Aurora group scrambles to raise $17k to restore Pride Parade
Tue. April 16, 2019 9:21 PM by Brian Troutman
aurora pride parade 2018
photo credit // cloud foto
"What has changed, quite frankly, for Indivisible Aurora is just the ferocity, the intensity, the sense of ownership that folks had for this parade"
Aurora, IL -
In a major reversal, organizers for the 2019 Aurora Pride Parade announced Tuesday that the event is back on if a new fundraising goal is met.
Indivisible Aurora, the group behind the planned June 9 parade, is now scrambling to raise $17,000 in just two weeks after reversing its decision from last Friday when the event was canceled.
In the first 10 hours since the GoFundMe page launched, over $10,000 dollars had already been raised.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin held a press conference Tuesday alongside Chuck Adams, executive director of Indivisible Aurora. "I'm a firm believer in not giving up and not giving in, especially when it's something you believe in," stated the first-term mayor. "To all of us, to all of our Aurora, to all of our LGBTQ community who spoke with a loud, resounding voice, and all of our supporters: I am happy to say the Board of Directors of Indivisible Aurora has agreed to reverse the decision and not cancel the pride parade. The 2019 Aurora Pride Parade is back on!"
The $17,000 was the gap between the group's current fundraising and what it needed to give the city for services and for operational costs to service providers. Indivisible Aurora said the city needed a final decision on the parade by April 30th for police and first responder staffing.
Indivisible Aurora had initially blamed the cancellation on a new city ordinance that increased the costs of the parade alone four times what it was the previous year.
"What has changed, quite frankly, for Indivisible Aurora is just the ferocity, the intensity, the sense of ownership that folks had for this parade," said Adams. "I know that I felt it, I think the mayor felt it as well and led us to continue having conversations to look for a fiscally responsible way forward."
Aurora's 2018 Pride Festival brought an estimated 10,000-12,000 people to the downtown of Illinois' second-largest city, located about an hour west of Chicago. The success of last year's parade inspired similar efforts in other Chicago-area communities.
Indivisible Aurora, the group behind the planned June 9 parade, is now scrambling to raise $17,000 in just two weeks after reversing its decision from last Friday when the event was canceled.
In the first 10 hours since the GoFundMe page launched, over $10,000 dollars had already been raised.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin held a press conference Tuesday alongside Chuck Adams, executive director of Indivisible Aurora. "I'm a firm believer in not giving up and not giving in, especially when it's something you believe in," stated the first-term mayor. "To all of us, to all of our Aurora, to all of our LGBTQ community who spoke with a loud, resounding voice, and all of our supporters: I am happy to say the Board of Directors of Indivisible Aurora has agreed to reverse the decision and not cancel the pride parade. The 2019 Aurora Pride Parade is back on!"
The $17,000 was the gap between the group's current fundraising and what it needed to give the city for services and for operational costs to service providers. Indivisible Aurora said the city needed a final decision on the parade by April 30th for police and first responder staffing.
Indivisible Aurora had initially blamed the cancellation on a new city ordinance that increased the costs of the parade alone four times what it was the previous year.
"What has changed, quite frankly, for Indivisible Aurora is just the ferocity, the intensity, the sense of ownership that folks had for this parade," said Adams. "I know that I felt it, I think the mayor felt it as well and led us to continue having conversations to look for a fiscally responsible way forward."
Aurora's 2018 Pride Festival brought an estimated 10,000-12,000 people to the downtown of Illinois' second-largest city, located about an hour west of Chicago. The success of last year's parade inspired similar efforts in other Chicago-area communities.