5 Ways Columbia Celebrated Pride This October

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Mizzou chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

While it is generally known that June is the time for everything pride, Columbia, Missouri, likes to dedicate some time in October for all  University of Missouri students to celebrate. Whether you want to celebrate again or are finally in a place where you can celebrate, here were five fun activities this October that celebrated LGBTQIA+ pride. 

The Mid-Missouri Pride Fest

The Mid-Missouri Pride Fest is a huge celebration held in downtown Columbia every fall. This year it went from noon to 10 p.m. on Oct. 4 and 5. There were many things to explore at Pride fest, including girls from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performing Saturday at 8 p.m. inside Rose Park to the parade on Broadway, Sunday at noon. People of all ages participate, with kids’ art activities, food courts, a handprint mural, an affirmation wall, goat yoga, face painters and more, all set up throughout downtown. Though the festival used to be held in early August, it’s now always later in the year to accommodate the students at Mizzou. 

“Most of these rural cities don’t have Pride Fests, and most of these people can’t come out in their hometown, but when they go to college, that’s their new home, that’s their new safe space, and they have the ability to come and celebrate with us when they wouldn’t ordinarily, have the ability to,” President of the Mid Missouri Pride Fest, Janet Davis said. 

Center Project game night 

The Center Project is a community center that focuses on helping and providing a community for LGBTQIA+ people in Columbia and central Missouri. Being the only LGBTQIA+ community center for 150 miles, they have numerous events year-round that welcome Mizzou students to attend.

 The first event that happened this month was the monthly Blender Brunch that was from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Oct. 5. This Brunch is held exclusively for transgender and non-binary adults and offers a safe space for people to socialize and eat. 

Another event was a game night from 6 – 10 p.m. on Oct. 10.  This game night was created to harbor a welcoming space for all LGBTQIA+ people and included numerous board games along with tours of the Center Project house. More upcoming events can be found on their website https://centerproject.org/

Coming Out Day photo

Every year, Mizzou dedicates the week of October surrounding Coming Out Day to celebrate and spread awareness for LGBTQ+ individuals. To continue this tradition, on Oct. 11 at 5 p.m., people were invited to wear prideful clothing and bring pride flags for a large Coming Out Day photo. 

Hillel Pride Shabbat 

Hillel is a Jewish student organization at Mizzou that hosts numerous events for Jewish students to meet other members of their community and stay connected with their religion and culture. At 6:30 p.m. Oct. 3, Hillel’s weekly Shabbat was also a Pride Shabbat. Much like their regular Shabbat, they hosted both service and dinner, yet that week, they also included events to celebrate pride. 

Drag Show at The Blue Note

An exciting event that is still coming up is the Celebrity Drag show at The Blue Note on Oct. 17. The show will include drag queens Lucky Starzzz and The Widow Von’Du, both contestants of “Ru-Paul’s Drag Race.” Tickets can be bought at The Blue Note, and doors open at 8 p.m. with the show beginning at 9 p.m.