Aurora Keeps the Spirit of Pride Alive
ONE-ON-ONE WITH ZANDER OKLAR by Denny Patterson
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hanks to the unfortunate COVID-19 pandemic, we will not be able to party together this year at Aurora Pride. However, even though we can’t hit the beach and soak up some sun, event organizers are doing whatever they can to ensure that the spirit of Pride stays alive for Aurora’s diverse community. OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat with Zander Oklar, Aurora Pride’s executive director. No stranger to coordinating and hosting events, he talked with us about what Aurora Pride has in store for the future, the challenges of organizing an event during these times, how Aurora Pride is responding to troubling allegations against the police, and more on their Out in Aurora initiative that will be held throughout September.
Hi, Zander! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me. How are you coping during these unprecedented times? It has definitely been a struggle trying to adapt to these situations. I have always worked from home, so that hasn’t been a big change, but just kind of dealing with the circumstances around the crisis has been a challenge. From having to forego our normal, festival-style event into trying to plan new, smaller events that fit into the whole health department regulations so that we can ensure that we have safe events for people, that has been challenging, especially because the information that we are receiving from the city and health department is changing constantly. 2 2 \\ S E P T E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 0
I think we are on the ninth revised edition of the Safer at Home order here in Colorado, and that order didn’t even come out until near the end of May. So, it’s like every week or two. The second we think we found safe solutions, we have to adapt to another change. Just figuring out how to adapt to new situations constantly has been our biggest struggle, but also, because we are event organizers, we’re used to kind of rolling with the punches. So, I think we are a little bit better equipped to deal with this than maybe some other industries.
Even though this year’s Aurora Pride has been canceled due to the COVID pandemic, how can we still celebrate? We like to say that Aurora Pride didn’t get canceled, just our festival did. We are still staying proud. We are still trying to support the LGBTQ community in whatever ways that we can. We know that our community especially has additional challenges that other communities may not deal with, so we are still actively brainstorming ways that we can involve the community. One of our ideas, and something that has come to fruition: we are going to be hosting an initiative throughout the month of September called the Out in Aurora program. Basically, we are partnering with a bunch of inclusive and accepting local businesses in Aurora, and we are working on a social mediainspired scavenger hunt of sorts. We are giving you a list of different businesses
that you can visit. Then, you pick the business you want to visit, and the business offers some sort of deal. Buy one, get one drink 20 percent off, something like that. When you visit the business, you take a picture of the business, tag the business and our Aurora Pride Colorado hashtagand social media channels ; then you will be entered to win all sorts of different prizes. There will be prizes for people who visit the most businesses, the people who have the best Pride gear on in their photos, the best Prideful kids; we are working on doing a bunch of really creative prizes and competitions so that we can not only engage the LGBTQ community of Aurora and get them out and about socializing in a safe manner, but also to show these people in the Aurora community that there are businesses out there that are open, supportive, and accepting. We think it’s those kinds of businesses that really need some extra support right now during COVID, so this is our way to support queer- or ally-owned businesses and also to help all the people all throughout Aurora who are feeling cooped up at home. This is a way for them to get out and support a good cause.
I know other future plans aren’t set in stone, but what other hints can you give us? We are working alongside the drag community in Denver, and we are working on a way to bring their beauty and glory to a larger audience, hopefully
