Chesapeake Pride Festival celebrates diversity | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

The Glen Burnie couple attended the ninth annual Chesapeake Pride Festival Saturday afternoon at the county fairgrounds, an event designed to bring together members of the gay and lesbian community.

The event was expected to bring in between 650 and 700 attendees on the scorching July afternoon.

The fairgrounds were alive with entertainment, peppered with rainbows on everything from flags to shirts, and about 40 vendors selling jewelry, clothing and food.

For many of the attendees, including Mr. Latimer and Mr. Ballengee, the event was a chance to be themselves.

"We can get together, we can be who we are … We can be comfortable," Mr. Ballengee said. The two sat holding hands in matching lawn chairs as they listened to an entertainer.

It's not something they could do at Marley Station Mall, or Westfield Annapolis, because they'd get looked at strangely, they said. But on the fairgrounds "we can relate to everybody," Mr. Latimer said.

The Rev. Wayne Schwandt, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Chesapeake in Annapolis, is credited with founding the event.

Saturday, his church had photo opportunities with two bridal dresses and two tuxedos that people could stand behind and have a photo taken.

"They cooked this up as a kind of fun thing to do," he said, pointing at the photo spot, where two women were being photographed - one behind the dress and one behind a tuxedo.

And early in the day, the Rev. Schwandt performed a blessing of relationships.

"We believe in equality and the diversity of creation," he said.

His church wants to celebrate all people and help them feel good about who they are. The church was one of more than 30 sponsors of the festival.

The event has grown each year, with new sponsors and vendors attending - a sign of support for the community, he said.

"It's just nice for the community to be able to gather and celebrate our relationships, our love, our lives," the Rev. Schwandt said.

The festival brings in mostly local people, but some come from outside the county to participate.

Jim Miller, of Columbia, said it was his first year attending the festival, but he had been to a similar event in Baltimore.

"I think it's important for us to see other gay people" and to see that gay people are like everybody else, he said.

Chris Gibson came to the event from Prince William County in Virginia. He had attended one in Washington, D.C., and liked the county's event.

"I think it's more of a community event for gay, lesbian and transgender people," he said. "It's a way for everyone to get together."