Ames Pridefest is going from the streets to your computer or phone from June to December.

One of these events will include a virtual storytelling project. While partnering with the Ames Public Library, this event will create opportunities for anyone to share their personal stories during the celebration.

At 6 p.m. on the fourth Saturday of every month, stories can be presented through language, music or visual art and will be based around a theme. The goal of this project is to “amplify the voices of our diverse community,” according to the Ames Pride website.

Community engagement specialist, Susan Gent, said the Ames Public Library is open to different mediums for the storytellers to ensure the comfortability for those who choose to take part in the event.

“The virtual world is making us rethink the street festival and just trying to help people feel connected where we are isolated,” Gent said.

The next storytelling event will take place July 25 and is focused on independence. Gent said there haven’t been any roadblocks while planning these events, but it was a challenge to transition from a street festival to a completely virtual platform.

Stories that will take priority include:

• Stories that speak to queer and transgender storytellers of color, LGBTQIA+ storytellers with a disability and all underrepresented groups within the LGBTQIA+ community.
• Stories that incorporate or connect to current issues
• Stories that come from local community members or those who have demonstrated a connection to Ames Pride and Ames Pridefest.

To apply for the event, visit the Ames Pride website under 2020 storytelling project. Applications must be received by the first of the month you would be featured in.

The storytelling event can be viewed on the Ames Pride YouTube channel as well as a slideshow of the first three years of Pridefest.

“We have so many different layers adding stress to our lives right now with the COVID situation and being socially isolated, also there are a lot of people of color in the LGBTQIA+ community who are also a part of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has really come to a crux,” Gent said. “So by having these different events every month, it is a way for the Ames community to feel connected, to hear each other’s voices when a social gathering or regular meeting isn’t an option. And for people who are somewhere on their own journey of self-exploration and self-expression, I think this also helps them feel connected and to know that other people have perhaps dealt with the issues of independence or education or identifying their gender.”