Community brightens Wilmette Avenue in celebration of Pride, Pink Couch Books

The Wilmette community turned out for Pink Couch Books’ family Pride celebration Saturday.

Store owner Lora Amigo organized the event after she and her store faced alleged harassment last week regarding the shop’s Pride display. Amigo said Saturday’s turnout exceeded her expectations, with approximately 100 people rallying in support of LGBTQ+ rights and her business.

At the celebration, which began at 10 a.m., community members created signs and chalk drawings to spread messages of LGBTQ+ support. Amigo also provided bubbles and Pride flags.

“This was gorgeous,” Amigo said. “It was such a beautiful moment to see my community respond right away and come together.”

Skye Warner, a recent New Trier graduate who is nonbinary, attended with one of their friends and made a sign that said “Queer rights are human rights.”

Warner said they felt “very supported” at the Pride celebration.

“Doing things like this and participating in these groups really helps me remember that there may be a few people out there that want to hurt people like me … but it’s not the majority,” they said. “We will win in the end, and this will not be the status quo.”

Amigo announced the celebration in a Thursday morning Facebook post, calling on the community to spread the message that “EVERYONE BELONGS IN WILMETTE (emphasis hers).”

Amigo, who obtained a public demonstration permit from the Village on Friday, said that although she was not worried about any backlash on the day of the event, she did ask the Village to alert the police of the Pride celebration when she applied for the permit.

Shari Gottlieb attended the event with her son Nathan, who is transgender. The Gottliebs returned to Wilmette a few months ago after living in Colorado, and Shari Gottlieb said the event reaffirmed that Wilmette is “the right place for (her) family.” She added that she likely wouldn’t have seen the community turn out to support something like this in rural Colorado.

“It makes me feel relieved that we live in a community that, without even batting an eye, came out to support LGBTQ rights,” she said.

Other attendees included young children, local politicians and members of Parents With Pride, a local advocacy group for parents of LGBTQ+ youth. Amigo is a member of the group.

One of the Parents With Pride, Amanda Nugent, took to Instagram Sunday to show her appreciation following the event.

“I am so moved by the strength of our allies,” Nugent wrote. “And while I am deeply saddened and frightened by the constant threats to our LGBTQ+ community, I am so grateful for this turnout and show of support.”

Although June 30 marked the end of Pride Month, Amigo said Pink Couch Books’ support for the LGBTQ community, and its Pride flag, is here to stay.

“Pride has always been a part of our story,” she said. “We read queer 365 and that’s something I was very clear with since the start of the store. … It’ll be clear that our support remains steadfast.”

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