A local favorite Pride display is back and better than ever. After online backlash last year, the owners of the house felt compelled to really go all out. Jesse Campbell and Nicholas Vazquez’s house is known to locals as the Pride House. Each June, it rolls out another bright rainbow display with encouraging words and celebratory decor.
Last year, the display included rainbow-painted stairs. This year, the 12-foot-tall paintbrush leads to a rainbow paint trail from the curb to the porch’s roof. Alongside the mural stands an oversized unicorn aptly named Diamond Buttercup Mist. Surrounding Diamond are 36 flags representing the LGBTQIA+ community.
The theme for this years display continues on with past years themes of celebrating the LGBTQ community and teaching people about acceptance and pride. This years display is also tied to a the charity, Men Having Babies, a nonprofit that helps LGBTQIA+ couples become parents. They decided to donate to this charity after having a son, Rocco, through surrogacy. The couple hopes to let others know LGBTQ couples can be parents and there are resources to help them. Last year’s fundraiser donated $25,000 to the Trevor Project, a group that offers suicide prevent resources to the LGBTQ community. They hope to raise that much for this years efforts.
The unicorn is almost 6-feet-tall and is made of wood and styrofoam! It’s also meant to look like a large model toy. Campbell, who is an interior designer, bought a blueprint for a model unicorn and supersized the proportions, creating Diamond Buttercup Mist.
Address: 1700 block of West Balmoral Avenue, Chicago, IL 60640
[Featured photo from @mr_bodhi_sir]