Ames Pridefest returns this Saturday to celebrate solidarity, creativity, community and queer joy in the heart of town. All community members are welcome.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, the day will be jam-packed with activities located on the corner of Douglas Avenue and 5th Street, as well as in the Ames Public Library.
Events include crafts, educational panels at the Ames Public Library, and more. There will be over 70 festival vendors to check out, starting at 11 a.m. Pridefest will also be hosting a variety of performances on the Ames Pride Stage including Sarah Tonin, Mikayla Oz, Sheltered Reality Drumline and more.
The celebration doesn’t stop there. Additional post-pride events will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m, including a Queers & Beers Happy Hour at London Underground, located 212 Main St., and Teen Movie Night at the Ames Public Library.
“In a lot of ways Ames has a great culture of diversity and inclusion, but that doesn’t just happen,” Katie Tschopp, co-chair of Pridefest, said. “It comes from everyone making intentional choices: to welcome our neighbors, to stand up for what’s right, to learn about people who are different from us.”
Ames Pridefest will coincide with National Coming Out Day — a day of LGBTQIA+ awareness recognizing and supporting anyone who is “out of the closet,” or openly identifying as LGBTQIA+. Typically, though, Pride is nationally celebrated during the month of June.
“Instead of doing it typically in June, that’s when students are gone, so we want students to be able to be a part of it,” Tschopp said. “So, we intentionally plan it during the school year when people are around and everybody can participate.”
This year’s festival brings not just celebration and visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community in Ames, but a chance to engage, uplift, and create space for queer folks through art, activities and performance during a time when the community feels targeted.
“For the LGBTQIA+ community in Ames, in Iowa, and in the U.S. in general, I think everyone knows this is a frightening time,” Tschopp said. “Our trans siblings are targeted by the government and in Iowa have lost their protection under civil rights law. Every year while planning Pridefest, we wait to see if the Iowa legislature will outlaw public drag performances.”
The Ames Public Library has been involved in Ames Pridefest for a few years now. Amanda Molumby, adult services librarian at the Ames Public Library, shares how Pridefest gets the community connected in meaningful ways.
“We’ve been doing this for quite a while,” Molumby said. “We’re always trying to reach out and make sure we’re engaging community members and getting people into the library, getting them connected to resources and information.”
The newest addition to the Pridefest lineup is the Ames Public Library’s first ever Queer Art Showcase, a new feature designed to highlight local artists and celebrate LGBTQIA+ creativity and self-expression.
“We’re just a part of the community where we hope everyone can come in and feel respected, safe, welcome, included and that they can find themselves represented in every part of what we do,” Molumby said.
Pridefest aims to bring the spirit of inclusivity and belonging to downtown Ames and beyond.
“We want Pridefest to be like a breath of fresh air,” Tschopp said. “It gives us the chance to have a day of queer joy in what a truly inclusive community can look like — and then the next day, we do what we can to remember that joy no matter the circumstances we’re in.”
The full flyer of events, locations and times is on the Ames Pride website. If you would like to be more involved in Ames Pridefest, you can learn about volunteer opportunities here.
