Photo credit: Milwaukee Pride
Following the postponement of this year’s PrideFest, the LGBTQ community’s annual summer festival due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, Milwaukee Pride announced a digital version of the event’s popular Health & Wellness Area.
Instituted in 2010 in collaboration with Diverse & Resilient, Milwaukee’s capacity building organization, the PrideFest Health & Wellness Area has since become one of the LGBTQ lakefront celebration’s main attractions. Broadening PrideFest’s scope beyond traditional festival entertainment and food and drink, the Health & Wellness Area’s focus is on promoting health and healthy life behaviors specific to LGBTQ lifestyle and needs. Participants range from clinics and sports associations to social groups and arts organizations. All engaged visitors by offering activities rather than simply hand out literature. Visitors were given a “passport” that was then stamped as they progressed through the Health & Wellness Area and participated in various activities. A full passport allowed them to participate in a drawing for a bicycle.
In its early years, located opposite the main entry gate, the area greeted festival goers as they arrived. There, situated around a central green space, dozens of organizations representing community resources offered visitors information and the tools to help them with their health needs. Those included a full spectrum of activities from health trivia contests and safer sex instruction to country-western dancing and creating art. On the green itself, hosted by GAMMA and the Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Association, volleyball games took place.
|
|
In its inaugural year, the BestD Clinic HIV testing tent processed nearly 700 tests. In subsequent years, Diverse & Resilient would offer off-site testing incentives to accommodate those individuals who might not feel comfortable being tested at the festival.
According to Milwaukee Pride President Wes Shaver, the Health & Wellness Area’s 2021 innovative digital iteration “creates free opportunities for organizations and community resources to create a comprehensive listing that will live online 365 days a year; in addition, there’s no cost to readers, access is available to anyone at any time.”
Shaver further cited the opportunity for all involved to break down barriers of accessibility for health services. “LGBTQ and underserved people face unjust and inequitable systems daily. This digital space creates a space of equality, where everyone gets a seat at the table.”
The application for participants may be found on the Pridefest website.
