Akron Pride Festival Participation
On Saturday, August 28th, we tabled all day on behalf of [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″] at the Akron Pride Festival. The festival’s mission is to unify and affirm the LGBTQ+ community and allies. It celebrates diversity and promotes human equity.
We set up our booth just in time for the equity march. Mayor Daniel Horrigan led the march and showed strong support for the LGBTQ+ community. Many organizations, businesses, and churches also joined. Their presence created a powerful show of unity.
One moment stood out. A couple held signs offering free “mom and dad hugs” for their gay daughter. When the march ended, she hugged them both with deep emotion.
Engaging With Festival Attendees
After the parade, we stayed at our table for most of the day. We spoke with many festival goers and handed out pens, letter openers, and copies of Ms. [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″]’s book, The Immigrant’s Way. We also shared “Know Your Rights” cards. A middle‑school student asked for one, which impressed us greatly.
Visitors to our booth included:
- A man who works with Nepalese and Burmese refugees at a local bakery
- A young woman from Canada on an H‑1B visa who hopes to become a U.S. citizen
- A person whose family fled Russian pogroms generations ago and supports immigration reform
- Two humorous individuals who joked about needing an attorney or being “grand mothered” into the country
Our booth was across from Plexus, so we enjoyed visiting with Ms. Amanda Cole, its executive director. Nearby, the Rubber City Theatre hosted a booth. We walked over to tell Ms. Katie Wells how much we enjoyed her Shakespeare performance at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.
A Kind Gesture in the Summer Heat
Late in the afternoon, we noticed that the top of our canopy had torn. Our neighbor, Ms. Tracy Johnson of Dream Unique Beads, offered her extra canopy top. Her kindness saved us from the 90‑degree heat. We remain grateful for her generosity.
