This Sunday, Petersburg is set to hold its first LGBT pride event, spearheaded by a man who celebrated his wedding in 2015 with a big parade through the city.
“The local community supports the LGBT community,” says David “DJ” Payne, owner of restaurants Wabi Sabi and DJ’s Rajun Cajun with his husband, Lance Harrison. “I wanted to show them we appreciate the support as much they appreciated us, which is why we did this.”
Petersburg Out & Proud will take place at DJ's Rajun Cajun, 309 N. Sycamore St., from noon to 6 p.m. for all ages with food vendors, face-painting and a bounce house for children, a drag show and performances from acts such as DJ Jammin’ Jimmy, Sayer McShane and the Richmond Men’s and Women’s Chorus. The party will continue until 10 p.m. for those 21 and older.
Mikey Fuller, a Petersburg resident for 11 years, is one of several committee members collaborating with Payne on the event. He says the idea was first talked about in September 2016, when he and other activists in Petersburg's LGBTQ community traveled to a similar event in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where Payne was heavily involved in the planning.
“We thought, 'Why not do something in Petersburg and help our own community?' ” Fuller says. “This idea started then, but then got put on the back burner since everyone was too busy. ... But six weeks ago, max, we got together and decided to just do it.”
Since then, the team has hit the ground running. According to Fuller, the event page on Facebook has been shared thousands of times. Organizations such as Serenity, James House, Equality Virginia and other groups focused on serving LGBTQ people signed on to work with Petersburg Out & Proud.
Despite the fast-paced planning of the festival, Payne says it has been “the easiest, smoothest event I have ever planned — smoother than my wedding, I’d say.”
Though the festival falls just six days before the larger Virginia’s Pride event in Richmond on Sept. 23, both Fuller and Payne say there was never any issue of overlap or competition for vendors and resources.
“I only have so much space, so it’s a smaller, more intimate, community-based event by nature and by intent” Payne says. “Love wins — that’s our phrase — so I wanted to show [the community] we appreciate the support as much they appreciated us, which is why we did this."
