Southern New Jersey LGBTQ Pride will host its annual Pride in the Park this month with two very special guests.
Pride founder and chief executive officer DeAnn Cox told PGN exclusively that joining 2014 Mr. Continental Kalil Valentino as headliner will be “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Mimi ImFurst.
Pride in the Park will be held from noon-6 p.m. Sept. 14 at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken.
The LGBT and allied community is invited to bring their own grills, food, drinks, blankets, chairs and tables for the event.
This year’s theme is Reflections of Pride.
“It is dedicated to the reflections of key community leaders or people who have done exceptional work in their communities,” Cox said.
In keeping with the theme, Cox interviewed community leaders about coming out and the LGBT-rights movement. Their interviews, which encompass the perspectives of students, parents of LGBT children and activists, can be seen on the Southern New Jersey LGBTQ Pride website.
Cox said she expects more than 500 people to attend this year’s festivities, up from last year’s 300 guests.
More than 20 vendors will be present. Cox is working to get the Jewish Federation of South Jersey on board to keep up the trend of religious organizations being involved.
“Last year we had a congregation come out, and so that was a segue to get into bigger things,” she said. “Having the Jewish Federation involved would be awesome.”
This year, Pride will feature a wall displaying stories from local youth, detailing challenges they’ve faced growing up and coming out, which will kickstart the organization’s No Bullying Zone campaign. The campaign is sponsored by Comcast and will continue through December.
Also new this year is a more organized tracking of volunteers.
“We will be starting the Royal Court, which is the volunteer-based section of South Jersey Pride,” she said. “We want more people to get involved and have it more organized and helpful.”
Cox said she is excited for Valentino to perform and bring something new to the entertainment lineup.
“He is from St. Louis and lives in Los Angeles and has been entertaining for 17 years,” she said. “He has performed with Madonna and Usher and for the past two years, people have adamantly said no more drag queens, we want something else.”
Cox said South Jersey provides a Pride that caters to the crowd’s requests.
“It has never been about money; sometimes people feel like they are being ripped off or disappointed at other Prides and that is just not what our Pride is about,” she said. “It is not about money or numbers, but support. Our Pride is free and is a supportive social event.”
For more information, visit www.snjgaypride.org.