River City Pride Festival and parade was held Saturday, June 7 in downtown Evansville. The fifth year of the event, organizers estimate 15,000 attended. (Tim Jagielo/WNIN News)
June is Pride Month and Evansville’s River City Pride Fest was this past weekend, drawing 32 sponsors and 1,200 parade participants; but 10 sponsors declined to support due to DEI.
At a Pride parade, one can expect to hear “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga, but not necessarily “When the Saints Come Marching in,” played on kazoos.
But this is what members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Evansville do, marching down main street in Evansville during the recent River City Pride Parade (RCP). Their white hats read “On the Side of Love.”
“We believe you love who you love, and that it's all okay,” church member Steve Ford said at the booth on Main Street. He read some of their core values from a flag.
“…Black Lives Matter. Climate change is real. No human being is illegal. Women's rights are human rights. All genders are whole, holy and good, you know, yeah. I mean, that's basically who we are.”
Out of the hundreds in the community, WNIN counted six churches or religious organizations taking part in River City Pride Fest 2025 held June seventh in downtown Evansville. Some were participating in the parade, some were running a booth and some did both.
For the first time, Encounter Church opened their doors during the parade, offering water and a restroom.
Dawn Schwindel is the current president of River City Pride. She said the most pronounced difference between 2024 and 2025 is the current political and legislative climate surrounding the LGBTQIA + community.
“(It is) shifting towards increased scrutiny and backlash from conservative groups and businesses that are pulling away from DEI initiatives,” she said. Conservative groups include "Make America Great Again (MAGA.) "DEI" refers to "diversity equity and inclusion."
Regarding churches — Schwindel said they can help the community by extending love. “I think when you read the Bible, or you research the Bible, the most common word throughout the entire Bible is ‘love,’” she said. “Expressing that in a non judgmental, in a tolerant way, in a compassionate way, is what we would like to see from our churches.”
Michelle Rundle and husband Matthew are with Bethany Christian Church at their Main Street booth, offering snacks and other items after the parade.
John Rich is an elder at Bethany Christian Church.
“So we are to be a big, diverse group that represents the fullness of God and Christ and all that diversity and the love of Christ,” he said. “And I think that means being completely inclusive.”
Rich agrees that things are more hostile toward the Pride community in 2025 — particularly toward trans people.
“We really need to protect trans people,” he said. “We really need to make sure that trans people know that they are welcome and accepted, because it seems like they are really being targeted by certain parts of the administration, the political establishment. And so I think their safety and inclusion is a big part of what we need to be doing in 2025.”
It’s also about financial support. Schwindel said RCP drew 32 sponsors, 116 vendors, 13 food trucks, 30 performers, 1,200 parade participants and 12 community partners.
Deaconess Health systems was a “Rainbow Sponsor" among Atlas, Berry and Old National Bank.
Despite solid numbers, she said 2025 brought 10 fewer sponsors or advocates, because of the political climate.
“They were pretty transparent with it in terms of just backing off because of DEI initiatives being either removed completely or just a significant reduction,” she said. “I think you have some businesses out there that are certainly, leery from a funding perspective, and then I think, you've also got some businesses out there where it's easier to take a step back now, given the things that are going on legislatively.”
Schwindel declined to share the amount lost or the types of organizations or businesses that dropped out.
However, she said as a whole the Evansville community, including city government, remain supportive.
