London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Pride parade draws worldwide support to LGTBQ community in Mansfield

Pride parade draws worldwide support to LGTBQ community in Mansfield

Event draws visitors from near and far. 'I've marched in Berlin,' said one

Park Avenue West was lined with rainbow-colored clothing, flags and umbrellas Saturday morning as the Mansfield Pride Festival Parade marched its way toward Central Park.

Visitors shouted their enthusiasm while participants danced their way through town to the beat of a unified spirit.

"It was a whole lot bigger than I thought it would be this year," said Tim Denis, president of the Mansfield Gay Pride Association, in reference to the 30 entries that were composed of more than 300 participants.

Signs for and against


Those watching were both in support and against the event.

One woman was offering free mom hugs — next to her, a man offered free dad hugs.

Nearby, a crowd was clapping in unison.


Across the street, guests used a rainbow-colored umbrella and a rainbow-colored flag to try to shield the others from seeing a sign that read: "God made them male and female."

There were shirts adorned with Bible scripture as well as belly shirts cut high on people of all shapes and genders.

Growing despite COVID setbacks


The event was formed in 2015. Denis was a volunteer back then. By 2019, he was a board member who was running the Pride Parade.

Unfortunately, the 2020 parade and festival were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We did have a rally," Denis said. "That's all we could have."

Supporters gathered around the gazebo at Central Park to listen to an informational session about the organization and its message.


"Then we had a few speeches," Denis said. "Everyone was masked and socially distanced. We wanted to have something, and that was our best option."

In a sense, the event has still grown despite the apparent reduction in size — there were 35 floats last year and 30 this year, but half of this year's are new. Next year, organizers hope those who couldn't attend can join the newcomers so that the parade can boast more than 50 entries.

Festival bigger than ever


More than 40 booths were set up within Central Park for the festival portion of the event, which ran until 7 p.m. Saturday.

That was a record display by 10 booths.

Those vendors ranged from local church members who shared a message of love to health departments and libraries that were hoping to spread education of all types.

"We reminded everybody that it is a family friendly event," Denis said. "They could pretty much do anything that was safe for kids and adults."


That included a craft section specifically designed for children.

The day brought a smile to the organizer's face. He especially enjoyed emceeing as the floats traversed through downtown.

"I love the parade," Denis said. "I just love getting the people singing and cheering in support of the LGBTQ community."

A worldwide effort of support


Those supporters came from around the state, as well as from across the country.

One of them, Darl Schaaff, has been in Pride events even further away.

"Worldwide," he said, a smile beaming a mile wide. "I've marched Berlin."

Some of those marches were quite dangerous.

I was marching in the Budapest, Hungary, Pride parade when there were more protestors with sticks than there were participants," Schaaff said. "The police had to stop it, but we made it almost two blocks."

He also helped bring the Gay Games to Cleveland in 2014, bringing international participants to the Buckeye State.


The activist and supporter is from Anchorage, Alaska, but was in Cleveland this weekend visiting his friends, Tom Stebel and Rick Borja.

"These guys have been a couple 33 years," Schaaff said. "When they told me there was Pride in Mansfield, we knew we had to come down to be supportive. Visibility is really important."

He said the Mansfield parade and festival was one of the nicest he had ever seen.

"This was wonderful," Schaaff said. "Everyone was so friendly. I like that about Ohio."

New members encouraged


The Mansfield Gay Pride Association has seven board members and about 25 volunteers who organize the parade and festival every year.

Next year's event is already in the works for the first Saturday of August.

Potential new members are encouraged to find the organization through social media, or online at www.mansfieldgayprideassociation.org.

"They're welcome to reach out," Denis said. "We'd be happy to accommodate them."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
×