CATONSVILLE, Md. — What started as a simple idea during the pandemic has blossomed into a significant community celebration in Catonsville.
WATCH: Catonsville Pride event supports youth care at The Children's Home
Ellie McIntire, a local real estate agent, and Billy Morton-Ortega, her client, founded Catonsville Pride in 2021.
"Back in 2021 we had about a month before June, we're like why don't we do this?' And it really was as basic as that," said McIntire.
Now in its fifth year, the event at Catonsville Presbyterian Church has grown substantially, featuring face painting, pet adoptions, and more than 60 vendors.
"Catonsville Pride has grown into a huge community event; the community's really rallied around us, and we want to make it as good as possible," said Morton-Ortega.
Tickets are $5; teens 13-19 and military get in for $4; and children under 13 get in free. Organizers, however, wanted the net proceeds to benefit a worthy cause. They partnered with The Children's Home in Catonsville, located on Bloomsbury Avenue.
Christy Page, Development Director at The Children's Home, explained the organization's mission in an interview with WMAR-2 News.
"The Children's Home is an organization that serves youth from the foster care system from across the state of Maryland. We are the place where kids live for whom home isn't safe," said Page.
The facility offers "residential therapeutic care" and numerous amenities for its residents, including a swimming pool, music studio, art studio, and a riding arena for equine therapy. Each year, they serve between 140 and 160 young people aged 13 to 20. Some stay for just days, while others remain for years, Page explained.
Page told WMAR-2 News the partnership with Catonsville Pride carries special significance.
"It means everything. For so long, people didn't even understand how LGBTQ kids are impacted in the foster care system. Unfortunately, they're overrepresented, and they come to us with a lot of trauma and a lot of needs. It takes a very specialized kind of care, and so having the support of the community, having the community come out and say, "This is important," is a very big deal," said Page.
Morton-Ortega believes The Children's Home is the perfect tie-in for their event, which welcomes everyone in the community.
"It is absolutely a community event. It doesn't have to be people that are part of the LGBTQ community. Families, I see a lot of my clients come in with their kids," said McIntire.
The 5th annual Catonsville Pride event takes place this Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., beginning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
