Ways to celebrate gay marriage in Dayton

Dayton resident and business owner Josh Stucky told me he feared he'd never see the day that he could legally marry Brent Johnson, his partner of 26 years.

“I thought this was at least another decade away,” the retired teacher said. “It makes us feel legitimate. It makes us feel like we are part of this country.”

Stucky and Johnson are members of the Rubi Girls, a Dayton-based drag troupe that has raised more than a million dollars for AIDS and gay-related causes.

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< Here’s how Dayton gay couples can get married free by mayor   >

The Rubi Girls performed as part of Dayton Pride Weekend earlier this month.

The group's documentary will be shown as part of Yellow Springs' Pride Weekend 6 p.m. Saturday at the Little Art Theatre, 267 Xenia Ave.

Finally, we have reached equality in the United States of America. Other countries have had this for years," Stucky said. "We are finally getting on board."

Info about the second annual LGBT/Diversity 5K set for Monday is below.

Pride is also being celebrated in Cincinnati this weekend. 

Dayton has more gay bars than you can shake a stick within a few downtown blocks: Club Masque, 34 N. Jefferson St.; Stage Door Musical Bar, 44 N. Jefferson St.; The Right Corner, 105 E. Third St.; and MJ's on Jefferson, 20 N. Jefferson St.

A celebration organized by the Dayton LGBT Center will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at MJ, said Randy Phillips, the center's president.

"We've been looking forward to this day," he said.

He pointed to Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy's gay marriage opinion as expressing the reason for the celebration.

<The beautiful ending to Justice Kennedy's gay marriage opinion>

The LGBT Center and the Dayton mayor's office will partner from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at MJ's July 8 for a wedding reception for those married in Ohio and other states.

Phillips said there will be three-tiered wedding cakes and appetizers during the celebration.