More than 30 cars decked out in various decorations and flags took part in Sunday afternoon’s Youth Car Parade to celebrate Pride Month and support LGBTQIA+ youth. Organized by Evanston Pride, Inc., the parade began three years ago, with community support and participation growing each year.
“We wanted to have representation and we want the kids to know that it’s important to be seen and for this parade to be visible as it moves through Evanston,” said Evanston Pride President Jackson Adams.
Evanston Pride was founded in 2021 because, according to Adams, there was no pride organization. They seek to support, advocate and help the local LGBTQ+ community through educational events and programs. The annual youth car parade began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to have queer visibility while maintaining social distancing and safety.
“It’s like the only time of the year that we … get to roll down the windows and play our music and honk our horns and have fun and fly our flags and go crazy,” Adams said.
The parade started at Evanston Township High School and ended at Ingraham Park, where people gathered afterward, paying for music and sharing their parade experiences. The procession had an Evanston police escort and Mayor Daniel Biss said a few words before the parade began at 1 p.m.
Biss told the Evanston roundtable that the event is important as a show of solidarity toward LGBTQ+ people and “especially trans kids” who “are under attack.” She said the parade is a way to show the world “what an inclusive and humanistic place it is and to show our trans kids here that everything they’re reading about it elsewhere in the country, it doesn’t reflect the level of support and love who can count on the experience here in Evanston.”
Speaking to the crowd gathered in the parking lot, Bliss said: “Showing who we are and where we stand in the most visible way possible is becoming more and more important. So thank you for doing it. Thank you for doing it in one joyful, fun, and celebratory way. Have a great parade, have a beautiful Pride month. And let’s make sure we show who we are to the world, so anyone who wants to know if Evanston is a place that loves members of our LGBTQ community see that loud and clear.”
Slater Nelson has participated in the car parade all three years and said this year was especially important for him and his wife because they are expecting a rainbow baby.
“The parade started the year we moved to Evanston and we knew we wanted to raise our family here, so it was important for us to be a part of the community and be involved,” said Nelson, who uses the pronouns they/them. “I love that we all come together as a community, painting the rainbow of the city and just being authentic.”
Another parade participant, Park School teacher Ren Heckathorne, said his parade experience and feedback have been “positive.”
“I think it’s great to see so many kids involved,” said Heckathorne, who uses her pronouns. “I think it’s good that it’s not a corporate pride event. I like that we don’t care about the companies and all that. It’s really the community coming together and I think it’s a much more authentic representation of what it’s really about the Pride”.
As a teacher, they have realized how important events like these are to show students representation.
“I feel like more and more kids in our district want to have a voice and want to be seen,” Heckathorne said. “And I think our district is finally doing the work to make sure our students feel safe and can be exactly who they are inside the school.”
Aim Larrabee and Ailie Ayres, owners of Aim and Ailie Hair Boutique, were the first grand marshals of the parade. Jackson said the Evanston Pride board wanted to elect people who are “visible” and “out there living their authentic lives,” all of which he exemplifies.
Lisa Yee watched the parade pass through Fountain Square and said she came to watch the parade because she has always been a supporter and advocate for queer issues.
“I think it’s an important thing for all of us,” he said. “I don’t think we should restrict who people can love.”
Yee said it’s important to raise awareness and have events during Pride month because she noticed it meant a lot to those in the parade to see people come out and support them.
“It meant a lot to them and … to make them feel seen and not bullied, not put down,” Yee added.
The Youth Car Parade is one of the many events Evanston Pride is doing during Pride Month. The Candlelight Ceremony in St Paul’s Park (Pride) on June 11 at 4pm will be the next event.
