Upstate Pride SC planning weeklong celebration
The annual gay pride march and festival Upstate Pride SC is expanding this year to include a weeklong celebration with entertainment and educational activities.
Upstate Pride SC will kick off the week with activities on Monday and conclude with the march and free festival with live performances on Sept. 12. Last year's march and festival drew more than 3,000 people from the Upstate and Western North Carolina.
“We've been talking for a few years about expanding not only the celebration into a week, but also expanding our services to the rest of the Upstate,” said Keith Keppley, Upstate Pride president. “Our mission is to encompass everyone and reach out to as many people as possible to spread more awareness and the idea of acceptance.”
On Monday, the group will join Spoken Word Spartanburg, a nonprofit arts and activism organization, for its monthly Speaking Down Barriers discussion on how different parts of a person's identity interlock. The free event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. in the theater lobby at the Chapman Cultural Center.
“This is a community forum where people can talk about issues and come together to share experiences and learn about one another,” said Cody H. Owens, advertising and public relations chair with UPSC. “The idea is to spawn conversation because these types of conversations don't often happen in public.”
Day two of Pride Week will feature a one-hour swing dance session at 7:30 p.m. in Bella Dance Studio on East Main Street in Spartanburg. A $5 donation is suggested for participants, with a portion of proceeds supporting Upstate Pride SC outreach and events.
Festivities continue Wednesday with a bachelor and bachelorette auction starting at 8 p.m. at Backstreet Warehouse in Easley.
“With the auction, we wanted to do something different, new and exciting for us as an organization, as well as for the community,” Owens said. “We are also branching out into a new area in the Upstate where we've never had a program before.”
On Sept. 10, the group will coordinate with PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Spartanburg for a free showing of “Facing Fear,” a film about Matthew Boger, a 13-year-old who was thrown out of his home for his sexual orientation. The screening starts at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Spartanburg and follows with a group discussion.
On Sept. 11, the last event before the march and festival will be Tie the Knot: A Celebration of Equality with the Pride of Greenville Chorus performing from 7 to 10 p.m. at Zen on Main Street in Greenville. Tickets are $25 per person if purchased in advance or $30 at the door.
Pride Week concludes on Saturday with the march and free festival with live performances, children's activities, food trucks, beer and wine, vendors and more from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Barnet Park. The peaceful, one-mile march through downtown Spartanburg begins at noon. Club South 29 in Spartanburg will host an after party with dancing and drink specials starting at 9 p.m.
“A lot of pride events are different from ours because they are solely entertainment based,” Owens said. “But we found our niche in the Upstate and instead of a parade we have a march that is more educational and activism-oriented. It's a really great experience where people are smiling, chanting and holding hands.”