Photos From the Editor: Pride in The Park

June 15, 2026

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This weekend is one of the few that I try not to work. My wife, Natalie, and I don’t personally celebrate many holidays, but Pride is one we do.

With so many events scheduled this weekend, I wasn’t able to have everything covered and still take the day off. I started the afternoon with the goal of reporting, but somewhere between the music and the sunshine…

So instead of an article, here is a small personal photo essay. These are some of my favorites from the day, many shot from the blanket where we spent the afternoon soaking up the sun.

Happy Pride

— Ashley RK Smith

She just knows there are bright colors, happy people, and a flag to wave.

During a break in the show, this couple sat together on the grass, deep in conversation.

Roxxxy Andrews, a fan favorite from RuPaul’s Drag Race, had the crowd on their feet.

This person was especially feeling it.

I caught this between booths: the trans pride flag lifting in the wind at just the right moment.

Detox disappeared from the stage mid-song, then reappeared right in the crowd. My wife spotted her first. A little girl in a rainbow skirt lit up, and Detox came right over for a hug.

Robin Fierce, before her set, was just talking to people outside the Circle Care Center booth.

Angelina Fierce, mid-performance, facing the sun. I edited it a little to bring out the backlight and gave it a filmy feel, but mostly the sun did the work.

A quieter corner of the park, mid-afternoon. People sitting, wandering, talking. Just a summer day.

I never caught her name, but she could sing!

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get mid-air shots like this?

The dress, the braids, the flags soft in the background, the sun doing what summer sun does.

Detox, later in the evening. The light hit her red hair, such a great backlight!

Will Beauty performed while this little girl stood at the barrier, completely transfixed. Her mom held her hand the whole time.

I never caught her name. Her look was pretty dramatic, so I pulled the color out and let the light do the rest.

Every performance at Pride in the Park had an ASL interpreter, and every single one of them was feeling it. This one was interpreting for Roxxxy Andrews.

Angelina Fierce, mid-note. The boa, the light, the profile. Everything landed at once.

Will Beauty sang “Reflection,” from Mulan, and followed with “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid.

Songs that touch on the sorrow of realizing you can’t always be the person the world expects you to be, and the longing to be loved for who you actually are.