Prism Health North Texas, an LGBTQ-focused health facility and community center, is set to host its first annual Texas Trans Pride event on Sept. 30.
The event is promised to be a celebration of transgender identity and an opportunity for transgender and gender non-conforming persons to come out and express themselves as they see fit, organizer Shalissa said.
“I feel like anytime we have trans holidays or trans events, [it’s] always in remembrance or awareness but never a full-out celebration,” they added. “We’re trying to create an event that is an opportunity to uplift and celebrate the trans community here in Dallas and across Texas.”
Major celebrations in the LGBTQ community of transgender folks are in the form of Trans Day of Remembrance or Trans Awareness Day. For Shalissa, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, they want this upcoming event to be joyous, especially at a time when transgender people, particularly in Dallas, face consistent attacks.
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“People want to uplift us and talk about how great we are, but we’re not getting it while we’re alive,” they said. “So this is an opportunity for us as a community to come together and celebrate the trans community and help lift the folks in our area.”
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
The event will be held at Station 4 in Dallas in the city’s historic Oak Lawn neighborhood. Recognized by the Texas Historical Commission for its significance, Oak Lawn is also known as “The Crossroads” or the “Gayborhood” and is a safe space for the LGBTQ community in North Texas.
Trans performers from across Texas and the country will perform live beginning at 7 p.m. Additionally, Kerri Colby, drag artist and contestant from RuPaul’s Drag Race will also perform and host a meet and greet. The show is free though Shalissa encourages attendees to bring tips for the performers.
Texas Trans Pride will also host a resource fair from 7 p.m. to midnight which will have a variety of free items and information including gender-affirming clothes and garments for trans and gender non-conforming folks. The event will also have STD testing on-site.
After the evening’s performances, the evening will conclude with a dance party. Food trucks will also be on site.
For Shalissa, organizing this event and having it accessible to everyone is important to them.
“We’re trying to make this as accessible as possible to as many people as possible,” they said. “We want this to be an event where anyone feels welcome to celebrate and welcome to attend. And then on top of that, we just want to create a space that’s affirming for anyone.”
For more information on the event or to donate, visit Prism's page for the event at TXTransPride.org.
