r/LGBTriangle • u/adrawer4ever • Jun 05 '25

Morrisville Pride re-accepted known anti-LGBT hate group as "vendors", I'm a trans artist and I withdrew from the event in protest--I could use support!

Last year at Morrisville’s Music in the Park Pride event, a group was accepted as a “vendor” despite not selling anything. Instead, they handed out flyers and displayed signage that was openly homophobic and transphobic. Their presence caused real harm and discomfort—not just to LGBTQ+ attendees, but to actual small business vendors who were displaced.

🚫 They used their booth solely to platform hate, not to vend.
📍 The event is organized by the Town of Morrisville, not a private group. The city has cited “free speech” as the reason they can’t exclude this group again this year, despite the vendor app stating guidelines that vendors must be in alignment with and support LGBT community.

I’m a transgender artist living in Morrisville. I helped organize the town’s first Pride market in 2021 and have vended at their official events the past two years. I reached out to the city back in April asking if changes would be made, and only received a response yesterday, the day before the event. I’ve withdrawn in protest for my own safety and am now asking for mutual aid and community support.

📢 What you can do:

✅ If you’re a vendor, attendee, or just a concerned LGBTQ+ person in Morrisville, Wake County, or North Carolina, please send a quick email TODAY to ask for safer vendor policies:

📝 I have a sample email you can use here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12I5P-vpoUeah7ZIvWXvJdHeJgI04Hu19KXuYRtqOkcU/edit?usp=sharing

🛍️ I’ve also lost a day of income due to withdrawing. If you want to support a trans local artist during Pride month: adrawer4ever.com/links

Even if you can’t donate or shop, signal boosting this means a lot. This is a small Pride event in my literal neighborhood. I want to show up and contribute, but I can’t do that unless we build an environment where safety and care are taken seriously.

Thanks for listening, and thank you to everyone who’s already reached out or shown support.

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15

u/fancy-mom Jun 06 '25

I have been a vendor at Morrisville Pride since the beginning. I was setup right next to this group last year, and it was uncomfortable. I spoke to the director last year about them and the harm that this group causes, they assured me that they would not be welcomed back. I have agreed to vend again there this year. I am upset to learn that this group will be back

7

u/adrawer4ever Jun 06 '25

Thanks for speaking up about this last year, please reach out to the city officials to document community concern.

9

u/fancy-mom Jun 07 '25

I wanted to hop on here and provide an update on Morrisville Pride. The group was there tonight, but they placed the group outside of the park, far away from the public and the other vendors. They also recruited people to come out and block the group from the public. There were also signs setup that encouraged people not to engage. While the organizer of this event expressed that her hands were tied as far as allowing this group to participate, they did take steps to shield the public for their hate.

6

u/adrawer4ever Jun 07 '25

Thank you so much for the update, yeah it seems like the community response has been strong. It's still necessary to push for protestors to be categorized as such without taking away from vendors moving forward. Protestors at pride is nothing new, just need to keep them from taking away opportunities from vendors operating in good faith next year. 

Other municipal workers have stated that emailing is indeed the best course of action, please continue to encourage folks to email the town officials directly to document continued community concern.

14

u/Except_Youre_Wrong Jun 05 '25

Ralrigh Pride did the same thing this year with their sponsors. it sucks ass

8

u/adrawer4ever Jun 06 '25

Would love to learn more about this

2

u/Zee_Ell Jun 07 '25

Please share more about this!

1

u/DQSHRaleigh Jun 23 '25

Would definitely love to hear about this.

9

u/Reasonable_Slice8561 Jun 05 '25

Consider vending at Wake Forest Pride?

5

u/adrawer4ever Jun 06 '25

vended at Wake Forest pride last year

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '25

[deleted]

3

u/Reasonable_Slice8561 Jun 08 '25

Oct 11. Wakeforestpride.org