WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) – About 120 vendors showed up at ICT’s Big Gay Market at Riverside Park on Sunday.

The idea is to give sellers who belong to the LGBTQ+ community a way to be seen.

It also creates a safe space for people to be who they are.

“It’s very nice to have a gathering like this where I can feel normal, feel accepted.”

Many people at Sunday’s event share the same thoughts and feelings. Keith Gossman said growing up in south Alabama was tough for him.

“Being queer is not something that’s okay out there, so it’s definitely helped me be more open and helped me find a little more peace with who I am,” Grossman said.

Brea Rice hosts her own queer black people podcast. She said there aren’t many black people in Wichita and she feels the city is divided.

The added rice of being both queer and black brings its own set of stressors.

“Being a queer person of color, you’re marginalized with the people of color, and you’re marginalized within the queerness pool, because when you look at queerness, you see a lot of white,” Rice said.

Event organizers James and Jeff Boyd moved to Wichita from the West Coast a few years ago.

While both say they didn’t feel welcome at first, both said the city of Wichita has been amazingly supportive this year.

“It made me see the growth that Wichita is going through right now and I’ve seen so much progress in the city, we’re from San Diego and Portland, Oregon and coming here you know we’ve seen a lot of growth that could happen and now I see it happening,” James said.

Celebrating its third year, Jeff credits the vendors for creating a welcoming atmosphere.