Family event grows to community celebration
By Ben Cox
June is nationally recognized as Pride Month. The recognition coincides with the 1969 Stonewall Riots, a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in Greenwich Village that targeted a well-known gay bar in New York City.
The New York City march, promoted as “Christopher Street Liberation Day,” alongside the parallel marches in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, marked a watershed moment for LGBT rights. It wouldn’t be until 1999 that former President Bill Clinton officially declared that June would be the dedicated month for celebration, activism and awareness for the LGBTQ+ community.
The Jacksonville Pride celebration completed its third year on May 31 on the grounds of Twisted Tree Music Hall. Blaize Stewart says the local celebration started with humble beginnings: “The celebration started within my family, the Stewart family. I live in Chicago and let’s see, I’ve been here about eight years now. Once I moved here [Chicago], after a couple years, my family, they just asked if I wanted them to come up here and join me at Pride. And I said absolutely. So there were a few years where Mom and Dad and some of my siblings were up here celebrating Pride in Chicago. Then, when COVID hit, everything kind of shut down and I moved back home for about a year with my parents. I think it was one of the summers where we had a little more freedom to be out and socializing, at least in an outdoor space, we just decided to have a little Pride barbecue in my parent’s backyard. We had 10 to 15 friends and family come and we just grilled out, played some yard games and had a good time. Then, we had that maybe two or three years and we just kept hearing from more and more people, they would like to be involved. My mom and dad were just kind of like, okay, well we can’t have this in our backyard anymore.”
Stewart says for as long as he can remember, that his mother, Paula Belobradjic-Stewart, has always been involved in community events, so it was natural to transition the event to a community-wide celebration.
He says he knows the need has always been in Jacksonville, but there has always been an inherent fear of possible persecution: “I think definitely [there was] some fear that first year, and I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t fear every year because the world we live in is full of some hateful people, but I think the need for a space like this for me outweighs that fear. I grew up in Jacksonville as a bisexual man and didn’t feel welcome or seen or heard by the community at large. For me, it’s really cathartic I guess, to be able to put this event on and see such a positive reaction. One thing I hear consistently every year is just thank you for creating a space where I can come to learn and I can ask questions and feel safe even as an ally.”
The event is open to the public and features several artisans and community businesses. Stewart was pleased with the largest event they have been able to organize in the festival’s three-year history. More than 150 people from the community attended the event.
“We had booths for 24 local businesses, organizations and artisans, as well as children’s storytime and a live DJ, Eddie Baldwin,” Stewart says. There were also donations being accepted on behalf of Equality Illinois. Equality Illinois was founded in 1991 as the Illinois Federation for Human Rights to secure, protect and defend the basic civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The name was changed to Equality Illinois in 2000, and the organization has grown to become the state’s oldest, largest and most effective LGBTQ+ equality organization. Equality Illinois also has charitable and educational aspects to its mission through its 501(c)(3) organization.
The Jacksonville event had a history booth featuring several prominent LGBTQ+ individuals in both Illinois and U.S. history and a storytime with local volunteer readers. The children’s books featured stories about lessons on bullying, discrimination and inclusivity.
Stewart says the plan is to grow the event little by little each year: “I think we’re looking for opportunities where we can make small sustainable changes year after year. I think next year it might be great to incorporate a bingo or some kind of auction or something that we can incorporate more local businesses or I don’t know, more entertainers from the area. I think one thing I’ve learned from my mom especially is just when you’re working on these kinds of events, don’t overextend yourself too soon. It’s more about just growing in those little moments each year.”
Stewart says the opportunities to learn and grow will always be featured as a part of the event so people can feel safe to ask questions about things they don’t know about the LGBTQ+ community. He says even if people aren’t curious about those things, he hopes people will look at the event as a way to support local businesses and artisans.
Stewart says that programming for the 2026 Jacksonville Pride celebration is already underway. For more information, visit Jacksonville Pride on Facebook or email jacksonvilleilpride@gmail.com.
