Alamance Pride began Oct. 15, 2015.
For drag queen Stormie Daie, who has hosted Alamance Pride since its creation, reaching a milestone of 10 years is something deeply personal. She said she remembers the first afternoon when the crowd came together.
“The first one, we were under threat of gun violence that day,” Daie said. “But Alamance Pride has always been like a ley line or an energy drawing, I think, for the queer and marginalized and progressive of Alamance County.”
Ten years later, Daie described the growth as something almost spiritual.
“It feels like those bulbs you plant in the winter or that plant that comes back every year,” she said. “And every year it comes back bigger and more beautiful.”
Drag queen Stormie Daie reads a children book to parents and kids at Alamance Pride on Oct. 4 at the Historic Depot in downtown Burlington
For Elon junior Rosie Fyffe, who has attended for the past three years, Pride's longevity shows how much stronger the community has become.
“It's awesome it's been here for 10 years, and they need to stay,” Fyffe said. “They need to keep doing what they're doing.”
Elon sophomore Finn Hughes, who was attending for the first time, shared a similar feeling.
“I’m able to see that I have a community and I'm not alone,” Hughes said. “Being a student and having this be sort of accessible to me and closer to me, and an option that I can actually go to without having to go out of my way, especially for my first pride, I think it's really great.”
Local resident Dawn Rosa, who has been attending for over five years, said they have been able to see the evolution of Alamance Pride.
“It's like a found family coming together for me to attend Pride,” Rosa said. “I'm just so glad to be with my partner, having him expand himself as well as me, and just to see the drag queens and all the art forms coming together.”
Performers also felt the weight of the event. Xielle Atkinson, a member of Elon University’s Twisted Measure a cappella group, said being part of the celebration felt historic.
“It's honestly astounding and amazing that it has such longevity, and I hope that it continues for 10, 20, 30 years,” Atkinson said.“I hope it continues forever because it is such a beautiful thing.”
Drag king S.S. Byrdie, who returned to perform for his second year at the Alamance Pride drag show, said visibility is very important.
“Being able to come together, even if it is just for one day or a weekend, everyone coming together, expressing their love,” Byrdie said. “We all come from different backgrounds, and it's beautiful that we can all come together in community to celebrate.”
For Daie, 10 years of Pride is more than just a milestone; it's a testament to the endurance, visibility and love that community has shown over a decade.
“It's really beautiful to see that, as a community of queer people in the South, in a small town, we can come together and create these moments for people to come together and give recognition,” Daie said