Saturday’s Pride celebration in Redding was filled with music, dancing, creativity, and color. 🌈🩷✨
But perhaps more than anything, it was filled with joy.
There were performers who brought both artistry and humor to the stage. There were people in butterfly wings and rainbow socks rolling through the crowd. There were families, friends, longtime allies, and first-time attendees. Young people and older adults. People expressing themselves boldly and others simply enjoying the day.
What struck me most was not any single performance or outfit. It was the sense of belonging. The feeling that people could simply exhale and show up as themselves.
And perhaps that is one of the beautiful things Pride offers. Not just visibility. Not just celebration. But belonging.
Throughout the afternoon I kept thinking about how much courage it takes for some people to simply live openly. To tell the truth about who they are. To refuse to hide.
And I also thought about how much healing can happen when people are welcomed, celebrated and reminded that they are not alone.
There was laughter. There was music. There was art and creativity. There were butterfly wings, roller skates, rainbow eyelashes, and more creativity than I could possibly capture in photographs.
And beneath all of it was something beautifully human.
People wanting what we all want.
To love and be loved. To belong. To shine.
Because we are all meant to shine. 🌻🌈💗✨
We Are All Meant to Shine! 
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