The midday Buffalo Grove Pride Parade on Sunday, June 1 featured 100 parade entries in Buffalo Grove.
The weather was breezy, sunny and in the 60-degree range for a parade with the theme, “Pride is Natural.”
BG Pride and the Pinta Pride Project presented the seventh annual parade, which originated with Molly Pinta, thanks to the mentoring assistance of her parents, Bob and Carolyn Pinta. The Pinta family, formerly of Buffalo Grove, now resides in Prairie View.
“The positive energy that is here amongst the world we are currently living in is inspiring,” Bob Pinta said at the top of the parade route.
Before the parade, Carolyn Pinta also said, “Today, we win.
“They can do all these things they’re doing, but look around, we win,” Molly’s mother said. “Love wins.”
Parade entries included floats, cheerleaders, balloons galore, color guards, marching band music, houses of worship, and sports cars decorated with rainbows of color.
“We’ve made many friends here,” said Chris Woodard of Mundelein, co-founder of the Mundelein LGBT Alliance and Allies, who noted the astounding growth of the parade and spectator attendance.
“I don’t know how you could have more beautiful of a celebration,” Woodard said.
Many Lake County candidate hopefuls and elected officials were present, including Kristal Larson of Hainesville, executive director of the LGBTQ+ Center of Lake County.
Larson is the Avon Township clerk and serves as the first openly transgender elected official in Lake County.
Larson grew up in Round Lake and graduated from Mundelein’s Carmel Catholic High School in 1993.
To Pioneer Press, Larson said, “We need all of this, it’s not just one person, it’s all the people.”
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-10th) of Highland Park and Buffalo Grove Village President Eric Smith were also among elected officials participating in the parade.
“On a day where you see folks from across Lake County, and even other counties gathering in Buffalo Grove supporting each other, supporting Pride,” Schneider said, “we, as a country, we remain divided, but we can’t let those who want to separate us and divide us, win, we have to unite the country together.”
Eric Smith told Pioneer Press, “Buffalo Grove is smart with heart and we have a very diverse community that we embrace very much.”
Highwood Pride was also present with a large group of attendees.
Robyn Bauer, Highwood alderperson with Highwood Pride, spoke of recent events of adversity confronting the LGBTQ+ community. Kindness is key, Bauer agreed.
“We all are exhausted from all of the nastiness that’s going on all around us,” Bauer said.
“We all care about each other.”
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
