The 14th Annual Rainbows Festival & Street Fair in Phoenix attracted thousands of LGBT community members, families and supporters for the festivities this weekend. The festival, held annually in Heritage Square Park in downtown, is the second largest LGBTQ event in the state Arizona, so as expected, there was a whole lot of glitter and rainbows.
Before entering, many people had to strut past the vibe-killing, “God Hates You!” sign-holding squad before getting to the actual festival. Not too many folks let that stop them from enjoying what they came for: freebies, fellowship and fierceness.
The fun-filled weekend did not lack in entertainment. On the Main Stage, talented stars such as Robbie Winehouse, Divine Chaos Tribal Fusion, Amber Dirks, Kevin Love and the Phoenix Phollies slayed the scene with their glamorous presences.
Some of the mega-highlights of the Main Stage included an impersonator of pop queen, Pink, who performed some of her biggest hits including “Try” and “U + Ur Hand.” It’s not even hard to admit that the performer gave Pink some legitimate competition.
Yes the *queen* is back for a second slay session #Pink #RainbowsFestivalphx pic.twitter.com/um4no5W70b
— Kayla King-Sumner (@kaylakingsumner) October 19, 2015
Another impersonator of R&B songstress, Ciara, had a woman whispering to me, “Is that the real Ciara?” while squinting away in confusion. The talented entertainer pop, locked and dropped all while flawlessly lip-synching all of Ciara’s most famous tracks, such as “Like A Boy.” Just before leaving the stage, the performer busted out some smooth throwback moves with a Ciara rendition of Michael Jackson’s hit-jam “Bad.”
Someone asked "Is that the real Ciara?".. No ma'am it is not, but it's a good close second #RainbowsFestivalphx pic.twitter.com/lyQF23xSmJ
— Kayla King-Sumner (@kaylakingsumner) October 19, 2015
To top off the phenomenal show, local superstar Apollo Tobias stunned the crowd with his live presentation of “The Janet Project.” Tobias lip-synched one of Janet’s latest singles “No Sleep” featuring J. Cole. The project was started a few years ago as a dance music video, and attendees of the festival got a generous taste of how awesome it was.
The Janet Project from Dos Rios on Vimeo.
On the Community Stage, Karime, Meschelle Hornstein, Karime and Miss and Mister Phoenix Pride kept the party jumpin’. Performers included DJ Matt Fox, DJ Eclair, Divas on Demand, Yaymee K & Maggs and King’s Kourt.
The Rainbows Festival is big deal in Phoenix, and major pride events like this allow the LGBT community to beautifully grow and thrive in unison, especially in a red state like Arizona.
Over the weekend, Arizona showed off the very best of the best fabulous Phoenicians, who were just as bright as the calm sunshine that beamed down onto the Rainbows Festival.
Fore more information on the Rainbows Festival and future LGBTQ events in Arizona, click here.
Related links:
Living With Pride: What coming out means to me
Reach the reporter at kkingsum@asu.edu or follow @kaylakingsumner on Twitter.
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