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Ottawa Family Pride Fest sees record-breaking attendance · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Ottawa Family Pride Fest sees record breaking attendance. Written by
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  Bill Frescos, This article is being read by an automated
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  voice brought to you by Everlett. Rainbow flags in Apparel
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  filled the parks and streets of downtown Ottawa on Saturday
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  as folks showed up from all over the Illinois Valley
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  for Family Pride Fest. This was the fest's fifth year
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  in town, and at least twenty thousand people showed up
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  throughout the day to partake in the wide variety of
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  activities the fest had to offer. This year, organizer Dylan
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  Conmy estimated that roughly twenty twenty five hundred people showed
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  up based on sales statistics from vendors. I left the
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  park on Saturday with a sense of pride in what
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  we accomplished, Kami said. We broke all new records, welcomed
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  new friends, and heard a multitude of stories from folks
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  of all ages about how they felt seen. Every year
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  Ottawa Pride grows and every year I find myself inspired
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  by everyone that fills downtown. Leah Ann Stoughton, a vendor
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  and Humankind Initiative board member, said, having a large Pride
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  festival in a rural community like Ottawa is meaningful for
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  people who may not always feel accepted or supported. The
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  Humankind Initiative and Ottawa Family Pride Festival are important for
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  this community because it shows people they are not alone,
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  she said. Even if you're not someone who is going
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  come to pride yourself, you can still see that it's
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  happening and that there are people out there who love you,
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  support you, and are going to fight for you. Open
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  Table United Church of Christ members Judy Ilgin and Marshall
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  David Wallstrom. Helgren said they have attended the Ottawa Family
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  Pride Festival since it began five years ago and have
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  watched it grow significantly. The first year, I want to
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  say there were probably around one thousand people, Ilgan said.
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  Last year it was around seven thousand to eight people,
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  and I think they were expecting even more this year.
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  It's just continued to grow every year. Illegin said the
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  festival's success is especially meaningful in a rural community. We
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  have people from the whole Illinois Valley and even farther away.
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  She said. Ten years ago this area wasn't nearly as
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  open as it is now. It's become much more welcoming.
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  Wallstrom Helgren said this year's event also felt different because
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  there appeared to be no protesters. This year has probably
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  been better than previous years because we haven't seen any protesters.
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  Wallstrom Helgren said. In past years there were incidents where
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  police had to get involved, but this year there's been
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  none that we've seen or heard about. Wallstrom Helgren said
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  the festival aligns closely with Open Table United Church of
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  Christ's mission of inclusion and acceptance. It helps people feel
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  empowered to be themselves. Walstrom Helgrin said people don't have
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  to be afraid or feel like they have to hide
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  who they are to be who they truly are at
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  heart