Annapolis, Md. might not be the largest, oldest, or boldest Pride parade, but organizers have secured some top-shelf talent.
Fashion designer Christian Siriano will be returning to his hometown on June 1 to act as grand marshal of this year’s parade. Millions know him from his social media reach and for dressing celebrities like Zendaya, Coco Rocha and Cynthia Erivo.
Siriano, the winner of the fourth season of “Project Runway,” won’t be the only familiar face that parade-goers will recognize from TV. The singer L. Rodgers from NBC’s “The Voice” will perform, during the entertainment part of the festivities. Born in Baltimore, Rodgers is not just an Americana/Soul artist and Reba McEntire favorite, but also a women’s rights advocate. As a former “American Idol” contestant, she continues to use her platform to support the LGBTQAI+ community, as has Siriano for years. “People Are People,” the name of an exhibition of Siriano’s designs that are on view at the Brooks Museum in Memphis through Aug. 4, reflects his inclusivity.
The logo for the Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival was designed by Kendall Brandt.
Image Courtesy Annapolis Pride Parade
The fourth annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival will kick off at noon and is expected to wind down five hours later. This year’s crowd is seen topping 10,000 — compared to 7,500 last year, according to parade spokesman Ray Feldmann. “We’ve never had a grand marshal of the stature and reputation of Christian Siriano,” he said. “Between Christian Siriano and L. Rodgers, every year the parade gets larger and larger.”
However accomplished Siriano is, parade organizers turned to a local designer to create this year’s T-shirt for the Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival. Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley and Annapolis Pride board chair Joe Toolan unveiled the logo last week. Graphic designer Kendall Brandt of the Annapolis-based Liquified Agency created the colorful “Anchored With Pride” insignia. Feldmann said, “We don’t expect Chistian Siriano to design anything for us. We wish, right?”
Another hyper-localized element will be a parade route that will start at the City Docks and traverse along historic Main Street for the first time. Given the parade’s popularity and strong turnout, local business owners asked that the parade be realigned so that they might benefit, too. Hobo, Helly Hansen and the Annapolis Shirt Company are among the retailers there.
Home to the U.S. Naval Academy, which was established in 1845, Annapolis has long been known as a naval town and the parade organizers welcome all. “In the past two years, the parade-goers have skewed younger with many middle school, high school and college students who come to the parade and feel love, acceptance and belonging that they may not feel in other places — in school, at home and community. To see so many of them show up, with their faces painted, wearing Pride colors and hanging out with each other having fun, that is the most rewarding aspect of this,” Feldmann said.
That said, Annapolis Pride embraces having law enforcement, naval captains, midshipmen and others come to the parade and festival, Feldmann said. “We’ve never had a moment of protest or anyone saying that they opposed having the parade and festival in Annapolis. So we’re thrilled. That’s why it continues to grow, because it’s been so uniformly accepted — no pun intended.”
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