Athens community members watch the parade at PrideFest 2025: From Athens, with Pride, which was hosted by the Athens Pride and Queer Collective in Downtown Athens on June 7. APQC Community Outreach Director Ida Barrett felt that recent changes in the political climate affected the atmosphere of this year’s PrideFest. “The LGBTQI community is under attack, (so) the vibe of today is a little heavier. We really want to showcase the breadth of the support directly within Athens,” Barrett said. “A big goal of today is that people feel hope. They feel connected to each other (and) to (APQC), and inspired to do the work that’s going to be required of us throughout this administration.” Photo by Lucca Fleenor
PrideFest 2025: From Athens, with Pride took place in Downtown Athens on June 7 from 3 to 10 p.m., featuring both a parade and a festival.
The Athens Pride and Queer Collective hosted PrideFest 2025: From Athens, with Pride in Downtown Athens on June 7 from 3 to 10 p.m.. The event featured a parade, a resource fair, music and representatives from a variety of local institutions and was open to the public.
A PrideFest attendee looks at a flyer distributed during the parade at Athens Pride and Queer Collective’s PrideFest 2025: From Athens, with Pride, which was held on June 7 in Downtown Athens. APQC Community Outreach Director Ida Barrett stressed community building as an important way that Athenians can support APQC’s work. “Throughout the year, we have smaller events like karaoke and bingos, (where you can) meet members of the community (and) get to know people who identify the same way as you in this town,” Barrett said. “The biggest thing is learning how to be an ally if you don’t know how to be, and finding your community within the community if you’re (LGBTQ+).” Photo by Sasha Barkan
The Pride Parade and APQC’s annual festival were historically two separate events, however, this year they were combined to create one celebration downtown in honor of Pride Month, with the parade starting and ending on West Hancock Street. APQC Community Outreach Director Ida Barrett worked to facilitate relationships with the community partners that were a part of the event.
“What we’ve done in the past is the parade ends in a resource fair that only hosts nonprofits and (mental health and health) resources in the area. This year, we’re keeping everything Downtown, (and including) our creatives, our artists (and) our musicians,” Barrett said. “We have vendors who are selling merchandise and we have food trucks. Some of our businesses Downtown are opening early for us.”
A map shows the locations of various parts of PrideFest 2025: From Athens, with Pride, which was held on June 7 by the Athens Pride and Queer Collective in Downtown Athens. APQC Community Outreach Director Ida Barrett noted that APQC made strides in accessibility with PrideFest. “We’re making sure that everyone knows what is available to them without them having to ask. That’s one thing we were missing the point on previously; people who might need assistance had to ask for it. The biggest difference is just that that information is readily available,” Barrett said. Map by Sasha Barkan
Additionally, the current political climate represents another way in which 2025’s PrideFest differed from previous years. Ben Ackerly, the TransParent National Chair for Communications and Georgia Chapter Co-leader, believes that context only furthers the importance of LGBTQ+-affirming events and spaces.
“Pride is an incredibly important celebration. It’s why I’m (at PrideFest) because it’s a time to both get excited and share who (members of the LGBTQ+ community are) as people, but also to celebrate our resiliency and joy in a time where more than 500 anti-LGBT bills have been introduced across the U.S.,” Ackerly said. “In a time where our community is being targeted and attacked, (PrideFest) is a way to celebrate and be our true selves in public.”
Parade goers stand on South Jackson Street, during this year’s PrideFest which was hosted by the Athens Pride and Queer Collective in Downtown Athens on June 7. Ben Ackerly, who is the Georgia chapter co-leader and national communications chair for TransParent, a non-profit that supports the families of transgender youth, saw PrideFest as a way to express who they are freely, something they weren’t able to do in their youth. “I didn’t even know the word non-binary when I was in school. That was not something I learned until I was an adult,” Ackerly said. “(Growing up), I didn’t even understand (my non-binary identity). I just knew I was different. I didn’t understand what that meant, but eventually figured (I) out how I was different, and how that was special and unique, and now I get to just be me.” Photos by Sasha Barkan and Lucca Fleenor
This year’s PrideFest also made strides in accessibility. Some of the features included rental stools for guests who are unable to stand for extended periods, a Kid’s Zone and a sensory tent. Athens community member Jessica Ledbetter attended PrideFest with their child.
“My kid has (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), and (the sensory tent) is a quiet space for them to go to and chill out with other people (like them) and make friends,” Ledbetter said. “(The tent) closes you off from the world for a bit, so you can meditate, calm your mind, and then move on to something else.”
“I’m (at PrideFest) because it’s a time to both get excited and share who (members of the LGBTQ+ community are) as people, but also to celebrate our resiliency and joy in a time where more than 500 anti-LGBT bills have been introduced across the U.S.,”
— Ben Ackerly,
TransParent Georgia chapter co-leader
Rising Clarke Central High School senior Liam Ferguson, who attended PrideFest, viewed the event as a way for LGBTQ+ individuals to strengthen bonds within the local LGBTQ+ community.
“I think that it’s important to have events like this to help people feel comfortable living as themselves in their hometown,” Ferguson said. “Events like PrideFest give the community the chance to have a much louder voice (and) to come together (and) see that they aren’t alone and that there is a thriving community of people like them.”
