Hamilton, Ohio – The Fitton Center returns to Hamilton Pride Saturday, June 3, with a new craft experience for the city’s annual celebration of the LQBTQ+ community.
The engagement team joins the festival portion of Hamilton Pride from noon to 6 p.m. in Marcum Park. Events of the day also include the Pride March - stepping off from Riverside Park at 11 a.m. - and the Pride Concert at 6 p.m. at Riversedge.
“I love the energy,” said Caroline Digiovenale, Fitton Center education and community experience coordinator, preparing for her second craft booth at Hamilton Pride. “We get a lot bigger variety of people. We get the usual moms and kids, but at Pride we also get older kids, teens, young people, adults, seniors. Everybody.
“It’s so energetic. It’s so colorful. It’s a very happy event and people are glad to be there and really celebrate this incredible community.”
The crowd enjoyed the effort last year, creating more than 500 rainbow ribbon twirlers.
“We would have done even more, but we ran out of supplies,” Digiovenale said. “I honestly didn’t even get to see much of the rest of Pride, we were so busy. The only time I left the tent was to go back to the Fitton Center for more supplies.”
This year, the team plans to make 700 words-of-affirmation bracelets.
“It’s a more subtle craft we’re doing this year,” Digiovenale said. “Not everything has to be rainbow to be pride. This is something people can make and wear that’s really personal to them. Pride is an everyday thing, not just one Saturday in June.”
Guests will use a small hammer and lettering tools to stamp metal charms with their words of affirmation and string them up into bracelets. Of course there will be plenty of ways to add flair – think ribbons and beads - to the basic design.
Digiovenale said the inclusivity Pride celebrates matters.
“There have been so many years and decades the LGBTQ+ community has been treated as an ‘other,’” she said. “They are welcome at any event we do – everybody is. But to have an event specifically for them that’s safe and fun and appreciative – and a craft that specifically celebrates their impact – that’s really important.”
Want to get involved? Digiovenale still needs volunteers to assist in the Fitton Center booth. Take a one-hour shift, work all six hours of the festival or anything in between. Snacks and water provided. Contact Caroline at 513-863-8873 ext. 136 or write caroline@fittoncenter.org for more information and to register.
The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.
Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture
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