DENVER — This weekend is Denver Pride and it's already in full swing.
Each year there's always a big art installation that's created for the two day festival.
Local artist Lonnie Hanzon has been creating the sculptures since 2015. This year his 28-foot tall creation is called "Love is Love."
"Honestly, it just looks so happy and it made me feel joy," said Rocío Portela.
Three-hundred yards of rainbow silk flying in the air caught Portela's eye as she walked into Denver Pride.
"As you walk up close you see there's important, little more political messaging," she said.
Once she's drawn in, she understands the artist's intent for the sculpture.
"There's joy and beauty and celebration but there's also very real issues going on that we need to remind ourselves of and those two can co-exist," said Portela.
"Although we're celebrating, we still have a laundry list of work to do,"
said Hanzon. "We're still fighting for our lives."
Hanzon said each year of Pride has had a compelling reason for him come back and create more art for the community.
"My message in this one is sort of participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world," he said. "All the things that we're having to protest today, that drag is not a crime."
Hanzon's sculpture brings up topics like bigotry, racism, reproductive healthcare, and climate change.
"Protect kids, not guns," he said. "Drag is not a crime. Trans rights are human rights."
"When you think about this year alone, there's been more than 600 anti-LGBTQ laws that have been put forward in state legislatures around the country," said Steven Haden, while looking at the sculpture.
He said being at Pride means liberation, and a sense of belonging.
"It's so colorful and beautiful and it just reminds us that indeed love is love," said Haden.
"Not everything is joy, but we can't forget to celebrate our love amongst all of it," said Portela.
Although the emotions that go along with a sculpture like this may be complex, it reminds Portela that there's still work to be done, while celebrating progress.
"Joy is resistance too, so I think it's a fun way to represent that," she said.
Hanzon said he tries to recycle materials as much as possible from year-to-year. The base of this year's sculpture is made from old corn syrup totes filled with water. He also repurposed synthetic flowers from last year's Denver Pride art installation.
If you want to see the sculpture, it's right in the heart of the festival at the center of Civic Center Park.
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