The sky was gray, and here and there you could feel the slight drizzle of rain. Despite the gloom, a bright rainbow shone out from the doors of Royal Brougham Pavilion.
On Friday, May 24, members of SPU’s Haven club set up the Pavilion with rainbow balloons, flags and tables soon to be covered in all kinds of knickknacks and snacks for 2024’s [Redacted] Festival, or as it was originally meant to be called, Pride Fest.
In a stream of controversies, the Haven team had to consider a few problems when naming the event. Carrie Cox is the current president of Haven.
“There were two main concerns that were voiced over the original name ‘Pride Fest.’ Seattle does a Pride Fest, and so it might be confused with Seattle’s Pride Fest.” Cox said. “A second concern was that the name ‘Pride’ might attract hate groups, which would be a security concern.”
Despite all the controversy with the name, the Haven team powered on and gave the festivity the ironic name of “[Redacted] Fest.”
“I think it’s been a pretty effective marketing campaign,” Cox said, “because people have certainly been curious as to what [Redacted] Fest is.”
On the night of the event, guests from all over Seattle set up individual tables filled with goodies. Guests from places like the Human Rights Campaign of Seattle, POCAAN + PNW Black Pride, the Lambert House, Newport Presbyterian and more showed up with flyers, stickers and pins to hand out.
“This event is really about celebrating our students and making a fun space,” Cox said. “There’s free food, free donuts, performances from student bands and resource booths that will get [students] connected to local queer resources.”
By 5:00 p.m., students started rolling in, grabbing name tags from the front and making their way into the gym, where they grabbed tamales and perused the many wares given out by the resource tables. Craft tables were set up across the gym, and students from all walks of life sat down to either color, create rainbows out of ropes or paint a cooler. In light of this bustling collection of the community, the head of vocal studies, Jan Nelson, spoke of her hopes for the outcome of the event.
“There’s a big community of people, both queer and ally, who love each other, who want to be seen and valued and celebrated as a part of SPU’s larger community and want to keep each other safe and cared for,” Nelson said. “What I hope for, with this event, is that we are reminded that we are here and we are a part of the fabric of SPU.”
A little while later, students moved to the front of the gym as the first band was called to the stage. For the night’s entertainment, two bands would rock the stage: Clover and Avec Anne, both made up of SPU students. Second-year music therapy major Aidan McFarland expressed his excitement for one of the bands performing that night.
“I’m probably most excited for Clover’s performance; I’m especially excited to see what songs they picked for the set,” McFarland said.
Despite SPU’s controversial run-ins with the LGBTQ+ community on campus, students push for solidarity across campus. AJ Setala, a second-year Spanish major and Haven club member, commented on their hopes for the event.
“I really hope it just makes people feel seen and included. It’s easy to forget there are queer people outside of your friend group or the ones you associate with every day, but especially bringing in a broader support network from the vendors to the affirming churches and all of the students, staff, and faculty, gives a great perspective on how many people are willing to affirm and show up for you,” Setala said.
SPU’s Royal Brougham Pavilion was teeming with queer joy and affirmation. [Redacted] Fest became a booming success despite all the hardships that surrounded its creation. Cox talked about what the future looks like when it comes to queer events at SPU.
“I really hope our future Haven leadership will continue the festivities into the coming years. I think it’s important we still have large-scale club events.” Cox said, “If [Redacted] Fest, in whatever form and whatever name, continues, I hope it will continue to give students and staff a place to connect and celebrate.”
