Growing Pride
dallasvoice.comLady Bunny Arlington Pride organizers have upped their game this year for a bigger, better event TAMMYE NASH | Managing Editornash@dallasvoice.com When DeeJay Johannessen and the folks at HELP Center for LGBT Health and Wellness decided to organize Arlington’s first Pride event, they expected maybe 250-300 people would show up.
More than 1,000 people ended up attending the celebration. Angeria Paris VanMichaels Organizers were thrilled with attendance, Johannessen said, “but when we started planning for this year’s Pride, we knew we had to get a space that would accommodate a much larger crowd.” The first venue to come to mind was Arlington’s Levitt Pavilion, the outdoor music venue nestled right at the city’s center.
Johannessen said Pride organizers first started working with the board that manages the pavilion last September, just three months or so after last year’s festival. “We knew we had to start early, Johannessen said. “The Levitt hosts about 50 free concerts every year, and we had to make sure that we didn’t schedule something else on the second weekend in June before we could get it. “So we got a contract,” he continued. “And then we worked with the city’s parks and recreation department to get all the permits and things we needed.
Then we started reaching out for entertainers, and we had them lined up by December. “And we’ve been working since then to make sure everything is perfect.” And sponsorship by Frank Kent Cadillac helped cover the costs.
