photo by: Derek Redd

From left, Mariah Miller and Dakota Gonzalez from Wheeling talk with volunteers Cecily Powell-Spangler and Renee Fuller during Pride On The Plaza at Wheeling’s Heritage Port.

As a transgender man, Wheeling Park High School student Levi Powell doesn’t always feel welcome around West Virginia. He looks at some of the laws being passed by the West Virginia Legislature – including the Riley Gaines Act, which for the first time defines the terms “man” and “woman” in state code by a person’s biological sex – and that feeling only gets amplified.

Yet as he walked with friends and family around the third-annual Pride On The Plaza at Wheeling’s Heritage Port, he found a feeling of comfort and inclusiveness. While he doesn’t always feel welcome in West Virginia, he felt that in Wheeling, there was a large group of people who wanted him to know he belonged.

“It’s great to see it grow, it’s great to see more people show up and it’s great to see the word spread,” Powell said. “To have the community come together and bring an outlet, it’s a way that everybody knows they have a place, especially young, queer folks who see what’s happening in government and they’re scared and don’t know where to go.”

Pride On The Plaza offered even more entertainment for attendees this year in its new spot in Heritage Port. It moved there, said Mikaya Green, chair of the Friendlier City Project, because its growing popularity required it. In each successive year, she said, it has grown bigger to a point where the previous site couldn’t hold it any more.

This year added even more features to the festival. Along with the craft and food vendors that have always been a part of the event, this year featured live bands, as well as a display of squares from the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Other staples of the festival returned as well, including volunteers offering “mom hugs” to attendees and booths set up throughout the site offering educational information on a variety of subjects.

Green said one of the most important aspects of the festival was to celebrate – to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, to celebrate inclusivity and friendship and to celebrate the joy of coming together under a common bond.

“We’re here celebrating queer joy in Wheeling, West Virginia, and I think that’s so important,” Green said. “It shows that we’re here and we’re here to stay. Despite what’s happening with the political climate, it’s always going to be here, that safe space for everybody.

“And as everyone can see, it just continues to grow,” she added. “And that makes me feel a lot better.”

It makes Levi Powell’s mother Tiffany Powell feel better, too. The last thing she wants for her son is to feel alienated or like he doesn’t belong. Events like Pride On The Plaza create that space for Levi and other LGBTQ+ people to feel comfortable to be themselves.

“It’s overwhelming,” Tiffany Powell said. “He comes here and he sees that people accept him and love him and respect him for who he is, what he’s about, and they don’t try to dismiss him or erase him.

“It’s overwhelming,” she added. “It’s heartwarming and I appreciate every single person that comes out and shows him that he’s worth it.”