“Onward not Backward” That was the theme for the 2022 Wimberley Pride March as hundreds of people marched from the Wimberley Community Center all the way down to Blue Hole.
For Kate Crosthwaite, it was good to see so many people participate and visit the march.
“It was very positive and we had a lot of attendees,” Crosthwaite said. “We had 375 people march today and maybe 150 people watching the march. It was a really great turnout.”
In fact, not even the rain could stop the march from happening, which produced a symbolic rainbow that day.
Despite the weather, Cynthia Millonzi, one of the organizers of the march, everything turned out great.
“Even though things got a little wet,” Millonzi said. “We got a real rainbow and it was quite nice.”
As Kate Crosthwaite, one of the organizers of this year’s pride march, the fight for equal rights is still continuing.
“We want to make it very clear that the LGBTQ+ community is not willing to let go of any rights that we have already earned,” Crosthwaite said. “We want to move forward to continue gaining equal rights for our community.”
She said that is the reason why it was also important for allies of the LGBTQ+ spectrum to come out and support their friends and family at events like the pride march.
It was on display at the Wimberley Pride March as supporters showed up in full support to make it known to people of the LGBTQ+ spectrum that they are not alone.
For Crosthwaite, not only was it good to have their allies come and support them but also made them feel more comfortable here in Wimberley.
“It was amazing to see so many allies come out,” Crosthwaite said. “That means a lot for us and it makes us feel safer in our community while also making us feel seen.”
“It means everything to us,” Crosthwaite said. “It’s important both locally and nationally to show everybody at all ages in this community that we are one community, and we are here to support each other.”
“That is our focus and our effort and the message we try to send out,” Millonzi said. “Which is why you see events like we put on that involve the businesses, the allies and everyone in the community.”
Speaking at this year’s pride march was Anna Nguyen, president of PFLAG Austin, and Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas.
The speakers were then followed by the band “Brand New Key” as they performed in front of the live crowd.
For Nguyen, seeing so many people come out to celebrate is not only great to see but also reassuring.
“It is always empowering to have so many queer people getting together and celebrating themselves,” Nguyen said. “It’s a very comforting thing for me, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to speak here today.”
As for Martinez, the fact a small town like Wimberley can be a safe place for LGBTQ+ people shows what the Lone Star State can be in the future.
“It’s pretty representative of what most of Texas is, which is very welcoming and that the majority of Texans believe that the discrimination of LGBTQ+ people is wrong,” Martinez said. “Seeing this in small towns is very comforting and inspiring because it is going to take all of us to shape Texas into the state we want it to be.”
For more information on Wimberley Pride, visit their website at wimberleypride. org.
