COLUMBIA, S.C. — Crews set the stage Friday for SC Pride events, which are among the largest in the state.
Events kick off in the heart of downtown Columbia on Main Street.
James Agens is the festival's director.
"It's a matter of everyone participating. All the LGBTQ+ people can not make this happen by themselves. It's a matter of connecting with the community. Columbia, Richland County, the state, everyone has to participate for it to be what it is," Agens said.
With the weekend's events featuring local vendors, live music, drag performances, and other activities, there is something for everyone Agens says.
"During the festival we try have a little bit more family-oriented activities going on," Agens explains. "We also work with a lot of the clinics to bring resources here for testing, whether it's for HIV, COVID-19, anything like that - it's all health related and we try to make sure everyone is represented throughout the community."
Representation of all sorts, including non-binary individuals and performers, is something South Carolina Pride insists on including.
Demi Happy-Returns is a "drag thing" who uses they/them pronoun and is performing in this year's festival. "I'm glad we have events like Pride so we can express ourselves and hopefully educate people, as well," she says.
Demi says she is overcome with feelings of freedom when performing while drag king, Jasmine Anderson, who goes by Richard Rider when in drag, says although drag queens are more prominent, drag kings are "popping up like weeds."
"There are a bunch of drag king performers and non-binary performers that are coming out of everywhere," Anderson said. "It's just nice to be able to see another side of drag or another facet of drag being recognized."
The Pride Parade kicked off at 7 p.m. Friday in downtown Columbia. The festival is slated to run from noon until 9 p.m. on Saturday.