Nearly 1200 Attend Reston Pride Festival

RESTON, VA -- Nearly 1,200 people attended the first-ever Reston Pride festival over the weekend at Unitarian Universalist Church in Reston on Wiehle Avenue.

UUCR and 21 community organizations, faith institutions, and community businesses spent 10 months planning the festival, Rev. Dr. Debra W. Haffner told Patch.

The event, which took place all day on Saturday, featured 35 performers, 35 exhibitors, food and music, local politicians, and faith leaders. The event had more than 60 volunteers.

"I moved here two years ago to become the minister at UUCR. I asked when Pride was," Haffner said. "They told me it was in DC or Manassas. I thought it was time for Reston to have its own festival."

The goal of the festival was for the greater Reston community to "support and celebrate its LGBTQ community," Haffner said in a statement prior to the event.

Haffner said she hopes to make the festival an annual tradition.

The event featured Mama Celeste as the emcee, who the statement describes as "one of the up and coming drag performance artists in the Bay Area."

UUCR describes itself as a "progressive, vibrant, and active congregation serving individuals and families in Reston, Herndon, and surrounding areas."

Image via UUCR