Update: Aurora Pride 2019 is back on, $17,000 raised in less than 24 hours

The 2018 Aurora Pride Parade. (Photo from Indivisible Aurora)

AURORA — The 2019 Aurora Pride celebration is back on.

UPDATE: As of Wednesday morning, $17,520 had been raised on GoFundMe. The money was raised in less than 24 hours.

Organizers and the city of Aurora made the announcement on Tuesday in a press conference that was livestreamed on Facebook.

The event had been cancelled because costs to hold the parade and quadrupled after a January ordinance requiring private groups holding events like parades needed to pay the city for security.

Indivisible Aurora now has two weeks to raise the $17,000 needed to hold the parade. IA will be leading the fundraising effort. The deadline is in two weeks because that is the final date of when the city needs to confirm the event. All money will go to producing the event.

During the media event, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin announced a grant from the City’s Neighborhood Festival Funding of which parade organizers were not aware when they originally cancelled the event. The grants are available to groups hosting public events that acquaint residents with each other while educating participants about the Aurora community. The money must be used for support services at the events, such as rental of equipment, rental security or emergency personnel, and similar needs, which is what all money raised will be going to. Other organizations have already committed sponsorship dollars for the event.

Those wanting to donate can send a check to Indivisible Aurora at 3015 East New York St., Suite A2-273, Aurora, IL 60504 or donate to their reopened GoFundMe campaign.

IA Executive Director Chuck Adams said the parade was back because of the community. Supporters from Aurora and across northeastern Illinois spoke out for keeping the parade going. Other Pride celebrations in other suburbs and exurbs of Chicago also offered their support since they had been inspired by Aurora’s first Pride last yer.

“I think all of us involved were surprised by the intensely passionate reaction in the community of the cancellation and the sense of ownership, after only one year, of the parade,” said Adams.

“I know our residents, business and supporters will continue to come together to close this gap as we celebrate our diversity, inclusivity and pride here in Aurora,” said Mayor Irvin. “I applaud the efforts of Indivisible Aurora and its support of the LGBTQ+ community. When Aurora comes together, we all win.”

We will update as we get more details. But, Aurora Pride is back on.

Updated with quotes and more details of the plan moving forward.