RICHMOND, Va. -- Tropical Storm Ophelia forced the postponement of Richmond’s main PrideFest event Saturday on Brown's Island.
Events on Friday and Sunday went on as scheduled.
But while a new date has not been announced, it was still an important weekend for the LGBTQ2+ community and their supporters.
Caitlyn Plaskett and her wife Wanda offered some insights into why and how they’re using social media, especially ‘2.Ladies.And.2. Babies’ on TikTok and Instagram, to send a message of community and fun.
“It’s really just a space for our community to come together, really to just celebrate the diversity that we have, to bring families together, friends together,” said Caitlyn Plaskett. “It’s really just a great opportunity to have some fun.”
“PrideFest is a chance to see each other again,” said Wanda. “There’s also a lot of local businesses that support us, that we obviously want to support as well. It’s just a great tradition and it’s getting bigger and bigger which is awesome.”
Caitlyn Plaskett said she developed their social media presence during Covid with the birth of their first child. “We were just trying to have some fun,” Caitlyn said. “We had just had a new baby, and we were trying to share pictures and videos of him. And then it started spiraling and people started following it.”
With a second child since added to their family, 2 Ladies and 2 Babies now has nearly 250,000 followers.
“It was a lot of us playing jokes, doing silly stuff,” Caitlyn said. “We just have fun with it. It’s the same things we’ve always done, but now I have other people to laugh with me. And usually at her expense, which is the great part of it.”
“Honestly I think it’s fun,” said Wanda. “I don’t mind being the butt of the joke. Other people seem to find it funny, but it’s been my every day since we’ve been together. It’s nothing new, just like she said, that it’s on camera and people can laugh with her.”
“It was really just a space to have some fun and capture some memories,” said Caitlyn. “And now that other people are joining in, it’s kind of pushed us to do even more. It’s been great to connect with people.”
