Dixon Pride Fest draws nearly 4K to celebrate LGBTQ+ community’s achievements, rights

DIXON – Decked out in a rainbow-colored tulle skirt and wearing a crown while dancing with equally colorful streamers, 5-year-old Winnie Tomman was “living her best life,” her mom said.

Winnie and her family were among the almost 4,000 people who made their way to Page Park to celebrate the second annual Dixon Pride Fest.

“Attendance was overwhelming,” Festival Director Sam Miller said at about 7:15 p.m. Saturday. “So much love is happening.”

About 1.5 times as many people attended this year as did the 2022 event, she said. This year’s event ran from 2 to 10 p.m.

Pride festivals are events celebrating the self-acceptance, achievements, overcoming of obstacles and legal rights of LGBTQ+ people.

Dixon Pride Fest’s entertainment included live music, a deejay, merchant and food vendors, and two drag shows.

In a Monday interview, Miller repeated the sentiment and added that the move from downtown Dixon to Page Park was “perfect.” The larger location helped with everything, she said.

Some of the feedback Miller said she has heard includes praise for the location, which allowed people to bring chairs and blankets and more easily sit and relax.

Page Park allowed them to double the number of merchant vendors and tripled the number of food vendors they had this year, Miller said. Next year, they might be able to have even more, she said.

“The community support was amazing. Everybody was happy,” Miller said. “It was just a really great time. I think everybody had a really great time.”

Event organizers are incredibly grateful for the community support, she said, adding, “We love that everybody had a great time.”

Attendance was overwhelming.”

—  Festival Director Sam Miller

The Dixon Pride Fest is organized by Sauk Valley Pride, a not-for-profit corporation formed in 2022 after the city’s inaugural event.

“After last year’s Dixon Pride, communities reached out and we felt there was a bigger need, so we wanted to incorporate that nonprofit and assist Dixon and other communities,” Sauk Valley Pride President Andrew Glasscock said.

During Saturday’s event, Glasscock announced Sauk Valley Pride’s new event, Twin Cities Pride, which is set for Sept. 30 at RB&W Park in Rock Falls. More details soon will be posted on the Sauk Valley Pride Facebook page, he said.