Hawaii Island’s LGBTQ+ community on Saturday will hold the annual Pride Festival in Hilo — but without the parade.
The Hawaii Island LGBTQ+ Pride board made the difficult decision to forgo the parade and focus all efforts on the festival after the recent death of Pride advocate and community leader Greg Lupton.
“Anyone who knew Greg, or has been to Pride, knows what a huge part Sister Buffy (Lupton’s alter ego) was. He loved being connected to every part of the parade and festival,” said Phill Russell, president of Hawaii Island LGBTQ+ Pride. “Every step of the way this year was a reminder of how connected he was to the local businesses, the county offices, the community, and everything else that makes Pride happen here every year.”
After debating back and forth, the board decided to put all their energy into making this year’s Pride Festival at the Mo‘oheau Bandstand better than ever, with more vendors, booths, activities and performances.
“People have been overwhelmingly supportive. While some were sad about the parade, most have acknowledged that Pride isn’t just about the parade,” Russell said. “As long as we are coming together and being visible as a community, I feel like that’s what Pride is about.”
The theme “Celebrate Life!” was chosen to honor Lupton and all the time, energy and work he put into growing Hilo’s LGBTQ+ events and community.
“As a founding member, it has been difficult to plan this event without him being here to provide his years of knowledge, usual anecdotes and general fun input,” the Hawaii Island LGBTQ+ Pride board said in a collective statement. “Greg was a master at celebrating life. We feel privileged to be able to do this work in his honor and memory.”
The festival this year will have more live entertainment on the main stage and a second stage for drag performances running throughout the event. Aerial artists also will be performing, if weather permits.
After the pule at 11 a.m., five local bands — Screaming Geckos, Whose Brenda?, Zone 1, Wildish and Chimera — will play 45-minute sets on the main stage. Bridge Hartman is emceeing and will perform with different friends as the bands switch.
Cocoa Chandelier will be the emcee on the drag stage, which will feature some of the Big Island’s finest entertainers.
The Pride Festival was founded with the purpose of giving all LGBTQ+ youth a safe and supportive event, so there will be plenty of activities for keiki, as well as information and resources available from local organizations.
The Pride board members and event organizers begin meeting every Monday in the few months leading up to the Hawaii Island Pride events. The public is welcomed to join and participate in event planning either in-person or over Zoom throughout the year. For more information, visit hawaiiislandlgbtqpride.org.
The Pride Festival is free and will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at the Mo‘oheau Bandstand in downtown Hilo.
Following the festival, the Pacific Tsunami Museum is hosting its second annual Pride Open Mic Night for all artists of all ages from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for free at the museum.
To close out the weekend, Equality Hawaii is hosting a weekend hike in lower Puna from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sunday, followed by the All ‘Ohana Barbeque potluck from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Coconut Island. To RSVP, visit equalityhi.org/events.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.