Columbus Pride Festival debuted a larger event Saturday at Mill Race Park, hoping to draw attendance from Mill Race Marathon runners who were finishing up their celebrations at just about the time the festival began.
There were nearly a hundred vendors who signed up for the event, with booths selling merchandise and a new children’s area with crafts, games, painting and children’s stories from the Bartholomew County Public Library.
The festival also featured more food vendors, and was expanded for the festival to end at 7 p.m.
The gathering earned worldwide media attention its inaugural year because publications focused on a local, bisexual teen student who organized it in the hometown of the conservative and then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
The festival’s website summarizes its purpose as “to unite Columbus as one community that celebrates diversity, fosters inclusion for all and embraces the LGBTQ community.”
The general expansion of the festival is due to having a larger organizing committee to plan the event, according to Herrick. The new children’s area is something planners wanted to institute in past years, too.
“We definitely pride ourselves on being a family-friendly event,” Herrick said.
In the past, the festival has attracted attendees from Indianapolis, Bloomington, and a broad range of other areas throughout the state and elsewhere. Erin Bailey, then a senior at Columbus Signature Academy — New Tech High School, originally organized the festival four and a half years ago as her senior project.
