By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
When Gwen Andrix and Amy Jo Holland moved together to Bowling Green in 2011 they wanted to find out a way to reach out to the community. They had met in Columbus while working on the Freedom Ohio campaign to repeal the state constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. So they decided to host a Pride Picnic. ”It was our way of connecting with the community,” Andrix said.
They established a FaceBook event page. The first picnic attracted about 60 people, and in each of the two intervening years have drawn a about 100.
The fourth Pride Picnic will be held, rain or shine, Saturday, Sept. 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in City Park, in and around the Kiwanis Shelter.
The idea behind the event is simple: “It’s a chance for the community to get together and have an enjoyable time,” Andrix said. That community, she said, includes everyone. “It’s not just the LGBT community, but the community at large. … It’s all about families.”
As in previous years, Andrix and Holland will supply the hamburgers, hot dogs and buns. Several area pizza shops and other businesses are providing food, and everyone is asked to bring a dish to share. Also, people attending are asked to bring a nonperishable food item to donate to the Brown Bag Food project. Holland founded the charity which provides emergency food and other necessities. Andrix is a board member. Also, when possible, leftover food will be shared with Brown Bag clients.
Holland said based on the response on Facebook even more people are expected to attend this year.
The couple organized the community vigil this summer in response to the attack on an Orlando night club. At the vigil, the picnic was mentioned, and that made more people aware of it.
For the couple, the picnic celebrates a community that has become their home.
“I do feel good about this community,” Andrix said. “That’s what I like about Bowling Green, the sense of community. I’ve made a lot of friends. It’s a safe place.”
Holland grew up in Bowling Green and graduated from Bowling Green High School. Andrix grew up in Westerville. Even before moving here with Holland she had a favorable opinion of the city because of the passage of anti-discrimination ordinances and the subsequent vote that turned back an attempt to repeal of them. “It was a really good thing people in Bowling Green did,” she said.
The support from the business community for the Pride Picnic is indicative of that sense of community. Among those contributing to the picnic are: Chipotle, Grounds for Thought, Starbucks, Vito’s, Pisanello’s, Marco’s, Campus Pollyeyes, The Cookie Jar, Ginny’s Inspired Fashions, The Alehouse Grill, Walmart, Jimmy John’s and Sandy Rowland.
The First Presbyterian Church will present children’s activities.
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