COLUMBUS – Columbus is showing its solidarity and support for the LGBT community in central Ohio and in Orlando, where a gunman killed 49 people in a shooting inside a gay nightclub last Sunday morning.
The #ColumbusStrong celebration, sponsored by this station and our partners at WBNS 10-TV, is scheduled for Thursday, June 16, at Scioto Audubon Metro Park from 5:00 -7:00 p.m.
Mayor Andrew Ginther, Imran Malik of the Noor Islamic Center, members of the Ohio State University Marching Band, the Gay Men’s Chorus and Capital Pride Band are all expected to appear, with food and beverages available from Giant Eagle and other local vendors.
The evening is being billed as “a reflection on community and a celebration of life and love.”
An interfaith worship service will be held at First Congregational Church, 444 E. Broad Street, “to act in solidarity, compassion and love while mourning the deaths of the victims in the Orlando shooting,” according to Faith in Public Life, which is organizing the event.
The Rev. Tim Ahrens, First Congregational Church, and Rabbi Misha Zinkow, Temple Israel, will lead the prayer vigil “to promote a moral agenda for Ohio and sentiments of anti-violence and hope.”