Troy, Ohio is locally famous for its strawberry festival that brings in over 250,000 attendees annually, far greater than the rural suburban town’s population of 27,000.
It’s great if you love strawberries. But if LGBTQ+ townies want to go to a Pride festival, they have to drive 20 minutes to Dayton. A local community organizer with One Small Act Miami County and business owner in Troy, Heather Rocco, wants to change that for her queer community.
Rocco had reached out to local organizations to see about starting a Pride in Troy — but no one thought there was enough interest. Rocco said she thought otherwise after going to progressive protests in Troy last summer.
There, LGBTQ+ protestors told Rocco they wanted a “place we could go,” she recalled.
“Dayton has a great gay scene, but we have to drive 20 minutes to get there,” she said. “Why can’t we have something where we are?”
Pride Day will be hosted indoors on private property with security present, she said. The event is planned to have rock painting, vendors, performances and a drag queen storytime.
It will also premiere a video called “I Belong,” an artistic video project consisting of Miami County LGBTQ+ community members declaring that they belong where they live.
“I want it to be an art installation of people now and former [residents] saying this is our home, too,” Rocco said.
If this Pride goes well, she said, it can prove to city leaders that residents are interested in going to the city’s Pride festival despite comments online “[accusing Rocco] of trying to indoctrinate children.”
“If I can show this is what the first year looked like, everything went great [and ask] next year we’d like to put it at the park, I might have a little bit more support from the city leaders,” Rocco said.
When Rocco grew up in Troy during the ‘80s and ‘90s, she didn’t have the language to describe her queer identity. The murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998 had implanted the idea in Rocco that to come out was to become a target.
It was a “lonely experience,” but she has since found her family, schoolteachers and Troy to be more accepting. And since announcing Troy’s inaugural Pride, Rocco said the online response has been overwhelmingly positive compared to some “weird” comments and accusations.
“Every time I walked into a business [to hand out advertisements], they said, ‘I saw the hate you’re getting online,’” she said.
“I’d be like, ‘Have you not seen the love? There’s so much of it.’” 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- Troy’s Pride Day is between 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, July 25 at 1100 S. Wayne Street, Suite 1212, Troy, Ohio.
- To learn more about One Small Act Miami County, visit their website here.
- Looking for Pride celebrations in Ohio this year? Check out The Buckeye Flame’s 2026 Pride Guide by clicking here.
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