FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — This weekend was the biggest turn out ever for NWA Pride Weekend since it started in 2004.
Board of Directors President of NWA Equality Jafet Malave projected more than 35,000 people attended this weekend's festivities. Malave believes this is a perfect opportunity to support his community.
"For me as a gay man, it's just a moment for us to be visible and to be in front of our community and make sure that others that are maybe younger than us, that are still thinking, of are still in the closet, maybe they can find the visibility in their community and see that they can be accepted," Malave said.
However, the process of putting on a weekend like this doesn't just happen overnight.
"This is a whole year of planning. It really takes countless hours of not only our staff, but also the volunteers that show up to make sure that this event is successful every year," Malave explained.
Malave and his husband moved to Northwest Arkansas three years ago and he says he is so grateful that he's had this community's support ever since.
"We just didn't know if there was a community here, like an LGBTQ+ community. So we really struggled to make sure that we could find an accepting community, and, you know, have a safe environment where we could create this as a home. And as soon as we came to our first Pride in 2022 it was amazing to see the support of not only our people, like our community, but our allies across not only Fayetteville, but the entire region," Malave said.
Community members from the area know how important this weekend is to the LQBTQ+ community.
"It's a gathering place. It's a safe place where people from all over Arkansas and other states as well can join together. Celebrate. Be prideful. Be courageous," Pride attendee Lana Thurman said.
"This is my first Pride ever. I've been closeted to seven for about seven years. So being able to be here and show who I am and celebrate that really helps me. It makes me feel a sense of belonging," Pride attendee Miles Chrisman added.
"As a trans woman I wasn't allowed to have this type of community," Pride attendee Summer Rainn said. "I was always shut out. And having this type of community, having this type of celebration, bringing everybody together, even strangers, is really meaningful for someone that was so isolated."
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