There was a bit of uncertainty on whether ARCH would be able to proceed with one of their biggest community events, but in the end, everyone was able to come together to enjoy the annual community barbecue.
"We have been planning this since the beginning of June to figure it out, and of course, everything was up in the air because of COVID," said Mindy Brown, a practical support worker at ARCH and one of the event organizers. "So we've been doing about three months worth of planning, a little bit here and there."
"And then everything just kind of comes together at the last minute."
On Wednesday afternoon, residents from the LGBTQ+ community, allies and volunteers gathered at Riverside Park for free burgers, hot dogs and vegan or gluten-free options. This year's event was carnival themed, which was complete with a cotton candy machine and games with prizes.
ARCH anticipated a total of 75 people to come out for the event.
Rob Barrett, a resident in attendance, enjoys going to many community events and wanted to come out and show his support.
"I love it," said Barrett about community events like this barbecue, "I see people I don't usually see."
For some members of the LGBTQ+ community, many experienced challenges with isolation during the pandemic. Resident Maude Stephany and their wife, Katrina, had limited social interactions due to Katrina recovering from a recent surgery. The community barbecue has been one of their biggest social events of the year.
"ARCH has been such a wonderful resource for people," said Maude, adding their son had come out and found support through ARCH.
Both mentioned it was nice to get out and were excited to be there.
"I'm just happy to be out of the house," said Katrina.
Despite not having the event last year, Brown mentions there is a larger turnout this year than previous years for their community barbecue.
"We advertised like mad for this because we haven't seen our community in so long," said Brown, "We had no social events this year, so I hope they can all come together, meet some new people and have some good eats."
