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Emily Dvareckas/The Hawks' Herald

Decorated tables lined the Commons Tent with queer and trans information and resources.

On April 12, tie-dye, donuts and a mechanical unicorn were front and center in the Commons Tent for the first day of SAGA’s (Sexuality and Gender Alliance) Pride Week. The colorful event Queerfest was the first event in a week-long series dedicated to a celebration for the LGBTQ community.

Pride Week and Queerfest are held around the world as a way to celebrate acceptance and destigmatization for queer and trans identities. Pride parades usually take place toward the end of the month of June, which serves as Pride Month.

Marina Sprague, Vice President of SAGA, is excited for the week.

“This is my first Queerfest so I am really excited; I never knew there was such a thing as a mechanical unicorn,” Sprague said. “We have lots of cool stuff planned and I’m hoping we get a lot of participation!”

The Presto Strango Coffee Co. truck, a campus favorite, was parked outside the Recreation Center and offered students a variety of lemonades, such as lavender, cotton candy and coffee. Inside the tent, event-goers were able to grab a donut decorated with a colorful rainbow from the Beehive Cafe.

“Tie-dye is always super fun and you can’t go wrong with free food, but the best part was being able to see people I hadn’t in a really long time,” said Makayla DeCesare, a junior who attended Queerfest.

Decorated tables lined the tent, each holding queer and trans information and resources, as well as masks, hand sanitizers and pride flags. White T-shirts embossed with the logo for Pride Week were available for students to tie-dye.

Executive Secretary of SAGA Emily Sgritta is thrilled about the week-long series.

“We get to show off our queerness and really celebrate what makes us who we are,” Sgritta said.

SAGA’s Pride Week consists of Coming Out to Fairy Lights on Tuesday, April 13, then a lecture with Wade Davis on Wednesday, April 14, followed by Queer Beats on WQRI and LGBTQ+ Alphabet Soup on Thursday, April 15. The series ends with Drag Bingo on Friday, April 16.

More information for the series can be found on SAGA’s HawkLink page and Instagram page @rwusaga.