Pride celebrates uniqueness, acceptance and love - Dubois County Free Press, Inc.

*Quinn Roettger, 3, attended the Pride Pool Party with her family Friday evening. She used the celebration as a great venue to throw a birthday party for her baby, according to her mom, Laura.*

“It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come,” said Landen Weidenbenner.

He and his fiancé, Brandon Ferguson, were two of the speakers at the ONE Dubois County PRIDE event held Friday evening at the Jasper Municipal Pool and Jaycee Park.

More than 500 people attended the fun, family-friendly event that included a pool party, multiple food trucks, activities, information booths from local service providers, music, and the movie, “Love, Simon” shown on an outdoor screen in the park after dark.

ONE Dubois County held its first PRIDE Pool Party in 2019. The organizers threw the premiere event together in two weeks and didn’t know what to expect. “We thought there might be 50 people that showed up,” Abbie Rumbach, a member of the community-oriented group said.

*Nancy Habig, a member of ONE Dubois County, met the crowd coming into Jasper Municipal Pool and presented them with a lei and stickers before they entered.*

More than 270 people showed up and plans were made — well in advance this time — to continue the celebration in 2020, but Covid-19 forced them to cancel. So, the group took those plans, including the planned movie rental, and polished them a bit more to bring Friday’s event alive last week.

Landen grew up in Jasper and ended up leaving the area after graduating. He never expected to return until Brandon urged him to reconsider moving back and becoming part of the community. The couple has thrown themselves into multiple support roles in organizations across the county since moving back.

For Landen, Friday was an affirmation that things were changing in regards to acceptance and diversity in Dubois County.

“It’s such a diverse crowd. You see the LGBTQ-plus community. You see straight people. You see families,” Landen said. “It’s amazing.”

*Jackelin Padilla read remarks from her phone while Mary Warner reacted in the background during the Pride Pool Party held at Jaycee Park in Jasper last Friday evening.*

18-year-old Jackelin Padilla recently came out to her parents. She was asked to speak at Friday’s event as a younger voice facing difficulties and a lack of acceptance for her sexuality. “I am here without my parents,” the USI student explained. “I am doing this every day by myself.”

Jackelin grew up in Jasper and had a difficult time facing the truth about herself openly. Being gay and Latina was difficult in her community.

“I always struggled to fit in because from afar, people can see that I’m not white,” she said. “And then, the second I came out, that was also another thing. So I’m having to represent not just the LGBTQ community, which I’m proud of, but my Latin (community) too.”

“The one thing that I always heard was to be proud to be a woman, to be proud to be Latina,” she added. “No one’s ever told me how to be proud to be gay.”

*Jack Gauker (left) and Gracie Frederick, both 17, embrace during the Pride Pool Party held at Jasper Municipal Pool Friday evening.*

During her talk Friday, Jackelin encouraged the community to look beyond physical appearance, to get to know one another, to have a conversation to learn about each other and understand rather than judge.

“Pride shouldn’t just be celebrated one month, but all year,” she said during her remarks to the crowd. “I hope everyone here holds Pride to be who they are because everyone here is unique. It doesn’t matter what your sexuality, race, ethnicity, or gender is. Be proud of who you are and embrace you for you.”