June marks Pride month, with most major cities – and a growing number of suburban locales – celebrating LGBTQ+ awareness.

The annual observance began after the June 1969 Stonewall Riots, a series of protests by members of the gay community after New York police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Manhattan. In memory of that pivotal moment in the gay rights movement, the LGBTQ+ community gathers for festivals, parades, galas and other events throughout the month.

As with any large gathering of people, promo plays a significant role. This year, ASI Media staff attended two Pride festivals in different parts of the country to see what kind of swag the vendors had on hand.

Thousands Brave the Rain for Kansas City Pride

Multicolored costumes, Pride flags and elaborate vendor booths decorated Kansas City, MO, on June 10 as thousands of LGBTQ+ community members and allies gathered to celebrate Pride month. The rainy weather didn’t stop crowds from filling Theis Park to participate in a weekend of activism.

Over 150 vendors attended the event to show their support, educate the community and hand out thousands of promotional products. Their tables overflowed with T-shirts, bottle openers, leis, temporary tattoos, bracelets and other Pride-themed goodies.

Local Kansas City queen Daisey Buckët entertained attendees in the T-Mobile “Stronger Together” booth.

T-Mobile sponsored the main festival stage and offered free airbrushing along with entertainment from a DJ and local queen Daisey Buckët. During the parade, employees and brand ambassadors passed out T-Mobile branded swag like sunscreen, shirts and fans.

“Pride is about authentically engaging with the LGBTQ+ community, including our employees and customers, across the country to celebrate all the things we believe in and stand for: diversity, equality and inclusion,” a T-Mobile spokesperson said in an email.

Kansas City P.R.I.D.E Community Alliance, the organization that plans the parade and festival, strives to provide educational opportunities and enrich the lives of LGBTQ+ people. In connection with that mission, most vendors provided important information to benefit the community.

Drew Hostert (right) encouraged the crowd to spin Athletico’s promotional products prize wheel.

Athletico Physical Therapy set up a wheel that people could spin to win a promotional prize. Drew Hostert, one of the table volunteers, said their most popular products were the Pride-themed can coolers and drawstring bags.

But the physical therapy provider wasn’t just there with free hand-outs; reps attended Pride to inform members of the trans community that physical therapy can help in their transition process.

“A lot of people going through transition therapy often need the support of pelvic floor therapy,” Hostert said. “We want to make sure that everybody feels comfortable.”

Robin Rusconi (left) and other Episcopal Church volunteers gave out hundreds of rainbow bracelets, backpack tags and leis during Pride.

Stecklein and Rapp, a local law firm that primarily deals with identity and data cases, also attended Pride to inform the trans community about its services. Michael Rapp said they help people with identity issues so they don’t lose the ability to get housing or loans after changing their gender or name.

The law firm distributed bottle openers with QR codes and thermal cups to bring attention to the help they can provide.

“A lot of people don’t know that we exist, orthat the kind of help we provide is even available,” Rapp said.

The festival also featured an education tent with 10 presentations over the weekend to teach the community about various topics. Health center KC Care showed attendees how to respond to an overdose, First Federal Bank shared information for first-time homebuyers and Commerce Bank provided a workshop about financial challenges.

Several vendor booths ran out of promotional products by the end of the weekend. Robin Rusconi, a representative of the Episcopal Church, said she brought hundreds of rainbow bracelets, backpack tags and leis, which were mostly gone within the first day because of the impressive community turnout.

“We’ve had a run on all the things I had to start with,” Rusconi said on Saturday afternoon. “It’s really awesome.”

Annie O’Keefe dressed in rainbow attire to hand out promotional products for Renewal by Andersen, a window replacement service.

Annie O’Keefe has attended Pride celebrations since the ’90s in New York and San Francisco, but this year, she attended KC Pride with window company Renewal by Andersen.

“We give away windows worth $10,000 in a contest, and what has worked to draw people over are free temporary tattoos, free candy, of course the bubbles, and then we had windmills and flags and free bags,” O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe said promotional products helped her gain community interest, and most of her products were also gone by Saturday. Festival attendees left Theis Park with beaming smiles and enough rainbow promotional products to last until next year’s Pride. – Riley Atkinson

Suburban PRIDEFest Draws a Crowd

Magnets, tote bags, bracelets and stickers were among the many giveaways at Chester County PRIDEFest, held each June in downtown Phoenixville, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Bridge Street was lined with tents and colorful flags proudly waving in the wind. Most in attendance – including dogs and children – wore some sort of rainbow pin, necklace or glittery face paint.

The official PRIDEFest tent was full of free LGBTQ+ flags, rainbow stickers and T-shirts for attendees at PRIDEFest in Phoenixville, PA, on June 10.

More than 2,000 people attended the June 10 event, according to Mary Benton, a board member of the LGBT Equality Alliance of Chester County, which organizes the annual festival. She added that 2023 was the alliance’s largest event to date. Planning for PRIDEFest begins in January, Benton said. The event included a full day of performers, musicians, vendors and local nonprofits lined up to sell merch and give out promotional products.

Mary Benton talks with a PRIDEFest attendee about the LGBT Equality Alliance of Chester County LGBT Equality Alliance of Chester County.

Founded in 2015, the LGBT Equity Alliance calls itself the “leading LGBT+ nonprofit in the Western Philadelphia area focusing on health, education, advocacy and outreach.” Its mission is to “foster inclusivity, well-being, and social justice for the LGBT+ community through advocacy and provision of safe, supportive spaces.” The nonprofit has a community center in Phoenixville and organizes a variety of events throughout the year to promote a partnership between businesses and the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to PRIDEFest, the alliance holds an annual 5K race, art shows and after-school events.

PRIDEFest has seven main sponsors: Wegmans, Pennsylvania American Water, Kimberton Waldorf School, Well Springs Congregation, The Colonial Theatre, PrEP Delco and the Phoenixville Hospital. The sponsors and vendor fees help fund the event, Benton said.

Giant Food Stores used a prize wheel to give away promo to PRIDEFest attendees.

Grocery store chain Wegmans had several tents around the festival giving out free water, apples, oranges and trail mix. One of their competitors, Giant Food Stores, was offering magnets, pens, tote bags, fruit and raffle prizes at their booth. Both vendors had activities including coloring books and face-painting stations.

Some of the other 140 vendors included LGBTQ+ small businesses, local politicians and nonprofits, like the Eastern PA Trans Equity Project. Izzy Porter, a member of the nonprofit’s advisory board, travels across Chester and Montgomery Counties to raise awareness for the group. The Trans Equity Project collects money to help fund name changes, food assistance, support groups and financial aid for transgender people in eastern Pennsylvania. At the tent, Porter had fidget toys, pronoun pins and pamphlets with information about the Project.

Red Wine & Blue, a nonprofit that operates out of suburban swing districts to engage women at a grassroots level, was at the festival with bookmarks, stickers, bracelets and pins, along with pamphlets and posters with information about the organization.

Flyleaf the Book Fairy reads Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall at PRIDEFest in Phoenixville, PA, on June 10.

PRIDEFest was a kid-friendly event. Flyleaf the Book Fairy read to a group of young children and their parents. Many vendors gave away fidget toys, stickers and beaded necklaces, and set up finger-painting stations for children. – Siena Christopherson