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Chesapeake residents to start Pride in the 'Peake

Organizers want the event to be a safe space for the LGBTQIA community they say Chesapeake has been missing.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Two Chesapeake residents are hoping to bring some pride to the city this weekend.

“We just want to connect people together," said one of the organizers, Amber Bowmer. "That’s our ultimate goal.”

Bowmer and co-organizer Jeremy Rodden plan to connect the LGBTQ+ community with resources at Courtyard Park in Chesapeake Saturday. It's called Pride in the ‘Peake, which they hope will begin a new pride tradition in the city. It’s a dream Bowmer says she’s finally making a reality.

“A lot for the youth, specifically, have a great need for support and love… just to feel welcome and seen,” Bowmer said.

Roughly 20 organizations will sit by Chesapeake City Hall to share their resources with people. They want to provide a space for the community to celebrate pride closer to home.

“We talked to so many families, who were excited to find out that they don’t have to go to Norfolk or Virginia Beach or Portsmouth or Suffolk to find a space that accepts them as they are,” Rodden said.

Rodden said it’s necessary for many families, especially his.

“As a parent of a trans teenager myself, it was something I took as a personal need for my own family not just for other families,” he said.

Rodden hopes this event will educate and provide a safe space, but he also wants everyone from each part of the city to gather and meet each other.

“They don’t know a family in Western Branch doesn’t know that there’s a family in Greenbrier that’s going through a lot of the challenges they are," Rodden said. "If we can connect them, it can be infinitely valuable.”

The event starts at 1 p.m. Organizers said volunteers and vendors are still welcome to attend.

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