Acorn Alley attracted Kent’s summer crowd to celebrate Pride Month by hosting Pride Fest this weekend. 

While Kent typically celebrates Pride in October with Rainbow Weekend, Justine Gallo, the owner of Sun in Leo in Acorn Alley and the sponsor of Pride Fest, wanted to bring Pride Month to Kent as well.

“I figured as an openly lesbian and queer store owner, I wanted to be able to bring a bit of a fest to downtown,” she said. 

Gallo held a pride market last June as a way to trial the idea of a Kent June pride. This year, she said she was able to collaborate with local drag queens and businesses to bring Pride Fest to Kent. 

Friday yoga, concerts and drag performances

Pride Fest runs from June 7-9 from 12-5 p.m. The fest kicked off Friday night, with a concert in Acorn Alley. 

The concert was hosted by Lady Inferno, and featured performances by local artists Grandpa Winnie and Fallon from 6-9 p.m.

“Bar Lucci is having a drag brunch on Saturday, and Zephyr is

having their first MX. Zephyr on Friday night,” Gallo said. “So that one just kind of honestly worked out.”

Clarissa Ladner, a freelance yoga instructor, offered free yoga sessions in Acorn Alley until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, where she held four different classes and passed out miniature pride flags. 

She walked participants through the movements while offering words of guidance as she did them herself. 

At one point, she said certain stretches can help release negative energy and provided extra time to complete the movements. 

“We can hold tension in our hips,” Ladner said. “So a lot of times there is an emotional release.”

Yoga can allow people to dig deeper into themselves, she said, and help them to find peace within their identities.

“I think yoga is a great way of bringing that to the community through pride,” she said, “which is such a wonderful month to dive deep into yourself.”

Pride market, scavenger hunt and clothing swap

For the whole weekend, Acorn Alley has been transformed into an outdoor market highlighting small businesses.

Pixie, an online clothing shop focused on upcycling and sustainability, is one of many vendors at the pride market.

 Emily Hawkins and her boyfriend run the shop and thrift clothes to embroider and upcycle. 

“We brought some exclusive pieces for the festival and we’re doing buy two get $10 off today,” Hawkins said. 

Alyssa Pierce brought her online shop, Ohio Vintage, in-person to Pride Fest. 

“I would do this again and again,” Pierce said. “Everyone’s been so amazing.”

On top of coordinating the event, Gallo is also hosting a gender-affirming clothing swap all weekend.

The style swap at Sun in Leo offers free clothing for all of the LGBTQ+ community and allies. The clothing swap works to help participants find their own style. They bring a bag full of clothing, and can go home with clothing they feel suits them.

Many other downtown businesses are participating in Pride Fest through a scavenger hunt, where people can go to businesses and complete tasks to be entered in a raffle, donated by the participating businesses. 

“For [Sun in Leo], it’s pose in a vintage mirror,” Gallo said. “You can upload photos to your Instagram for extra points.”

Pride Fest resources

Gallo spent months working on coordinating Pride Fest, and she said she wanted to have resources available to people who do not have a safe environment to be queer.

“It’s just … letting people know that they are accepted,” she said. “It’s not like the safest state to just be like walking around with rainbow hair.”

Pride resources TransOhio and Townhall II have booths set up at the pride market, as well. 

“That’s really important to me,” Gallo said. “As a kid growing up closeted, it’s nice to be able to give people the safe space and know that their community is there to support them.”

She said she never knew that she would be owning a store, and it is even better that she can be queer and encourage other people through that. 

“Hopefully it can encourage people … younger people especially,” she said. “I think the target is just, there is a life after living with your parents. There is a life after high school. So, there’s so much magic that can come from it too.”

Audrey Trevarthan is managing editor. Contact her at [email protected].