGBTQ+ people in town," Lavender Goodnight said. "I organize other drag shows in town … just to show that there's a space and community here. It's really amazing to see people light up when they see someone who represents them on stage. We had everyone represented here, trans, drag kings, drag queens, nonbinary people and obviously disabled people (Lavender Goodnight walks with a cane). I just think it is really important to represent your people." Baechle thanked the vendors and sponsors who supported the event, as well as Oberlin College and the city of Oberlin. "If they showed up here today it already tells me that they are an affirming space and a safe environment for queer people to go when they need these resources" she said. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.