FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Fort Smith Lambda Society hosted its Pride Month Celebration at Ross Pendergraft Park on Saturday, June 22.
The celebration featured free games, vendors, prizes, and drag performances.
Paige Braun is the executive director and founder of the organization and says they've worked for months to organize the festivities.
"An amazing turnout. Honestly, it's greater than I ever could have expected it to be. So I'm really excited that we get to be the organization that's brought all of these different people together to celebrate love and life and freedom to be both," Braun said.
Braun say's it's important that they even hosted an event. She explained that events in the past five years were either very small or have struggled to gain traction in the area.
"It's vital to make sure that the world knows, no matter your shape, size, sexuality, race, ethnicity, wherever you come from, you deserve to be loved and to find love in the world and to be accepted," Braun said.
Braun explained that pride should be celebrated year-round, not just for a month. Yet, she acknowledged the historical importance of having Pride Month.
"You always want to make sure that we keep this as a part of our history, for the LGBTQ community and just for the future generations that come after us, we want to continue what they started a long time ago to get us here. We want to keep that going and keep the ball moving to make for a more progressive future," Braun said.
If you'd like to keep up to date on their future events or are in need of resources, visit their Facebook page.
For more Pride Month events in Northwest Arkansas, the River Valley, and Eastern Oklahoma, click here.
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