A local colorful display is coming back this month in celebration of Pride!
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. After online backlash in 2021, the owners of the house felt compelled to really go all out with the displays.
The official Facebook account recently uploaded photos a few days ago, indicating that the imminent return of a beloved Andersonville tradition.
Over the years, the display has included rainbow-painted stairs, and a 12-foot-tall paintbrush leads to a rainbow paint trail from the curb to the porch’s roof. Alongside the colorful mural stands an oversized unicorn aptly named Diamond Buttercup Mist surrounded by 36 flags representing the LGBTQ
+ community.
The theme over the years will continue with the themes of celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and teaching people about acceptance and pride.
Usually tied to a charity, like Men Having Babies, a nonprofit that helps LGBTQ+ couples become parents. They decided to donate to this particular charity after having a son, Rocco, through surrogacy.
The couple hopes to let others know LGBTQ+ couples can be parents and that there are resources to help them. In past years, the fundraisers have donated $25,000 to the Trevor Project, a group that offers suicide prevention resources to the LGBTQ+ community.
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]